CHRISTMAS AND ATHEISTS

     How do atheists celebrate Christmas? The long nights and short days of the Christmas season can be quite depressing. It would be an even bleaker time of year if those of us who do not believe in the myth of Jesus were unable to celebrate the happy Christmas season. I certainly do not believe that the eternal and almighty God who created the universe came down to earth and allowed himself to be born as a human being. That is a myth of many religions, not just Christianity, and it speaks to man’s inner needs rather than to any historical happening. It is possible for the nonbeliever to celebrate Christmas, however. Christmas as a holiday has a long and ancient history that goes back long before Jesus.

      Ancient people began celebrating the winter solstice because that was the time when nights were longest and days were shortest. The long nights made people depressed and sad and no doubt motivated the need for some kind of celebration to rouse people’s spirits.

     The history of celebrations at the time of Christmas dates back over 4000 years. Many of our Christmas traditions were celebrated centuries before Jesus was born. The 12 days of Christmas, the bright fires, the Yule log, the giving of gifts, carolers who sing while going from house to house, the holiday feasts, and the church processions, can all be traced back to the early Mesopotamians. Many of these traditions began with the Mesopotamian celebration of New Years. The Mesopotamians believed in many gods, and their chief god was Marduk. Each year as winter arrived it was believed that Marduk would do battle with the monsters of chaos. To assist Marduk in his struggle, the Mesopotamians held a festival for the New Year. This was called Zagmuk, the New Year's festival that lasted for 12 days.

     In ancient Germany people honored the pagan god Oden during the mid-winter holiday. Germans were terrified of Oden. They believed he made nocturnal flights through the sky to observe his people, and then decide who would prosper or perish. Because of his presence, many people chose to stay inside. The Germans brought trees inside the house at the winter solstice and hung gifts on the trees to placate the gods and in hopes of keeping green things alive for the coming Spring.

     There were mid-winter festivals in ancient Babylon and Egypt, and Germanic fertility festivals also took place at this time. The birth of the ancient sun-god Attis was celebrated on December 25th. Attis was the son of the goddess Cybele. The worship of Cybele, known as “The Great Mother,” was introduced into Rome from Phrygia (in today’s Turkey) around 204 BC. She was worshipped in Greece in the 5th century BC. The adherents of this religion celebrated the death and resurrection of Attis, who was not only Cybele’s son, but also her lover, eunuch attendant, and the driver of her lion-driven chariot. Attis was killed by being castrated. After fasting on the “Day of Blood,” on which Attis was mourned, sorrow was turned into joy with the Hilaria celebrating his resurrection on March 25. The celebration included a sacred meal of thanksgiving, or, in Greek, “eucherista."

     The Romans celebrated Saturnalia, a festival dedicated to Saturn, the god of peace and plenty, that ran from the 17th to 24th of December. Public gathering places were decorated with flowers, gifts and candles were exchanged and the population, slaves and masters alike, celebrated the occasion with great enthusiasm. Lo Saturnalia!

     One of the the myths which closely resembles the story of Jesus was that of the God Mithras (or Mithra). Many aspects of Mithraism parallel Christianity. It is not known exactly when Mithraism began, but it preceeded Christianity by hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Although some scholars claim that it goes back to the Persian empire fourteen centuries before Christ, when the Persians worshipped a god “Mithra,” others claim that the worship by Romans of Mithras originated much later in Tarsus of Cilicia (today’s Turkey). Mithras was the god of light, or the Sun, and was born of a virgin. He was identified with a bull who had to die as a sacrifice for all humanity. His worshippers believed that Mithras promised resurrection from the dead and that he ascended into heaven. The worship of Mithras included forgiveness of sin by baptism of initiates and a communion of bread and wine to commemorate Mithras’ last meal on earth.
Evidence of Mithraism can be found in the ruins of Pompeii. It was popular among the Roman soldiers.

      The early fathers of the Christian Church did not know the date when Jesus had been born, so up until the fourth century AD there was no celebration of Christmas. The worship of Mithras presented a real problem for the Church fathers because of the similarities to the worship of Jesus. In around 353 AD, the church fathers decided to combat Mithraism and other pagan holidays by celebrating the birth of Jesus on Mithras’ birthday, December 25. Merry Mithramas! 

     Clerics often say that we should celebrate the real meaning of Christmas, the birth of Jesus, and not put so much emphasis on Santa Claus and gift giving. I say that those things are the real meaning of Christmas, and that the birth of Jesus is just a relatively new attachment to a much more ancient celebration. I celebrate Christmas as a celebration of the winter solstice, and like most people, I use it to lift my spirits during a dark time of year.

RICK WARREN GIVES THANKS

          In the “Voices” section of the December 6, 2013, issue of Time Magazine, where the magazine asked what people were thankful for, Pastor Rick Warren stated that it had been the worst year of his life because his son committed suicide. He asked: “How am I supposed to be thankful?” He then described what he was thankful for on this Thanksgiving: “Even in heartache and grief there are still good things that I can be thankful for. I’m thankful that God sees all I go through. He cares. He grieves with me. I’m thankful that God can bring good even out of the bad in my life, when I give him the pieces. It’s his specialty. God loves to turn crucifixions into resurrections, and then benefit the whole world. God never wastes a hurt if we give it to him.”

I find such a statement astonishing. Perhaps "cosmically stupid" would be better words. Leaving aside the basic ontological questions about this statement, I have to ask, how does Warren know that God “cares”? How does he know that God “Grieves with” us? How could he possibly know that God “Loves to turn crucifixions into resurrections” and that God has a “specialty”? Come on Rick, give me a break! Am I supposed to imagine God sitting there caring about us, grieving with us, and especially, enjoying himself turning crucifixions into resurrections? Is God just a big dumb uncle in the skies?

Perhaps it should not surprise me that Rick Warren did not let the suicide of his son lead him to question the existence of God. After all, Warren ’s books, sermons, and television appearances have brought him great fame and fortune. Any expressed doubts about the existence of God would undermine the very foundations of his life. If he were to write a new book entitled “I Don’t Believe in God Anymore,” he would probably tumble headlong flaming from the ethereal sky in hideous ruin and destruction down to the bottomless pit of infamy.

No, that is much too much to ask of one who sits so close to the throne of God that he knows that God cares about us, grieves with us, and enjoys turning crucifixions into resurrections. I’m sure Warren knows that even though God allowed thousands of people die in the horrendous Philippine typhoon, and hundreds of thousands to die in the giant 2004 tsunami, and millions of people to die of other typhoons, earthquakes, tornadoes, volcanoes, wars, suicides, acts of terror, and diseases, he will find a way to make it up to us for all the misery, tragedy, horror, destruction, and death we have to suffer.

To those of us not so proximate to the inner feelings of God, it would appear that either God does not care a whit for us, or that God does not exist. After all, if one were to say that all this evil is caused by the Devil, one has to ask, who made the Devil? Isn’t God more powerful than the Devil? Can’t he just stop the Devil from doing all of the bad stuff he does? Or is God just some powerless guy who can turn crucifixions into resurrections but can’s stop tsunamis?

If God can’t stop our children from committing suicide, what comfort is it that we know he cares for us and grieves with us? Is that really something to give thanks for? I doubt very much that such knowledge would be something for me to be thankful for on Thanksgiving Day.

KENNEDY ASSASSINATION AND OCCAM’S RAZOR

           Most people allow their feelings, beliefs, and desires to control their understanding of facts. This is especially true of conspiracy theories. Such theories often arise out of thin air without the support of any empirical evidence. They satisfy the need of people for some explanation of a phenomenon for which there appears to be no explanation. I maintain that the powerful need people have for an explanation is akin to religious belief. People do not want to believe that things happen for no reason. They do not want to believe that we live in a random universe and that we are subject to arbitrary forces which have no real meaning or purpose. They make-up stories and myths to explain things that they do not understand.

A far more intellectually honest approach to such questions is Occam’s Razor. Occam’s Razor is a principle of logic developed by the philosopher, William of Ockham (c. 1287 – 1347). Occam’s Razor states that among competing hypotheses, the hypothesis with the fewest assumptions should be selected. The simplest available theory need not be most correct, but in the absence of any countervailing evidence, it is the one which should be accepted. In other words, we should not create a complicated conspiracy theory for the Kennedy assassination unless it is supported by sound empirical evidence.

I am a retired attorney who practiced trial law for 37 years. I know that there are many (perhaps 100) conspiracy theories for the shooting of President Kennedy, but, so far as I know, none of them is supported by the kind of evidence that would be upheld in a court of law. The simplest theory is that Oswald was the lone gunman and that he acted solely on his own in shooting President Kennedy. Using Occam’s Razor, that is the one we should adopt.

            I acknowledge that it is entirely possible that the assassination of President Kennedy was the result of a conspiracy and even that there were more than one shooter in Dallas that day. But the mere possibility of such a scenario does not make it worthy of our unwavering belief. Anything is possible, and some of the conspiracy theories (i.e., it was carried-out by aliens from another planet) stretch the limits of allowable absurdity. Author Vincent Bugliosi reports that: “At one time or another, doubters of the lone gunman theory have accused 42 groups, 82 assassins and 214 people of being involved in the assassination.” CNN says, “That's a lot of paranoia.”

Logic and sound reason do not allow us to hitch our belief to some theory merely because it satisfies our political, religious, or philosophical hungering. While some theories are more intelligent than others, none of them has provided sufficient proof to support its conclusions. Among the leading theories that have been debunked by rational investigators are the theories that: a) LBJ was behind it; b) the "military industrial complex" did it; or c) the Mob did it. Among the more respected theories are that Oswald acted alone as part of an unknown conspiracy, or that the CIA was behind it. Even these theories, however, do not provide the kind of evidence that would lend them serious credibility. 

You would think that the absence of hard evidence would doom all of the many theories to universal disbelief, but that is not the case. Approximately 75% of Americans believe that the Kennedy assassination was the result of a conspiracy and that there were more than one shooter who participated. To me this is a discouraging example of the fact that most people do not think rationally.

It is reasonable to keep an open mind as to the possibility that Oswald was merely part of a vast conspiracy to kill John F. Kennedy, but until someone comes forth with empirical, scientific, historical, hard as nails evidence, we should stick to Occam’s Razor.

WHAT ARE WE

Now in the aftermath of the shutdown of our government and the threatened denial of the ability to pay our national debts we must ask ourselves not only how we can avoid such crises in the future but what kind of nation we choose to be. In this brief time before the storm returns to unsettle our public affairs we should look back at the desolation wrought by a few angry zealots and decide whether we are a people of dignity, compassion, and reason, or a disunited collection of states and voters quivering before the shrill voices of nihilism.

Crying out in anger and resentment, the voices of right-wing bitterness would have the world believe that there is something weak and tired about liberalism, something pathetic about the belief that government has a duty not only to protect its people but to support them in their quest for a better life. Those voices would allow the children of the poor among us suffer from hunger and disease, rather than let them benefit from our government’s ability to ease their suffering.

We need to decide whether to allow those voices to overwhelm our national discourse or to stand-up against them and speak-out for the brotherhood and decency we are supposed to represent. They would have us believe that there is something shameful in our desire to provide medical care and medicine for the poor among us, ease the financial burden of older citizens, free women to control their own bodies and assume their rightful equality in all phases of our public life, give citizenship and dignity to people who come here from other nations, grant respect and civil rights to gays and transgender populations, and do the many other things called for by liberalism.

There is something about the Tea Party people that is more than just narrow, provincial, or hidebound. There is something vicious and cruel. I believe that the Tea Party extremists in the House of Representatives, and the people who have elected and supported them, have wanted not only to shut-down the government, but to cause it to fail. The scenario they favor is like that of some European or South American country where internal pressure from political extremists causes the downfall of the government. They would have welcomed a default by America on its debt and they would have cheered an economic collapse. They believe that only such a catastrophe would open the way for the take-over of the government by right-wing forces favorable to their cause. In this respect they are the opposite of patriots.

             They realize that they cannot achieve their aims by way of elections, so they want to do it by way of political terrorism. They represent a minority in Congress, so they do not have the votes to accomplish their goals. Their hope is that by gumming-up the works they can force the leadership to avoid the time-tested method of compromise. They prefer the fanatical methods of confrontation , conflict, and defiance. They intimidate the “moderate” Republicans by threatening to have more extreme candidates defeat them in the primaries.

            The time has finally come for ordinary Americans to recognize the threat provided by these extremists and vote them out of office. The time has come for all fair-minded Americans to speak-out against the malice these people represent, and to brush them off the table of our national discourse.

           

WHAT IF REPUBLICANS WERE ABLE TO REPEAL THE ACA

The original reason why Congressional Republicans managed to shut-down the government was because the President and the Democrats would not agree to de-fund or at least change Obamacare (more properly known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, or the ACA). In other words, the Republicans hate health care reform so much that they are willing to do great harm to all Americans for purely political reasons. You would think that healthcare reform was such a horrible law that the Republicans are justified in this blackmail, but the truth is that Obamacare is a very good law that reforms medical care in America and benefits everybody.

            It might be said that the opposition to the ACA has been fueled and funded by the health insurance industry, or that well-heeled Republicans object to the higher taxes the law imposes on wealthy taxpayers. But that would not explain the widespread fervor of grass-root right-wing Republicans against the law. I suspect that Republican hostility to the ACA is rooted in class conflict. Republicans despise poor people, even the working poor, and deeply resent the fact that the ACA will make it possible for over 30 million people who previously were unable to afford health insurance to now get coverage. Many people fail to realize, however, that the ACA will benefit all Americans, not just the poor. Here’s what would happen if it were repealed.

1. Repeal of the ACA would mean that senior citizens would be denied relief from the “doughnut hole.” Senior citizens who are beneficiaries of the Medicare Part D drug program should be aware that the ACA has already begun to close the “doughnut hole.” That is the period during which seniors have to pay the full cost of their prescriptions. After seniors amass $2,970 in drug costs, Medicare stops paying for drug expenses. That period lasts until seniors reach $4,750 in prescription costs--a figure most seniors never reach in one year. Obamacare will eventually abolish the doughnut hole and continue to pay for most drug costs no matter how high they go. For many seniors who simply cannot afford to buy their essential medications during the doughnut hole, that will be life-saving. If the law is repealed, the doughnut hole will not be eliminated.

2. Repeal of the ACA would add to $230 billion to the deficit. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimate, the ACA reduces the deficit by $230 billion over the next decade. This is because the law not only provides for government financial support of many reforms but also provides for higher taxes on wealthy taxpayers in order to pay for the reforms. The taxes exceed the amount needed to finance the law by $230 billion.

3. The ACA creates an online Insurance Exchange that will enable purchasers to search for the best and lowest-cost insurance. Repeal would mean no exchange. The Exchange will offer low-cost insurance to uninsured people. Many people will be able to get coverage for $50 per month or less.

4. Repealing the ACA would mean higher health insurance premiums. The amount people actually pay for premiums would be much higher after repeal because most people will be able to get a subsidy from the government to help pay for the cost of health insurance. People who currently have insurance and are struggling to pay the premiums will be able to purchase health insurance on one of the exchanges created by the law. The rates they will have to pay on the exchanges will be dramatically lower than the rates they have to pay now. 

      5. Repeal would eliminate the provisions of the bill that offer tax credits to about 4 million small-business men and women to help them cover the cost of insurance for their employees.

6. Repeal would mean that insurance companies would be able to go back to denying health insurance because of preexisting conditions, annual caps, or lifetime caps on health insurance coverage.  Without the protection of the ACA, insurance companies would be able to go on rescinding patients’ policies when the patients file claims for benefits.

            7.  The ACA creates a long-term-care insurance program, financed by voluntary payroll deductions, to provide benefits to adults who become functionally disabled. Repeal would remove that program.

8. The ACA requires that health plans allow young people up to age 26 to remain on their parents’ insurance policies if their parents so choose. Repeal would mean no such coverage for young people.

9. The ACA eliminates co-payments for preventative services and exempts preventative services from deductibles under the Medicare program. Repeal would mean return of such co-payments and deductibles. There are many other provisions of the ACA that will benefit everybody.

The real reason Tea Party leaders in Congress oppose the law is that they are afraid that it will succeed and that the American people will come to like it. They think that it is part of a creeping socialism in this country that they want to halt. If they could have their way, they would abolish Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid as well.

Republicans argue that half of all Americans oppose the ACA, but that is really a misleading statement. According to a recent CNN/ORC International survey, only 38% really oppose the law.  Although 57% of Americans say they oppose the law, 11% say they oppose the measure because it isn't liberal enough. Add that 11% to the 38% who say they favor the law and that means that about half the public, 49%, either support the law or don't think it goes far enough. Compare that to the 38% who are the ones who actually oppose the law.

OPEN LETTER TO MAJOR NIDAL HASAN

            It is widely believed that the sentence of death handed down by a Court Marshal on account of your murder of thirteen people at Fort Hood would not cause you terrible anguish because you killed those people as part of a jihad. People think that as a jihadist you consider yourself a martyr and look forward to an eternity of bliss in Paradise. I am writing to advise you that there is no such thing as martyrdom, jihad, Paradise, or Allah. All you have accomplished is the brutal slaughter of innocent people. You have wasted your time, your life, and the lives of those innocent people. All you can look forward to once you die is eternal oblivion.

            If you look at what Moslems believe you will realize that the Moslem Paradise is an absurd myth. You believe that life in Paradise, where the martyrs go upon death, is (for men) eternal bliss where inhabitants live in palaces made from bricks of gold, silver, and pearls. Inhabitants of Paradise wear luxurious robes, bracelets, and perfumes as they recline on couches inlaid with gold or precious stones. Martyrs partake in exquisite banquets served in priceless vessels by immortal youths. Each inhabitant gets to have 72 beautiful young virgins with whom he can have sex. Paradise has lofty gardens, shady valleys, fountains scented with camphor or ginger, rivers of water, milk, and honey. Give me a break!

            It does not take too much insight to realize that this vision of Paradise was invented by a desperately poor nomadic desert people for whom the greatest things imaginable were green valleys, pure water, jewels, and wonderful food. Because there were so few women in the desert, the founders of Islam imagined a Paradise of sex with many willing young virgins. Modern Westerners would probably have a different image of Paradise. Moslem Paradise is a very earth-bound idea of sensual delight unlike the Christian belief in something more spiritual such as the “Beatific Vision.”

            It is hard to imagine that Allah would reward jihadists for slaughtering innocent people. It is much more rational to believe that there is really no such thing as Allah or Paradise.   Allah is a figment of human imagination. He is no more real than the thousands of local gods, witches, and ancestor spirits worshipped before the invention of Islam and by primitive tribes today in remote areas of the Earth. He is no more real than the Loch Ness Monster, the Yeti, Greek satyrs, Hindu bluts, elves, fairies, and other assorted demons.

            If Allah is real, and if Allah is, like the Christian and Hebrew God, all-merciful, all powerful, all knowing, and all loving, and if Allah answers prayers and acts on our lives, why does he allow Moslems and others to suffer so much evil? In December 2004 an earthquake sent giant tsunamis across the Indian Ocean to wipe out hundreds of thousands of Moslems in the surrounding countries. After it happened, Moslem clerics declared that it was Allah’s punishment for the failure of people to strictly adhere to Moslem law (“Shariah”). Rational people asked, however, how an all-merciful God who interferes in human life, who answers prayers, could have let this tragedy happen. Why should you pray to such a God?

             Islam, like most faiths, presumes that Allah is infinitely good, loving, and all-merciful. The evidence would seem to the contrary. Is life on earth for Moslems perfectly happy? No, the majority of Moslems live in poverty, disease, war, famine, and misery. If a god was responsible for this, he would have to be some detached, ruthless, amoral scientist or demon who is conducting experiments to see how humans will respond to horror and tragedy.

            It seems obvious to me that the reason why Moslems believe in Islam is that their lives are so desolate that they want to believe that there is something better awaiting them after death. Look at the Middle East. It has always been a barren, ugly land full of poverty, war, disease, and hunger. Without some hope in Paradise, life would seem to be meaningless. Moslems just can’t bear the thought that there will never be any relief from their misery.

            It is a cornerstone of Islam that we should pray to Allah five times a day. I ask why? Does Allah answer prayers? There is no evidence that Allah ever answers prayers, but people go on praying anyway. Why do people need to pray to a god? If he is the eternal, omnipotent, and omniscient creator of the universe and knows our every thought, he should know what we want to pray for without our reciting any prayers.

            There is no rational, logical, or scientific reason to believe in Allah. Belief in Allah can be relegated to the realm of wishful thinking. When humans believe in Allah they violate every aspect of human rationality. But it is hard for people raised in the belief and brainwashed by parents, relatives, emirs, and imams, to critically examine these irrational beliefs.

            My dear Major Hasan; No intelligent person who carefully examines the question would think that there is a such an improbable place as Paradise, but even if there is, you won’t go there.

THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON

            This year thousands of African Americans are travelling from around the country to Washington D.C. to commemorate the 50^th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington. At that event Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous “I have a dream” speech. But this year, something is different. I have noticed that a picture in the local paper of the people traveling on the bus to the 1963 March included several white people. On the other hand, a picture of the people traveling to this year’s commemoration included no white people on the bus. In pictures of the rallies currently taking place in Washington I have seen fewer Whites than there were at the 1963 gathering. Why is this?

  I believe it is because the Trayvon Martin case has severely damaged relations between White and Black people in America. This is because Blacks demanded that George Zimmerman be convicted of murder regardless of whether or not he was guilty under the law. Blacks believe that Zimmerman should have been convicted of murder because he was profiling Martin and was following him. They believe that Martin had a right to attack Zimmerman and hammer him until he was bloody and that Zimmerman had no right to resort to his firearm in defense. Most white people in America are angry, upset, and disgusted by the attitudes of Black people toward the Martin case. This is similar to the anger and dismay felt by White people as a result of Black exultation following the O.J. Simpson acquittal. Whites still have not forgotten that period, and it is not likely that the response of Blacks to the Trayvon Martin case will be soon forgotten by Whites.

I therefore offer my own dream for the future of African Americans.

            I have a dream that someday African Americans will condemn the actions of a young man like Trayvon Martin for attacking a Neighborhood-Watch volunteer and violently beating him bloody because the volunteer was following him. I have a dream that someday most African American children will grow-up in homes with two dedicated parents who have the same values we all hold dear. I have a dream that someday African Americans will look upon the murder of someone like the Australian student in Oklahoma or the war veteran in Washington with horror and disgust. I have a dream that African Americans will someday condemn the actions of Black youths for joining gangs, using drugs, dropping out of school, mugging, robbing, and killing.

I have a dream that one day African Americans will stop blaming Whites for their problems, will give-up waiting for Whites to change their attitude toward Blacks, and will realize that their future is entirely in their own hands. I have a dream that African Americans will stand tall and proud and take active steps to tackle their problems and thereby change White attitudes. I have a dream that someday African Americans will not need governmental actions to help them.

I have a dream that someday African Americans will, among other things, champion education, deplore and refrain from crime, condemn the sale and use of illegal drugs, embrace the Protestant work ethic, adopt  the best parts of Western culture, and recognize the need to speak correctly, dress well, and keep clean and attractive homes. (By speaking correctly I mean speaking like President Obama.)

I have a dream that someday African Americans will be able to pass Civil Service Exams, Bar Exams, Medical Exams, and other professional and job-related exams, in proportion to if not greater than their percentage of the population. I have a dream that Whites will not avoid sending their children to predominantly Black schools, and that the testing of Black children’s’ educational achievements in mostly Black schools will not place them at the bottom of every list.

I have a dream that one day there will be no urban ghettos, and that Blacks all over America will live in well-integrated neighborhoods. I have a dream that if there are any predominantly Black neighborhoods remaining, white people will be happy to visit them and live in them. I have a dream that predominantly Black neighborhoods will not be described as “High Crime” areas.

I have a dream that White and Black people will hang-out together, eat meals in each-others’ homes, intermarry, and look upon each other as dear friends. Finally, I have a dream that someday there will be no need for changes in White attitudes toward Blacks, and that Whites and Blacks will look upon each-other as equals.

DOES GOD LOVE US?

The primary reason for the existence of religion is to relieve people of fear. Marx called religion the “Opiate of the Masses.” This was a perfect explanation of the religious impulse. We live in a world filled with pain, sorrow, depression, and horror, but the religions tell us that there is a God out there who loves us and loves the world. This God will take care of us and, after death, will provide us with a paradise of joy and happiness.

I was speaking to someone and I proposed that if there really was a God, we should not worship or love or adore him, but rather, we should hate him. The person responded that we should worship him because “life is beautiful.” I replied that although life has moments of beauty and happiness, there is far too much sorrow and unhappiness to say that life is beautiful.

Consider the following: The great majority of people in the world live in abject poverty. Most of those people suffer from hunger, disease, famine, tsunamis, cyclones, hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanoes, tornadoes, floods, droughts, plagues, infestations, and war. When one looks at the continents of Africa, Asia, and South America, one wonders how there could be a loving God looking over those people. Hundreds of millions of the people on those continents are subjected to widespread diseases such as cholera, malaria, sleeping sickness, AIDS, Dengue Fever, and Yellow Fever. They have insufficient clothing, shelter ,and medical care. They are ruled-over by tyrants and dictators.

Millions of women throughout the world are treated as chattels without civil rights. They are beaten, raped, stoned, and subject to genital castration designed to eradicate their sexual pleasure. It is hard to imagine that such people are happy.

Hundreds of thousands of women, young girls, and boys are abducted each year by sex-crazed men who imprison and often torture them, using them as sexual toys for repeated rape. Many thousands of them are sold into sexual slavery, often to be bought by so-called upstanding members of the community.

What about the lucky people in America and the more affluent countries of Europe? One would think that they have many reasons to thank God. But we need to ask, are the lives of Americans so blessed and happy? Let’s start with health. Practically everybody in America has somebody in their family suffering from some serious illness. Millions of Americans have children with serious congenital diseases and infirmities such as autism, blindness, deafness, physical deformity, Down Syndrome, mental retardation, mental illnesses, muscular dystrophy, diabetes, epilepsy, cystic fibrosis, heart disease, cancer, and hundreds of other less common syndromes and disorders. The parents of such children often live lives of great sorrow.

Millions of adult Americans also suffer from terrible diseases. Heart disease, cancer, kidney disease, liver disease, Emphysema, Parkinson’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Lou Gehrig’s Disease (ALS), AIDS, Crohn’s Disease, chronic pain, and hundreds of other conditions beset the happiness of their lives. Millions of Americans suffer from mental problems, depression, anxiety, fatigue, lonliness, phobias, panic attacks, disabling shyness, and stress throughout their lives. Millions of Americans suffer from the effects of terrible automobile accidents and other injuries. They go through life as cripples with disabled or missing limbs, internal organs, and other essential parts of their bodies, or suffering from terrible pain.

As people get older, they greet a host of problems afflicting older Americans such as strokes, heart disease, arthritis, diabetes, hearing and seeing defects, prostate problems, osteoporosis, erectile dysfunction, sleep disorders, Alzheimer’s and memory loss, and hundreds of other medical and psychological problems that impair their happiness. As people age their bodies break-down, their skin wrinkles, their hair disappears or turns white, their energy fails, and they lose their sexual ability and attraction.

Millions of Americans are addicted to alcohol, pain medication, and illegal drugs. Almost all of them are living in terrible misery, unable to shake the imprisonment of their addictions. There are millions of homeless people living on the streets, in tents, under bridges, and in shelters. Millions of other Americans are addicted to behavior patterns such as gambling addiction, fetishism, sexual addiction, frigidity, obsessive-compulsive behavior, dependency, and other forms of addiction. There are millions of people with sexual deviations including the need to molest children or rape women. Millions of people engage in abusive behavior, physically beating or verbally berating their spouses, companions, and children. Millions of spouses, companions, and children are victims of such abuse. Such people cannot possibly be happy.

Millions of Americans live in poverty surrounded by a land of plenty. They eke-out a living in slums, tenements, housing projects, trailer parks, and rural shacks. They often go hungry in this land of plenty. Many go without decent food, clothing, and ordinary medical care. They are unable to get necessary medical treatment and often die from such neglect. They live in places without heat, cooling, electricity, telephone service, sanitation, or even running water. Recent estimates show that on any given day there are over 600,000 homeless people in America. Their misery and suffering are hard to imagine. Where is God for them?

America recently went through a terrible recession. Millions of people lost their jobs. Millions of people lost their homes. Millions of people had to suffer through agonizing foreclosure proceedings. Millions of people had to rely on unemployment insurance. Millions of people endured and many still endure periods of tremendous anxiety and sadness.

Millions of Americans are the victims of discrimination. People of all minorities suffer from bigotry. They are treated by the whole society as inferior, ignorant, criminal people. Millions of homosexuals, transvestites, transsexuals, and other trans-gender people are the objects of prejudice and condemnation by millions of other people.

Every day one reads in the paper about people who commit crimes. There are thousands of kinds of crimes committed every day by millions of people. It is difficult to guess what percent of the populace is dishonest, violent, dangerous, fraudulent, and deceitful, but judging from the constant news of crimes, schemes, scams, and corruptions, the number must run well into the hundreds of millions. There are millions of people engaged in serious and not-so-serious crime, including murder, robbery, larceny, drug offenses, burglary, mugging, assault and battery, and thousands of other kinds of crime. One constantly hears about violent massacres by crazed gunmen in schools, theaters, and public places. In addition to the victims of such killings, the families, friends, and communities of the victims are also victims. Millions of Americans are incarcerated in prisons and jails. There are millions of wives, children, parents, and other close relatives of prison inmates. These people must suffer having their loved ones in jail. There are millions of victims of crimes whose lives have been ruined by the crimes of others.

Throughout the world there are fanatic terrorists driven by religious hatred who make it their business to kill others who do not share their beliefs. I cannot imagine how many people are killed each year by these zealots but it must be in the thousands. It seems that every day one reads about a bomb going off in the Middle East or some other place, killing innocent people. If we consider the minds of the terrorists, they must be angry, tormented, unhappy people who have a lust for blood.

Millions of Americans are in unhappy marriages or relationships. Millions of Americans are suffering from the breakdown of their marriages or the breakup of relationships in which they were very much in love. Half of all marriages end in divorce. A majority of those who do not get divorced go on living in unhappy marriages. Millions of people are engaged in illicit sexual entanglements that cause them emotional pain and guilt. Millions of people are almost suicidal because of the infidelity of a spouse or loved one. Millions of people suffer from feelings of inferiority or lack of self-worth. Millions of people suffer from the feeling that they are too fat, too thin, or unattractive.

Millions of Americans hate their jobs or suffer under cruel, tyrannical, or sadistic bosses. There are millions of people with sour, nasty, cruel, vicious, malicious, and evil personalities who make it their business in life to damage, spoil, and injure the lives of other people. Millions of people live lives consumed with envy, jealousy, and hatred of others whom they perceive to be more fortunate than they.

Millions of families have children with serious behavior problems. Many of these children may grow up in middle class homes with respectable parents, yet such children are constantly in trouble with school, neighbors, the police, and others. Thousands of such children run away every year only to wind-up on the streets caught-up in drug addiction, prostitution, and crime.

For every Bernard Madoff carrying-out a giant stock swindle, there are thousands of businessmen, brokers, hedge fund managers, and others engaged in insider trading and other blatant violations of the rules of business law and ethics. Millions of Americans cheat others in smaller ways for smaller amounts of money. If one were able to calculate the amount of money embezzled from businesses, organizations, and charities each year it would probably be up in the billions if not trillions. I have known several embezzlers in my lifetime. I’m sure everybody has.

Although one would expect great probity from the wealthiest and most successful people, it is simply not there. Doctors routinely over-bill for services. Andy Rooney told a story about a doctor who came into his room while he was in the hospital for treatment. The doctor said hello and mentioned that he liked Rooney’s work. He then departed without examining or treating Rooney, and later billed Medicare for $240. I have heard many such stories. I have had personal experience with dishonest doctors. One doctor who came in and handed my wife a card while our son was being treated for a broken bone at the hospital, later billed for services even though he did not examine or treat my son at all. Doctors frequently bill for services never rendered. Medicare and Medicaid pay tens of billions for fraudulent claims by physicians who are wealthy by any standard.

Eventually, we die. Death is not a simple leaf dropping off a tree. Death is usually painful. Often, it is horrible. It is usually accompanied by the grief of loved ones.

Yes, life does have its moments of happiness and beauty. There are some wonderful things in life, and some people do live very happy, prosperous, safe, healthy lives. Those people can be thankful for all they have, but they probably represent a small fraction of the people on earth. If you stop and consider all of the unhappiness, pain, disease, grief, and guilt suffered by the vast majority of people in the world, it can hardly be said that life is beautiful.

While many people suffering from the terrible things listed here may not think life is bad, that is because of the human ability to cope with the things that make us unhappy. It is a wonderful thing that people going through the most extreme torments will often try to look on the bright side of life. But if we stop and look at all of the problems faced by humans and listed here, we can hardly say that life is beautiful. We can hardly find reason to thank that mythical being called God.

Surely, if there was a God, and he was a good and loving God like the one worshipped by most religions, life would not be filled with such misery. There would not be millions of starving, diseased, oppressed people all over the world. There would not be so much tragedy, horror, injury, illness, poverty, hunger, anger, war, and death. We would not have to wait for some mythical afterlife to experience a better life. Life on earth would be beautiful for everyone.

REPUBLICANS AND ELECTIONS

               
Many commentators have asserted that the Reason why the Republicans lost the 2012 presidential

election was that they lost the votes of Hispanics, African Americans, women, gays, and young people. Republicans expected that Mitt Romney would win easily because the nation was still suffering from a devastating recession and because there was still high unemployment. Instead, Barack Obama, a mixed-race Democrat from Chicago, won a second term by capturing a large majority of the votes of those groups. Some Republicans began to realize that they needed to do something to win more of the votes of those groups or they would lose again in 2016.

            One group that the Republicans thought they might bring over was the Hispanics. Obama won a majority of their votes despite the fact that they are often conservative. There was talk about Republicans easing-up on immigration questions. One Republican senator, Marco Rubio, became a spokesman for immigration reform. Several other Republican senators joined with some Democrats in a “Gang of Eight” in order to work-out a compromise bill that would reform the immigration laws. So what happened? The U.S. Senate finally voted to pass the compromise immigration bill, but a majority of the Republicans voted against it. Every Democrat voted for it.

            What is worse, the bill went to the Republican-controlled House of Representatives where it seems to have died. Speaker John Boehner has said that if it is not supported by a majority of the Republicans, he will not allow the bill to be brought-up for a vote. So there is your Republican Party. While all Democrats favor reform of the immigration laws and eventual citizenship for undocumented aliens, most Republicans oppose such reform.

            In 2016, Hispanic and other immigrants will surely remember that it was the Democratic Party that supported them. I doubt that they will be impressed by the handful of Republicans who supported reform. The Republicans have not reformed themselves. Even where they support some changes in the immigration laws, they refuse to support eventual citizenship for undocumented aliens. Their main concern is to have more security along the border with Mexico in order to prevent fewer “illegal” immigrants from entering the U.S. With a few exceptions, the Republicans are still a group of right-wing, close-minded older white men who have a xenophobic attitude about foreigners.

            So where are the Republicans going to pick-up more votes in 2016? Will it be women? Well, the right to control your body and to decide whether or not to have children is an important issue for a majority of the women in America. Democrats all over the country have supported the rights to abortion and birth control. Republicans have stoutly opposed women on those issues. Recently, over the fierce opposition of Democrats, Republican legislators in Texas passed a bill which would greatly restrict abortion and force the closing of abortion clinics all-over Texas.

 In every state, it is the Republicans who are trying to restrict women’s access to abortion, the morning after pills, abortion inducing medications, and birth control. Women all over America know who is on their side. They will remember this in 2016, particularly if Hillary Clinton is the Democratic nominee for President.

            I don’t need to go into the likelihood of Republicans picking-up the votes of African Americans or Gays. African Americans will remember the vicious attacks by Republicans against the first Black president in American history. They will recognize the desperate efforts of Republicans in many states to make it more difficult for them to vote. They will remember the votes of Republican Supreme Court justices to wipe-out the most important parts of the Voting-Rights Act. They will remember the Court’s decision to cripple affirmative action.

 As for Gays? Forget it. It is obvious that Republicans hate Gays. It is hard to imagine why any gay person would vote Republican.

            You would think that young people are a group from which Republicans might pick-up some votes. But no. Republicans continue to express their disapproval of everything young people do from music to sex to clothing. The Republican Party Platform approved in 2012 called for an end to the federal direct student loan program. In addition, efforts by Democrats to prevent the interest charges on student loans from doubling in 2013 were opposed by the Republicans in the Senate.

            So what can Republicans do to recapture the White House in 2016? I doubt that they are willing to do the things necessary to win-over these large groups of voters. I think that they have, if anything, antagonized these groups even more than they did in 2012. I think that they will lose again..

TRAYVON MARTIN

Following the verdict in the George Zimmerman trial the biggest question is whether George Zimmerman was justified in profiling, suspecting, and following Trayvon Martin. Most Black commentators indicate that that was the real crime by Zimmerman. They wanted Zimmerman convicted of murder simply because he profiled Martin. They know that up until Martin jumped him, Zimmerman did nothing but follow Martin. It is clear that in a fit of rage at being followed, Martin initiated the scuffle. So the issue for Black leaders is not whether Zimmerman was in fear of his life, but rather, whether Zimmerman was right to profile and follow Martin.

Was it purely racist for Zimmerman to suspect that Trayvon Martin might be “up to no good”-- a potential law breaker who could be looking to break into one of the properties in the community? Did Zimmerman have any justification for suspecting Martin solely on account of his race? Well, Justice Department statistics show that Black youths are responsible for a huge percentage of crime in America--all out of proportion to their numbers. For example, in 2009 Black youths represented 19% of the population but were responsible for 58% of the homicides and 67% of the robberies.

 It is worse in big cities. New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly confirmed that: “About 70% to 75% of the people described as committing violent crimes [In New York City] — assault, robbery, shootings, grand larceny — are described as being African-American.” Michael Nutter, Mayor of Philadelphia, says that 80% of people arrested for homicide in Philadelphia are Black. In the City of Dayton, 90% of the homicides were committed by Blacks. Do Black leaders assume that White people, and people like George Zimmerman, fail to notice these statistics? Forget it! White people are very aware of the statistics, and are very fearful of Black youths.  They are afraid to walk through Black neighborhoods (which are routinely described as "High Crime" areas).

In addition, Trayvon Martin was no goodie-goodie. Florida Circuit Judge Debra Nelson would not allow the jury in the Zimmerman trial to see a number of items of evidence that might raise questions about whether Martin was a law-abiding youth. Among the items excluded were photos from Martin’s cell phone showing firearms and saying “U gotta gun?” There were also texts showing that Martin was involved in organized fights. In an earlier incident, when Martin was suspended from school, his backpack was searched and a number of items of jewelry were found. Martin said that a friend gave them to him. He also had a screwdriver. Obviously, he had been involved in a burglary. I have no doubt that, as Zimmerman stated, Martin was "up to no good."

The only crime committed the night of Trayvon Martin’s shooting was committed by Martin. George Zimmerman merely followed Martin. He did not attack him. The fight was obviously started by Martin. He attacked Zimmerman and beat him until he was bloody. Zimmerman shot Martin in self-defense.

 After the Zimmerman verdict, youths in Los Angeles rioted, attacked a camera crew, stole cell-phones from White people, and stormed into a Wal-Mart vandalizing the store. Protests also turned violent in Houston, Oakland, San Francisco, Baltimore, and San Bernadino. Zimmerman and his family have received a large number of death threats and have had to go into hiding. Compare that to the period following the verdict in the O.J. Simpson trial. White people were upset and disgusted, but there were no riots, no protests, and no death threats by Whites.

African American leaders are correct in assuming that the Zimmerman verdict will change nothing. White police and law enforcement officers will continue to profile Black youths and will keep them under surveillance in White neighborhoods. Security personnel will continue to watch black youths in stores. There is only one way that that will ever change. Black youths will have to stop being responsible for so much crime.

How can that happen? Black leaders simply have to start speaking-out as one. They need to tell young black men that crime is a disgrace. That producing children without fathers is a disgrace. That sale and use of drugs are a disgrace. That the culture they are following will lead nowhere. That they need to get an education and need to get jobs. Unless Black leaders start speaking out loudly on these issues, there will be no improvement. Black youth will continue to be disconnected from the mainstream, and 100 years from now they will be no better off than they are now.

There is a very great sadness to all of this. President Obama recounted how he was followed by security personnel in stores when he was young. I’m sure many fine, honest, law-abiding Black young people suffer the same indignity. But the large number of Black miscreants who are out on the streets shooting each other make it hard for the good ones.

The substantial reduction in crime by Black youths that is needed to cause a dramatic change in White attitudes is not likely to happen soon. The great divide in America between African Americans and Whites is likely to continue for a long time. Even if the government steps in with massive programs to help young Blacks with education and job training, the process will be slow. The large number of murders and other crimes in urban neighborhoods will continue to be terrible and tragic.

TRAYVON MARTIN, BLACK YOUTH, AND CRIME

            In the minds of most African Americans, the central issue in the case against George Zimmerman for shooting Trayvon Martin was not the legal standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Rather, they wanted Zimmerman convicted for racial profiling.  It is clear that Zimmerman saw Trayvon Martin walking through the gated community and followed him because Martin was Black. There had been several break-ins in the community and Zimmerman thought that Martin looked suspicious.

            Over the decades Black people have suffered from the fact that Whites look upon them as potential criminals and feel endangered when they see young Blacks in an all-white community. Zimmerman called the police to report the presence of Trayvon Martin even though Martin was not exhibiting any criminal behavior. He was simply walking through a gated community going back to his father’s apartment. Zimmerman presumed that Martin was “up to no good” and that the police should come and arrest or at least follow him. We cannot know whether Martin had any intentions other than to return home. If he was looking for a condominium to break into, we will never know it.

It is not hard to understand why African Americans are enraged by such behavior on the part of a local security guard. They wanted Zimmerman convicted of murder no matter what the facts of the case showed.

On the other hand, it is not totally unreasonable to understand what was going on in the mind of George Zimmerman. The presence of a black youth wearing a hooded sweatshirt (a “hoodie”) in the community Zimmerman was supposed to be protecting might reasonably give rise to some fears and assumptions. The reason for this is that the rate of crime by Black youth in America is all out of proportion with their numbers. A report by the U.S. Department of Justice for the year 2009 gave the following figures:

“Juvenile arrests disproportionately involved minorities. The racial composition of the U.S. juvenile population ages 10–17 in 2009 was 77% white, 16% black, 5% Asian/Pacific Island­er, and 1% American Indian. Most juveniles of Hispanic ethnicity were included in the white racial category. Of all juvenile arrests for violent crimes in 2009, 47% involved white youth, 51% involved black youth, 1% involved Asian youth, and 1% involved American Indian youth. For property crime arrests, the proportions were 64% white youth, 33% black youth, 2% Asian youth, and 1% American Indian youth. Black youth were overrepresented in juvenile arrests.

Black proportion--Most serious of juvenile arrests offense in 2009

Murder 58%

Forcible rape 33

Robbery 67

Aggravated assault 42

Simple assault 39

Burglary 37

Larceny-theft 32

Motor vehicle theft 43

Weapons 37 ”

             Thus, according to Justice Department statistics, crimes by Black youths were extremely disproportionate to their numbers. It is no wonder that White people, especially White law enforcement authorities, tend to profile Black youths as potential criminals. No matter how unfair it may be, it is based on a reasonable recognition of the dangers represented by Black youth.

            What is the answer? Black commentators say that the result of the George Zimmerman verdict will be that White law-enforcement authorities will go on profiling Black youths and shooting them down regardless of whether they are committing crimes or not. That may be partially true. But the answer is not to convict people like Zimmerman of murder. The answer lies in the statistics shown above. Unless those statistics change, unless there is great leadership on the part of Black leaders, and unless there is a vast change in the rate of crime by Black youths, White people and White law enforcement authorities will continue to look-upon most Black youths as potential law-breakers.

          

GEORGE ZIMMERMAN WILL BE ACQUITTED

June 29, 2013. When commentators discuss the case of George Zimmerman, who is accused of murdering Trayvon Martin, they lose sight of the legal standard in the case. The prosecution has a heavy burden, and the evidence produced so far indicates that the jury will have to acquit Mr. Zimmerman.

Both White and Black commentators discuss whether Mr. Martin or Mr. Zimmerman was on top in the struggle. The issue of who was on top is simply not clear. For that reason, the prosecution does not have proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Zimmerman was the aggressor and that he did not fear for his life. There is too much evidence to the contrary. Zimmerman was quite banged-up with wounds and blood on his face and head. One witness (for the prosecution!!) said that Martin was on top and was raining blows down on Zimmerman. While such evidence is not decisive, it is more than enough to create a reasonable doubt about Zimmerman's guilt.

Like the O.J. Simpson case, there is a wide difference between the views of White people and those of Black people. Most Black people want Zimmerman to be convicted no matter what the facts are. This is because Zimmerman was obviously profiling Martin on account of his race. Even after he was told by the police not to follow Martin, he went ahead and followed him. Most likely, Zimmerman suspected that because Martin was a black kid he was there to burglarize a condominium. Martin probably became enraged that he was being stalked by a security guard in a gated community where he had every right to be. He probably confronted Zimmerman and wound-up beating him.

Most White people want Zimmerman to be acquitted. This is because they assume that a black kid in a gated community is up to no good. They assume that George Zimmerman was simply doing his job in following Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman probably assumed that Black kids are responsible for a disproportionate amount of property crime. There had been a number of break-ins in the community, and Zimmerman supposed that they were carried-out by someone like Trayvon Martin. It is possible that Zimmerman was right. Martin may have been looking for a condo to break into, but we have no evidence to support that speculation.

Thus, the issues transcend the actual facts of the case. The real issues are Black versus White. Black people are angry that security guards and police in gated or other communities are suspicious of any Black people they see there. White people feel that Black kids do not belong in gated and other communities, and support the right of security guards and police to keep such kids under surveillance.

In the Zimmerman case, the jury may not consider these broader cultural issues. They have to decide whether George Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin in self defense or whether there is proof beyond a reasonable doubt that he shot Martin without any justification. Because the actual facts of the case are in dispute, the all-white jury is likely to acquit.

           

ARE MEMBERS OF THE TEA PARTY INTELLIGENT?

Tea Party people are very conservative. They also claim to be very religious. The question I have is whether they are very intelligent. It seems from all the studies that have been done of the relative intelligence of conservatives and liberals, and of religious believers and atheists, that on the average liberals are more intelligent than conservatives, and atheists are more intelligent than religious believers. Aside from the overwhelming weight of intelligence studies, the difference in intelligence between these groups is encountered on a daily basis. Have you ever noticed that the most educated people you know and meet are usually liberal and non-religious? The corollary of this is that the most conservative and religious people you know and meet are usually less well uneducated. One need only look at the high percentage of liberals and atheists among scientists, collage professors, and members of other educated professions.

I will not waste a lot of time defining the terms liberal, conservative, and atheist. But when I speak of somebody being “religious,” I am not talking about being spiritual, holy, or pious. By the term “religious” I mean the Tea Party type of people such as “Born-Again” Christians, Evangelicals, Pentecostals, and outspoken bible-thumping members of the so-called Religious Right who claim to be religious.

There have been a number of studies looking at whether liberals and atheists are more intelligent than conservatives and religious types. One is the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (or Add Health). The other is the General Social Survey (GSS). Both studies demonstrated that liberals are more intelligent than conservatives. The Add Health study shows that the mean IQ of adolescents who identify themselves as "very liberal" is 106, compared with a mean IQ of 95 for those calling themselves "very conservative." The Add Health study also found that there was a correlation between religion and intelligence. Non-religious people tended to be more intelligent than religious believers. The Add Health study is statistically significant because more than 20,000 young people were surveyed.

Researcher, Satoshi Kanazawa, of the London School of Economics and Political Science, has written a paper in which he quotes from the Add Health Survey along with other sources. He finds that more-intelligent people are more likely to describe themselves as liberal and non-religious.  In another study, a British team found that young people with higher intelligence scores were more likely to grow into adults who vote for Liberal Democrats. In 2008, intelligence researcher Helmuth Nyborg examined whether IQ relates to religion, using representative data from the Add Health and other studies. His results, published in the scientific journal Intelligence demonstrated that on average, Atheists scored 5.89 IQ points higher than religious types.

These findings are supported by many other studies including the study by Lazar Stankova of the National Institute of Education in Singapore, the 1975 study by Norman Poythress, using SAT scores as a measure of intelligence, and others.

You need only look at the levels of education for media conservatives like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and Sean Hannity, and compare them with those for liberals like Anderson Cooper, Bill Maher, and Rachel Maddow. Whereas Limbaugh, Beck, and Hannity never graduated from college (Limbaugh flunked-out), Anderson Cooper graduated from Yale, Bill Maher graduated from Cornell, and Rachel Maddow obtained a doctoral degree from Oxford University in England.

The question is: Does this make any difference? I say yes. We obviously want our political leaders to be highly intelligent and well-educated. We have a president who graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School. He is surrounded by some of the most brilliant and highly educated people ever to work in the White House. Some of his Republican Tea Party opponents, however, seem to occupy the opposite end of the educational spectrum. Look at the educational credentials of Sarah Palin, the Right-Wing’s poster girl for dimwittedness. She thought that being able to see Russia from her home in Alaska gave her credibility in foreign affairs. Michele Bachmann, who graduated from that distinguished center of learning, Winona State University, and got a Law degree at Oral Roberts University, displays her lack of knowledge with repeated and sometimes hilarious gaffs. Rick Perry of Texas, who graduated from Texas A&M with a 2.22 GPA in Animal Science, has been described as “intellectually challenged.” One Republican strategist says that Perry “benefits from an uncluttered mind.”

Liberals tend to be far more accepting of the findings of science than Tea Party types. Liberals accept the firmly established Darwinian theory of evolution, the science of global warming, and the burgeoning developments of stem cell research. Tea Party people embrace the pseudo-science of Creationism, deny the overwhelming evidence of global warming, and would stop stem-cell research in its tracks.

But even if liberals and atheists are smarter, are they any better people than Tea Party conservatives and religious believers? I say yes. Despite their claim for patriotism, piety, and purity, Tea Party types are often narrow, bigoted, hypocritical, and mean-spirited. They tend to despise minorities, poor people, gays, immigrants, non-Christians, and others. Liberals and Atheists tend to be more open-minded about the differences between people, and more accepting.

Theoretically, religion is supposed to make people better, kinder toward their fellow man, full of love and generosity. This is just not the case with Tea Party types. They tend to be small-minded, envious, and angry. While Christ spoke of charity toward the poor, Tea Party people deeply resent the aid that government gives poor and minority people. They are very judgmental toward poor people, asserting that such people are lazy parasites on the state. Instead of Christian charity, they seem to have a repugnance toward the less fortunate.

I believe that when all things are added up, liberals and atheists are not only smarter than Tea Party types, but also better, more decent people. In many ways, they follow the teachings of Jesus better than the Tea Party people.

CREATIONISM

           It has been reported that the Springboro Ohio school board is considering including the theory of Creationism in the teaching of controversial issues to public school students. They would attempt to get around the court's ban on such teaching by saying they were merely including it in the discussion of controversial ideas, and not promulgating it as accepted science. It is an underhanded way to try to introduce religious teaching into the schools. Creationism is a purely religious theory. It has nothing to do with science.

           Creationism, and its offshoot, "Intelligent Design" (ID), are theories that attempt to refute Darwin’s doctrine of evolution by natural selection. Natural selection is a scientific fact that has been proven and accepted by established science. It has become the central organizing principle of modern biology. ID advocates claim that modern species, including humans, did not result from evolution as described in Darwin’s theory. Rather,they were created from the design of an “intelligent” designer (namely God).

ID proponents claim that Darwin’s theory of evolution is atheistic. However, Pope John Paul II declared that the theory was compatible with faith. On Darwin’s birthday, ministers at several hundred churches around the country preached against recent efforts to undermine the theory of evolution, asserting that the opposition many Christians say exists between science and faith is false.

Some Creationist proponents have tried to introduce a “Critical Analysis” template for teaching evolution in Ohio schools. This alerted scientists that evangelical and fundamentalist Christians were still trying to sneak “Intelligent Design” into the schools. Because the courts have forbidden the teaching of Creationism, a purely religious theory, Creationist advocates have come up with the tactic called “teach the controversy.” The idea is to get teachers and students to debate and challenge Darwinian Evolution and thereby slip Creationism in the back door. 

The first problem with Creationism and ID is that they are not scientific doctrines. They are not backed-up by any serious scientific research. They do not publish credible scientific papers or submit to the kind of scientific verification employed for every legitimate branch of science. Creationism is a religious theory promoted by Christian evangelicals and fundamentalists.

            The second problem, one that does not get much attention, is that ID and Creationism are blatantly, obviously, palpably false. They are so self-evidently absurd that one wonders how even uneducated Christians can believe them to be true. They are obviously the product of a culture that embraces ignorance..

            Proponents of Creationism cannot accept the idea that human beings evolved from “lower” animals. They insist that humans must have been designed by God. But I ask, if God designed human beings, how does one explain the mistakes of nature? Why do the bones of our back and the musculature of our bellies display the vestiges of quadrupedal life? Why do we have a vermiform appendix which we do not need or use? Why do men have nipples? Why do humans have a shortened tail called the “coccyx”? Why is the human throat designed with the windpipe (trachea) coming off the food pipe (esophagus) so that swallowing impedes breathing (and vice versa) with a constant risk of choking? Why do we have wisdom teeth?

There are thousands of mistakes in nature. These are just a few examples of oddities that can easily be explained by Darwin’s theory of evolution but cannot be explained if God was the designer. All of these peculiarities are vestiges of our earlier existence as and development from “lower” species of animals (they are not really lower, just different).

The structure of all living things is defined by the DNA molecule and the genes. According to ID proponents, the intelligent designer designed those molecules and genes. One has to ask, therefore, whether God designed the genes which cause the genetic diseases and defects with which so many babies are born. Does God design the genetic infirmities of children born deaf, dumb, blind, mentally deficient, or horribly deformed? Does God design babies born without arms and legs and babies born with conjoined heads or bodies? What about the many babies born with spina bifida or congenital heart defects?

Does God design Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome? It is a genetic disease in which children are born with the compulsion to bite their lips, tongues, cheeks, fingers, and any body parts they can eat. They bite off everything in their oral cavities and assume gruesome corpse-like appearances.  They die while very young of kidney failure.

Does God design Tay-Sachs, a genetic disease in which babies gradually lose their abilities to see, hear, and move?  They develop seizures, become completely immobile, and die by age 5. 

These genetic defects can be explained by evolution, but cannot be explained by the design of an “infinitely loving,” “omnipotent,” “omniscient” God.

Creationist advocates argue that certain things are too irreducibly complex to have developed by natural selection. They claim that the human eye could not have developed by pure accident. It had to be designed by God. But if God designed the human eye, how do we explain its opacity, its want of symmetry, its color blindness to parts of the spectrum, its need for glasses and optical instruments? Why are there so many eye defects such as macular degeneration? Scientists know that the inefficient eyes we now have evolved from eyes that were even less efficient. A number of animals, including eagles, falcons, buzzards and octopuses have better eyes than we do.

It would be a strange theory indeed to claim that the creator of the universe designed human beings but made a lot of mistakes. Do Creationist and ID proponents expect us to believe that their “designer” is not an omnipotent, infinitely loving God, but some sloppy, incompetent bumbler, or worse, some cruel and evil demon? Give me a break!