Created July 5, 2017 Hope, Faith and Willful Ignorance

While driving the other day, I was thinking of posting stories about my animals, and remembered that one of the better stories about my dog Bonnie and Kitty (species name not required) had been posted on Facebook. Once back at the computer, though, I couldn’t find it. And it had been so beautifully phrased, too!

Speaking of Facebook, I’ve been off of it now for a solid month. My reason: the stress caused by knowing what is going on is just too much. Bernie got me to caring and being hopeful in the extreme; now I find that things are so sideways in this country that the mere sight of its flag makes me sick. So, I’ve once again reverted to my former opinion that hope is one of the most terrible “faiths” to which you can adhere.

Faith. Quite a dangerous topic for most. I find debate on such matters stimulating, while for too many, it is threatening.

“Faith”, mostly in the form of the Christ mythology, is enmeshed in the minds of everyone by whom I am surrounded. Life for most people around here is uncomplicated, their lives full of friends and family with whom they dutifully attend church each week, have barbeques, listen to tone deaf country music and avoid any ideas or knowledge of which they either do not approve or cannot understand. Most of them cannot or do not think, nor do they desire any knowledge that does not conform to their notions of what the world is like. They have neither curiosity nor knowledge; they have faith. One woman I know from a canoeing group I started (a whole other story related to my social inadequacies) startled me the other day by saying that the devil is running the world. “The bible says” she started to say, then to my relief, she shut up.

For another example, I must turn to the DAR chapter to which I belong. These Daughters actually believe that the founding fathers designed this country as “Christian”. They could not be more wrong from a historical point of view, and on top of that, they care not what is happening right now to their precious Constitution. They merely revere the past with no understanding of historical fact, and don’t realize that today is tomorrow’s history. The Regent for the past year or two designated me to be the Constitution Chairman. I started giving little 4 to 5 minute mini-lectures on the Constitution, especially needed as it was an election year, and the current threats aligning against it. Apparently, a few of them complained that I was being too political in my discussions about an essentially political document, and was told to stop it. I could only give names and dates and history. This demand was both maddening and rather ironic, as the DAR is allegedly a non-profit group working to promote historic preservation, education, and patriotism. There is nothing more patriotic than understanding what is happening right now to our civil rights, and in that vein, I consider Edward Snowden one of the most notable patriots of the day.

Funny how I’m complaining about other people’s embrace of ignorance, whilst I do the same in my retreat from the news of the world outside my private park. Ah! Hypocrisy!