And I Thought God Loved Everyone!

Anyone who has been reading Huffington Post with any frequency has probably stumbled across this article at some point.  Before launching into the content of the article, I'd first like to address how distressing it is that any type of story like this I receive from Huffington, which is great, but the problem I anticipate is that they're preaching to the choir.  Not that I would expect the scums at FOX to report on these things, but where are Charlie Gibson, Wolf Blitzer, and Jon Stewart on this one?  Often times people get upset at me when I refer to religious fundamentalists as hateful bigots, and I fear that those people are blind to these types of horrifying stories.

In Boulder, Colorado a preschooler at a Catholic school was expelled, not for cheating, lying, stealing, or other bad behavior, but rather because of the fact that he has two mothers.  So much for the loving, accepting virtues of Christianity.  I feel at a loss of words, what the fuck can you even say to someone who rationalized such a decision?  In all honesty, probably nothing, but given the nature of this blog I'm going to publicize the response that I think these people deserve.

First off, congratulations on impinging the education, and now probably mental stability, of a four-year-old.  I hope that you feel good about your coercion, now you can go to sleep knowing that the children of gay families will be less educated, at least in Colorado.  PHEW!  Next, let's talk about the inherent hatred you're exhibiting towards a child, as well as the message of animosity you're spreading to all of your wonderful followers.  I guess I should first thank the people behind this decision for affirming my conclusion that most Christians are haters, not the self-proclaimed lovers that they want everyone to think.  Let's ignore the question of why God would hate the lesbian parents (topic for another post) and instead ask why God hates this child?  I know homosexuality is disgusting, that it tarnishes the wholesome love between men and women, and that it surely confuses the hell out children, but is this reason enough to hate this innocent child?  I think not, but since Christian followers prefer not to think, they consult their bibles, which tells them that homosexuality is evil, and therefore we should do everything in our power to remove those fags from society.  I guess this child is guilty by association; I suppose that the hedonistic behavior of his two mothers was negatively affecting the educational environment for all the other students.  So, again, congratulations for destroying preschool years of an innocent child, spreading a message of malevolence to the other naive young minds of this Catholic School, and for again reminding us of the evil, evil nature of homosexuality.  

In all seriousness, though, this expulsion is despicable.  How can we live in a society, where either people support this or simply ignore it.  I'm sick and tired of just talking about the wrongdoings of fundamentalist religious institutions, it's time to show these fanatics that people aren't going to tolerate persecution any longer.  Why are these people so spiteful?  Why do they pretend to be so endearing and pious when they actually hold such strong hatred for people who aren't exactly like them?  These are questions that I will never be able to answer, and I just hope that a collection of voices develops in this country to show the religious zealots that we are fed up with their bullshit, and that we desire a society with true equality and diversity.     

The Mother Teresa Stamp Fiasco

Atheists strike back through the Freedom of Religious Foundation's recent protest against the launch of a Mother Teresa stamp by the U.S. Postal Service. They claim that the USPS is violating a law regarding using "religious figures" on stamps, and thus are advocating a boycott of the stamp. FOX News jumped on the story, and of course with their "fair and balanced" defended the stamp, even providing testimonials from another atheist (oh my GOD!), who condemns the Freedom of Religious Foundation for this battle. FOX never misses an opportunity to portray atheists as aggressive, irrational beasts looking to wreck the stability of the religious institutions, but this is getting off topic of the issue at hand.

Personally, I support the boycott of the stamp. Federal agencies such as the post office should not be displaying images of religious figures, which is the primary message of the Freedom of Religious Foundation. There needs to be an inherent and enforced separation of church and state, and I believe the stamp controversy to fall under this issue. USPS spokesman, Roy Betts, responded to this concern by claiming that the placement of Mother Teresa on the U.S. stamp is not intended to support her religious views, but rather honor her "humanitarian work." He also referred to past stamps of humanitarians, such as Martin Luther King, who were also connected to particular religious affiliations. In regard to Mother Teresa I think it is impossible to separate her contributions to society from her ties to Christianity, she was a Catholic nun after all. This is not an attempt to undermine her contributions to the world, of which were of great impact to a striving, underprivileged section of society. However, her face has no business on the letters of millions U.S. stamps, and I fully support the call to boycott the stamp. It's not Mother Teresa as an individual that is the problem, but rather the notion that religious figures should be publicly promoted. Would it make the Christian community feel comfortable to see images of Anwar al-Awlaki or Simon Yakovlevich Rosenbaum on our future stamps? What irritates me is the assumption that everyone would be accepting of a Mother Teresa stamp. This is what is problematic in my mind, and is why it is a good thing that the Freedom of Religious Foundation raised their complaint. Perhaps now and in the future the religious majority will take a second to consider the insincerity of extreme religious propagation and publicity through federal agencies.

Haiti, Pat Robertson, and American News Coverage

Well, 2010 has not wasted any time in delivering chaotic destruction. Before averting into the subject of this blog, I would first like to send out my condolences to anyone who was directly or indirectly impacted by this horrific natural disaster. Any type of donation will help with relief efforts, so if you're feeling generous I strongly urge anyone who can to donate here.

As bad as the 7.0 earthquake in Haiti was, what's perhaps even more deplorable is the response from the American news media. Pat Robertson was quick to jump on the bandwagon, stating that there was justice in the Haitian disaster due to a pact made with the devil back when they were under Napoleon's rule. Let's examine this statement for a minute. Is Pat Robertson really crediting the success of the Haitian Revolution to Satan? Yes he is, but certainly the public wouldn't adopt this rendition of history, would they? This question is harder to answer. As the founder of the CBN (Christian Broadcasting Network), Robertson reaches roughly one million viewers each day worldwide. Following Robertson's comments, the CBN released a statement on the matter, "countless scholars and religious figures over the centuries believe the country is cursed." For a second, let's ignore any rationality in ourselves, and pretend that Robertson is right, that the earthquake happened because of the Haitians pact with the devil. If we are to observe the event in this manner, there are still several problems with this line of logic. The only reason the Haitian people ever revolted, and so presumably made a deal with the devil, was because they had been slaves under oppressive rule in their own country for the past 30-40 years. If it took faith in the devil for the Haitians to succeed in their rebellion, why should we inherently regard this as negative? If slavery in the name of God is more valuable than rights, liberty and freedom in the name of Satan, I certainly know which side I would opt for. Next, if we are to believe that Haiti was cursed by God, how would we explain for the 200+ year time differential? If God were truly vengeful on the revolters of 1791, why would he wait until the year 2010 to demonstrate his wrath on 50,000 innocent descendants? If we are to accept Pat Robertson's statements as valid, this seems to reveal that God is an immoral sadist that holds illogical grudges and punishes innocent people. Gee, maybe Pat Robertson had it right all along...

Hopefully anyone with half a brain would dismiss the nasty statements by Robertson, and this leads to my next criticism: the media encourages this behavior. I'd like to think that most of the networks and media outlets are reporting on Pat Robertson in order to show his repulsive nature, but the fact of the matter is that people are reporting on him. (I suppose I'm also part of the problem with the publishing of this post.) What aggravates me is not the nature of the media's reporting on Pat Robertson, it's the fact that they are wasting valuable space and time on these moronic comments. Imagine if places like The Huffington Post and MSNBC took all the coverage devoted to Pat Robertson, and instead reported on the efforts that are currently being done, as well as ways we can help at home. The truth is that it's embarrassing what qualifies as news in this country, and Pat Robertson is a minor cause of this larger, critical problem. If we lived in a country that valued news, the Pat Robertson story would be a minor blurb in light of a global epidemic. Instead, Pat Robertson occupies a far greater portion off coverage than he deserves, and as a result people get worked up about his comments as opposed to the actual problem of the earthquake itself. Let's try and not be hypnotized by evangelical nonsense, and instead focus on relief efforts, and things that really matter.

Clearly the twisted mind of Pat Robertson does not speak for all Christians or Evangelicals. It's a shame that he's been given the spotlight, casting belief in God in this light. In reality, many churches have launched tremendous fundraising efforts to support those harmed by the earthquake. These gestures, unfortunately, have been overshadowed by the idiocy of one man. Pat Robertson is a distraction, and a successful one at that. Who knows whether he actually believes the things he says, or if he just does it with the knowledge that it will cause a stir amongst morally sound individuals. Regardless of his intent, the result is a manipulation of religious belief and a mockery of American news media, which does nothing more than continue to fuel Pat Robertson's engine of hatred.

In The Beginning

The purpose of this blog is not to discriminate against the foundation of religious beliefs or values, but rather to have an open forum to document and discuss current events that involve religion in some way shape or form. I consider religion to be a cancer on society. From a utilitarian perspective, I consider the destruction and disruption of extreme religious belief to far outweigh any individual happiness that it may have to the members of a society. That being said, the libertarian in me acknowledges that it should be a fundamental right to have the freedom of belief and expression, so long as it does not hurt the surrounding individuals in a society. This blog seeks to explore the latter half of the previous statement. Of course it is unjust to forbid people from believing in a certain religion. But if one's faith in God leads him or her to acts of hatred and violence, should we continue to uphold that person's basic libertarian right to freedom? I, personally, do not think so. Once a belief extends beyond the thoughts of one's own mind, and negatively impacts the society around him, this person should no longer be entitled to his or her freedom. This blog seeks to explore current events that are influenced by religious practice, and analyze the overall consequent impact. I hope to demonstrate that while over 99% of religious practice is harmless, the less than 1% who take belief in God to extremist positions may cause a permanent damage to our society.