My Little Piece of the Pie
(Top Posts - Philosophy (FREELOVER) - 081100)

Imagine being raised the son of a Southern Baptist preacher in
the heart of Texas. Imagine going to church practically every
Sunday morning and evening (and most Wednesday evenings)
for the first 18 years of your life. Imagine having doubts and
concerns about the faith while at the same time trying to honor
and respect the faith and your parents. ...

******* DISCLAIMER ******** If you are in any way
offended by an open discussion of religious, political, and
social issues, DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT read the following
post! If, on the other hand, you are an open-minded individual
fascinated by perspectives differing from your own, read on
and enjoy my open and frank discussion of some of the core
issues impacting our lives.

-----

I'm mad as hell and I'm not gonna take it anymore! What
is it that we're all prancing about? Why are we here? Where
are we going? Why are we pretending instead of just being?
We all seek happiness, yet our way of going about it is quite
a bit convoluted, don't you think, maybe?

Well, you see, happiness is a tricky little devil. The key to
happiness is control. To get control, we, society as a whole,
has dumped its values and bent over backwards to worship
the almighty cow, the God of conformity. Ironic, isn't it?

To conform is to give up control yet in conforming we
strive to gain control by getting our little piece of the pie.

That little slice that's gonna somehow save us from oblivion.

That little piece that's somehow gonna enable us to survive.

That little piece that ain't worth nothin'. Conform to whatever.
Make sure you fit in. Trust in the knowledge of the whole.
Oh, it's OK to deviate as long as you get the acceptance of
the whole. As long as you sway the whole. NONSENSE!

Where's the truth or beauty in this insanity?

We conform in mindless adherence to whatever is popular in
order to seek acceptance, to gain control by eliminating thought.
Why think about anything? Just conform to whatever notion is
popular. What the heck is going on in this country? What the
heck is going on in this world?

Why, for the love of all that is truthful, do we peter away our
precious little time on this planet surrounded and entrapped
by rules upon rules upon rules upon rules upon rules upon
rules upon rules upon rules upon rules upon ....... ?????

This is nuts!

Clue in - we don't know where we came from, we don't
know why we're here, and we don't know where we're going,
PERIOD.

Each and every one of us was stone cold DEAD for each
and every second-minute-hour-day-year for an unimaginably
long period of time until our cognizant awareness circa
12,000,000,039, 12,000,000,053, .... years after the BIG
BANG, whatever, DEAD for an all-but-eternity of time.

Where were you in '82? No, not 1982, I'm talking 1882
here. DEAD, unconscious, unaware, unborn. A non-entity.
A zot-zero-not for squat nothing. Why, for the love of all
that is sane, would we presume that upon our arrival, should
we believe in whatever religious myth has been passed down
to our particular culture, that we-you-I will become Gods
and live forever? InSaNiTy!

Why take comfort in myth? Why take comfort in lies and
deception? Why create a culture and society based on myth
and deception? Why pollute our kids with said myths to be
passed on from generation to generation?

The fantastic advances in science which have occurred over
the past few decades have revealed to us, to humankind, a new
truth. A truth absent of religious myth. A truth absent of any
belief in invisible and silent deities. A truth of our heritage,
our evolution, our place in the animal kingdom, our genetic
position on the planet. A truth, pure and uncontaminated by
belief - pure and unadulterated truth.

True, science has yet to explain what it's all about but the
beauty of science is its open admission that it doesn't know
what it's all about but it is extremely curious in seeking an
answer.

Every culture, across the planet, developed its own religion.
EVERY group of beings. EVERY society. Heck, as if that
weren't enough, a group of Mormons came up with their
own subculture religion in the 19th century based on some
kind of alternative Jesus belief system.

... ... ...

So, faced with the reality of our natural origins and the reality
of the multitude of myths concocted over the recent journey
of humankind into an understanding of how we came to be
a naturally evolved creature in a natural world, how do we
make life better?

Well, admitting our own lack of knowledge of what it's all about
and striving for the truth would be a good start.

Second of all, recognizing that rules are NOT the key to, well,
they're NOT the key to anything but slavery. Do we want to
be slaves? Do we want to live our lives in fear and submission?
NO!

GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH! Man, I love
those words!!

Rebel against the insanity which permeates our culture and
world. Rebel against the tyranny of the privileged few. Rebel
against the insurance companies, rebel against the MAN - the
corporate goons who control 50 or so of our waking hours
each week. Rebel against blind faith - what a cockamamie
notion that people should blindly follow anything without
any substantiation whatsoever.

Stand up for truth!!! Not belief, TRUTH!!! Recognize truth!!!
Admire and respect TRUTH!!!

You shall know the truth [not the phony so-called truth
of religions but the truth of that which can be experienced
and realized through critical thinking - open-minded and
always questioning fundamental realities] and the truth
shall set you free!!!!

Honor freedom!!!!

Honor knowledge!!!!

Enjoy what little time you have on this earth for I guarantee,
with God-Mohammed-Buddha-whoever you can come up
with, THIS IS IT, this is the BIG SHOW. Enjoy it while
you can 'cause it ain't gonna be around for long.

The search for the truth. That is inspiring. That is noble.
That is fantastic.

The conformity to outdated and ancient belief systems,
that really reeks. Yikes, how many friggin' laws do we
have to come up with to realize they're nothin' but a
conspiracy of the rich and powerful against the rest of
us?

If you and I aren't controlling anything in religion or politics
or work then who the hell is? I guarantee you it's the guys
and gals with the dough. They're the ones in the know.
They're the ones with the connections. They're the ones
pulling the strings. We're nothing put party fodder for their
frivolous and self-indulgent excesses.

So, what am I saying here? Rebel, simply put, rebel. Accept
nothing, trust no one. They're all out to get you. After all, they
started lying to you when you were an innocent little kid. Why
the heck would they be fessin' up when you're all grown up
and can cause 'em some discomfort, as in trying to figure out
what life is really all about and where we all fit in in the grand
scheme of things?