In Pursuit of the American Dream
Religious Fundamentalism, the Barrier to World Peace
Places to visit
Guy's World
As we sit around the kitchen table and solve the world's problems, one of the most used phrases is "wouldn't it be nice if . . . ". After which we go on to state something really profound such as "if everyone would just decide not to participate in a war." At the same time, however, someone else's solution is that "we should just blast those !@#$ off the face of the earth". While both solutions would be effective in the short term, only one has a chance over time. So the issue on the table is, how do we convince those who believe in brute strength violence to achieve peace that it is a hopeless path. Regardless of the effort put into making logical arguments to convince people of your position, I have found that there are usually quite sound logical arguments for the opposite position. So, I have decided to use analogy and metaphor to get my points across. They are not in any particular order. They appear pretty much in the order they were conjured.
- Asking your God for help in a war is like expecting to hire your priest, rabbi, or minister as a body guard.
- Driving is a Team Sport. Drivers should either get on the team or off the playing field.
- I've noticed a lot of folks are easily confused by words. Knowing that, the Republican party seems to have a school to teach their leaders how to misdirect questions by confusing reality with emotional response. For example, if I say I don't want war, they say I don't support our troops. If I'm happy with my life in the U.S., they say I should be proud to be an American. The concepts are unrelated. I am glad that I live in the United States, however, since Bush bought the White House our government has acted in a way that causes me to feel ashamed, not proud.
- Frank Sinatra was credited with saying, "He who dies with the most toys wins.", and it's obvious that there are a lot of folks who agree. Unfortunately, the 'human' race begins at birth and ends at death, but seems to have no discernable route, no universal rules, and no definition of whether it's an individual competition or a team effort. I'm sure that this is what was in the mind of the person who first said that it's the journey, not the destination, that's important.
Wouldn't it be nice if everyone simply decided not to harm anyone else. Wouldn't it be even nicer if we also decided that sharing was a greater virtue than greed.