2010: Begin Again - The Gathering Part 2

The Gathering II

Introduction: The following is the second of a three-part blog that looks at the dangers fundamentalism poses to the Earth. On Sept. 12, 2010, I was speaking at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Lethbridge. It was the day of our special 'Gathering of the Waters' ceremony. My talk and this blog plays off of the idea of human beings coming together is a similar fashion. I've divided it into three parts for an easier read and enhanced it with visuals not included in the talk. The final part will follow in the next few days. For your review: Part 1.

Warning: If you support fundamentalist religious or political beliefs, you may find parts of this series offensive. Sorry, but it's time we all opened our eyes and minds to what is happening around the Earth. These are merely my thoughts after living a life that has included membership in fundamentalist churches as well as becoming a secular humanist. If this isn't your cup of tea . . . don't drink it!

September is also the month that sees children back in school full-time. I don’t know about you, but the school playground could be the scene for a lot of animosity when I was a kid. I suspect it was the same everywhere and that likely little has changed since I was young.

Differences of opinion as to who was better would occasionally break down into the “my dad” debate. Maybe you remember it?

“My dad’s got a better car than your dad.”

“My dad’s job is better than your dad’s.”

“My dad’s richer than your dad.”

“My dad’s bigger than our dad.”

And the clincher . . .

“My dad can beat up your dad.”

Such silly, childish arguments should be relegated to our past. They should be. But they’re not. Substitute the word “god” for “dad” and see if the adult world makes any more sense.

“My God is better than your God.”

“My God is always right. Your God is wrong.”

“My God can beat up your God.” . . . and I’m going to prove it!

1 Corinthians 13:11; “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”

Ladies and gentlemen, recess is over. It’s time to come in off the playground, put away childish things and do some growing.

I’m not saying people need to give up their spiritual beliefs.

But I think that for the future of this planet and for the generations that follow us, there needs to be a maturing of thought that allows for a fresh perspective and an open mind when it comes to religion and politics.

I believe a closed mind can easily fall back into an egocentric state; one in which people see their beliefs as correct and anyone with a different idea as being wrong. They see themselves in competition with others and since the ego is so vulnerable and sensitive they are compelled towards defensiveness and self-justification.

Their egocentrism manifests as an inability to see other people’s viewpoints. Lao Tzu, a philosopher in ancient China, summed it up nicely. “Without ropes they bind themselves.”

If the beliefs that serve as ropes only bound those so afflicted, perhaps it would be a tragedy only on a small, personal level. But it often seems that those so ensnared want to lasso the rest of society into sharing their same vision . . . or lack of vision as the case were.

We see that demonstrated today in the actions of religious fundamentalists of all stripes. Some seem intent on blowing up themselves and the rest of the world to bring all under the yoke of their concept of a Supreme Being. Others push to have their faith-based views serve as the basis for acceptable societal norms and to ascertain that the God of their holy scriptures is the only God.

To see this here in Lethbridge, just check out the letters to the editor in the Herald.

“My God is right; your God is wrong.”

The dangers inherent in such extremism are testimony to the wisdom of keeping church and state separate.

When a nation becomes a theocracy, the rights of minorities are often obliterated. You can see that today in some nations that are essentially Islamic theocracies. There are also those who’d like to push their nation along the path to a more fundamentalist Christian approach, especially in the U.S. Listen to them and you hear rhetoric that differs little from what’s coming out of Iran.

“My God can beat up your God . . . and I’m going to prove it.”

But the danger of extremism is already a part of the world of politics, isn’t it?

I don’t know about you, but I’m starting to wonder about politics as a way to foster positive change. Democracy is a beautiful concept, but the process seems to be grinding to a halt at provincial or state levels and higher.

Is the party system slipping away from the notion of governing with the best intent of the people in mind? Often it seems what’s best for the party governs decisions.

I hate being cynical, but sometimes I just can’t help it. Once a party is elected to form a government, the mandate no longer seems to focus as much on good governing as it does on keeping the party in power at all costs.

When such extremism comes in through the front door, rational debate is often pitched out the nearest window. Instead of intelligent argument and an exchange of ideas, you see political adversaries vilifying each other.

And you see religion dragged into politics and used as a weapon to bludgeon others for the sake of securing or retaining power, not for the good of a nation.

Next: Politics and religion. Religion and politics. When fundamentalists blend the two, the results can't be good. It's the final part of The Gathering.

2010: Begin Again - The Gathering Part 1

The Gathering

Introduction: The following is part 1 of a three-part blog that looks at the dangers fundamentalism poses to the Earth. On Sept. 12, 2010, I was speaking at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Lethbridge. It was the day of our special 'Gathering of the Waters' ceremony. My talk and this blog plays off of the idea of human beings coming together is a similar fashion. I've divided it into three parts for an easier read and enhanced it with visuals not included in the talk. The next two parts will follow during the coming week.

Warning: If you support fundamentalist religious or political beliefs, you may find parts of this series offensive. Sorry, but it's time we all opened our eyes and minds to what is happening around the Earth. These are merely my thoughts after living a life that has included membership in fundamentalist churches as well as becoming a secular humanist. If this isn't your cup of tea . . . don't drink it!

The Gathering

Imagine if this is it. Imagine if this is the only oasis of life in the cold, black expanse of space.

Yes, yes I know there are plenty of stars in the night sky. Science tells us there are billions of stars in our own galaxy and billions of galaxies in our universe. And perhaps one day we’ll discover our universe is only one of billions in a multiverse.

Now that can make you feel a little insignificant, can’t it?

Carl Sagan, noted astronomer and perhaps best known as host of the old PBS series Cosmos, said “We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a hum-drum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people.”

But what if this is it for life?

Currently, we have no proof of life existing anywhere else. Not sentient life. Not advanced life. Not even microorganisms. Many would say that, given the reality of the number of stars in the universe, we can’t be the only planet orbiting one in such a way as to have life develop and evolve on it.

But what if we are? What if we are unique in the universe?

You can forget that feeling of insignificance I mentioned a moment ago, because suddenly each one of us, indeed, every living thing on this plant becomes more precious than the rarest gem imaginable.

Earth, our home, becomes the treasure trove of all life. And our responsibility to look after this jewel escalates beyond all levels of comprehension. We become the caretakers of the one island of life in a celestial ocean that stretches beyond our ability to perceive or even conceive.

Wow! Wouldn’t that be a magnificently noble cause to which all of humanity could aspire? For eons our species has asked why are we here, searched for our purpose and this could be it. But we’re not anywhere near there yet, are we? In fact, I would say we’re a long way from being the caretakers this planet needs.

To save the Earth, we first need to save ourselves. To save ourselves, we first need to become more united. To become more united we need to grow beyond the tribalism we have embraced for thousands of years. And to do that we need to be willing to change.

Today I’m asking you to be open to the idea of change. Some people find that a real challenge.

I do not know every individual here well enough to know your personal beliefs, faith or spiritual preferences. And my intention is not to attack any particular group or tradition. I don’t want to offend, but I hope you won’t mind that I’m going to be a little bit rude from this point on.

You see, it’s often said that in polite company there are two things we do not discuss. And those would be . . . politics and religion.

Ladies and gentlemen, take a look around. Take a good, hard, honest look at the world. The time has come to stop being so polite! Our tribal societies keep us divided and much of our tribalism is dictated by politics and religion.

The Earth is our only home and if we cannot unite in it’s preservation, we will fall victim to our own tribal ideologies. At the time of the American Civil War, Abraham Lincoln noted: “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” This is our house and if we cannot stand united, we will fall divided.

Nine years ago this month, we witnessed an extreme example of the effect of living in insular tribes. Do you remember where you were on on Sept. 11, 2001?

On that day, members of one tribe, guided by the ravings of someone with influence in their lives, turned four passenger jets into weapons of mass destruction, smashing into the twin towers of the world trade centre, the Pentagon and into a field in Pennsylvania.

Certainly, this is an exceptional case. It’s easy to point fingers at the perpetrators of these acts of terrorism, to despise them and to hold everyone who follows their faith to blame. But doing that means we need to turn a mirror on our own tribes and reflect on our history. Horrific atrocities have been committed to spread beliefs that many in our society hold dear.

No group can claim its hands are clean. We could wonder around like latter-day Lady Macbeth’s, wringing our hands and crying “Out, damned spot, out I say” in anguish over the blood shed for many pointless reasons.

Or we could take a different, more productive path. One of change.

Next: Part 2 of The Gathering looks at the need for humanity to grow up and leave our childish ways behind if we are to every become the caretakers of this planet Earth.

Horrific vortex rips open space/time continuum

Texas Republic Party trapped in 1950s bubble

AUSTIN, Tex. (INS) – Recovery from damages caused by a swirling vortex that seems to have swept across Texas could take as much as 50 years to accomplish, experts warned today.

Scientists say the mysterious vortex seems to have hurled sections of the state into a time warp, trapping numerous people in a bubble-like projection of the 1950s.

“It’s as if a rip has opened in the space/time continuum,” says Dr. Emmett L. (Doc) Brown, renowned for his time-travel experiments conducted in the mid to late 1980s. “This rip seems to have sucked in an entire section of the state, but even residents not trapped by this freak phenomenon could feel the negative side effects of the tragedy.”

Brown and his colleagues admit they are puzzled by the nature of the vortex, which seems to have targeted a specific group – members of the Republican Party of Texas.

“We could almost believe there was a strange intelligence involved here, but when talking about the Texas GOP, it’s been previously demonstrated that there is actually limited, if any, intelligence to be found,” Brown says.

While the exact nature of the vortex remains a contentious issue, evidence for the impact it is having on Texas is growing. Brown sites the adoption of the Texas Republican platform as a case in point, noting it seems to have been lifted almost verbatim from a 1950s time line.

The open attack on homosexual individuals contained within the document is an example that supports this view, Brown says.

“When you look at their platform, it’s hard not to see evidence of the damage generated by this space/time vortex. This is the 21st century, but the Texas GOP document reads like something out of the McCarthy period. Wording like: ‘We believe that the practice of homosexuality tears at the fabric of society, contributes to the breakdown of the family unit, and leads to the spread of dangerous, communicable diseases,’ actually leads to the kind of hysteria not seen since Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s witch-hunt for Communists.”

The platform goes on to say; “Homosexual behavior is contrary to the fundamental, unchanging truths that have been ordained by God, recognized by our country’s founders, and shared by the majority of Texans.”

Brown asks what’s next for Texas, the death penalty for those who commit adultery, as “ordained by God”?

Reached for another perspective, a spokesman for Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson, serving life sentences for the torture and murder of Matthew Shepard in 1998, said upon reflection the two men should have carried out their crime in Texas instead of Wyoming. Shepard, a 21-year-old political science student at the University of Wyoming, was targeted for the brutal killing by McKinney and Henderson because he was gay.

“Shucks, these were just a couple of good ol’ boys havin’ a little fun,” the spokesman said of the two killers. “If this’d been done in Texas, they mighta got a slap on the wrist, but that mighta been all.

“I mean, shoot, even the Texas Republican platform spells it out the way it oughta be. It says right there; ‘We oppose any criminal or civil penalties against those who oppose homosexuality out of faith, conviction, or belief in traditional values.’ Them boys was actin’ out of faith and traditional values in their opposing queers (sic). I don’t know nuthin’ ’bout no time warp thing, all I knows is them Texans got it right. Maybe that warp thing should spread up here to Wyoming!”

Further evidence supporting Brown’s theory regarding the Texas Republican party being trapped in a 1950s ‘time bubble’ is also contained in their platform. Brown quotes the following excerpts from the Texas GOP Official Platform as examples of a mid 20th-century perspective breaking through into the current time.

• We support the definition of marriage as a God–ordained, legal and moral commitment only between a natural man and a natural woman, which is the foundational unit of a healthy society, and we oppose the assault on marriage by judicial activists.
• Neither the United States nor any state shall recognize or grant to any unmarried person the legal rights or status of a spouse.
• We support legislation that would make it a felony to issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple and for any civil official to perform a marriage ceremony for such.

“With this platform in place, it is apparent that even those not trapped in the ‘time bubble’ are in danger as a result of the potential fall-out from these 1950s-style statements,” Brown says.

Brown fears that recovery from this disaster could take more than 50 years as those trapped in the time warp slowly mature and catch up with the rest of society.

Note: Quotes from the Texas Republican Party Platform listed above are real. They are from 2010, not 1955.