Once More With Feeling

I think maybe my age really is beginning to show. This morning, I received a text message. It said something like, “Hi Richard, this is your FEDEX driver. I’ve been trying to deliver your package, but you have not been at home. Please go to this address (and they place a URL in the text) and let me know when would be a good time to deliver. Thanks.” So, I’m supposed to be stupid enough to click on the URL, thereby being transferred to someplace that will destroy my phone and compromise all my data, in hopes of milking some money from me.  And that was the fourth time they sent this identical text to me.

And heavens, that represents but one example of dozens where con men are trying to destroy me and others like me.  Remember how everyone said that Ronnie Reagan made it ok again to be a racist, with his chattering on about welfare queens driving around in Cadillacs?  Well, apparently Trump has topped that one. Apparently, when one of our glorious leaders does something, then that sends a signal to his troops that the specific thing he did is now ok for the rest of the people.  So, Trump demonstrated over and over that it was ok to:

·         Lie

·         Act racist

·         Act like a Nazi

·         Con people

·         Say/do stupid things

And what has happened as a result?

QAnon is formed precisely in order to sell lies to the American people, and not just lies, but monumentally stupid lies.

The KKK experiences a new lease on life and is now once again proud to demonstrate, accompanied of course by the Proud Boy Nazi’s and others of that ilk. What, after all was the attack on the Capitol on January 6^th, but a Trump inspired Hate Rally by those same Proud Boys and others of their ilk?

And then, of course, we have the Evangels joining hands with the racists and the Nazis’ to create and then pass laws to keep people from doing things—Vote, live like humans, experience equality. Evangels seem especially nasty regarding gender equality and gender identification. They really hate women, gays, transfolks, and seem not to mind that their BFFs (Proud Boys) act racist.

And then all the Nation’s Con Men have come out of their respective closets. The Con is the game of the day. Now to be fair, Trump seemed to specialize in big cons, e.g., Trump University. But he also practiced little cons –“come and do some work for me at one of my buildings”. And then he refuses to pay them.  So, the Con Game is up and running in America.

I am now concluding two big things about this end stage of my life.

1.      The End of America is near at hand. If Trump did all that shit, and a few thousand people showed up to vote for him, I’d say, “well, America has some idiots, but we’re still basically a good place to live.” But, no, millions showed up to vote for him. Millions. Think of that.  74 million people actually turned out to vote for this Con Man, Trump. And you can say, correctly, “Well, 81 million turned out to vote for Biden”. And that would be correct. Still, think about that. 74 million people actually voted for Donald Trump.  So, now all those people and the people who are their BFFs, feel it’s ok to riot and throw Hate at the Capitol.  That it’s really ok to be a racist, or throw Trans folks under the bus, or in fact con the public in any way possible.  That it’s ok to lie, even to tell preposterous porkies (think Jewish Space Lasers starting the forest fires in California). And that all that WW II thing, where thousands of our troops died to save the world from Nazi’s, well that was just misplaced trust. Obviously Hitler was a guy wronged by the World. Right???

2.     The End of the God Thing. I now understand that there really is no God.  The best explanation for the Trump racists, Nazi’s, Con Men, Evangel Monsters, is random evolutionary expansion. As our population grows, so do the number of weird, awful, pigs who inhabit our planet.  No self-respecting God would ever create such awful creatures. Surely, like viruses keep on varying themselves, so do humans, and much of the human variation produces awful outcomes, seemingly getting worse almost daily.  If there is an actual God, then I imagine her sitting somewhere laughing heartily every day at the stupid, awful things being done by humans, on all parts of the planet. Yeah, and Joe Biden stands no chance at correcting even just the awful things being done by that 74 million on a daily basis.  So, laugh God, laugh. If you created this mess, then have a good laugh on us.

      And then I observe our great zeal to extricate ourselves from places like Afghanistan, after 20 years.  Good, huh? Yeah, but I imagine it will take about 30 minutes after that last plane leaves Kabul, before the Taliban will have retaken the country. And then the games begin again.  So, go ahead Joe, get us out of that damnable place. Nothing we do will ever change the facts of Afghanistan specifically, or that Middle East bunch generally. They love killing too much.  Hey God, was that really your intent? Or were you momentarily distracted while creating all your awful Evangels who love to impose their stupid will on innocents? Yeah, pay attention God. Oh, but there is no God, is there?

Gods and Other Fantasies

I have begun thinking anew about the existence of God. When I penned my last thoughts on this subject, I admitted to not possessing any actual knowledge of the existence, or lack thereof, of a God, or Goddess. But of late, I believe we are gathering some substantial evidence for the absence of any godlike interventions, including especially with regard to the existence of humankind creatures.   I believe we can now safely assume that man was created more or less accidentally, perhaps as a result of an aberrant evolutionary mechanism.  I have been wondering for some time now, as I watch the dreadful events unfold throughout the Middle East. I mean, ISIS alone could be the key to understanding that either: a) there is no God; b) if there is a god, it is a cruel and horrid thing, certainly unworthy of any form of worshiping on the part of humankind; or, c) if there is a God, that entity surely never intervenes for good or evil in the affairs of humankind.  The constant slaughter on all sides of innocents and evildoers alike seems all the evidence we need (Bibi, please take note).

And then we have this “exceptional” land called the US of A. And as if the now routine shooting of folks whose main crime appears to be faulty taillights is not enough, this assault by state legislatures/gubernators to adopt “religious protectorates” that allow their faithful to discriminate to their hearts content against any and all folks who fail to measure up to their standards of good Christian behavior seems to seal the deal for me.

I felt badly for that pizza parlor that wanted to offend homosexuals everywhere by refusing to serve them, with the resulting furor causing them to go under.  I mean, if you can’t discriminate, what the hell good is organized religion?  But then the public furor caused the good Christian Taliban to come out of the woodwork to begin tossing money at the pizza parlor owners—nearly a cool million.  So all was well in the land again, unless that is, you’re Gay, or Lesbian, or transgender. I assume, one could postulate a religious belief that suggests one should discriminate against any class. Let’s see, can I claim a religious belief that allows me to refuse to serve Mormons, because of their (prior??) belief in multiple spouses?  Or perhaps, I can discriminate against all those folks who don’t eat meat on Fridays?? Remember that fun game?? Or, obviously, if I am a good Christian follower, I might well refuse to serve Muslims. Maybe, I can refuse to serve anyone who wears a beard, or wears a turban, or sports a tattoo. Or how about Scientologists? Surely it's ok to discriminate against the terminally stupid.

See, it’s always a religious belief that allows one to act like a dickhead.  Which means to me that perhaps organized religion is the problem.  And maybe that means that God is either not paying attention, or doesn't exist after all. Just a thought folks.

Let’s see if we can pass some legislation that outlaws organized religion of any kind. If you’re going to be kind, and act morally, just do it. You don’t need to cite a religious clause in some ancient novel penned by ignorant white guys seeking power over their fellow man. Just do it. Act like decent human beings. Help your fellow man, instead of bombing him.

Oh, and if there is a God, my money is on that creature(s) being a woman.  So act accordingly.