"Catchy" and "True" Are Two Different Things

"Those Who Stand For Nothing Fall For Anything"


I saw that phrase written on a sign outside of a church in Newtown today.  Sounds kind of catchy - I'm sure plenty of people read it and went "wow, yeah, that's smart."  While I was driving, I analyzed this saying.


Presumably, when a church mentions "those who stand for nothing," they are referring to atheists and/or agnostics.  Saying that they "fall for anything" infers that such people are gullible, easily influenced, easily persuaded, etc.  


So, in other words, the phrase means "Atheists and agnostics are easily persuaded."


The reason people such as myself fall under the category "agnostic" is because we aren't easily persuaded.  If we were easily persuaded, we might believe in strange magical stories.  I once heard a story that asserts that humans are evil because a woman cloned from a human bone ate an apple (a snake told her to), and the only way mankind can be saved from being eternally pitchforked by a goatman (he was also the snake) is to pray to a zombie.  I wasn't persuaded.

I Respect You, But I Don't Respect Your Beliefs

WARNING: Before reading this post, be aware that those some may consider these ideas irreverent or offensive.  If you do not believe you should continue, then do not continue.

As someone who comes from very liberal parents (one Protestant by background, one Jewish by background), and some very conservative (and religious) extended family, I've developed what I consider to be a somewhat more-than-typically-nuanced social outlook.  My very liberal parents, in a leftist-reactionary manner, would probably proclaim that it is very important to respect and accept all religions.  To them, I might ask "why?"  Really, think about this question: why should I?

No society expects its members to respect every belief or every action of every person.  The majority of us don't respect the beliefs of gang members, violent criminals, white supremacists, radical cult members, terrorists, etc.  We do not respect these people's outlooks or opinions, because they are hateful, violent, or obsolete.  Religion is nothing more than a series of outlooks and beliefs too, but is held to different standard.  I believe it's because religion, usually, is old.  It's traditional.  It's historic.  We respect these concepts, even if meaninglessly so.

If there's one aspect of a person we SHOULD be permitted to display intolerance for, it should be their opinions and their actions.   Look at it this way: there is no reason to disrespect people based on race, sexual orientation, gender, hair color, height, physical disability, etc.  These are traits people are born with, without choice.  It's simply cowardly to hate people for these aspects - no room for debate.  And, as I stated, I don't have hatred for the actual people who choose to follow organized religions.  I have Catholic (or "Catholic Lite") friends and family, but I won't accept their religious tenets, just as they wouldn't accept all of my personal beliefs, opinions, or preferences.  This isn't a far cry from the fact that I absolutely hate country music, but still might have some friends who listen to it.

There are those who perceive themselves as practicing churchgoers/mosquegoers/templegoers/whatever, yet disconnect themselves from the mainstream or orthodox religious population.  There are Christians who call themselves liberal, there are Muslims who want nothing to do with Middle Eastern politics, and there are Jews who reject the self-righteous phrase "the chosen people."  These are kind, open-minded people trying to hang on to an aspect of their family history and their childhood, but clearly they know something is inherently wrong with the religions they follow.  Christianity does not permit picking and choosing which parts of the Bible are the most agreeable, and disregarding the entire Old Testament for being too mean and scary.  There ought to come a time when these people just accept what they need to accept, and leave religion behind them.

I do have to confess, this post is somewhat reactionary.  In part, this was inspired by the rhetoric of some of the GOP presidential candidates, all of whom are idiots (even Ron Paul, who seems likeable as long as you don't delve too deep).  In part, it was also inspired by the recent deaths in Afghanistan, which served as a retaliation for the accidental burning of a few Kurans.  I can barely wrap my head around it: taking innocent lives to compensate for the burning of useless pieces of paper.  There is little doubt in my mind that more than 99% of Muslims probably agree with me that this is an abomination, and yet another unnecessary, ugly scar on the face of Islam.  But there is also little doubt in my mind that the world would be a better place if every follower, peaceful and otherwise, gave it up like a drug.

Sorry I Didn't Call You Back

I'm a 27 year old who lives with his parents, works as a waiter, makes about 25k a year, and listens to metal.  What do you want to talk to me about?


I persistently forget to call people back, text people back, email people.  I have family members who want to keep in touch with me and know what I'm up to.  I have friends I haven't seen in a year or two who want to re-establish their friendships with me.  They're probably all wondering why I neglect to get back to them.


The truth is, I don't have a lot to say.  Nothing has changed recently.  I still do the same things, I still live at home, I still have no career path, and I still haven't done anything artistically extraordinary.  My family members don't want to hear about the metal show I'm excited about going to next month.  They also don't want to discuss religion or politics with me, as I can't stand religion and I don't lean right the same way much of my family does.


My girlfriend is in the same boat.  She's also a restaurant server, she hasn't really had much luck finding auditions or doing any singing/acting, and she lives with her parents too.  She and I spend a lot of time just watching cooking shows together, very occasionally going out to eat and have drinks, or seeing the few friends who have a lot in common with us.  We just aren't exciting people.


Many of my old friends have decent jobs, live with their spouses (some married, some not), go on exciting vacations, etc.  What am I going to tell them about?  A lot of them are into beer and cooking and stuff the same way I am, but how long can we hold a conversation about things we like to ingest?  I guess I can talk music with some of them, but it usually just turns into each of us trying to one-up each other, or wait for the other person to finish talking about a band I don't care about so I can tell them about a band they don't care about.


A friend of mine contacted me a month or two ago saying I should call him back and plan a visit.  He lives in NYC and makes a lot of money.  Taking a weekend off is kind of a big deal in my profession, and I can't just neglect to make money every time a friend or relative wants me to visit them - especially considering how little money I make even if I take no time off.  Don't get me wrong, in my job I can make a lot of money in a short amount of time.  However, those short amounts of time are few and far between.


So, I'm sorry if you haven't heard from me lately.  I'll try to get back to you, but don't expect to have your mind blown.