Monday, June 27, 2011

Wow, what a weekend this has been!

1. New York passed marriage equality which has led to all kinds of hysterical predictions. Newt Gingrich believes this will lead to a "muddle." I'm not sure what he means, but all I can picture is mint leaves and sugar being smashed to make a julep or mojito. And we all know that too many of these can destroy the sanctity of marriage. Pat Robertson believes America will be destroyed by God because no civilization, "not one" that supported homosexuality has survived. He goes on to relate the story of Sodom......I'm wondering if he reads the same bible I do. Maybe he skipped over the fact that Sodom and Gomorrah were about the sin of being in-hospitable. Or maybe he just doesn't worship the same God I do. NOM (National Organization for Marriage) claims that the institution of marriage is now damaged and in danger. Danger from what I'm not sure. And contrary to all acceptable scholarly thinking, they are still preaching that children of such marriages are fated to lives of incest, abuse, and instability.


2. Not a prediction, but Michelle "Are you a flake" Bachmann never ceases to amaze and amuse. She stated that she believes each state should be able to make and pass their own laws as afforded in the 11th Amendment. But then she goes on to say their needs to be an amendment to the U.S. Constitution relegating marriage to one man one woman. Of course the U.S. Constitutional Amendment would "trump" state laws. Yes, Ms. Bachmann, you have proven that it is possible to contradict oneself within one paragraph. And do it with a totally straight face. (no pun intended)

All this leads me to my thought today. Why is there so much fear? Franklin Delano Roosevelt wisely said once that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. I look at the message our churches are preaching and it's not a message of good news, but a message promulgating fear. Our news programs, both on the right and the left, make millions of dollars by promoting fear of the opposite political party. Our politicians are trying to win votes by playing to and encouraging our fears. We fear gays because of their sexuality difference, we fear Muslims because of their religious difference, we fear communism because of their ideological difference, etc. We fear the Hispanic invasion of our country, whites fear blacks and blacks fear whites because of our cultural differences. Today, more than ever, fear drives and divides our nation.

Why does fear have such a grip on us? It's the unknown. If you're not like me, believe like me, live like me, love like me, etc., I don't know you. If I don't know you, then I must be afraid because you may want to hurt me. We fear death because we don't know what's on the other side, so we listen to people who tell us that if we do this, believe in that, or give to them then we will be assured of bliss in the afterlife. We fear that if we give of ourselves then we are vulnerable. We fear that if we allow a group of people to be our equal then, somehow, in granting them equality, we become the lesser and unequal. If we give voice to other religious viewpoints we are going to lose our religion. If we allow homosexuals equality, then we are in danger of becoming homosexual, or our marriage is at risk.

But it's not only the unknown, it's also our lack of courage to learn, to engage other people, other cultures, other creeds. It's our lack of courage to stand up to our religious and political leaders and say, "Enough of the fear mongering."

Fear can be an illogical and destructive force if it is not conquered. The only way to conquer fear is to take the responsibility to educate oneself. Open your mind to both sides of the issues. Open your mind to new experiences, new cultures, new ideas. You're not going to agree to all of them, your not going to feel comfortable with all of them, but you are going to appreciate their viewpoint, you are going to be richer for the experience, and your going to learn that they are people just like you. If we, as a people, are ever going to survive, then it is time we put aside superstition, ideological dogma that hinders human evolution, and embrace the unknown. It is time to learn to put aside prejudice, ignorance, and fear mongering.