Belief
Belief is a funny thing, really. True belief is founded in faith. Or perhaps they're the same thing. Faith is believing in something without proof of its existance. People try to rationalize faith and belief, they always point to some sort of evidence to cite, "well then it must be true!" This doesn't work with belief though. Belief in something based off of evidence isn't true belief. Hell, it's easy to do that.
I've been thinking a lot about belief anymore, what I believe in, what I have believed in in the past, and what other people believe in, and the whys for all of that. When I was little I believed that Santa Clause was a real person who flew around on a sleigh pulled by magic reindeer. Thanks to common sense, and an ill-willed wolder brother, I soon learned the truth of that. I believed in the tooth-fairy. How silly is that anyway? Belief in a fairy that comes and gives you money for bones that have fallen out of your skull. No doubt its roots can be found in ancient Gaelic mythos as they truly (albeit superstitiously) believed in actual fairies. It's a long jump from those fairies to a woman with wings and a wand that goes around trading money for teeth. Given differing prices for teeth among my friends and I, and a brilliantly designed (for an 8 year old) trap to catch said tooth fairy (which I never used, because I didn't REALLY want to catch my parents) I also learned the truth of that.
What else? The easter bunny. The stork. Dragons. Leprechauns. Freedom. Truth. Justice. God. Love. Heaven. Hell. That someone cares about prayers. Something other than random chance. Do I still believe in these? Some of them. Maybe. I hope I do. Yet, my favorite line Demosthenes ever wrote was: "Nothing is easier than self-deceit. For what each man wishes, that he also believes to be true." So am I believing in a thing, simply be I wish it to be true? It makes life easy, belief. Faith in something larger than yourself. A reason. A purpose. But how much of it is humans wishing for something and believing in it because it's easier? Makes me wonder did God invent man for some unknown reason? Or did man invent God for a much needed reason?
Religion isn't the point though. It's only natural that belief eventually comes back to religion as that's what religion is all about. Belief. But no, what about all the other things? What about dragons and fairies? What about Santa Clause and the tooth fairy. I would lay blame for my (and indeed, I think many peoples') cynical and skeptical nature at their feet. Or rather, at the feet of the people who teach these things as belief to their children. In America at least, we're taught from an early age to seek truth. To learn, to know, and yet from the onset we're given ideas, concepts, beliefs that those teaching us know very well are not true. Seek truth young man! Learn all you can! Here, let me tell you about Santa Clause and the tooth fairy. How wrong is this system? Seek truth, while we, the people you're to trust and learn from lie to you. Not out of malice, but because it's "cute." Because, it's easier than trying to teach you the truth just now, we'll make things up, and let you figure out the lie on your own. We teach our children not to trust from the VERY START! We give them the high minded ideal of going after the truth by handing them lies from the start! It's no wonder at all that people are cynical and jaded.
Look further past early childhood. Really look! Truth, justice and the American Way. Ever hear that phrase? Too bad the American way no longer has dick to do with truth or justice. The American way is all about money and how to get more of it. It's about screwing your neighbor and helping yourself. I'm not talking about the war in Iraq, or our foreign affairs (for the most part). I APPLAUD that. That is one of the only bits of high-minded American idealism at work. Terrorist, tyrants, dictators, people who persecute genocide and prey on the weak and helpless. Might DOES NOT equal right. But, might most certainly should be used for right. You see, the problem is peoples' confusion on the subject. People look at America as using "might is right," or saying we impose our will on other countries. We don't. We help countries like Iraq where there are REAL monsters and tyrants using the might to oppress and saying they're right in doing so. Being mighty isn't wrong. Using it wrongly is wrong.
But getting back to the subject of the American way and truth and justice. Oh, there are a few good people here and their. Upstanding citizens who pay their taxes, send their sons and daughters to defend out country out of true patriotism, and try their damnedest to love their neighbor, blah, blah, blah. But look at TV. Look at the news. No one cares about those people, except as the occasional "aww, feel good and pat yourself on the back" spot on the 5 o'clock news. No, it's the murders, the rapists, the capitalists who aren't trying to earn an HONEST buck that make the news. It's the schemers, and the grinches. It's the con-man and the politicians. They're what America has become, and their what most people have to look up to as role-models. It's no big surprise that in a society like this, after ENRON, and Martha Stewart, and the like that people LOOK for the bad guys everywhere. Clearly, we couldn't be fighting a war to HELP anyone. No, we must be doing it for oil. We're trained from the cradle to be cynics. We question everything decent and honest because decency and honesty can't win in the modern world, and probably never won before. That's why King Arthur's Britain is just a myth. There was never a time where people were generous and kind. It didn't exist. It's a myth we hand to children with one hand, while slapping them upside the head with reality with the other.
There's no room for Santa or the tooth fairy in our world. They're a joke we play on children for a cheap and ultimately false smile. But it's ok, they'll learn the truth soon enough. And since their parents lied to them about it, then so everyone else must be lying about everything. There's no justice, nothing. Ultimately, is there even truth? 'Cause even if we find it, we can't accept it - cause who's to say it's not lying to us too.
I've been thinking a lot about belief anymore, what I believe in, what I have believed in in the past, and what other people believe in, and the whys for all of that. When I was little I believed that Santa Clause was a real person who flew around on a sleigh pulled by magic reindeer. Thanks to common sense, and an ill-willed wolder brother, I soon learned the truth of that. I believed in the tooth-fairy. How silly is that anyway? Belief in a fairy that comes and gives you money for bones that have fallen out of your skull. No doubt its roots can be found in ancient Gaelic mythos as they truly (albeit superstitiously) believed in actual fairies. It's a long jump from those fairies to a woman with wings and a wand that goes around trading money for teeth. Given differing prices for teeth among my friends and I, and a brilliantly designed (for an 8 year old) trap to catch said tooth fairy (which I never used, because I didn't REALLY want to catch my parents) I also learned the truth of that.
What else? The easter bunny. The stork. Dragons. Leprechauns. Freedom. Truth. Justice. God. Love. Heaven. Hell. That someone cares about prayers. Something other than random chance. Do I still believe in these? Some of them. Maybe. I hope I do. Yet, my favorite line Demosthenes ever wrote was: "Nothing is easier than self-deceit. For what each man wishes, that he also believes to be true." So am I believing in a thing, simply be I wish it to be true? It makes life easy, belief. Faith in something larger than yourself. A reason. A purpose. But how much of it is humans wishing for something and believing in it because it's easier? Makes me wonder did God invent man for some unknown reason? Or did man invent God for a much needed reason?
Religion isn't the point though. It's only natural that belief eventually comes back to religion as that's what religion is all about. Belief. But no, what about all the other things? What about dragons and fairies? What about Santa Clause and the tooth fairy. I would lay blame for my (and indeed, I think many peoples') cynical and skeptical nature at their feet. Or rather, at the feet of the people who teach these things as belief to their children. In America at least, we're taught from an early age to seek truth. To learn, to know, and yet from the onset we're given ideas, concepts, beliefs that those teaching us know very well are not true. Seek truth young man! Learn all you can! Here, let me tell you about Santa Clause and the tooth fairy. How wrong is this system? Seek truth, while we, the people you're to trust and learn from lie to you. Not out of malice, but because it's "cute." Because, it's easier than trying to teach you the truth just now, we'll make things up, and let you figure out the lie on your own. We teach our children not to trust from the VERY START! We give them the high minded ideal of going after the truth by handing them lies from the start! It's no wonder at all that people are cynical and jaded.
Look further past early childhood. Really look! Truth, justice and the American Way. Ever hear that phrase? Too bad the American way no longer has dick to do with truth or justice. The American way is all about money and how to get more of it. It's about screwing your neighbor and helping yourself. I'm not talking about the war in Iraq, or our foreign affairs (for the most part). I APPLAUD that. That is one of the only bits of high-minded American idealism at work. Terrorist, tyrants, dictators, people who persecute genocide and prey on the weak and helpless. Might DOES NOT equal right. But, might most certainly should be used for right. You see, the problem is peoples' confusion on the subject. People look at America as using "might is right," or saying we impose our will on other countries. We don't. We help countries like Iraq where there are REAL monsters and tyrants using the might to oppress and saying they're right in doing so. Being mighty isn't wrong. Using it wrongly is wrong.
But getting back to the subject of the American way and truth and justice. Oh, there are a few good people here and their. Upstanding citizens who pay their taxes, send their sons and daughters to defend out country out of true patriotism, and try their damnedest to love their neighbor, blah, blah, blah. But look at TV. Look at the news. No one cares about those people, except as the occasional "aww, feel good and pat yourself on the back" spot on the 5 o'clock news. No, it's the murders, the rapists, the capitalists who aren't trying to earn an HONEST buck that make the news. It's the schemers, and the grinches. It's the con-man and the politicians. They're what America has become, and their what most people have to look up to as role-models. It's no big surprise that in a society like this, after ENRON, and Martha Stewart, and the like that people LOOK for the bad guys everywhere. Clearly, we couldn't be fighting a war to HELP anyone. No, we must be doing it for oil. We're trained from the cradle to be cynics. We question everything decent and honest because decency and honesty can't win in the modern world, and probably never won before. That's why King Arthur's Britain is just a myth. There was never a time where people were generous and kind. It didn't exist. It's a myth we hand to children with one hand, while slapping them upside the head with reality with the other.
There's no room for Santa or the tooth fairy in our world. They're a joke we play on children for a cheap and ultimately false smile. But it's ok, they'll learn the truth soon enough. And since their parents lied to them about it, then so everyone else must be lying about everything. There's no justice, nothing. Ultimately, is there even truth? 'Cause even if we find it, we can't accept it - cause who's to say it's not lying to us too.