Religion/Politics

It is said, by those that say it, that there are two subjects a person should never bring up in polite conversation. And when you think about it, nothing brings a conversation to a faster, wheel-burning, bumper-crushing halt than the mention of those filthy liberals to a filthy liberal or those crazy Mormons to a crazy Mormon.  Sometimes, however, there is that rare breed of bore that, at the mention of religion or politics, perks up and has a difficult time shutting his yap for two seconds regurgitating all the anti-whatever he has picked up in the countless hours watching youtube videos of Chris Hitchens debate so-and-so on the deleterious effects of fundamentalism, of which any trust in faith ultimately leads.  Or something.

   I fall in that latter camp: a self-confessed rabblerouser. When I first started this journey down the slippery slope into what was referred to by an aide to ex-POTUS GWB as "The Reality Based Community", I was quick to point out all the little facts and bits of datum and logical fallacies to anyone that hadn't seen the light as I had.  My aim, I thought, was to enlighten.  It had yet to occur to me that most people just want to believe in the stuff they want believe in, evidence be damned.  And really, all I was doing in those conversations was solidifying my own belief system by ingraining the information I was taking in by talking about it.  Did I really think that my ranting about biblical inconsistency or the lack of evidence for "Alternative Medicine" would change any minds.  Well, actually, yeah kinda.  I naively thought that, as I had come to understand, so too would others.  I would bring to those that which I actively sought.  I would save them the trouble of the search.  I would help them!  But that is another story.

   I love religion and politics.  They are Goliaths, I, a mere David.  I revel in being the underdog and as both politics and religion are juggernauts of wealth and power wielding battering rams of law and eternal damnation, and I possess none of those things, this seems like a good battle for me.  So with sling shot and pebbles in hand I strike the first blow.

   Religion and Politics are the same thing.  They are in the same game.  There is ultimately nothing "spiritual" about organized religion.  Here is Marion-Webster:

1. the science or art of political government.

2. the practice or profession of conducting political affairs.

3. political affairs: The advocated reforms have become embroiled in politics.

4. political methods or maneuvers: We could not approve of his politics in winning passage of the bill.

5. political principles or opinions: We avoided discussion of religion and politics. His politics are his own affair.

6. use of intrigue or strategy in obtaining any position of power or control, as in business, university, etc.

7. ( initial capital letter, italics ) a treatise (4th century b.c.) by Aristotle, dealing with the structure,organization, and administration of the state, esp. the city-state as known in ancient Greece.

Pay close attention to definitions 1, 2, and 6.  Religion, from its very inception, has been about telling people what to do, how to do it and why.  It also has been instrumental in conducting business for and by the state.  Even with theocracies aside, religious institutions in democratic societies claim divine right in telling the citizens what is "moral" and what is "sin".  They spend millions of dollars swaying policy towards their system of belief and do it all without paying a dime in taxes.  Non-profit.  There is a pun there, somewhere.

   I won't get into others personal beliefs save for this.  If you have faith, unwavering or otherwise, in some sort of deity, then have at it.  I'm not going to tell you what to subscribe to.  All I can tell you is, your belief is your own.  You don't need a church or a mosque or a synagogue or to tell you that you have that belief.  And you certainly don't need me to tell you that you can believe in whatever you want, clearly.  I don't want to tell you what you should believe.  I would like to have that same courtesy extended.