Lamest argument in regards to the ownership of guns. . . . EVER!
Your god-given rights my ass.
People ask why I never ran, or ever wanted to run, for office. You are about to learn why. Let’s call this a companion piece to the last column. Maybe I’ll do one more. The god series.
I could never have been a politician because I cannot lie about my beliefs. I cannot pretend to be a believer.
I cringe every time a politician says “God bless America”. Literally. I cringe. God did not make America. God has not ever blessed America. If God exists - the god I was taught about when I was in Sunday school - they would not have gone to the trouble, and it would not be in their interest, to take sides.
I heard Senator Ted Cruz - one of the dozens of conservative politicians who invited insurrectionists to inundate the hallowed halls of Congress on the 6th of January, for god-knows-what-purpose - believes his liberal counterparts are anti-prayer! Hogwash!
I pray. I do.
Sometimes to my ancestors. Sometimes to the memories of my parents. Sometimes I talk with my deceased dogs. Sometimes I even direct a prayer or two to whatever conceivable manifestation of god there might be in the sky because - you know - for one, it is kind of a knee-jerk reaction when you are raised in a nation where god is referenced as often as any pop icon, as well as being raised in a household dependent on income from other god-believers, and because I’m hedging my bets just like I was advised to do all those years ago by the televangelist I saw on the Sunday morning channel in a cheap motel in Nevada City. But I’m not delusional. It’s just a means of coping. I don’t expect ‘prayers’ to be answered. I don’t count on them to save me.
I mean, how does it work when Ohio State fans are all fervently praying for the Buckeyes to win while, at the same time, the Michigan fans are also praying their guts out for the Wolverines to win? Is the almighty being up there toting up the number of prayers from each side, or the weighted goodness of those praying?
I’ve got some news for Ted Cruz. The universe is indifferent to his pleadings.
Thoughts and prayers are just a means of coping and, by the way, conservatives ought to be outraged they’ve been hornswoggled into including the word “thoughts” with that phrase because it is a little like the use of Happy Holidays rather than Merry Christmas. Tacking “thoughts” onto the beginning of that innocuous saying merely grants people like me cover.
I’m taking bets as to whether Ted Cruz is ginning up the base for upcoming War on Prayer. Give it time.
I am of the opinion that references to “God” should be scrubbed from things that are owned by all of us. Our money. Our federal buildings. The Pledge of Allegiance. The National Anthem. I don’t think lawmakers and presidents and vice presidents and justices and witnesses - whoever - should have to swear on Bibles, or feel like they have to swear on a Bible.
Shouldn’t swearing on your mother’s, or grandmother’s, good name, or grave, be deemed sufficient?
I’ll guarantee you whatever form of god you believe in, that being has not granted you the right to own a gun. If you believe that, it is because you are under the mistaken notion that same hypothetical being formed our nation and blesses us millions of times a day. The whole “god”thing is wrapped up in all of the those other tired American notions like Manifest Destiny and American exceptionalism and many of our citizens’ belief that we are god’s gift to the world.
(I am not a believer and yet I struggle with how to write the word. Should I capitalize it or not? If I capitalize it, am I referencing a particular almighty being? The Christian one? All of them? Are religions still fighting over this sort of thing? Or are they in agreement they are all referencing the same omniscient force? Because, when I was growing up, even the various Protestant sects couldn’t agree on who was worshipping the real thing. It was a circular firing squad of varying denominations going to hell.)
I ended my last column with Robert Fulghum’s poem about how everything we needed to know we learned in kindergarten. Those kindergarten words are good advice. They really are all that we need to know to be good citizens, good humans, good people. Throw in the Golden Rules without any religious references or connotations and in case those kindergarten thoughts missed something, and I would think we would have a sufficient foundation for a forward-thinking, humanitarian, viable form of government and society.
America remade via the Kindergarten Edict.
Religions of all kinds could go on about their business they would just not have any special place in the business of governing.
See?
I told you I could never run for political office.
Here’s Robert Fulghum’s poem again. In case you missed it.
All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten
Most of what I really need
To know about how to live
And what to do and how to be
I learned in kindergarten.
Wisdom was not at the top
Of the graduate school mountain,
But there in the sandpile at Sunday school.
These are the things I learned:
Share everything.
Play fair.
Don't hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don't take things that aren't yours.
Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Flush.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
Live a balanced life -
Learn some and think some
And draw and paint and sing and dance
And play and work everyday some.
Take a nap every afternoon.
When you go out into the world,
Watch out for traffic,
Hold hands and stick together.
Be aware of wonder.
I watched a terrific little movie yesterday that reminded me of one of my favorite documentaries of all time The Biggest Little Farm. It was called The Curious Life of Quolls. Only 40 minutes plus, it’s a monumental pleasure. One man. One abandoned farm. And a bunch of curious marsupials. Highly recommend it. Go to that link at Eventive. You get one free viewing of their content.
Also, check out this dog’s performance at the Westminster Kennel Dog show. Be sure to stay until the end to see it’s agility “weaving through the poles” and then the enthusiastic finish.
Thanks for reading! Sorry if I offended anyone. I just believe that if we are going to be a multi-cultural nation we should start acting like one. - JLM
"In God we Trust" wasn't put on money until 1957, another interesting fact.