Are we Sheep?

Somewhere in the ethnic and cultural swirl that makes up my household this item appeared in my basement. On the surface, it seems like an innocent Easter basket decoration from a bygone era. One of those seasonal toys made before rules and guidelines about sharp edges and chilling imagery. I have no idea how old this relic is. I can only be certain that it is a specifically Catholic piece of iconography. A sheep with a distinctly human face is not an outdated idea (think Pixar) but let's admit that by modern standards this is pretty creepy. The first time I saw it I thought it was going to come to life and ask me a riddle.

Am I overreacting? Sure. You'll have to forgive my extemporaneous use of psychology. Unfortunately, I see it everywhere. If I'm looking for a can of Tomato Bisque in the supermarket I am actively aware that I am cognitively engaging in a feature search (I digress).

What struck me about this object was the cultural aspect of the tribal animalism. Easter is probably our most pagan of holidays specifically because of all of the symbols of nature and fertility intermingled with the mythos of a magical super-intelligent lagomorpha. Next was the psychology of human identification with the lamb: a metaphor ridden animal of biblical proportions (see what I did there?) The subliminal message here is simple, and haunting:

It's a sheep

It's a person

I'm a person

I'm a sheep

They are priming us to identify with a herd animal. One that blindly goes wherever it is led, even to its own death. By doing so, we are reminded of our place in the narrative.

Be passive.

Move with the herd

Obey the authority without question. 

Obey me!

The Resolute Party

What's wrong with changing your mind?

There is a faction of the religious and political landscape that refuses to change its mind.  Brace yourself: I’m talking about Conservative Republicans.

I’m talking specifically about people who employ a political strategy or an attempt to sway public opinion. When they are met with reasoned opposition, or public disagreement, or FACTS that contradict their specific agenda…they keep going.  They power on through, ignoring all good advice from their advisers.  Ignoring challenges from the people they are supposed to represent. And in the case of so many of the complex issues of the day, they ignore the data that does not coincide with whatever goal they have set for themselves.  There is something to be said for staying faithful to your moral and ideological values in the face of opposition.  Anyone is entitled to their opinion obviously, no matter how myopic.  My issue is with those who use power and influence to discredit facts.  Or those who refuse to change their position in light of overwhelming evidence.

There are more than a few climate scientists who identify as Republicans and have been employed by politicians and leaders to present an expert opinion on the state of global warming.  Since the birth of the Tea Party movement in 2009, several of these scientists have found that the politicians in their own party refuse to listen to data that conflicts with the party’s core message.

Rick Santorum (I love to hate this man), when it is made clear that 98% of Catholic women have used birth control continues to soldier against it. He then further alienated his fellow Catholics by insulting JFK: America’s all time favorite Catholic (except maybe Sinatra).

This trend is taken much further by wind-bags like Rush Linbaugh who took the attack on women to new heights by calling a woman a prostitute for making a case in favor of providing birth control for women.

These people are well aware of the benefits of birth control on women’s health.  They know how much money can be saved from taxpayers (as well as insurance companies) by taking relatively inexpensive pre-emptive health measures.  They know that unwanted pregnancies lead to a raise in abortions, as well as a raise in abused, neglected, starved or otherwise mistreated children, who eventually become the financial burden of the rest of us.

They know that the services that community service entities like Planned Parenthood perform far more mammograms than abortions.  They know that the low-income community that Planned Parenthood serves will never vote for them anyway.

They have to know these things. Not only are these facts are being shouted at them by an ever-increasing public, but they have crafted intricate gravity defying counter-arguments to their opposition. 

Why do they do this?  When a world of information fits inside the plastic rectangle in everyone’s pocket.  Why deny the facts?  Why shut down every dissenting opinion?  Why not change course when it is clear that your position is flawed?

Authority.

The conservative comfort level rests firmly on routine and certainty.  Ritual and authority.  When a decision is made, it becomes a command.  The followers either want to be the commander or the commanded.  Either will do as long as someone is in command.  This, in my view is the reason that bi-partisan solutions are viewed as a type of treason in the current political climate. Cavorting with the enemy is bending to another’s will.  How else can Republican House Speaker Boehner tell a room full of people, “We will not compromise” to thunderous applause.

I first noticed this when George Bush began his crusade of a pre-emptive attack on Iraq in the hunt for WMDs.  When no weapons were discovered, told America that we need to be “steadfast” and “resolute.” When confronted with the lack of evidence for the military action, his response was to stay the course.

Part of their cultural lexicon is built on “staying the course.”  I’ll almost give the religious leaders a pass on this because at least they believe that the creator of the Universe wrote their rulebook. But of course they do not push forward every rule in the book.  Only those rules that reinforce their specific cultural agenda.

You can see the disdain for changing your mind in the lambasting of 2004 presidential John Kerry being admonished as a “flip-flopper” for changing his mind about the Iraq war once he received more information about the WMD mission.  You can see it in the Republican distrust in Mitt Romney for producing a single payer health care system in his home state then blasting the idea on a national level. (OK, I agree with that one).

More recently, you see the reaction from those who were shocked that Richard Dawkins "renounced his atheism" and said that he was agnostic in his debate with Archbishop Rowan Williams.  Anyone who watched the debate understands what he means, because he EXPLAINED HIS POSITION in detail at that moment as well as in The God Delusion in 2006.  The faithful actually thought they found an “aha moment” when the world’s most famous atheist admitted that he did not know with certainty that there is no God.  By pointing this out they are showcasing their lack of understanding of the words atheist and agnostic as well as the philosophical positions being discussed in that particular debate or science in general.  What they got out of that highly intellectual and civil discourse was “HA!  He changed his mind!”

.

Hell No: A Tirade

I once thought that the only thing that could possible make me into a believer was the birth of a child. Then he was born and 20 minutes later my wife almost died. We waited for a few hours before finding out that she was OK.
I didn’t pray. I. Could. Not.
She asked me to "start believing in god" before they wheeled her away.
I was an atheist in a foxhole.
What is most astounding to me is the shear number of people on this earth who still believe in a sky god.
It must be at least 85% of the population. One of the theist arguments is: how can that many people be wrong?
Exactly. I can hardly fathom that myself. Are we really the enlightened minority? I used to view religious people with such awe and respect. Their piety seemed so noble. Now when somebody says grace at a dinner, I get the urge to stab my hand with a fork under the table.
I want to argue with people about it. I want to shake people by the shoulders when they proudly exclaim that logic is not necessary. I want to shout, “Who made your Watchmaker?” But I don’t because it is impolite and I despise arrogance above all else. I was having a light conversation with a co-worker about faith a few months ago. She actually put her hands over her ears and hummed when I asked her a simple question that she needed logic (not faith) to answer.
She put her fucking hands over her ears. She has several degrees: And her brain shut down when I asked her about anthropomorphism:
"Does god have a face?"
"Yes"
"Does he need one?"
"La la la la"
I will not believe something because somebody told me so when I was a child. I am not a child. I will not believe something because I would like it to be true. Or because I'm afraid it might be. My own moral code works just fine without eternal damnation. I will not see my departed loved ones when I die, but they knew that I loved them when they were here. I do not stack regrets like newspapers in my basement. If I love you, you know it. Because this incredible life is the only one I can be certain of.
My mind is the best part of me. I refuse, I refuse, I refuse to turn it off.

Open Letter

Dear social conservatives, theocrats, corporate apologists, et, al.


The America I know and love has been progressive since it’s inception. From when the founding fathers made the clear and conscious decision to refer to its people as citizens instead of subjects, to the numerous decisions that over time have given every free adult citizen regardless of race, gender, religious affiliation, or educational background the right to be treated equally under the law, to the decisions that free speech is so fundamental that the protection of unpopular, and even outright stupid, ideas (be they godly, godless or anything in between) are allowed to be freely expressed (but remain subject to equally protected criticism by people you may not like very much) America has been a force for progress.

The American tradition ... is progressive. It was progressives that ended slavery. Progressives said women can vote. Progressives were responsible for letting two people get married regardless of race, and soon regardless of gender.

My America says you have the right to believe and say that science is an evil godless practice which is trying to destroy your faith while still reaping all the benefits of the scientific discoveries it yields like vaccines, electricity, clean air and water, and one of the highest per capita lifespans of anywhere in the world. Much of which is funded with government research grants, by the way, because research is not intrinsically profitable.

My America has a government that is allowed to collect taxes to 'provide for the common good' which includes all sorts of great stuff like roads, schools, and the previously mentioned research. It uses that money to keep our air and water clean, and to ensure that we all have the basic standard of living that allows all of us to embrace the freedoms we so cherish. And if that means that the people who profit the most from our way of life have to give back a little more to maintain that way of life ... so be it.

My America gave us jazz, blues, punk rock, George Carlin, TV, VCRs, NASA, the sexual revolution, cars, and the internet. It is not a sober community of staid and stolid statesmen; it's the greatest party that human civilization has ever thrown. Sure it also gave us the Westboro Baptist Church, prohibition, the war on drugs, and the A-bomb, but it's a 'more perfect union' not a perfect one. And that suits me fine. My America has never and will never be perfect. It makes mistakes; it's messy, sloppy, and complicated. It's a place where burning a flag can be just as patriotic as saluting one. I wouldn't have it any other way.

My America is a place where we're allowed to disagree with each other, and the government, and anyone for that matter. Which is great because my America is a dynamic, constantly changing place, where people argue, and bicker, and have different ideas about how we should be doing things. But we always, always remember that we're all one people even when, and especially if, we disagree.

If you would like to live in a conservative country which is founded on strong religious principles, where the women are modestly dressed, the children are taught scripture in schools, laws and punishments are taken directly from holy books, and the economy is largely centered around a small number of extremely profitable businesses that are owned and operated by a devout and enterprising business elite ... Try the middle east, they have several nations which fit that description perfectly.

Because, and forgive me for being so emphatic in my terminology, but you preachy motherfuckers need to come to terms with something you've been in denial about for a very long time. America isn't yours. It belongs to sex, drugs, and rock and roll. The free and the brave are the huddled, unwashed masses. And we're definitely tired and sick of you self-righteous assholes trying to 'take back' a country that you never had in the first place. So maybe, just maybe, if you don't love it, then you're the ones who should be leaving it.

My America may well be a teeming throng of iniquitous, degenerate, self-serving, godless hedonist freaks; but they're also the nicest, kindest, most loving, caring, trusting band of unruly misfits you're ever likely to meet. You may occasionally succeed in infecting us with your red-faced moral indignation, but I assure you it will always pass and we'll keep going forward, right or wrong, doing whatever it is we do no matter what you do to stop it.

You’re welcome to stay of course, but I fear your perception of this great nation is woefully inaccurate.