The Moon of Alabama
This is not my favorite version of this song. So far, Marianne Faithfull's version kicks David Bowie's version's ass. But here it is, and it isn't awful:
Now. Last nite, I was watching the documentary on the Mormons via the intrawebs (and you, too, can watch it at PBS.org... just seek out Frontline). Greg, a pagan, came home, and we had a huge fight about religion. I had a revelation, and Greg thought it was okay.
Here's my revelation:
I am fucking tired of being nice about everyone's religious awakening. Fuck you all. There is no god.
What brought this on was that Greg--a pagan, as I said--asked me about sunsets. I don't know why he asked me about sunsets, but he did. He asked me about sunsets, and I said it was nice to enjoy them without feeling the need to attribute them to a deity.
"That's the problem," Greg said. "Atheists don't see sunsets. They see light refracted through pollution."
Which pissed me off. He said that, and I went on a tirade. It turns out that I am goddamn tired of feeling like a soulless philistine when it comes to sunsets. Yes, I know that the most beautiful sunsets come out of pollution and random crap in the air. But I am goddamn tired of pretending that I have empathy for those who think that sunsets are a miracle.
They aren't a miracle. They are beautiful. You needn't thank anyone for them. They are a lucky gift of the universe.
Here's the thing: Fuck religion. I'm very happy that you might believe in something, but it is okay to NOT believe in anything, and it is okay to take the moments that you have, and think those moments are wonderful or horrible without feeling the need to pray to some deity.
It is okay to think that the universe is complex and scary, and that there is no control over it.
And I am tired tired tired of pretending that your devotion to assorted beings is wonderful and great. Filtering your appreciation of the world thru a religion dilutes your ability to fully appreciate the world around you.
And, I might add, I am goddamn tired of dealing with religion because War and Violence comes out of religion. I am fucking sick and tired of religious wars. Get over yourselves. Who the fuck cares about someone pissing on a bible or a koran? If you let go of religion, you'll find that the wonders of a sunset are far more mysterious and powerful--because you don't have the easy way out, you can't just say, wow, God did a wonderful job.
Greg, during my tirade, said that he is often embarrassed because I get so close-minded when I argue religion. He cited a few examples when he was sad for me because I got pissy with a few friends over religion.
I told him I made the mistake of trying to be respectful of people's beliefs, and pulled punches because I didn't want to make it personal. But fuck that--they have no problem attacking atheists. Most people have no problem saying, 'Well, it is deeper' or 'It is about belief,' and most atheists, being decent humanists, don't want to attack another human's basic guiding principle.
But. The thing is... without atheists, we'll all end up in a theocratic society. It is okay to be bitchy. It's okay to ridicule, because, shit, people need to be ridiculed right now.
And while arguing with Greg, I realized how tired I was of apologizing for being an atheist. I realized how compromising I'd been--I remembered how, in high school, I'd written a letter to the editor of the local paper, about how my graduating class was determined to ignore the ban on prayer at public schools, and force a prayer at graduation. I remember how I wrote a letter to the editor on how stupid it was to defy the law, and how it was fine for the students to pray in other places. And how, after the letter ran, I had to call my grandmother to tell her that, no, I hadn't written the letter--they'd edited it to make it seem worse than it was.
I had to do that to keep myself in the will. My dad's will.
Religion is okay. But so are sunsets. So are people having lives. Must we continue this shit of celebrating our own accomplishments by thanking deities? Wouldn't we all appreciate life more if we could just say, wow, what a great fucking sunset? What a great goddamn day?
Click to viewNow. Last nite, I was watching the documentary on the Mormons via the intrawebs (and you, too, can watch it at PBS.org... just seek out Frontline). Greg, a pagan, came home, and we had a huge fight about religion. I had a revelation, and Greg thought it was okay.
Here's my revelation:
I am fucking tired of being nice about everyone's religious awakening. Fuck you all. There is no god.
What brought this on was that Greg--a pagan, as I said--asked me about sunsets. I don't know why he asked me about sunsets, but he did. He asked me about sunsets, and I said it was nice to enjoy them without feeling the need to attribute them to a deity.
"That's the problem," Greg said. "Atheists don't see sunsets. They see light refracted through pollution."
Which pissed me off. He said that, and I went on a tirade. It turns out that I am goddamn tired of feeling like a soulless philistine when it comes to sunsets. Yes, I know that the most beautiful sunsets come out of pollution and random crap in the air. But I am goddamn tired of pretending that I have empathy for those who think that sunsets are a miracle.
They aren't a miracle. They are beautiful. You needn't thank anyone for them. They are a lucky gift of the universe.
Here's the thing: Fuck religion. I'm very happy that you might believe in something, but it is okay to NOT believe in anything, and it is okay to take the moments that you have, and think those moments are wonderful or horrible without feeling the need to pray to some deity.
It is okay to think that the universe is complex and scary, and that there is no control over it.
And I am tired tired tired of pretending that your devotion to assorted beings is wonderful and great. Filtering your appreciation of the world thru a religion dilutes your ability to fully appreciate the world around you.
And, I might add, I am goddamn tired of dealing with religion because War and Violence comes out of religion. I am fucking sick and tired of religious wars. Get over yourselves. Who the fuck cares about someone pissing on a bible or a koran? If you let go of religion, you'll find that the wonders of a sunset are far more mysterious and powerful--because you don't have the easy way out, you can't just say, wow, God did a wonderful job.
Greg, during my tirade, said that he is often embarrassed because I get so close-minded when I argue religion. He cited a few examples when he was sad for me because I got pissy with a few friends over religion.
I told him I made the mistake of trying to be respectful of people's beliefs, and pulled punches because I didn't want to make it personal. But fuck that--they have no problem attacking atheists. Most people have no problem saying, 'Well, it is deeper' or 'It is about belief,' and most atheists, being decent humanists, don't want to attack another human's basic guiding principle.
But. The thing is... without atheists, we'll all end up in a theocratic society. It is okay to be bitchy. It's okay to ridicule, because, shit, people need to be ridiculed right now.
And while arguing with Greg, I realized how tired I was of apologizing for being an atheist. I realized how compromising I'd been--I remembered how, in high school, I'd written a letter to the editor of the local paper, about how my graduating class was determined to ignore the ban on prayer at public schools, and force a prayer at graduation. I remember how I wrote a letter to the editor on how stupid it was to defy the law, and how it was fine for the students to pray in other places. And how, after the letter ran, I had to call my grandmother to tell her that, no, I hadn't written the letter--they'd edited it to make it seem worse than it was.
I had to do that to keep myself in the will. My dad's will.
Religion is okay. But so are sunsets. So are people having lives. Must we continue this shit of celebrating our own accomplishments by thanking deities? Wouldn't we all appreciate life more if we could just say, wow, what a great fucking sunset? What a great goddamn day?