Anyone who truly knows me, knows that I am far from judgmental. I believe that there are differences among people which necessarily include different interpretations of what constitutes morality and ethical behavior. I am not overly religious, I have my own beliefs which influence my behavior toward others. Does that make me better, righter, juster than anyone else? I doubt it, but that is how I conduct myself in society and in my treatment of others.
I do not like to stand upon the proverbial "soap box" often, tend to avoid it as often as possible. My glass house can shatter as easily under the fire of rock as the next person. That being said, forgive me if this blog seems some what evangelical, but there is something I feel compelled to get off my chest.
I see a problem with religion. "What on Earth is wrong with religion?" you may be asking yourself right now. My response is: people. I have noticed many examples in society that I can share with you which demonstrate what it is that I am speaking of.
In the United States, not unlike other areas of the World, religion has become increasingly interwoven with politics. So to my friends overseas, as you may be thinking right now "big deal politics and religion often go 'hand in hand'" the tragedy here is that in the United States it was never intended that religion be so involved in politics. There is good reason, and the founding fathers were very wise indeed when they insisted upon a separation between church and state. Throughout history there have been example after example of evil and destructive things done by men in the name of religion. I will not digress and go through them all, we would be here for an eternity and my fingers would likely fall off before reaching the end.
The religious political factions in the United States demand that a woman not be entitled to make a decision that affects her own body and her very own future. These people would very much like to see a day come where abortion is completely unavailable under every circumstance. These same people would very much like to see a day come to pass where their "hard earned tax dollars" are no longer being "wasted" on supporting others who are in need of support, perhaps many of whom happen to be single mothers who were unable to obtain an abortion. These people support the death penalty. Apparently it is alright to kill a person, so long as they are above an unspecified age and no longer in the process of cell division.
Aside from the religion and politics synergy, in day to day living I have seen examples that demonstrate the problem of which I am writing. I was raised in a West Texas town that has been said to be the buckle of the Bible Belt. In this town, there exists not one adult media store. A Hooter's restaurant opened there a few years back and was subsequently "run out of town" due to the protestations of the areas religious members. Interestingly enough many of those very same people who protested, or perhaps their husbands, would frequent that very Hooter's establishment. If you drive just outside the city limits, where the adult bookstore is found, you will see brand new BMWs, Cadillacs, Mercedes and the like parked just behind the privacy fence at the bookstore. Come Sunday morning those same BMWs, Cadillacs and Mercedes are parked outside the First Baptist Church, or some other Church (I am not singling Baptist out).
I have seen many 360 pages where people profess to be "God Fearing" and devout Christians. Yet on many of those pages there are pics or avatars of scantly clad men and women, naked men and women, tons of sexual innuendo and a vile viciousness toward others. While these people are presumably attempting to confess their faith in God by their words, what they are in actuality doing is demonstrating their insincerity through their deeds. If you think I am speaking of you perhaps there is good reason.
I am not saying that people should not have naked men and women on their 360 pages. I am not saying that people should not have fun with sexual innuendo. I am not saying that everyone has to be nice. I am not passing judgment. What I am suggesting is that if you choose to make the representation that you are holy, "God Fearing", and devout to your religion, perhaps in your deeds you should exhibit an attempt, at the very least, to reflect your profession.
In case I have not been clear enough, of which there is a high likelihood, I will spell out the problem more concisely as one word really and truly sums it all up very nicely:
Hypocrisy
A noun
1 insincerity by virtue of pretending to have qualities or beliefs that you do not really have
Category Tree:
abstraction
- attribute
- quality
- immorality
- unrighteousness
- dishonesty
- untruthfulness
- insincerity; falseness
- hypocrisy
- fulsomeness; oiliness; oleaginousness; smarminess; unctuousness; unction
- sanctimoniousness; sanctimony
2 hypocrisy, lip service
an expression of agreement that is not supported by real conviction
Category Tree:
abstraction
- relation
- social relation
- communication
- message; content; subject matter; substance
- statement
- falsehood; falsity; untruth; false statement
- misrepresentation; deceit; deception
- pretense; pretense; feigning; dissembling
- hypocrisy, lip service
- crocodile tears
