Ignorance Pt 1: Religion

I'm going to wander into dangerous territory here: Ignorance.

This is something that has plagued too many groups in America regarding three specific topics: Religion, politics, and food.

I'll start with religion in this post, but only because we may as well get out of the way the topic that will chase away the most readers. Why? Well, those who are truly ignorant will find this section offensive instead of stopping to think about the issue at hand. They are almost beyond hope, really, because they believe only what their religious texts and leaders say, anyway. This category, btw, pertains to ALL religions, as well as those who are atheist for realllllly dumb reasons.

Case in point: A family member of mine passed last year, and he was an awesome guy, by all accounts. He always helped out people as much as possible, hired those who he felt deserved a second chance (regardless of religion, methinks), and even treated his body like crap to make time for others. Well... he passed from a heart attack at 55- days after being baptised by oil. This man was never religious until two years prior, and who knows the reason? Family pressure? Faced with his mortality for whatever reason? Suddenly just liked being a part of something?

The point is that he was ALWAYS an awesome guy. With faults, of course, but so many of us are with those same faults and NOT otherwise awesome. We THINK we are of the awesome variety, but that's not the same. I have another family member, however, who told me our deceased family was "not perfect" until he became religious.

Whaaaaaaaaaaaa?

This living member, by the way, is basically an alcoholic, treats people like crap unless he's showing off, and potentially has a psychiatric condition that runs in part of the family. He also has religion-hopped to whatever best floats his boat and that of others around him, but not to something he truly believes. THIS is part of the ignorance of which I speak- a person believes they are better than another because they joined a religion.

Mind you, I'm of the belief that a person is good if they have an innate moral compass and don't rely on a book to know that treating people like crap is bad. But I'm not religious, so that means I'm still someone people feel they need to "pray for."

Breeding kids into religion without neutrally educating them on many options is also a way to breed ignorance. If an entire family is Christian, for example, and you are raised from birth as Christian, how likely are you to make an educated, non-biased decision for yourself as to whether it's what you believe vs. with what you were infused? I appreciate the few families that let their kids make their own choices in life without making them feel bad about such decisions that don't favor the parents.

Religion was mostly originated as a way to explain what we didn't understand before we had better ways to study that which surrounds us. How does the sun rise ever day? Well, durrr, the sun god Ra either was rebirthed every day or managed to defend his boat against a serpent who tried to consume it nightly. Sillies. It's not like that side of the planet, you know, spins away from the sun or something... But we LEARNED, and ACCEPTED the truth of how sunrises work... so why can't we accept other things?

And the biggest thing I attribute to religious ignorance is prayer. OMG (which is pretty hilarious of a saying for this piece)... I understand the idea of putting out positive thoughts and whatnot, but I've known people who honestly think they have ten kids because God blessed them. It has NOTHING to do with having lots of unprotected sex, of course. Nope. Blessings. Again...

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?

Oh, wait... maybe God gave them the sex drive at exactly the right times to conceive those children. If that's the case, then those 16-year-old moms of three at my work are truly divinely-blessed.

Prayer is fine, as long as a person understands that ACTION is how to get what they want. The weakest people I know are those who pray for strength instead of looking within their own self or seeking out solutions to their problems. They can be totally sweet otherwise, but daaamnn... I dare the next cancer victim to pray INSTEAD of seeking chemo or other treatments, and see if they actually recover. Then they can decide whether a deity or their physician is the one who truly deserves thanks.

"The prayers of my loved ones cured my cancer!"

"Uhh... noo... I think it had more to do with that lumpectomy or the chemo."

And now for a gratuitous pic of a praying kitty. Enjoy.