Just a Little Babble...

    The last week, or so, I've been doing my darnedest to get all caught up on emails and whatnots, and I think I am actually starting to make some headway.  If you've emailed me, and I've not responded, well...  Sorry.  But, to those of you who were kind enough to send me birthday wishes, thank you for that. 

    Anyway, yesterday, I spent a lot of time dealing with a small cabal of Bible-thumping fundamentalist Christians who apparently took a great deal of offense over a post from last week (some even demanded I take down the link to the Christian Domestic Discipline website.  Yeah.  Like I'm going to get right on that).  Personally, I don't rightly give a hoot if they're "offended" or not. 

    In those emails, however, there was a consistent, and very troubling sentiment.  And, that was the sheer and amazing glee these pseudo-Christians took in the notion that they would be dancing in Heaven at the fact that I would be wailing in eternal misery in some sort of lake of fire somewhere.  And, even more troubling, when I pointed out their rank hypocrisy, they all pretty much believed that so long as I am some sort of worthless sinner in this supposedly "Christian" nation, they could say whatever they wanted, regardless of whether or not their god liked it. 

    It's madness, really.  But, it gets old fast.
   
    Nonetheless, after all the cudgeling, and all the irrelevant chest-thumping of these ridiculous folks, I am just left to wonder whether or not people truly comprehend the levels of hatred espoused in their religions.  I mean, even those beliefs which claim to be so wonderfully peaceful have an agenda --believe as me or suffer.  And, sometimes, that gets perverted into a belief that states "believe as me.  Be a dick like me.  Be afraid like me.  Or, suffer." 
   
    I don't know.  Perhaps this upswell in hate-filled religious rhetoric comes as a direct result of how our nation's citizens live in a constant state of fear, and religions are generally powered by fear.  It saturates our every day, and fear inevitably morphs into irrational hatred.  And, in a nation which is growing dumber each and every day, it's so much easier to hate than it is to learn and understand, isn't it?

    Personally, I feel sorry for religions which have been hijacked and perverted by these extremists.  But, I also do think that it's a very good thing in that it demonstrates to our society the hazards of life beneath the evil iron boot of a theocratic regime.  Unfortunately, America is stupid, and we are a nation of gullible fools.  And, I don't believe we will see what we've lost until it's too late to get it back without a tremendous struggle. 

-DP