Conservatives, Religion & Climate Change

Lately, I've spent a lot of time thinking about what makes people conservative or liberals. The situation has become urgent since right-wingers almost always choose to deny climate change even while we are already seeing the serious impacts of our changing weather. What will it take to reprogram their minds and get them on the climate action bandwagon before it's too late?

Research

I've read several articles on conservatism v. liberalism  and no two authors agree completely on what makes a person "conservative." However, there are some common elements:

• How people process fear.
• How people handle compassion.
• Suspension of reality.
• Protecting the status quo, need for order, and resistance to change.

As always I like to look at human evolution to understand current behaviors. As I've said before, our current civilization has only been around for 10,000 years, which is a blink-of-an-eye compared to the 2 million years we spent as early humans and hominids. I imagine that conservatives and liberals have been arguing since our earliest days. One side likes things the way they are, and the other wants to take the risk of change for the betterment of the group.

Religion

To me, religion is like the human appendix. At one time it likely had an evolutionary purpose, but now it remains a biological and cultural vestige, long after its purpose is gone. Jonathan Haidt, an author and social psychologist, confirmed what I had already figured out by saying: 

Some people think that religion is an adaptation evolved both by cultural and biological evolution to make groups cohere in part for the purpose of trusting each other and then being more effective to compete with other groups.

In America, especially, conservative religion and politics appear intertwined and seem to support one another. I saw this first hand with the election of Donald Trump, who is a brass, crude human who enjoys his opulent lifestyle and womanizing, yet I've heard Christians call him a "godly man." Christians who support Trump show me just how far people will go to justify and support their conservatism.

Demographics

As a friend pointed out to me a few weeks ago, the "blues" in the 2018 mid-term election were mainly in populated areas, while the "reds" were typically in rural parts of the country. My own personal take on this is that when you are around a lot of different people with differing ideas you tend to become more tolerant and open-minded. At the same time, there is a little "self selecting" going on because people like to live with others who look and think like themselves.

Convert or Overwhelm?

A regular discussion I've had with my colleagues in the environmental movement is: Do we try to open the eyes of conservatives through rational discourse or do we try to defeat them politically and legislatively through better organizing? I believe the latter is the answer. I live in a very conservative state and regularly have conversations with right-wingers. If I make a "zinger" point they simply brush it off. For instance, they say: "Isn't Trump doing a great job?" Well, he packed the Supreme Court with another conservative and gave a tax cut to corporations and the wealthy, but other than that he has done nothing. When right-wingers brag about the soaring stock market, well that just means companies are getting better at exploiting the underclass and exporting jobs to sweat shops overseas. But conservatives love to throw the stock market in my face as if it's Donald Trump's scorecard.

In the 1960s it was the liberals who pushed through civil rights legislation and got us out of the Vietnam War. Both of these feats were accomplished by "overwhelming" — it was a continual pushing against the Old Guard until it finally cracked and relented. And that, my friend, is the only way we are going to get meaningful legislation passed on issues like gun control and climate change. When we take to the streets it makes conservatives uneasy because they require order. If enough of us clog the streets they will compromise to get us back in our houses. If we burn up the Capitol switchboard enough with our phone calls they will finally push through good legislation. And, better yet, if we elect good politicians in the first place, we can make forward progress.

My Personal Journey To Liberalism

In the fourth and fifth grades I had some amazing teachers who forever altered my thinking. One teacher, Mr. Copenhagen, would have daily group discussions. We would put our chairs in a semi circle and he would play a piece of music or read a newspaper article, and we then discussed it. This opened my mind to critical thinking, which is something schools today appear to avoid.

My next epiphanies came in the late 1980s when I had a job that exposed me to gays and Planned Parenthood. I was raised in a conservative household and attended conservative churches. In the right-wing world there must always be a common enemy to unite the base. For decades the favorite enemies of evangelical Christians have been the gay community and Planned Parenthood. But once I got to know these two groups I discovered that they were not bad, but rather fantastically wonderful people. I then developed resentment toward Christians because they were hating people they neither understood nor knew.

I remember once attending a Planned Parenthood luncheon through my role at work. Part of me said I was in the "bowels of the enemy," and the rebellious side of me liked it. I was curious. Far from being blood-thirsty baby killers, the people I met were loving, kind, and had a real burden and passion for women's health, especially lower income women. The work they were doing was incredible. A decade later I became a Planned Parenthood volunteer.

I guess what makes me a liberal more than anything is that I always want to root for and protect the underdog. Robin Hood is my hero and Donald Trump is the polar opposite -- he is the leader of the brutes who go after everyone who don't conform with mainstream white America. He is gold-laced trailer trash. 

Summary

Conservatives are so good at reality suspension that they deny and forget that they were ever on the wrong side of an issue when positive change finally happens. It is no secret that large Christian evangelical groups opposed civil rights. Now, that's conveniently forgotten. Instead of African-American bashing, religious conservatives have moved on to new enemies like gays, Muslims, liberals, and immigrants. Their leaders touch all the fear buttons and the conservatives dig their heals in and protect their status quo, even if it means suspending compassion. In America being a evangelical Christian has nothing to do with following the example of Christ. Rather, it's all about protecting the cultural status quo.

There's been a lot of talk lately about climate refugees and much of the human disruption in the world, like the Syrian crises and current migrant caravan, can be traced to droughts, which, in turn, can be traced to climate change. By protecting the fossil fuel industry and ignoring climate change the political conservatives who currently control the U.S. government have a lot of blood on their hands. I hold them directly responsible for the unfolding climate disaster that's harming millions of people and animal species. 

Photo: Christopher Campbell

A Reminder of Why I Blog

My blog is dedicated to the book Ishmael, which completely changed my life. The book is the inspiration and the underlying guide for my writings.

In 1991, Ted Turner offered a $500,000 prize for a book offering the most creative solutions for solving world problems. Ishmael, written by Daniel Quinn, was chosen among 2,500 entries. It was selected by a celebrity panel that included the famous sci-fi writer Ray Bradbury. The novel was published the following year.

To sum up the book, agriculture is what radically changed humanity. Suddenly, we had some control over nature, instead of nature always controlling us. It was just 12,000 years ago when agriculture began in the Middle East, which is a blink of an eye compared to the millions of years it took us to evolve into humans.

Once agriculture was established, human development took off at a rapid pace. Within a few hundred years, we became the controllers of the Earth, but our technology has always developed faster than our wisdom and maturity.

Fast forward to the 21st century and we are a civilization that's destroying it's own habitat through overpopulation, pollution, and climate change. I believe we are now headed to global catastrophe.

But it doesn't HAVE to be that way. We don't HAVE to pollute the oceans and air. We don't HAVE to fill the skies with carbon. 

An underlying theme of Quinn's book is the need for conquest and control. I see these same characteristics manifesting themselves today in the form of greed and selfishness. I believe these are learned traits. We don't HAVE to have an economic system that is driven by selfishness and greed, and one that exploits the natural world for quick profit. We CAN change how we live.

“You're captives of a civilizational system that more or less compels you to go on destroying the world in order to live... I think there are many among you who would be glad to release the world from captivity... This is what prevents them: They're unable to find the bars of the cage.”

― Daniel Quinn, Ishmael

My Slow Conversion

In 1997 I resigned my leadership role in a church and began my journey. I soon found a community of like-minded friends in the Sierra Club. The Club had a ListServ system where you could have discussions on a particular topic with colleagues from around the country. Through these on-line forums I met a woman in Houston, Texas who became one of my early mentors. She regularly quoted Ishmael to me, although it was another few years before I finally read the book.

In 2004 I was amazed to find out that there was an Ishmael study group in Atlanta. I was invited to a meeting by a Sierra Club member from another local group, who knew about my interest in human overpopulation. I then became a member of the group, which lasted another five years before fizzling out. During this time I made several close friends, who I still stay in touch with today.

There is a passage in the book that encourages the reader to "spread the word," and I've given many copies of Ishmael to my environmental colleagues over the years. I always keep an extra copy on hand, so if you would like to read the book please contact me and I'll mail it to you.

A Look At Today

I envision a world where spiritual values are held in higher regard than material goods. I want a world where we live in relative peace and exist in a way that does not harm the Earth or other animals species. We should minimize meat intake, since commercial meat production is one of the most destructive industries on the Planet. We need to convert our vehicles and homes to all-electric. Most importantly, we must have small families and learn to be happy with less. The love and obsession with wealth, at any cost, is sending humanity down a bad path. Everyone wants it, but it's the super rich that hordes and controls it, and manipulates the working class to do their bidding by screaming "jobs" -- jobs that rarely materialize as promised and are usually low-paying service sector jobs.

Our current political and economic systems need a complete reengineering. Our values need to change. And most importantly, we need to show more wisdom and help the underclasses, wildlife, and Earth, rather than exploiting them.

Photo: Jorge Fernández

Ending the War on Women

To create a sustainable world it's essential that women have 100 percent parity with men. Religion or culture is NEVER an excuse to subjugate women.

The Abrahamic religions are obsessed with women control. Ever since I was a youngster I thought it was unfair that women had all these dress rules, and men had far fewer. Women are required to wear burkas, or can only wear dresses, etc... The rationale, I guess, is that these dress rules make God happy and help horny men to control themselves (yeah, right).

In the Bible, Mary Magdalene played a prominent role in Jesus's ministry. But fast forward in the New Testament and you find the misogynist Paul turning women into second class citizens. By golly, Paul wanted those women quiet and submissive, and this attitude is still permeated into our culture today.

Equal Rights Amendment

When I was 13 the ERA debate was in full swing. Congress had finally passed it and it was time for the states to ratify it. Thirty-eight states must ratify it to become a constitutional amendment. Finally, Illinois, the 37th state, approved it last May. This has always blown my mind because all the amendment says is: "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex."

There I was, an idealistic 8th grader, sitting in class one day during a discussion on the ERA. I remember Chuck, who sat on the front row and was not going to have it. Since Chuck threatened to turn me into a pretzel a few times, I wasn't going to challenge him. But in the back of my mind I thought, "There is absolutely no reason why women shouldn't have 100% equality with men."

Years later I put this belief into action by volunteering for Planned Parenthood. One evening as I was leaving an event, a staff member said to me, "It's wonderful that you are doing this for your daughters." What? That thought had never occurred to me. I simply work for women's rights because it's the right thing to do. Patriarchy disgusts me.

Evolutionary History

Now, before we come down too hard on patriarchy, let's look at our human history. At one time the system might have been necessary to ensure that women focused on child birthing and rearing. In those days, it was quite a feat to get a baby to reproduction age, especially for boys who were regularly slaughtered in wars.

But patriarchy has outlived its usefulness, and our human population is now exploding. In fact, humanity has more than doubled in my lifetime. Yet, male domination is still perpetuated through ancient religions and obsolete cultural memes.

Sustainability & Equality

I find that the best indicator for determining the sustainability and maturity level of a country is by the percentage of women in a nation's parliament. If you look at the graphic below, Western Europe, Scandinavia, southern Africa, and much of Latin America are doing great. Other nations are lagging either because of backward religions or the culture of "machoism."

We like to think that the United States is an advanced nation, but we really are a backwards place, mainly because of conservative religion. Our percentage of women in the House of Representatives is only 19.4%, which is a reflection of our still-sexist culture. A more unpleasant indicator are all the sexual harassment cases that continually make the news. The U.S. still has a ways to go in respecting women and treating them as true equals.

If you are a father with daughters, you should make it clear to them that they can become a president, astronaut, or anything they want. If you promote submissiveness and second class citizenship to your daughter, then you are a weenie.

In regards to marriage, a marriage is a partnership and team. Both the man and woman should have equal say in any decision. If a husband thinks he's in charge because "he's the man of the house," don't put up with that crap. It's pure mythology.

Back in my church going days I attended one church that had women on its leadership team, and no one thought twice about it. At the last church where I was a member, it was men only. I found this insulting and it's part of the reason why I left. Many conservative churches still do not allow women in a senior leadership position, which I find pathetic. If you are a woman and feel uncomfortable with this, LEAVE that church.

Conclusion

I believe that the population explosion is the greatest threat to our planet. But, remarkably, the tools to solve this problem have been built into us all along. All we need to do is treat women as 100% equals. Some women will still want to have children, while others will pursue their dreams to become a doctor, lawyer, or small business owner. The result will be a lower birthrate. The second thing that's essential for a sustainable plant is universal access to birth control. Every woman should have the ability to control the timing and number of their births, or even the decision to have no kids.

Education and equal opportunities must be made available to every girl in the world. Patriarchy, misogyny, chauvinism, and sexism all show the insecurity and inadequacy of men. Get it together guys, and grow up!

 In the end, I'd like to see every nation in the chart above as "dark green," which means that a nation's parliament is at least 50% female. This is a sign of a healthy country and the positive message that it sends will trickle into all aspects of society. In the end, we will have a more balanced world where every girl has just as much value and respect as any boy.

Map Credit: Inter-Parliamentary Union

Photo: Seth Doyle

Democracy is Worth Saving

Humans are hierarchal animals by nature. For thousands of years we survived under the leadership of clan leaders and chiefs. Only 2,500 years ago, in Athens, Greece, was true democracy born. So, we have a few hundred thousand years under tribal leadership against 25 centuries of democratic ideals. Democracy is not a natural institution and we must turn to our higher selves to make it work.

The beauty of democracy is that it's the only way we can be truly free. We elect representatives who rule our country by voting. If we don't like a law we can elect lawmakers to change it. Democracy is not based on human nature but rather an idea and a value. We are intelligent animals who want to control our destiny, so, thus, we chose self rule.

To make Democracy work people must believe in it, people must be engaged in politics, and most importantly, the citizens must vote.

Challenges

Democracy is fragile and is continually challenged by Murphy's Law — anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Here are just a few ways our American democracy is compromised every day:

• Citizens United — The Supreme Court basically said corporations are people and are allowed to contribute to political campaigns.
• Gerrymandering — The dominant political party in a state redraws districts to give them a political advantage. 
• Foreign Intervention — Meddling in the politics of another country to promote politicians who favor the foreign nation.
• Corruption — Ballot stuffing, vote buying, computer hacking, etc.
• Political Engineering — Closing voting precincts early in minority districts, etc.
• Control of the Press — Using or restricting the media to influence elections.

Trumpism

In 2016 we saw a new way of harming democracy. The idea is to say or do anything to get elected, simply for the sake of getting elected. When we see the daily demented ramblings of Donald Trump we must remind ourselves that his election was a protest vote from within the Republican Party. And his election to president was not a result of Russian meddling, but rather desperate people in Pennsylvania and Ohio who saw their good jobs go, and were hopeful that a wildcard candidate could bring a positive change. Like so many other people, I lost my good job in my mid-50s, so I can relate.

Keep It Alive

Democracy is an extremely beautiful ideal that must be protected, loved, savored, and kept alive. For without it we become hierarchal ants who are subject to the whims of a monarch or dictator. It's essential that we VOTE in every election, get involved in political races, and donate to good candidates. NEVER become disgruntled and say "my vote won't matter" because when you do you are killing humanity's most extraordinary ideal.

Nothing irks me more when people say "we shouldn't discuss religion or politics." My god! Now is the most important time ever to discuss these topics. What we really need is a return to civility and the maturity to listen to an opposing viewpoint without getting irrational and overly emotional.

Summary

Somehow, democracy manages to survive all the many attacks. Right now we have a president that is pushing our democracy to the edge. Sadly, various Democracy Index reports show that democracy is on the decline around the world. It's critical for us to reverse this trend. For democracy to work citizens must have some education and critical thinking skills. 

A friend once told me the world would be better off with enlightened dictators. This is furthest from the truth because there are a hundred ways to define "enlightened." During my teen years I wrote a novel about a group of countries that took over the world to fix everything that was broken. In this society all lawmaking was done by a central computer called Computo. All variables were entered into the machine and it made the decisions, which became law. This is a novel I wrote from 1973-1978 as a teenager. What a crazy weird kid I was, and now, 40 years later I realize I haven't changed one bit.

Photo: Aaron Burden

Homosexuality: The Mother of Nonissues

Okay, here is the simple formula to create a senseless issue:

1. Find some writings written by goat herders in the Late Bronze Age.
2. Claim the writings are "the word of God" without providing a shred of evidence.
3. Out of hundreds of pages, cherry pick two scriptures that bash gays.
4. Use that scripture to discriminate against 7 percent of the population.

Are you kidding???? For much of my life I was a conservative Christian and the War on Gays did more than anything to push me away from religion and the Republican Party.

The ultimate turning point for me was in 1993 when my county, Cobb County, Georgia, passed an anti-gay resolution. I was still a good Michael J. Fox Republican at the time and I remember a coworker asking me, "Is hate a family value?" That comment put a fissure in my thinking that grew wider and wider.

What the Bible Says

I read it for myself and there's six scriptures commonly used to support the anti-gay agenda. Four are implied and only two hit the issue straight on:

• Leviticus 20:13 - The Bible gets straight to the point here — if you have sex with another man you are to be put to death. In fact, there are 23 capital offenses listed in the Bible. I always wondered how any Hebrew made it through life without getting executed. If you curse your parents or pick up sticks on the Sabbath, well, get ready for a stoning.
• Romans 1:26-27 - It appears that Paul is coming down on "unnatural" sex. Of course, a little later in the Bible, in 1 Corinthians 11:14, Paul says that long hair is unnatural too. And for this, my fundamentalist Christian father would drag me to the barbershop where the old barber with the shaky hand proceeded to give me a crew cut. Crap, and this was the 70s when everyone had mullets, so I really stood out. Hey, there's Todd, he's either in ROTC or a Christian fundamentalist.

Homosexuality is Natural

Despite the Apostle Paul not liking it, homosexuality is normal and natural. For the human species about 5 to 7 percent of offspring are going to be same-sex oriented. So what? It's not wrong, it's not abnormal, it is just a byproduct of our complex genetics and brain formation.

I believe homosexuality is a mix between genetic predisposition and environmental factors. According to one study, same-sex sexual behavior occurs in about 500 animal species, ranging from primates to gut worms. There will be a lot of gut worms in hell. 

The Pointlessness of Discrimination

When a person discriminates against another due to race, religion, sexuality orientation, etc... they are simply cheating themselves out of meeting wonderful people. Some of the most kindest, warmest people I've ever known happened to be gay. The gay community works hard, contributes to society, and harms no one. And I can't remember anyone ever saying that gays want special rights — only fairness and equality.

Most conservative Christians are so insulated in their yuppie religious worlds that I doubt they have any contact with gays. Yet, the issue comes up repeatedly in their War Against Everything. No marriage licenses to gays, and no putting two plastic men together on top of a wedding cake.

Sin

Growing up I've always been intrigued with the idea of "sin." Already, in our society there are tons of rules. Many are legal and civil rules, like stopping at stop signs or not punching someone for fun. Then there are all the social norm rules, like not putting your elbow on the table. Then, if you are religious you have to deal with an entire third layer of rules, which dictate what you eat, what you wear, when you can work, etc... If you break one it's called a "sin." Unlike a law, where you get thrown in jail, a sin is where you get punished later. As a young teen I tested a few sins, like skipping church, and noticed that I didn't get struck by lightening. The idea is that a "sin" pisses God off, but since Jesus died for our sins and forgave us, we're really not held accountable. We can still get into heaven no matter WHAT sin we commit, like being a serial killer. All we have to do is ask for forgiveness before we're strapped to the chair and we go to Heaven, like Ted Bundy did.

The point being is that calling homosexuality a sin is pointless, since Jesus has already paid for all sins and has forgiven all of us wild eyed heathens.

When I was in the religious community I regularly heard, "Hate the sin, love the sinner." I rarely drink and only occasionally let a curse word slip, so by the terms of the Christian evangelical I'm a good person. Well, except for all the anti-religious things I say in my blog. So, I'm happy to know that Christians will love me. Thanks, guys. But as for the gays, their sexual orientation is part of who they are, so, yes, you are hating them.

Conclusion

If a gay couple wants insurance coverage or wants to get married, it doesn't affect you good Christians in any way. So back off! The "homosexual agenda" is not destroying America or "eroding our moral fiber." Believe me, American morality is already destroyed — look at the divorce rate, even among Christians. Or look at the oversexed child that you elected as president. I mean, are you serious?

Gays have always been around and the human species has survived. I know that you need "enemies" to unify your base, but leave the gays alone. They are minding their own business and you guys should just focus on your Christmas musical and church softball teams, and all your other so-called "outreaches," which just really entertain yourselves. Better yet, make friends with a few gays and flush all your self-righteous demagoguery down the toilet.

Abortion Ban: A Step Closer To Theocracy

Few political tactics work as well as playing the abortion card at just the right times. It's a great model. First, you get the Christian evangelicals riled up by talking about murdering babies. They run to the polls and vote for extreme Republicans, who, in turn, dismantle policies that protect the environment and poor.

So, these emotionally charged Christians support big business and capitalism. You know, the economic system that is driven by selfishness and greed? Hmmm, those are two things that Jesus spoke out against in the Bible.

Anyway, I digress. Let me share a few things that most people don't know about abortion.

The History

The "pro-life" movement in the United States finds its roots in the Catholic church. Some of these people even thought that birth control was killing babies and some still do. Then there was a evangelical leader named Jerry Falwell who picked up on the idea under his organization called the Moral Majority. It was at this time that the Republican Party began the switch from fiscal conservatism to religious social control.

One of my favorite all-time politicians was Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-AZ). He rightfully opposed turning the GOP into a social issues party, and he was one of the few politicians who stood up to Falwell.

At the beginning of the 1980s the pro-life movement was born and spread. The issue still has its power as the favorite emotional button and best way to sway single-issue voters. It's the issue of the ignorant.

The Bible

The Bible makes it clear (Exodus 21:17) that if you curse your parents you must be executed. But I can't find anything about God or Jesus opposing abortion. So, suddenly evangelicals ignore all the rules about getting the death penalty for picking up sticks on Sunday, but they can find a dozen, cherry-picked scriptures on how God values life. Maybe they missed those commandments where God orders the Israelites to slaughter children in Jericho, Heshbon, and other places. Oh, and how about God drowning all those innocent children? Or God telling people to kill their OWN children. And I always felt bad for all those Egyptian babies because, well, they were innocent and had nothing to do the Pharaoh's policies.

The fact is that the Bible says NOTHING about abortion. So, it is not a religious issue at all — it's a moral issue. It is, in fact, we the people who make laws that reflect our morals at the time. For example, the Bible clearly condones slavery, but most people now agree it's wrong.

The Realities

People who jump on the pro-life train should ask a few questions:

• Are abortions on the rise? Answer: Abortions are on a 25-year decline.
• Who are these women getting abortions? Often poor and desperate. They often become pregnant under bad circumstances. What are the right-wing evangelicals doing to help them?

A win-win solution is to focus on prevention, but evangelicals say that would promote promiscuity. But what they are really saying is that prevention would take away their best political leveraging tool.

Here We Are

I'm writing this because right now a Republican president is trying to "stack the deck" on the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade. This would be Donald Trump's big brownie point earner. But for me it's another step toward an Iran-like theocracy.

When the Supreme Court voted in favor of abortion in 1973, the issue was about a woman's right to privacy. Do we really want to take that away?

And the same people who scream "murder" are the same ones who want to take subsidized breakfasts away from poor kids and remove laws so that oil companies can resume coastal drilling, where oil spills kill thousands of living creatures. The same people who want to throw women in jail for having an abortion are the same ones who allow Big Business to exploit and plunder unabated.

Harsh Reality

Another overlooked point is that no one likes abortion. Abortions are expensive, scary, and emotionally stressful. It would be nice to see some male responsibility (wear protection, be respectful, etc..). It would also be nice to see comprehensive sex education in all schools and the reopening of the teen clinics that the Christian activists pushed to close.

World population is at 7.6 billion today. When I was born in 1960 it was 3.02 billion and in 1999 it hit 6 billion. Humanity is exploding at a mind-boggling rate, and wiping out several hundred animal species every week. As we grow uncontrollably we are turning Earth into an uninhabitable, foul waste dump. In light of our Malthusian self-destruction, the small percentage of terminated pregnancies is a mute point.

Right now, here in the hell pit of Georgia, we are in a political race. I am dumbfounded how candidates are bragging about being "pro-life" and "NRA endorsed" in the same sentence. Don't they know that the sole purpose of a gun is death? Do they think people and animals giggle when their bodies are punctured with hot lead? Guns are all about murder, and the hypocrisy makes me scream.

Conclusion

So, abortion is nothing but a button to help evangelical ministers and politicians with fund-raising and votes. Once Trump puts another pro-life judge on the bench there's a real possibility that abortion will become illegal in the U.S. Women in dire circumstances will be forced to go through with their unwanted pregnancies. The Republicans will continue to cut off social services, meaning the unwanted baby will have a rough life. Everyone's right to privacy — both men and women — will be compromised. There will be more government intrusion. Women who have abortions will sit in jail. And meanwhile, the billionaires at the top will be laughing because, once again, their social engineering has paid off. Yeah, nice scenario. And for the record I am passionately pro-choice.

MORE READING: A similar take by a fellow blogger named John Pavlovitz: "Dear Pro-Life Christian, Life Is Losing Right Now."

Photo by ajay bhargav GUDURU from Pexels

Providing Context and Meaning For Our Lives

As human beings it's important that we put our lives into perspective, so that we can better understand ourselves and others.

Universe

We need to put ourselves in the context of our universe and neighboring universes. There's other lifeforms out there and we need to acknowledge that. We need to live in harmony with all alien beings and find some common purpose.

History

Our past has a huge impact on our behavior today. We need to think about not only when we were cavemen, but also apes and marsupials. Then we need to go back to when we were fish and simple animals. Through millions of years not only have our eyes developed, but also our behaviors, all driven not by the need to survive, but the need to feel good. After all, that's what really drives the universe.

Cells

Living cells are vastly complex. I believe the first cells arrived on Earth from space debris. It took far more than a billion years for a cell to evolve — the work actually began soon after the Big Bang went boom. So, for 15 trillion years our little cells evolved from molecules into the overweight, obnoxious, annoying specimens known as humans. But no worries, because the universe has all the time in the world, since the great cosmos never began and will never end.

Context

So, as you pull the tab on your Grape Fanta and look me square in the eyes, you say, "So, Todd, then, what's it all about?" I immediately think of the other civilizations out there that are allowing us to live. But why? They want to preserve our species because we struggled for trillions of years just so that we can watch a reality show on color TV.

We deserve to exist because we worked hard for it.

And as for the advanced creatures that are keeping Earth a giant, living, bio-zoo, what's the point? Because as advanced members of the universe they have a moral obligation to protect lower organisms. Why? It's a moral imperative. And what does that mean? There's really no one to write the rulebook because the universe is mostly rocks and burning hydrogen and there's no one to really care. But the aliens care because caring makes them feel good.

Meaning of Life

So, the only meaning to life that there can be is that they let us live, and we should let other lifeforms on our planet live. As supposedly intelligent beings we have a duty to be caretakers for nature and animals. Unfortunately, we are doing the exact opposite and as long as we continue this path we are a failed species. We are following Malthusian principles and simply breeding to the limit of our food supply, and leaving widespread destruction in our wake. The first agricultural revolution of 10,000 years ago was really great — or so we thought — because it allowed us to have cities. Once we could farm and store grain we stopped being nomads and we could focus on the arts, architecture, theatre, and making our religions more sophisticated. The second agricultural revolution of the 1950s then gave us another quantum leap. We were able to grow our population from 3 to 6 billion in just 40 years. And now we get to double population again from 6 to 12 billion, or at least we'll keep trying until our whole civilization comes tumbling down.

Of course, improvements in agriculture is not the only technology that allows humans to proliferate. Our medical technology allows us to save lives and extend lives. Now we get to live longer in a crowded overheated world. How fun! The whole purpose of technology is to make us more comfortable, and in so doing that we are releasing thousands of chemicals in our air, land, and sea. We are burning coal to run air conditions to keep us cool, and the emissions from power plants accumulate in the atmosphere, create a greenhouse effect, and then make us hotter. It's a vicious, untenable cycle. We have achieved a great level of comfort and as a result we now have a generation of soft, snowflakes. Evolution is all about struggling to make us hard, and technology is all about overriding evolution to make us soft. But I digress ... the main point here is that humans are breeding like wildfire and are in no danger of extinction right now, but our love for nativity and techno gadgets is driving millions of other species to extinction. Now, I ask you, IS THAT FAIR?

Stories vs. Reality

Now, as soon as we could talk, as soon as we could THINK, and as soon as we started sitting around campfires at night, we started inventing stories. Before the science we had to use stories to explain everything, and when the science came the stories stayed. At this point we humans are buried in stories, which I call mythological packages. The stories become realism for most people. My favorite author, Daniel Quinn, said that if we want to save the world we must give people a better story. On this point, I disagree. What I believe is that we must strip away the stories, or mythology, and make people look at cold hard reality, as sorry as it it.

The reality is that we are simply a cluster of cells who long ago decided they could meet their needs better as a group than as individuals. We had to because our prey was getting too big. We had to be bigger. That, my friend, is all there is to our existence. End of story.

There are hundreds of things we can do to protect our planet both on the individual level and by working for good public policy. Right now, in this dim period of our human history, the bad stories are outnumbering the good ones. But that can change, and the change begins with you and me.

Schools of Death

There was another school shooting today. This time in West Palm Beach, FL. Schools have become the place to catch bullets, just like hospitals are the place to catch germs.

My overall assessment is that there's too many evil, sick people in the U.S.A., and too many guns. Mixing guns with nut bags creates dangerous results.

Of course, we know that the U.S. Congress will do nothing. There's many things they could do to ensure reasonable gun control in this country, but they won't. They are almost as sick as the psychos who murder people, and they do share some of the responsibility.

As for the good ol' USA, hey, this is the place to die.

First there was the Columbine massacre in 1999. The generation that followed has grown up with the idea that the unthinkable is now thinkable. With every school shooting, the idea of a brief glory and a quick killing spree is embedded in the brains of little male punks who can't cope with life. Perhaps they had a bad home environment or were picked on in school. They don't have good coping mechanisms.

The press does us no favors. They interview the survivors and they tell the "story" of the victim and it almost becomes glamorous. Little Johnny was a loner who posted pictures of automatic weapons on his Facebook page. Little Johnny was always angry. Poor Little Johnny.

Sadly, the school massacres are so common that we've all gotten used to them. It's just another event on the news. We've become numb. In a few days the episode will be forgotten, except for the one school that was terrorized by the shooting. But people will just move on, and since little will be done to prevent the next shooting, it will just happen again.

Little sickos will keep scheming on how to have the sadistic, most attention-getting shootout. Can they break the dead body record? Can they slaughter more little children in an elementary school? Each sick psychopath will try to outdo the last one. After all, the more common these events get the harder it will be to grab news headlines.

As for your good Republican, NRA-lovin', right-wing, god fearin' conservatives, don't complain. This is the screwed up country you created. Justify it, blow it off, ignore it, and keep on going forward with your simpleton life. Eventually one of these shootings will affect you in some way. DON'T COMPLAIN. This is your world, buddy. Kiss your red, white and blue flag and love it. Or, kiss your Confederate flag or Nazi flag, or whatever you kiss.

As usual, I feel like the nut in the room who must state the obvious: We live in an extremely sick society. The mixture of gun crazy and evil crazy isn't working out well for us. Get those at-risk boys medicated. Kiss the pants legs of those NRA-bought Congressmen. Write them letters and thank them for another shooting.

God bless our very sick country. It's a great place to live, and a great place to die young, possibly while you're at school trying to learn something.

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