stop trippin’ over yourself - better: stop trippin’
[22 Jul 2008 | Tuesday] {reposted from myspace. why do I even bother over there?} 
Current mood: mouthy
I'm a conservative girl. If you know me - you know this. Conservative in that I'm not so much of a party animal, and I tend not to show large amounts of skin on the regular. And while some may have (at one point in time or another) referred to me as such, I have never merited the title: slut, ho, or any such thing. [Not that other women do, mind you.]
My politics, though? Liberal. The fact being that I don't believe in requiring the citizens of a free nation to conform to my own beliefs about how one should live, except for the very most basic which could be diluted down to the first part of the Hippocratic oath: Do No Harm.
My political beliefs encompass my religious and social beliefs as well - or maybe vice versa. It's actually more likely that it is my religious beliefs that feed all others. I do not believe that others should be made to live in a way that is not in accordance with their own conscience. Easy examples of this come from the 'blue' laws that prohibit the sale of alcohol on Sundays. Ridiculous. And people actually get amped up about that. I don't get it.
So how much more ill do I get when I see/hear of folks in church who are similarly intolerant of fellow-believers who are living according to their own conscience?
Folks, other folks have lots of great things to say. And if you really believe what she says, then you'll study your Bibles and look to her only for further exposition. But I know this stuff comes around in waves - and it's been a while since folks got super conservative/"holy".
It's interesting to me that converts [as opposed to born-and-raised(s)] are more likely to jump on conservative/fundamentalist bandwagons. This is apparently true no matter what religious belief you ascribe to - Muslim, Christian, Moonie, whatever. But seeing how much trouble is caused by fundamentalist persecution, I would expect thinking people to observe this, and step back from the precipice.
Thinking is the operative word, though. I'm learning that I have had unrealistic expectations of some people, simply because of their backgrounds or affinities. But thinking - critical [and at times, objective] thinking - is a skill that is less developed than I'd imagined. It isn't linked with age, necessarily. Nor gender. Not race, creed, ability, import, preference, or education. It is linked with choice and understanding.
And now we see that the opposite, then, of critical thinking, is stupidity. Yes. Because stupidity is the choice NOT to learn. Rebellion against being affected by knowledge to attain wisdom and understanding = stupidity.
This stupidity tends not to remain bottled up, however, It must always be shaken up like a warm soda, and spewed forth to leave its stickiness on as many unfortunate bystanders as possible. Sometimes, positively breaking down growth that had happened in other places - in other people.
In specific, I'm railing against those who have chosen to embrace the stupid in their lives, to the detriment of their friends and family. Those who hurt their children by restricting their friendships based on race, religion, gender, etc. Those who hurt their families by limiting their exposure to the outside world to the point of ineptitude. Those who hurt their friends by effectively cutting off communication with 'non/unbelievers'.
Stop trippin'. Cuz with all the steps you take - all the motions you go through - you're still no better than anyone else. Yes. That's what it's all about. Building walls is all about determining that you are better than the ones that you're keeping out. Which will never make sense, until you realize that the world will go on without you. And you haven't made an exclusive club: membership = 1. You've created a fence that separates you from connections with those things that make you human.
Current mood: mouthy
I'm a conservative girl. If you know me - you know this. Conservative in that I'm not so much of a party animal, and I tend not to show large amounts of skin on the regular. And while some may have (at one point in time or another) referred to me as such, I have never merited the title: slut, ho, or any such thing. [Not that other women do, mind you.]
My politics, though? Liberal. The fact being that I don't believe in requiring the citizens of a free nation to conform to my own beliefs about how one should live, except for the very most basic which could be diluted down to the first part of the Hippocratic oath: Do No Harm.
My political beliefs encompass my religious and social beliefs as well - or maybe vice versa. It's actually more likely that it is my religious beliefs that feed all others. I do not believe that others should be made to live in a way that is not in accordance with their own conscience. Easy examples of this come from the 'blue' laws that prohibit the sale of alcohol on Sundays. Ridiculous. And people actually get amped up about that. I don't get it.
So how much more ill do I get when I see/hear of folks in church who are similarly intolerant of fellow-believers who are living according to their own conscience?
Folks, other folks have lots of great things to say. And if you really believe what she says, then you'll study your Bibles and look to her only for further exposition. But I know this stuff comes around in waves - and it's been a while since folks got super conservative/"holy".
It's interesting to me that converts [as opposed to born-and-raised(s)] are more likely to jump on conservative/fundamentalist bandwagons. This is apparently true no matter what religious belief you ascribe to - Muslim, Christian, Moonie, whatever. But seeing how much trouble is caused by fundamentalist persecution, I would expect thinking people to observe this, and step back from the precipice.
Thinking is the operative word, though. I'm learning that I have had unrealistic expectations of some people, simply because of their backgrounds or affinities. But thinking - critical [and at times, objective] thinking - is a skill that is less developed than I'd imagined. It isn't linked with age, necessarily. Nor gender. Not race, creed, ability, import, preference, or education. It is linked with choice and understanding.
And now we see that the opposite, then, of critical thinking, is stupidity. Yes. Because stupidity is the choice NOT to learn. Rebellion against being affected by knowledge to attain wisdom and understanding = stupidity.
This stupidity tends not to remain bottled up, however, It must always be shaken up like a warm soda, and spewed forth to leave its stickiness on as many unfortunate bystanders as possible. Sometimes, positively breaking down growth that had happened in other places - in other people.
In specific, I'm railing against those who have chosen to embrace the stupid in their lives, to the detriment of their friends and family. Those who hurt their children by restricting their friendships based on race, religion, gender, etc. Those who hurt their families by limiting their exposure to the outside world to the point of ineptitude. Those who hurt their friends by effectively cutting off communication with 'non/unbelievers'.
Stop trippin'. Cuz with all the steps you take - all the motions you go through - you're still no better than anyone else. Yes. That's what it's all about. Building walls is all about determining that you are better than the ones that you're keeping out. Which will never make sense, until you realize that the world will go on without you. And you haven't made an exclusive club: membership = 1. You've created a fence that separates you from connections with those things that make you human.