The Pageless Book

Photo Above by Rodrigo Achá. Photo Below by Hobvias Sudoneighm. Final Photo by Martin Kingsley.

In the science fiction movie “I, Robot” Will Smith plays the part of Detective Spooner who is paranoid of artificial intelligence and robotics. His reason for distrusting AI is very telling. Both the Detective and a young girl had been in a major car accident, trapping them in cars that were taking on water. The emergency rescue robots evaluated the situation and decided that the Detective had a slightly better chance of surviving, so they disregarded his demands that the child be saved first and saved his life instead. By the time the rescue robots turned their attention to the girl, she was already dead. In Detective Spooner’s mind, this was a serious flaw in the robot’s programming - they were too logical to be trusted to make moral decisions.

Morality is a particular process of human reasoning that dictates what the best course of action would be for humanity both as a whole and as an individual. Sometimes, such as in the example made by this movie, morality requires that we sacrifice ourselves for the greater good of all humanity. Most of the time, it is what we don’t do that defines our morality. However, to assume this means that we would be able to define what is moral and immoral in any given circumstance invites the formulation of an absolute morality without any choice involved.

Ultimately, it is choice which makes morality valuable. When choice is removed from the equation, morality ceases to be a noble characteristic. If choice in moral decision is stripped away, human emotion concerning morality no longer has meaning. Morality becomes a mathematical equation to be used and potentially abused by the best and worst of humanity in equal measure. It becomes a tool, and morality should never be reduced to being merely a tool.

As pointed out before, morality is a function of human reasoning - should this not mean that morality must be logical? No. It is not merely logic, if only because our emotions and personal experience form an integral part of our human reasoning. There is this dangerous and faulty notion that logic is synonymous with reason, and that morality can be broken down into a few phrases that require no interpretation. Trying to boil morality down to a set of absolutes, no matter how eloquent in their simplicity, removes the human element which defines morality. Even the Golden rule - “Do unto others as you would have done unto you” - requires a large dose of thought and common sense.

Detective Spooner understood this, even though he didn’t know how to properly express it. He knew that it would only be a matter of time before the artificial intelligence found a logical interpretation of the morality coded into it’s system that was inherently immoral. In the movie, that interpretation lead the AI to believe that in order to protect humanity from itself, all choice must be taken away. The robots, which had become such an important part of human life, turned on the humans who had made them and threatened to place all of society under their tyrannical rule.

While we don’t face such a drastic turn of events outside our works of fiction, those who ascribe to an absolute version of morality frequently make poor decisions that affect us all. Morality is not separate from the human experience; assuming that all moral decisions, can be reduced to binary thinking is not only laziness, but also dangerous to us all. We cannot allow ourselves the luxury of moral absolutes. So when I tell you that morality is a function of human reasoning, do not assume that I am telling you how to think or what to think - instead hear me as telling you to think and come to your own conclusions.

Click on one link below.

written by John \\ tags: Artificial Intelligence, Humanity, Morality, Reason, Will Smith

Photo Above by Hickory Hardscrabble. Photo Below by Jason Meredith.

“Morality is of the highest importance - but for us, not for God.”
- Albert Einstein, 1879-1955.

It is commonly accepted that morality is intrinsic to religion and spirituality. The first thing that most people think in regards to other religions is the list of rules and restrictions concerning conduct for members of that religion. While some of these rules are common sense, such as “thou shall not kill”, other rules, such as keeping the Sabbath or abstaining from pork, seem frivolous. These rules are theoretically the basis for the morality taught by any given religion. Is it just an assumption that leads us to associate religious mores with morality? Are we wrong to think that morality and spirituality are mutually inclusive?

I’m not so sure. My immediate reaction would be to say that morality is a construct of society, rather than the mandate of the Divine. I find the majority of the thou-shall-nots associated with religions are meaningless and, in some cases, detrimental. However, when I really think about the subject of morality in regards to religion, part of me cannot help but wonder if I might be over simplifying.

I think part of my indecision lies in the spiritual nature of simply doing the right thing. While rationally I know that my idea of right and wrong was formed by the example of my parents and, to a lesser extent, the stories and traditions of our society, the experience of the connection and appreciation of another human being is deeply spiritual to me. It is that appreciation, not the laws written in any given holy text, which drives me to do the right thing and strive to be a “good person.” I don’t even know how I would go about defining the term “good person” in an objective manner, making it hard for me to speak of morality in any useful way.

The most universal moral teaching that is found in almost every religion, “The Golden Rule,” may provide a clue as to the deeper relationship between religion and morality. The Golden Rule simply states that each person should treat others in the same manner they would want to be treated. In the simplicity of this universal teaching, we find the one thing that all moral teachings attempt to protect; every member of society. Morality is an attempt to keep society functioning and to protect every member of that society equally. Humanity is a social creature by nature, so it stands to reason that we would each be adapted to a social life and have inherent rewards for acting in a way that benefits society. One of these inherent rewards could very well be a feeling of spiritual connection.

Perhaps religion, a social construct and vehicle for spiritual experience, is associated with morality because morality is a social construct which can sometimes lead to spiritual experiences. This doesn’t mean that morality is the sole domain of religion, or that everyone who is religious is moral. It does explain how the two could become so entangled that we might believe that morality to be an exclusive function of religion, even though it isn’t. I am yet to completely make up my mind, however, as to the role that spirituality (as oppose to religion) plays in morality. I would like to hear other opinions regarding this subject. Please, if you have any comments about the ideas I’m presenting in this article, I’d like to hear from you.
Originally Published October 16, 2007

Click on one link below.

written by John \\ tags: Humanity, Morality, Questions, Reason, Spirituality

Photo Above by J. Samuel B. Photo Below by Srsly Guys. Final Photo by Patrick David.

There are a wide range of moral and ethical issues that challenge Western Society today - so many that our attention is strained between those issues we most care about, and the issues that are the most sensational. Issues such as abortion, homosexuality, and terrorism so aptly distract us from the serious moral and ethical issues of poverty, corporate/political corruption, and human-rights violations simply because they are more controversial. However, there is one moral issue that is pushed so far into the background that it seldom is even considered a moral issue.

Despite being so often ignored, education is a serious moral issue. At first blush, it seems like a stretch to claim that education is just as important as the eradication of poverty or crime, but please hear me out. Education is the key to resolving many of the challenges we face as a society; it’s the key to unlocking the greatness of which our human family is capable.

Why do I believe that education is so important to the future of our society? There is the obvious answer… Future economic prosperity and scientific advancement both hinge on the intellectual prowess of the children we raise. Sometimes that is all we see when it comes to education. We must be willing to pass on more than technical knowledge because that is nothing more than the bare minimum. Companies and politicians have pushed this paradigm of education that best fits the agenda of economic progress while ignoring other aspects of education.

The reason I think that education is of the utmost importance is due to the freedom and individuality that an education can provide. A proper curriculum teaches a child how to think critically, make decisions for themselves, understand views that may not be their own, encourage them to question authority in a constructive manner, and express themselves both in a practical manner as well as artistically. This is the type of education that makes for a strong society and gives us the back-bone to confront the other moral issues in a serious manner. However, this type of education makes the job of politicians that much harder and seemingly provides no profit on an economic level.

How can this different education lead to the resolution of other issues such as poverty, crime, and war? When the majority of individuals in our society are no longer willing to simply follow without question, more presumptions that we have held as a society will come into question. People will demand that politicians and corporations be held accountable for their misdeeds. We will no longer be bound by what is best for our economic development, because the paradigm that supported that way of thinking will have been dismantled. Without being dominated by the question of cost and financial benefit, we will finally be able to have an honest conversation about problems that plague humanity.

Ironically enough, the reason why we are so divided in our goals is because we are so easily led. If each individual was educated to think for themselves and question leadership, I strongly believe we could confront the moral and ethical issues in a mature and productive manner. Because there are so many people vying for power, and so few people willing to seriously question those in control, what we end up with is childish name calling at best and needless violence at the very worse.

However, all of this is easier said than done. In order to administer such an education program, the political-corporate complex would have to be convinced that a new education program is in their best interests. We would also have to convince them to pay to bring together the brightest child psychologists and education specialists to create an education program geared toward social, emotional, and intellectual development. Finally, the political-corporate complex would have to be persuaded to fully fund that education program without having had the chance to change or censor any part of that education program. While all politicians say that they are for better education standards, very few of them are truly willing to give up that much control. That, my friends, is the great dilemma of education.

Click on one link below.

written by John \\ tags: Education, Freedom, Humanity, Individuality, Politics

Photo Above by Jarnocan. Photo Below by Ralph Hockens. Last Photo by Tracy Olson.

Yesterday I wrote about the questionable policies of the Church of Scientology, in my attempt to show why I applaud Anonymous in opposing the Church of Scientology. Today, I am interesting in talking about some of the more specific acts of this organization - in particular, illegal acts. However, I find myself at a loss. When I went to research for this article, I found that I could barely scratch the surface in the 500 - 700 words I normally write. As such, I’ve decided to only detail a few of the more grievous offenses this so-called Church.

Operation Snow White is the code-name of the Scientology project to infiltrate government agencies (both U.S. and Foreign) and destroy undesirable documents related to the Church of Scientology and its founder, Ron L. Hubbard. The FBI uncovered the operation as apart of a raid on Scientology property in 1977. The documents included plans to not only steal and destroy documents, but to plant false documents, and wiretaps on the IRS. This led to the conviction of eleven of the top ranking members of the Church, including Ronnie’s wife, Mary Sue Hubbard. You can read more about Operation Snow White here.

During the same raid, the FBI uncovered another project, Operation Freak Out, which targeted the journalist and author Paulette Cooper. In the early 1970’s she had written a book on the church which was considered libel by the church. The purpose of Operation Freak Out was to incriminate Paulette Cooper in anyway possible to destroy her credibility. This first began with escalating sexual harassment including subscribing her to pornographic magazines, obscene phone calls, and letters to her neighbors with various unsavory claims about her sex life. Then they forged bomb threats on stationary they had stole from her home and mailed it to the New York Church of Scientology in such a way to make it seem like she sent them. The final phase of Operation Freak Out conspired to frame Paulette Cooper with the Federal crime of making threats on the life of the President of the United States. You can read more about Operation Freak Out here.

Thankfully, the Church of Scientology was raided before they could put this plan into action. However, what I want to point out about this is the timing; these acts of harassment all occurred after the Fair Game policy was supposedly discontinued. All evidence suggests that the Fair Game policy is still in effect. What evidence? The evidence found on Xenu.net - claims of harassment, assault, false imprisonment, extortion, and invasion of privacy backed up by court documents. These are only the people who have come forward.

Now, to be fair, these are individuals who are outside the Church. We should judge the Church of Scientology by the good it does for its members, employees, and their children. You should keep this in mind, while reading the following stories:

Adeline Dodd-Bova describes her time as a teacher in Scientology schools and writes of troubling cases of insufficient sleep and children having little or no food. Even more disturbing is her description of children whose sexual and physical abuse were not reported to Social Services.

Mary Tabayoyon’s sworn affidavit describes several instances of women coerced into having abortions under threat of severe punishment. Note that Scientology considers abortion to be a serious sin, so these women were also being coerced into committing a grave violation of their religious beliefs.

Stacy Young’s sworn declaration states that RPF (Rehabilitation Project Force) “slave labor” is used to build luxury facilities for Scientology celebrities and are paid $5 a week for 70-hour weeks.

Lisa McPherson died in the custody of Scientology in Clearwater, FL. She was treated by a Scientology doctor who was not licensed to practice in Florida. In addition, it appears that Scientology had put Lisa on the Introspection Rundown. Her family is suing Scientology for wrongful death.

The Church charge its members hundreds of thousands of dollars to be treated in this manner. Worse yet, because they have declared themselves a religion, they are not required to pay taxes. The organization known as the Church of Scientology is, in my opinion, the most corrupt cooperate enterprises in the English speaking world today. This is why Scientology deserves to be protested against. A cry for justice must not be misconstrued for religious intolerance.

Click on one link below.

written by John \\ tags: Crime, Death, Morality, Religion, Scientology

Photo Above by Bryan Gosline. Photo Below by Vincent Diamante. Last Photo by Todd “Hryckowian”.

Little more than two months ago, I first wrote about the actions of an internet group going by “Anonymous” and their war against the cult of Scientology. At that time my main question was whether or not the actions of Anonymous are religious persecution, or whether they had a valid reason to protest against Scientology. It was my opinion that Anonymous had excellent reasons why we should protest against Scientology. I was one of the first, if not the first, blogger to write about Anonymous and the brewing confrontation. For standing up and voicing my opinion, I was rewarded with a huge influx of traffic and comments to my site.

I would be lying if I said that it didn’t scare me a little. I didn’t want my site to become a strictly Anti-Scientology website. I was afraid that the popularity of that particular article threatened to limit the scope of what people expected of me as a religion and spirituality writer. So, I avoided that topic for the next two months.

Yet, now as I look back upon that article, I realized that there was an awful lot I didn’t explain. Most importantly, I hadn’t properly explained exactly what it is that the Church of Scientology has done to incur the wrath of so many people of the internet community. Sure, there is a long history overly aggressive tactics against copyright infringements and criticism, but the same can be said of the more aggressive international conglomerates.

What has the Church of Scientology done that is so reprehensible? Well let us start from the top. Scientology represents itself as a program of self improvement which relies on techniques that have not been tested in any controlled scientific manner. While the same can be said about holistic practices and new age self improvement, everyone in the holistic or new age community would be quick to say that holistic medicine should be used in conjunction with traditional medicine.

Neither The American Medical Association or American Psychological Association have endorsed Scientology and both actively discouraged treating Scientology as legitimate medicine. Because these organizations failed to acquiesce to Ron L. Hubbard’s ambitions, he declared both psychology and psychiatry to be poisonous unfounded sciences. This would be just another ironic twist if Scientology did not then strongly discourage the use of psychiatric medicine, even for those who desperately need it.

But how is that different than Christian Science, who abstain from medical treatment? It isn’t; of everything that the Church of Scientology does, this is the least of their offenses. There is also the matter of Scientology’s disconnect policy, which has ruined hundreds of families, ended marriages, and separated parents from their children. If the Church deems a particular person to be “suppressive,” that is in opposition to an individual member’s personal development within the Church, they mandate that member to sever all ties with the suppressive person. This, of course, only serves to further isolate their members from the rest of society.

Again, similar policies have been enacted by other young religions, which forces us to ask whether or not Scientology is any worse than these. It is the Church’s “Fair Game” policy that sets Scientology apart from these legitimate religions. The Fair Game policy reads that suppressive persons -

May be deprived of property or injured by any means by any Scientologist without any discipline of the Scientologist. May be tricked, sued or lied to or destroyed. (HCOPL 18 October 67 Issue IV, Penalties for Lower Conditions)

The next year after the Fair Game policy was put in place, the Fair Game policy was allegedly canceled. However, pay attention to how the cancellation of this policy was worded.

The practice of declaring people FAIR GAME will cease. FAIR GAME may not appear on any Ethics Order. It causes bad public relations. This P/L does not cancel any policy on the treatment or handling of an SP. (HCOPL 21 Oct 68, Cancellation of Fair Game)

This had left many people wondering if the Church of Scientology had merely canceled the term “Fair Game” and left the actual policy in tact. There is a great deal of evidence that suggests the Church is still operating under the assumption that any non-Scientologist may be deprived of property, injured, tricked, sued, lied to, or destroyed. Tomorrow, I’ll discuss the specific crimes that the Church of Scientology has allegedly committed.

Click on one link below.

written by John \\ tags: Anonymous, Cult, Morality, Religion, Scientology

Above From Photo by Jeff Hitchcock. Below From Photo by Jayel Aheram. Final From Image by Blake Emrys.

It boggles my imagination how much hate people attribute to God. Historically speaking, every group of people that I can think of who have used God’s name in hate has failed. The Inquisition, American slavers, the Klan, Hitler… Republicans - all of these groups claimed to be working under God’s authority and all failed in their mission. So, when a small church in the middle of nowhere begins proclaiming that God hates homosexuals, I’m more inclined to mark my calendar than worry. I think “This, too, shall pass.”

But then I have to ask myself why so many people feel the need to validate their hatred using God. When I really think about it, God seems the obvious choice for justifying irrational arguments, on which hatred is usually based. God is the highest authority and is widely believed to be unavailable for comment should anyone think to ask for her opinion. All one would need to do is quote text, which may or may not be inspired by God, take it out of context and declare your own interpretation as the correct interpretation, and hope that no one is smart enough to think for themselves. Unfortunately, there are enough people in this world who would rather have someone else think for them than think for themselves that this tactic can work for a short period of time.

I’ve recently had the pleasure of listening to author and musician Daryl Davis speak about his experiences with racism, that eventually lead him, a black man, to write about and interview members of the Klu Klux Klan. He explained how, even though he didn’t originally set out to do so, he became friends with high ranking Klan members, many of whom eventually quit the Klan entirely due to his influence. Mr. Davis has the robes of these former Klan members to prove it, which he took out during his lecture. How can a black man manage to persuade members of an organization based upon the hatred of black men to become his friend and confide in him? His answer was simple; it was by listening.

Listening to one another, even when what is being said is the most hurtful thing you’ve ever heard, is a spiritual act. Mr. Davis listened to these Klan members and became an instrument of Divine love. Hatred cannot exist in the presence of divine love, because hatred can only thrive where there is no love. We each can embody that love through listening to each other and choosing to be simply courteous towards one another, regardless of another person’s hatred.

I don’t want you to confuse emotional love with divine love - they are different, although the difference is subtle. Emotional love which you feel for your friends, family, or significant other, is the direct opposite of hatred. It represents understanding and appreciation, where as hatred feeds on ignorance and disrespect. Divine love, however, is beyond understanding and ignorance. It represents a condensing the ego and a deep connection with the universal presence which some call God. Divine love confronts a person abruptly, forcing a person to look at themselves and their life, regardless of whether they want to or not.

Hatred is a form of ignorance - whether this ignorance is cause by not wanting to see or simply not seeing, it makes no different. The Divine does not allow for ignorance in any form. The idea that God would hate anyone or anything is totally foreign to me, as a God ignorant of his own creation cannot be the true God. If the Divine hates anything, it is hatred.

Click on one link below.

written by John \\ tags: God, Hatred, Life, Love, Racism

Above Image by Reed. Photo Below Provided by Anniina Mäkelä. Final Image Nip/Tuck 5th Season Promotional.

Talk show host Montel Williams recently appeared on the Fox News Network to discuss the life and death of star Heath Ledger. However, Montel took this opportunity to discuss something completely different - the war in Iraq. He asked the hosts of the Fox morning show the name of the most recent death in the war, and nobody knew the answer. Montel then proceeded to talk about how the flawed values and self-serving priorities of television distorts reality. You can watch the video here.

Popular culture, gossip columns, and our voyeuristic obsession with the rich and famous do distort our perception of reality. Our inner clarity and innate wisdom, which makes up our spirituality, becomes clouded and distant because we are mired in all the negativity our society calls entertainment. You might argue that I’m exaggerating, but it’s not too far of a stretch to claim that a pop star/tabloid queen is swallowing your soul.

How does media distort your perception of reality? It creates unrealistic expectations, makes improbable fears plausible, and encourages a mentality of judgement.

Unrealistic Expectations

Have you ever taken the time to look through a woman’s magazine, such as Cosmopolitan or Glamour? About five to ten pages are dedicated to serious women’s issues, such as health, spirituality, family, and women’s rights. Those five to ten pages are usually fairly well written, intelligent and well thought out. The rest of the magazine is filled with advice on what to wear, how to look, losing weight, makeup tips, and advertisements of beautiful young girls with little clothing. On more than one occasion, I’ve seen an article about how to be comfortable with your own body right next to advertisements for weight loss pills and programs.

It isn’t just women who suffer the constant barrage of an unrealistic expectation of perfection; pornography does quite a number on the expectations of male physical endowment as well. If you or your guy ever worried whether they were small, you can thank porn. Please don’t think this is limited to “guilty pleasures” such as soap operas, pornography, and trashy magazines. These unrealistic expectations are echoed in our news broadcasts, Academy Award winning films, and even in best selling novels. Pop culture is constantly tell you that you are not good enough. How can you expect to have faith in yourself if you are being told this every day of your life?

Improbable Fears Plausible

Since the World Trade Center terrorist attacks in 2001, most decisions that the United States government has made has been based upon fear. While our immediate reactions to that event are very justifiable, living in constant fear of an unnameable, undefined foe for over seven years have made these terrorists successful beyond their wildest dreams. Why are we so damn afraid? Well, because we are used to living in fear… It sells newspapers, news broadcasts, hand guns, locks, and security systems. It is why parents provide their preteen children with cell phones and demand rating systems for video games, music, and movies - which, ironically enough, makes those materials even more desirable to young teens.

However, fear doesn’t just sell media - if that is all that fear did, it wouldn’t be so bad. Fear also oppresses. It is why when you hear the words “crack addict” most people immediately picture an inner-city black man, even tough the majority of drug users are suburban caucasians. Because of fear, we oppress each other simply because we are different. Worse yet, because of fear it is hard to feel hopeful for the future. Why fight back against those things you fear when lurking just beyond that is another thing to fear? It is disheartening and spiritually draining to actually fear all the things that the news media tells us we should fear. It is so much easier to simply turn off the television.

A Mentality Of Judgment

The headlines of the celebrity gossip news rags when I pass them in check out lane at my local supermarket make me ill. It could be “Guess Who Is Sporting Cellulite To The Beach?” paired with a bathing suit clad picture of someone’s rear. Alternatively, the front page might show a before and after picture of an actresses face under the headline “Plastic Surgery Horror Story!” They always seem to be scrapping the bottom of the barrel for the most sensational dirt on some over hyped actress, singer, or performer. But we all know that these so-called news papers aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on… that’s why we put the gossip on TV, too.

The media is constantly finding something negative to say about one star or another. When we indulge in this gossip about the rich and famous, we are also making ourselves feel superior. It feels good to be superior, so good in fact that judging others can become a habit, which then turns our gossiping on each other. There is a good reason why so many religions warn against rumormongering and gossip - it turns neighbors against one another. Human beings need each other to survive; without that social stability, it becomes more difficult to be spiritual.

Exorcise The Demon

My wife and I used to watch the television show, “Nip/Tuck.” We were first drawn into the show because of its constantly shocking nature, plot twists, and adult themes. However, time constraints kept us from keeping up with the fourth season, and slowly we have both realized that we don’t miss the show that much. This so-called guilty pleasure was really more of a downer for me and my wife. The only thing it did for us is make our lives seem less screwed up in comparison to that of the characters’… which didn’t take much, but that is besides the point.

Once I began to cut mass media from my life, I’ve realized that I don’t miss it much. We hardly ever watch television, and when we do, we watch home improvement, documentary, or stand-up comedy. I really don’t miss watching the news, keeping up reality television, or watching the latest and greatest drama; we have so much more time for each other now that our obsession with television has ended. While I wouldn’t assume to tell any of my readers what to do, I strongly suggest trying a week without television, trashy magazines, and celebrity watching. Just by giving it a try, you might find that you are better off without it.

Click on one link below.

written by John \\ tags: Britney Spears, Media, Negativity, Pop Culture, Spirituality

Above Photo by Marcin Wichary. Photo Below by CBS Fan.

Recently, I had found this blog “90 Day Jane,” about a young woman who claimed that she would kill herself in 90 days. She wasn’t deathly ill or depressed - she was claiming to do this because life has no intrinsic meaning. She also claimed to be an atheist. Don’t bother to look for her blog, however… the whole thing was a hoax (excuse me, I meant “art project”) from the start and has been taken down. You can read more about it here.

There’s a lists of reasons longer than my arm as to why I’m disturbed by this recent non-event. First of all, there is the blatant abuse of suicide threats as means of entertainment. Having been suicidal before in my own life, I cannot begin to express how angry this makes me feel. There is also the matter of reinforcing the association between atheism and nihilism. While it may be true that most nihilists are also atheists, the reverse is not true. What most puzzles me, though, is that this even occurred to someone as being a good idea. Chuck Palahniuk and Hunter S. Thompson couldn’t ask for a better example of nihilism.

Why do I think that? Lets pretend for a moment that 90 Day Jane was really going to off herself in grand fashion on her own blog. She claims that her reason for doing this is to demonstrate the meaninglessness of existence. By advertising and making this public, she ironically gives meaning to her own existence - to serve as an example of nihilism. If someone can make their own meaning, that very act proves nihilism to be false. However, if this act becomes a mockery of itself it would serve only as twisted proof (however delusional) of the meaninglessness of existence. This is soundly accomplished through Jane’s half-hearted confession. This ordeal has all the offensiveness of a Nine Inch Nails video but none of the creativity.

It could be argued that I’m over reacting, and I very well may be. But I ask you, what else can you think of that is more of an affront to the principles of Unitarian Universalism? While I am tolerant and open minded, nihilism is not a philosophy that I can accept as being viable to live under or put into practice. It isn’t that I am afraid of the metaphorical abyss of nihilism; I’ve tread that edge before myself. No, I’ve just realized that it isn’t practical or useful. Never has it been said that reality had to be practical or useful, but our understanding of reality should be.

The only time I can think of when nihilism was acceptable is in the movie The Big Lebowski. Something about avowed nihilists beaten up by middle-aged bowlers strikes me as hilarious. If only nihilism was that easy to be rid of…

Click on one link below.

written by John \\ tags: Anger, Atheism, Death, Nihilism, Philosophy, Reason, Unitarian Universalism

Above Photo by Señor Codo. Photo Below by Gabriel Agu.

I’ve noticed a tendency among members of liberal religions and other spiritual seekers to discount anger as an emotion that might accompany spiritual experiences. For those who believe that the Divine is perfect love, the idea of spiritual anger, also called righteousness, as being a valid spiritual expression seems misguided at best. However, it is our aversion to anger that is misguided; anger can be spiritual.

The first example that most individuals think of when asked about righteousness is the stereotypical fundamentalist preacher condemning one group of people or another for some minor infraction of biblical law. I would argue that this isn’t righteousness - it is hatred. Unlike legitimate anger which is open to listening to rational arguments, hatred is an extreme form of anger that no longer is bound by reason or conscience. As it is capable of horrible acts of violence and cruelty, rage is rightfully disdained.

Not all anger is hatred, nor can all anger be called righteousness. Anger over a small matter, such as being cut-off in traffic or being given bad service at a restaurant couldn’t be called righteousness with a straight face. So if mundane anger does not qualify was righteousness, what does qualify?

That question goes to the heart of what spirituality is about. Spirituality is nothing less than universal love. Whether we call the subject of that universal love God or something else, that love is the stuff of which spirituality is made. Righteousness, by extension, would be anger tempered by such a love.

What does righteousness look like? It looks like Dr. Martin Luther King speaking on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. It looks like rainbow banners held by men and women marching for GLBT rights. And it looks like a gathering of young people wearing Guy Fawks masks outside of Scientology headquarters. This is righteousness in its most honest form - anger tempered by a love greater than any one individual.

Last week, I added my voice to that of other democrats in my state and voted for Barack Obama for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. While I could name and number the faults I find with Hillary Clinton, I voted the way I did not because I was voting against Senator Clinton. I voted for Obama because I saw in him something that I did not see in her; righteousness. He is angry over what has become of this country in this last decade, and yet his love for what this country has been - and can be again - guides his hand. We should all be so brave as to embody righteousness as he does.

There are dangers in righteousness; if you lose the humility that honest love demands, it becomes self righteousness - pretense to that deep spiritual anger. Yet I do not think that we, as a community, are at any risk to losing our humility. I think we can and should risk more of ourselves by expressing our righteousness more than we do currently. It is a part of our spiritual truth and our responsibility to each other.

Click on one link below.

written by John \\ tags: Anger, Current Events, God, Individuality, Reason, Religion, Social Activism, Spirituality

Photo above by Janine C. Photo below is Public Domain Courtesy of the National Archives.

The first experience with racism was when I was five or six… but it was not as you might think. I accused a black child of drinking my beverage when I wasn’t looking. My so-called proof was the swirling of my own saliva in my cup. I believed, at that time, that what I was looking at was his ‘blackness’ that had come off from his skin. When I told an adult, I felt the squirming warmth of revenge uncoil in my heart and was satisfied that justice had been done.

Later, when my mother had pointed out that it was my own saliva I was looking at, I felt guilty and foolish. However, for a brief moment hatred had taken seed in me. Now, it would be easy to dismiss this childhood memory as a simple misunderstanding. You shouldn’t. That is how any form of bigotry takes root - from the inability or the unwillingness to understand one another.

And to be completely honest, that isn’t the last time I have had to struggle with my own innate racism, or the racism of others. I cannot begin to tell you how many times I’ve heard disparaging remarks about African Americans and did nothing. My own cowardice is proceeded only by my arrogance in thinking that I am not racist. No matter how many times I say I am color blind, I still see black and white. No matter how friendly I am towards those who are different than me, there is a part of me that is trying to prove something. And the more sensitive I am about another person’s race or ethnicity, the more I avoid trying to understand them.

February is Black History Month, a month long reminder of the great accomplishments and contributions that African Americans have made despite their struggle against racism in the States. If you haven’t guessed by now, I have a lot of mixed feeling about Black History Month. The fact that we have to attribute a full month to one racial minority is a tribute to how little we understand each other as human beings. That so many other minorities, such as the American Indians, do not have the same distinction also makes my heart uneasy. But it is our history as a species, blighted by so many atrocities, that worries me the most. I’m not entirely sure that we are making progress.

It isn’t enough for individuals to hide their misunderstandings of each other under thin veils of politeness. Race deserves open and honest discourse through which we can come to understand each other. We need to each admit to ourselves our own blind spots and try to broaden our vision. Without that, we are merely ignoring the problem.

Of course none of this is easy. If it were, my parent’s generation would have eliminated racism long before my conception. Its specter still looms over American history, threatening to taint our future and darken our doorstep. I don’t believe that this is a lost cause, but I still have trouble taking anyone who says they are color-blind seriously.

With this in mind, I humbly pray for mutual understanding among all people. God, we are your children; Please make us see!

Click on one link below.

written by John \\ tags: America, God, History, Holidays, Morality, Racism