Religion Strangles Science

Everyone knows that religion inhibits science. In fact, we have religious based "science" that spends it's time trying to prove that dinosaurs never existed or that there was indeed a worldwide flood, ridiculous endeavors when we already know there were dinosaurs and no world flood. And still they keep trying. But that's off topic.. that's getting into faux science.. what about REAL science?

One of my favorite things to talk about in regards to science and religion is, of course, the dark ages. 300 years of ignorance and the outlawing of intelligence (which includes, of course, science). Can you really fathom where we would be if it weren't for Christianity? Where we would be with those hundreds of years where we could have been technologically advancing? Where will we be in 300 years? Think about it. That's where we could have been now.

Of course, those days are long gone and we, for the most part, don't let ignorance and religion effect science, technology, and education. Until, of course, Bush took office. Placed in the white house by God himself, he and many of his fight wing fundies flouted. He was a soldier for the religious. He would make things right. No stem cell research, which, he moronically said, supported and encouraged abortion. No, we'll have none of those life saving cures. We don't want those parapalegics walking again and goodness gracious we certainly don't want to get rid of those elderly degenerative brain diseases! That would be against God. Not that the abortion rate actually went down because of this and it's not like we can get stem cells from anywhere but aborted fetuses (oh yeah.. that's right.. we CAN!).

I was watching the news which talked about Obama lifting the ban on federal funding for stem cell research. The reporters praising the possible cures that will soon be available and the sheer potential! We have known about the potential of stem cells for about a decade now, they said. A decade. Can you imagine the progress we could have had in a decade? And what's been such a hinderence? Why, Bush, of course.

Stem cell research could very likely cure diseases like Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, spinal injury, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, AIDS, and a host of genetic and metabolic disorders. It could reverse cancer, or help replace damaged organs.

This is a modern example of religion strangling science. It's terrifying and disgusting to know that this still goes on and I dream of a day when people use common sense and fearless compassion instead of ridiculous and outdated fairytales and myths.

I Used To Be Extraordinary- A Metamorphasis

I was a young, mentally ill girl who liked almost everything about her personality. Gandhi said "be the change you want to see in the world" and I followed that even before I'd heard it. Those are truly words to live by, said by an extraordinary and admirable man. I strove, with every fiber of my being, to be kind, generous, free spirited, innocent and wise. It was perhaps with my first venture into Paganism that I really took to heart the idea of harming none, or at least causing the least amount of harm possible. I was empathetic and tender hearted by nature, probably due to knowing what it felt like to be abused, bullied, and persecuted, but this new thought took it to the next level.

I'm sure you're thinking, well, it should be obvious that one would want to do as little harm as possible and yes, you're right, but how many of us actually follow through with that golden rule? I became Wiccan at 13 and at 14 I stopped eating meat, not only for the health benefits, which I really only used when trying to justify myself to meat eaters who thought ethical reasons were too hippie-ish, but for spiritual reasons and to further my mission.

I was the kind of person whom people always referred to as "older". Not older in years, but more mature, more serious, more concerned with the problems of the world. I wasn't out doing drugs, drinking, or sleeping around like most of my school mates, but rather I was studying world religions, philosophy, and ethics. I got comments like "you're only (insert any age between 14 and 23 here)?" with a slight tone of shock. Yep, I was the bookworm, the weird nerd who never fit in, which made me happy.

By the time I hit 16 or so I was pretty happy with who I was. I was serious and aware of the world around me, seeing things that needed to be changed and I was proud of my passion for helping others. I was goofy and silly and free spirited, dancing through fields of wheat on my way to the bus stop or braiding flowers in my hair to wear to school. I was naturally a romantic and, while still believing in feminism and equal rights, being swept away the the idea of chivalry, nobility, and fairytale worlds.

I was extraordinary. I don't mean this in an egotistical sense, but rather just it's true meaning, beyond ordinary. I was not like the rest of the people I knew and I loved that. The rest of the world seemed cold, heartless, cynical, and hard. I wanted to be like those Buddhist monks you see in movies who are ever wise with love and kindness in their hearts. I was different and I didn't think the world could ever change me. After all, I grew up being abused, and still did not turn cold, I was bullied in horrible ways and still did not turn cold, my father was even murdered when I was 16, and still I did not turn cold.

As I got older, many bad things happened to me. Life has never been kind to me, but still I held out hope, kept faith in humanity, believed in everyone's innate kindness and goodness, and believed things would all work out for the best.

Then something happened and my world crumbled. My husband, whom I had been with since I was 15 and right after our 4th wedding anniversary did something horrible. That something is a long and painful story that may someday get it's own post but for now I'll paraphrase. He cheated on me. No, wait, it gets worse. We lived with the woman he was sleeping with and her family. It was all in front of me, flaunted, rubbed in my face. Being bipolar, I became very sick, very depressed. I became suicidal almost instantly and, for that reason, did not have the strength or courage to stop what was going on. For six months they did this and all I could do was cry and try, occasionally, to kill myself. My husband, who was no longer the man I knew, became more and more emotionally and verbally abusive, finally escalating to physical violence. The other woman was also horribly abusive and manipulative. She knew just the right thing to say to keep me down and was purposefully driving me to suicide.

Thinking about it is like watching a horror movie in my head. I can see myself, but it's not myself. A dissociated image caught in a fantastical play. There are a few main images I can't seem to get rid of. I can see myself, crying, sobbing in the room upstairs while they were downstairs, fucking like animals. I can see myself, that last time I tired to kill myself with the bottle of pills.. how I took them one at a time at first, and then more at a time until they were gone. I can see a myself, crying on the end of the bed, I see myself trying to stand up and being pushed back down by my husband's hand on my throat. These thoughts, replaying themselves over and over and wondering why and how this could happen to me, of all people. I tried so hard to be a good person, to be there for those I love, to do good for the people and the world around me, and this is what I got in return.

And so I changed. In ways I never thought possible. In ways that make me dislike who I am. Not because I am a bad person or because, being so hurt, I in turn began to hurt others, because I did not. Instead, what I dislike so much, is that I'm like everyone else.. cynical, distrustful, cold and blocked off to feeling anything. I am no longer extraordinary. I am like everyone else. I cannot be the change I want to see in the world. I cannot dance, I cannot love, I cannot enjoy the things I once did. My life is a drab, gray, mass of days which are all the same, punctured by heart breaking stabs of agony. My faith in humanity is lost, as am I.

Vegan School Lunches

Why I Don't Like Smokers

It's funny the course a thought can sometimes take. For personal reasons I was contemplating the mindset of an abuser and psychological factors and my mind jumped to an analogy of smoking and thus the revelation: smokers are like abusers. Or, more correctly, smokers are abusers.

Why? Think about it. A smoker is doing something very self damaging and, when they smoke around others they are inflicting harm, physical harm, on those people. These could be their spouses, their children, or total strangers. Like abusers, they often feel entitled to harm others in this way and, most of the time, don't even see why it's bad or harmful.

The most notable and, perhaps abhorrent of this abuse is perpetrated on our children. Not only children living in the household, but any child that comes into contact with their poison. Not only does it inflict physical damage, but also psychological damage. We know that children who grow up around smokers are more likely to grow up and smoke themselves, inflicting self damage which can be compared to self injury such as cutting or purposeful reckless behavior.

Most people would be disgusted if they found out that, say, a six year old were addicted to cigarettes. You would never let your six year old smoke... would you? If you would you would have your child taken away and into the custody of child services in a heartbeat, and yet we allow our children to become addicted to cigarette smoke from second-hand smoke at much younger ages. This is the real reason that children who grow up in smoke filled homes are more likely to smoke- they're already addicted!

So, smokers are, by all accounts, abusive addicts who feel no remorse in hurting other people, even their own children. I've made it no secret that I believe parents who smoke around their children should have their children taken away or be charged with abuse and be made to take a parenting class- perhaps one that shows what it is they're doing to their children which they supposedly love so much and would do anything to protect.. except not smoke, obviously.