The Sunday Planet - September 6, 2015

HUMAN

Apparently being human can suck, or maybe it could be better defined as being improper being a humanist in some situations. 

Oh the pain, the suffering, the humiliation; I lost a "friend" on Facebook. 

Well, not really a friend, just a fellow atheist that happened to friend me over the years because we agreed that religion is, well, bunk. I've seen her posts over the last few years - mostly ignoring - but every so often offered an opinion. Last night I was tired, had a few drinks, and finally let her know how I really feel; and that is always a mistake in life. 

She is a writer of books and screenplays, and promotes herself heavily. No problem, good for her. Science Fiction is what she centers on, and hey, I've enjoyed that genre just about my entire life.  I've never read any of her novels or plays so cannot attest to her ability, but I have no reason to doubt it. She has a habit of posting scientific material that sometimes isn't scientific, but that can happen to most of us. No, I have no problem with errors, they're usually straightened out immediately.

So now that I've bored the living hell out of you, let me get to the point. She is one of those who is seemingly very anti-muslim. Like probably most that will read this, I probably agree to a certain extent. To be clear, I think any religion is harmful to society as a whole if left unchecked. To continue with the thought, I really don't care if someone wants to believe in whatever fairy tale grabs their fancy, as long as they don't use it to tell me how to live my life, have any effect on society's mores, or be used to govern; that's where the battles always begins. 

The heart of her muslim posts seem to center on getting rid of them. They are an evil that should be eliminated, Islam is a blight on humanity and must be stopped; the list goes on as it probably should. The last post though was in error again and was about the influx of immigrants, predominately from Syria, trying to escape into other countries, mostly European. The gist of her tirade was that that ungrateful muslims were throwing away food that was given them in Hungary. Hungarians are poor and they could of used that food, etc. 

The real story is that immigrants were tossing away the food because they were going on a hunger strike to protest not being allowed passage to other European nations. Quite a difference in my opinion. 

I see this as a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions, nothing more.

Yes, they're muslim. Yes, it seems that Europe has a problem with immigrants who refuse to integrate into society, I would as well. But yet, these are families escaping war and poverty, are trying to find safety for their children, are trying to find life; wouldn't we do the same? I just can't blame them for the attempt. When I see the photos of a dead child laying on the beach, when I hear the stories of a father's loss as his family drowns, I seem to not see the religion, but the humanity.

It appears I am at odds with many atheists. Maybe it would be better to force them into sleeping in the beds they made. This is all their own doing, they decided to embrace religion - a religion that sucks the morality out of life - why should we care? Maybe they'll destroy each other so we don't have to.

We have had prominent atheists - think Hitchens - who railed against Islam. What would he say if he still was walking this earth, let them die? Dawkins is not a friend, what does he say? The latest I see is that he thinks the richer Arab states should be helping, and in that I agree. With the way the muslim population currently acts in many European countries, I don't see it as being a boon to said countries. Integrate or leave is how I look at it. Become an asset or go home.

An ex-AU-member from the Middle East once explained a issue of morality that comes up every so often. When a country is hit by drought, or other natural phenomenon that makes it hard for the people to survive, they are taken in by neighboring states who support them until they can go back home. They do this because maybe next year it will be the opposite. It is survival. Possibly this should be treated the same way?

There are now over 4 million refugees out of Syria. Turkey has taken in almost half of them. This should be a problem that muslim states deal with, not the west. Yet if the Middle East is going to be up in flames for years, maybe the farther away you can run the better. Perhaps I am just too liberal in my thinking? Should a more conservative viewpoint be embraced?

I'm sure my European friends will be happy to explain the problem, please do.

Regardless, being human to me means that allowing other humans to suffer is immoral. At times it appears I may be wrong, but that's a problem I haven't come to grips with yet.

Being human at times can and does suck, but that's based on a selfish vision. To be a humanitarian would appear to be even much worse if the decisions you make are in error. 

The Planet - February 13, 2013

Heaven, Second Chances, Being Human and Meaning

This year, like a few others in the past, has begun on a sour note. Death and illness, sadness and great sorrow, memories of happier times and decades of companionship. Of fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, and all things that embrace us through life. The apparent need of the many for the false comfort of a happy eternal life after reaching that non-existent utopia called heaven. The intrusion of delusion into a significant event that steals the moment, steals life; for the event is one that most would rather ignore. 

My father-in-law passed after years of dealing with Parkinson's disease. I only knew him after his illness was in control; I never saw the smiles, heard the wisdom or received the focus of his wrath. All I knew was his soft speech, a flicker of a smile once in a while if I tickled his fancy. He was a devout catholic who did not deny science. He was the provider. He was the defender of his children. Saying this, he was also perverted by religion. His actions were, at times, painful and hurtful to his children that did not accept the unerring word of god.

The two days of public mourning after his demise were filled with prayer, filled with grief and filled with god's arrogance. My wife's family are an intelligent lot; if nothing else catholic schools seem to produce well educated theists, and happily, critically thinking atheists. The Viewing was filled with well wishes, condolences, and family members who shared memories of the deceased; which was the best part. If you're wanting closure on death, I cannot think of a better way than shared memories of joy and humor. That is where the dead still exist, in memories. My brother-in-law and sister-in-laws, a couple of grandchildren, all took part. One by one they took to the stage and gently implanted their memories in all that attended. It was beautiful, because it was secular. Well mostly.

I'm sure all the ex-catholics out there may have heard or partaken in this, but I was amused to learn that catholic school children would collect money so they could name a pagan baby. How awesome, and pretty arrogant, is that? I kept thinking, did they name him Neal?

The next day was the funeral mass. Not much good that I can say about that. Too much prayer for me, too much "I'm not worthy" bullshit, too much of god taking credit for all that is good and humankind taking credit for all that is wrong. 

Heaven was made for fools, and the fools keep meddling with life.

Recently I made amends with a very close family member. Instead of a smile and a pat on the back from some of the family I hear, "Oh, mom is in heaven smiling." Yeah, that's me. Always doing good deeds for the dead. I take an action that I have reasoned, and felt, to be a  good thing and automatically the big dummy is involved. Perfectly good actions made creepy because the dead are watching. Heaven is where some think all good people reside, I think heaven is absolution for all the jackasses that are still alive.

Heaven is absolution because god gives everyone a second chance. 

Friends and family battle in life over things great and small, over relationships good and bad, about all the minuscule events that effect life daily. When one dies, friendly, and not so friendly, theists all proclaim the deceased is in heaven. For those who treated the deceased well, they are happily looking forward to their own entrance through the pearly gates. For those that couldn't stand the recently dead, it absolves them of all guilt. Their bad behavior need not change who they are, or who they will be. There is no penance or regrets that they need harbor, for life is a minute part of existence and all will be made whole someday in the future.

Nothing is learned if nothing is really harmed. Death might make you reflect on life as a whole, and affect how you interact with your fellow humans. It can be a lesson, if death is real. Same goes when dealing with all life on the planet and how we treat it; for what does it matter if we destroy when it's only a temporary condition? It doesn't matter when heaven awaits. It doesn't matter if you kill, steal, rape; you can and will be forgiven. Let the poor starve, let war reign over peace, let intolerance be your guide. God's shiny cool home awaits those who hate because Heaven is the ultimate get out of jail free card.

Yet even with all the whining to god, humans remain human.

Possibly some family members have regrets about the time, or lack thereof, that they've spent with their family. Some may think that being regretful is a learning tool, that because we can acknowledge errors in the past that this will teach us to be better in the future.

I think not. Harboring regrets only causes sorrow and makes for a miserable life.

I do not immerse myself with the constant tragedies of the past. We are who we are, and great changes to one's personality rarely happen during life. I remember during the last year of my mother's life arguing about things that seem petty now. I remember being irritated driving her home from my place in Michigan to her home in Illinois because she needed to stop for breakfast to take her medications. I remember after family took her in as she aged that she became politically conservative, mirroring the thoughts of her caregivers. I remember being so angry at her conservative thoughts that I left her alone in my home for an hour. No car so she could leave and no one she could turn to if something happened. She was in her late seventies at the time. I remember way too many interactions that were abrasive with her in my life, so many that I dreamed of being able to change. 

But only for a fool's moment.

I harbor no regrets because I know that it was because we were so much alike that we battled. Nothing would change if she was still here, we were who we were. The awareness of my errors does make for some change. I can be slightly more deliberate and thoughtful, knowing I will not have another chance to correct my behavior. Then again, I'm a confrontational, arrogant, opinionated, crazed person, and that side refuses to be shut down completely. I continue to walk around hopping on one foot while trying to get the other out of my mouth. Life is awesome and then I open my mouth. I have lived in a fool's paradise, a paradise where the world revolves around me. And I know I'm not that different from you.

Yet theists think things will be better in some non-existent future. Does self awareness escape them? Do they harbor regrets and maybe learn from them, or do they immerse themselves into a false comfort that says no action is ever final? Do they reside in a Pollyanna world where everything is okay, where there is nothing they can do wrong that cannot be fixed by the almighty? That there is always a second chance to "fix it?"

Age makes us wiser, if you acknowledge the finality of actions you take. If life never ends, then we are free to hurt and destroy.

Theists have made a grave error when saying meaning is lost if there is no afterlife. There is no logical ultimate meaning to life. Meaning would be lost if there was an afterlife. If you can be forgiven for crimes against humanity and the world, then there is no meaning in this life. If there is one, it's that nothing we do now matters except being good slaves.