As folks here know, I identify myself spiritually as a “lapsed Druid with
strong Buddhist proclivities.” I’m not shy about telling local folks the same
thing. Most of the time I get grins. Once or twice someone has asked me to
explain Druidism. (I can’t. No one can. They didn’t leave anything written. The
only records we have of them are from Roman occupiers, who tried to exterminate
them and did a pretty good job. Druidism is most inferred from what we know of
Celtic culture. The inferences may or may not be anywhere close to the mark.)
Occasionally, I get a “Cool!”
When I was growing up in the Southern Appalachians, where religion was and
remains a way of life, I was pretty openly agnostic. The vast majority of
people I knew or talked with were extremely pleasant about it, and I had many a
good theological discussion, the contents of which matured and broadened with
acquisition of age. Every now and again I’d be asked if I was ready to burn in
hell for all of eternity. Today, the one or two people who have asked me that
question have received the reply, “If you can ask that question of a fellow
human being, then you are already there.”
Today, I believe things have changed. Instant communication and what appears to
be automatic polarization has led us to a place where we regularly insult one
another for no apparent good reason. I suspect we will work through this, too.
Frankly, I’m glad the lunatic fringe on both sides of the equation seems to
content itself mostly with posting scurrilous comments on Facebook rather than
working toward actually fomenting revolt.
I have a FB friend from way back who is radically right and religiously ultra
conservative, and for a while after President Obama was reelected, he would
post memes from a group called “Secede or Die”. After about the 10th share on
his timeline from this group, I commented that I wished Secede or Die would do
one or the other. I told him I would prefer them to just die, but if they
wanted to secede then they should proceed.
As far as I know, the action is still limited to Facebook, which is a very good
place for it to be.
--Bob Whitmire
Certified Neanderthal
On Mar 5, 2014, at 4:13 PM, Moose <olymoose@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> On 3/5/2014 1:53 AM, Andrew Fildes wrote:
>> Don't remember quite doing that - in fact I seem to remember trying to avoid
>> it and I can't find the bucket of tar anyway - must have left it in the
>> bottom shed so the geese get to keep their feathers.
>
> It pops up from time to time in your comments about the US, as it just did in
> the atheist comment. It's not just the
> single line, but the implication that US attitudes toward and treatment of
> atheists is somehow on a par with the
> requirement to wear burqas and the other ways that women are very extensively
> oppressed, and apparently, all too often
> physically abused, in some other places.
<snip>
--
_________________________________________________________________
Options: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/listinfo/olympus
Archives: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/private/olympus/
Themed Olympus Photo Exhibition: http://www.tope.nl/
|