Rant & Roll

Ken Johnston

Well here we go again! Man, did you hit a nerve, Don! I don’t have time for this…but… (I hope you don’t mind – I’m sharing my thoughts with a few friends…do not go beyond this point if you can’t stand the "F" word…)

 I’m sorry Don – I just can’t believe intelligent people still buy into this crap about Obama (below). You have to be a complete racist if you are able to accept this so easily - it must be what you want to believe – why even question it? This junk has already been debunked by websites like snopes.com and by reputable (non-FOX) news agencies and still it manages to make the email circuits again and find believers.  Goddamn Fox news, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and the rest of those idiots for screwing up this gullible country and my vulnerable family with their lies. Politics has always been a dirty game, each bending the truth about their opponents, you remember, like having babies out of wedlock and so on, but this new crop of liars hit new heights starting with Karl Rove and his pure fiction about John Kerry (remember the now debunked swift boat lies? If you still believe them you’re not looking for facts hard enough!) and it continued through the Bush years. The result is that now the Republicans are devouring each other and swimming in their pool of mendacity because that’s all they know how to do now – and they’re really good at it. Hell, FOX "news" makes Al Jazeera the voice of reason.  Watch it sometime and see what good reporting looks like.  I’ve never seen folks so displaced from reality like FOX viewers. It’s like they’re on a different plane of reality – like this stuff you sent me – do you really think Obama was in bed with Khaddafi and Chavez and that he hates this country so much that he refuses to salute the flag?  Or that he’s a Black Panther Muslim from Kenya with no birth certificate who wants to turn our boys into hairdressers? But then again, FOX represents the religious right so they already believe in weird shit, like zombies raised from the dead (Lazareth, Jesus), talking snakes (the devil), talking flying being with wings (angels), talking stones, underwear that protects you from evil, being the leader of your own planet (the latter 3 being a Mormon thing and are beliefs of a man likely to be your next candidate), flying horses (Mohammed’s departure), and on and on. For fuck sakes, what ever happened to reason and when will this ever end? No wonder we’re failing in science and math. The adults have gone insane and it’s hereditary!  It just keeps spreading generation after generation. Muslims don’t question their parents. Jews don’t question theirs. Christians don’t question their parents either. All believe they are right – to the death. All the Mormons I’ve met save one have been really nice people, but let’s face it, they believe some weird shit. Christian Scientists…onward and downward…

Just because it’s final, don’t be afraid of death – it’s a part of life. At least your energy will be recycled according to physical law (if you follow science at all). Hey, I know it’s difficult to leave the Matrix only to find out that, in the end, we’re all road-kill but the truth shall set you free. I love life – for what it is. And there’s no war on religion – it’s a war on anti-reasoning that’s dominating our culture. (Oops – are the Crusaders listening?). You think I’m joking but I found myself having to whisper when I was in Georgia that I was atheist (and for the record, that’s not a religion or belief system – it’s simply NOT believing in religions) for fear I’d be beaten up by rednecks giving me the evil eye at the next table. People can believe whatever they want (except atheists), but be aware of two things: it doesn’t make it true – even if I’m outnumbered, and leave the rest of us with a working logical left brain out of it. Fuck – believing in Armageddon is dangerous for non-believers - we all want to be right, right? So if you believe it’s inevitable you’re more likely to participate in making it happen – then you get to be right - self-fulfilling prophecy and all that. Who wants to get sucked up into that fecal matter? I always hear the right talking about freedom – so - then let people decide for themselves who they want to love and what they want to do with their bodies and keep your cold cult hands off people’s freedom. (yeah, I know – our weird beliefs are a religion, their weird beliefs are a cult. That’s the difference!). Nonsense!  Look, I know being in "communion" with other believers feels good and can be very socially supportive but in America it is supposed to be an individual freedom. Once it is imposed on others and occasionally used to control others it can be a real threat to both freedom and logic. Historically, the bible was used and interpreted to reason that black folks were not really "men" – as in "All men are created equal". Both the bible and the koran simultaneously contain much wisdom and total folly and, regrettably, are often interpreted to support personal and tribal prejudices.

I don’t want a war - I just want to scale it back to where it is an individual freedom of choice - to believe in whatever gods and demons you want. But I would go to war if you tried to force me into any of these cults – yes, the dreaded freedom from religion. What are some of the anti-freedom laws the right are putting forth? And don’t say it’s to protect the baby. Are YOU going to take care of that autistic baby then? Hell no – you don’t want welfare – that’s socialism and sharing, and helping people less fortunate will make you speak French – and who wants that? What about the healthy baby the mother would have had in its place – now the mother can’t afford to bring that one to term – she’s got her hands full with Jabba the Hut. Too bad – they might have all had a nice, happy life but for the interference from a few sheep. What if MY mother had aborted ME? Who cares – how would I know if my brain and nervous system weren’t fully formed yet? Yes – I know – you can touch a sea anemone and it will shrivel up – but that doesn’t make it sentient.  The bottom line is it’s no one’s business to take away someone else’s freedom of choice. Why do you do it? Power and control? Because of what it says in Leviticus? You don’t really want me to go over those passages line-by-line with you, do you? Really?? Stone your children if they misbehave or burn in hell for eating shellfish? C’Mon – use your head! It’s just more magic underwear really, isn’t it?

 Those ancient stories passed down for generations had their place in history. Remember, eventually Constantine summoned a bunch of bishops to the 2 Nicaean Councils somewhere around 323-325 AD which proclaimed the Virgin Birth, the Divinity of Jesus and the Trinity among other items on their agenda (if I recall – I’m too tired to look it up again). They also put together the Canon (they threw out the letters they didn’t like and kept the ones they did – especially eye-witness testimonials, you know, like with UFOs – oh, I’m sorry, you believe that too – but not the possibility of climate change or evolution, is that correct?). Actually it was a close vote from what I read – it wasn’t unanimous at all. A lot of bishops argued that Jesus was just a man but somehow endowed by God. Maybe they should have had a 2/3 majority instead of an up-or-down vote. Then we’d all be Jewish. Anyway, isn’t that pretty much what my Jewish brothers believe? Jesus was a prophet, not God’s progeny? So God had a family - but no wife? There was a ghost living with them too I hear. OK, I’m being mischievous here. I’m with the Jews on this one. I’m exhausted – it’s Friday!  Long week!

 I like you, Don, but please remove me from your political email list. But hey, if you’ve got some good jokes or want to talk about music I’m all ears.

 Ken