An Agnostic looks at religion in modern times.

Agnostic (a-, without + gnōsis, knowledge) This is a literal translation of the word.

I am agnostic. There are several different meanings to the term but I am, what would most aptly be called, a pragmatic agnostic. It is "the view that there is no proof of either the existence or nonexistence of any deity, but since any deity that may exist appears unconcerned for the universe or the welfare of its inhabitants, the question is largely academic". I will say that I find very little in the way of "divinity" in everyday life apart from the overall randomness of it. Life's ability to be completely random but at the same time rigidly ordered never ceases to amaze me. I still believe that if Einstein had lived long enough, he would have boiled down the mysteries of life to one unifying and beautiful mathematical equation.

In simple terms, there may in fact be a God in the traditional sense of the word however, I think he views the Earth and it's inhabitants in much the same way that I view an anthill and it's inhabitants. While I may not have bestowed life on the anthill, I can certainly take it away with very little effort. What most religious people call miracles, I call the wonder and splendor of nature. Conversely, what is typically termed evil seems no more than the deviant behavior of just another animal with a diminished ability to reason. I believe in the theory of evolution but have not completely discounted the concept of intelligent design. I think the two can exist as equals and could, in all actuality, work together to further enhance the splendor of life. Could not God, in his infinite wisdom, have come up with evolution as a way to allow nature to decide which of his creations would survive and which would not? It seems plausible to me but I make no proclamations as to my theological knowledge.

If God exists, He gave me the intellect to question his very existence as a way for growth as a human. If He does not exist, then intellect and reasoning are simply evolutionary constructs. I do not claim to have the answers but I do admit that even as an agnostic, I have my own occasional crises of faith.

It's a common misconception that agnostics and/or atheists have no faith. Nothing could be further from the truth. Although I cannot speak for atheists, I can say that agnosticism requires faith of a different sort. Whereas Christians place faith in God and His son, I place faith in myself and those around me. I tend to see divinity in the people around me through philanthropy, charity and their own personal beliefs regarding religion. If believing in God makes you a decent human with compassion for your fellow man, I say more power to you. Keep on believing. I am somewhat comforted by the knowledge that many of those around me live their lives by religious tenets. On the other hand, I see evil in the horrific acts of men every day. I tend to attribute the brutality of man to the obvious weaknesses that all humans possess. Deviant behavior in modern times is no longer thought of as being influenced by Satan or some dark force preying on the weak of spirit but rather, it's now chalked up to chemical imbalances, brain defects or other genetic weirdness. It all comes down to the simple principle of free will.

If I choose to, I can buy a gun, load it and go shoot someone. Satan does not tempt me to do this nor does God prevent me from doing it. It is my own free will and my ability to reason (that killing is wrong) that prevents me from murdering someone. Free will is the closest thing to divinity that I see on a daily basis. It is, in my own opinion, the greatest of all the human attributes. The opposable thumb is nice and being able to harness fire is certainly handy when grilling out but without free will, we are all simply automatons with no chance of avoiding the inevitable "sameness" of life.

Having said all that, too much as I am beginning to suspect, I find the ever increasing crescendo of "separation of church and state" from many on the left to be a growing symptom of what is truly wrong with our country as it exists today. We have cut God from the public square as if He were a cancer to be excised. Christmas vacation is now called "winter break" in most schools. Books have been written by college professors that sought to downplay the role that religion played in the founding of this great nation. Removing the Ten Commandments from a courtroom is vastly different from attempting to remove Him from our history. I tend to place the latter in the "great crimes in history" category.

Let me clarify a point or two from that last paragraph before I continue. The current trend of removing God from the public square in all actuality is really removing Christianity. The progressive left has tolerance for nearly every religion on Earth apart from Christianity. The ACLU may well sue to have morning prayers in public schools stopped in a misguided effort to "defend the constitution" but will turn a blind eye towards Christian children adopting Muslim names as an exercise in "diversity". The nativity may not be displayed in the confines of any building that gets even a nickel from the federal government but a menorah is perfectly acceptable. I am uncertain if this behavior is the result of malice or guilt. Whatever the case may be, it must be stopped. Removing God from public view in these modern times is akin to the Romans driving Christianity underground after Jesus' crucifixion.

Our founding fathers were deeply religious men who felt called by God to change what they saw as a monarchy that sought to supplant His divinity with it's own. To believe that George Washington or Thomas Jefferson were atheists or "Deists" as as is more commonly associated with them, is to deny our own history. To deny it is to forget it and to forget it will allow yet another despot to trample on the liberties that those hallowed men fought and died to secure for us.

I believe there will be a "push back" from the Christian community as a whole that will rival the civil rights movement in it's ferocity and it's justification. Just as the Jews were persecuted for thousands of years, so too is Christianity suffering it's own modern persecution at the hands of "secular humanists" who seem hell bent on removing all things "Christian" from view.

Pun fully intended.

Are There Mosquitoes In Canada?

I had the most interesting conversation last week. I walked away from it with the reaffirmation that the difference between perception and reality is vast and for some, unexplored. It raised questions about the effectiveness of our educational system, the power of continued learning through life and the effects that television has had on our society.

Let me start with a little background to set this in the proper light.

My wife is Canadian, therefore, a foreigner. Her acclimation to living in America has been filled with questions, observations and sometimes, complete disbelief. Though difficult at times, she has made the transition with grace while still showing a sense of wonder about this great nation. She marvels at the fact that Wal-Mart is open 24 hours, 364 days a year. Not only is Wal-Mart the titular heart of the capitalist ideal, they sell alcohol, tobacco and firearms at almost any hour of the day or night. To her, this is something unheard of.

Her understanding of how America works aside, some of the friends we've made recently exhibit the same sense of wonder about Canada. The main difference is that while my wife has a better than average understanding of our country, most of our new friends have an understanding of Canada based on what they've seen on television and half remembered classes on world history.
I had my own misconceptions about Canada in the past so I won't count myself out of the "stupid American" group just yet. During my first trip to Canada, I asked my future wife where all the moose were. I fully expected to see moose walking down the road or strolling through town leisurely.

The differences between Canadian society and ours are varied but there is a lot more that's similar. Our governments are similar but with very important differences, theirs is first and foremost a monarchy but they have elections, politicians and the same types of government greed and waste that we suffer from. One odd difference is that the Canadian government is in the tobacco business. The government imports tobacco, processes it for sale and then distributes it but with much higher costs than we here in America deal with. Imagine $10 per pack for Marlboro or a comparable brand. Gas is much more expensive there. While the cost of gas here hovered between $3 and $3.50 per gallon, theirs was between $5 & $6 a gallon.

I've meandered away from my point but the subtle differences mean more as we go on. My wife and I were visiting with our neighbors and some friends of theirs last week. I introduced myself and my wife and we all sat talking and enjoying a cold beer on a warm day. The conversation turned to where we were both from and when she mentioned she was from Canada eyes lit up and they leaned forward as if hearing some fantastic secret. My wife was inundated by a barrage of questions both serious and inane. One question almost brought the entire evening to a halt. The couple we had just met were very nice and we were laughing and joking about how different our two countries were until the wife, Margaret, asked, "Hey, don't you have that free health care in Canada?"

My wife's face changed to a scowl as the group grew quiet. I simply leaned back and let her go. She leaned slightly forward and began to describe how free that "free health care" really was. She talked about diminished choice and rationed treatments. She told them of the inordinately high taxes they paid as Canadian citizens. She related the accident she had at work when she injured her ankle and it took 6 weeks to get the results from her x-rays. When it was determined that the results of the x-rays were inconclusive, that was it. There was no next step. No second x-rays, no MRI no nothing. She was given pain medication and anti-inflammatory drugs. So much for the Canadian health care system being so much better than ours.

I joined in and helped explain the difference between the major countries and their health care systems. Canada is a single-payer system, England is universal, meaning all health care personnel are quite literally government employees. Canada's system is fixed so that the government just pays the bills but still makes an absurd amount of decisions about who gets care, why and when. There are important differences between the two, and neither of those bear any resemblance to our system, Obamacare not withstanding.

There were several serious questions about how the Canadian government worked, what the major political parties were and so forth. My wife felt excluded when those of us who were born here spoke of why it's so great to be an American but she laughed in spite of our loud proclamation that people weren't exactly flocking to Canada in the numbers we see in the States.

I knew that the beer was having it's desired effect when Clayton, who we'd just met, suddenly grew quiet and a quizzical look crossed his face as he asked, "Are there mosquitoes in Canada?"
My wife bellowed with laughter as she explained, "Look, it's not like there's a huge wall between here and there. Things that can fly...can fly across the border for heavens sake."

It was at this point I decided to have a little fun at our new friends expense. I hinted that there was no Christmas in Canada and that people walked around in wooden shoes. Cruel, I know but by this time I wanted to have a little fun and exploit the obvious lack of knowledge about my wife's home country. They knew I was being less than honest and eventually we all just laughed and finally said good night and went our separate ways.

The next morning I sat drinking my coffee from my favorite mug, a Toronto Maple Leafs mug. I know precious little about hockey but I'm doing my best to try to show some appreciation for all things Canadian. I know there's a puck and sticks and many of the players are missing teeth. That makes sense when you consider that grown men swinging sticks at each other would lead to some toothless grins. I know now that what we call Canadian bacon is really what they call pemail bacon and is more along the lines of ham.

I discovered that my wife knew a great deal more about American culture than I knew about hers. Through careful questioning I learned that she even had a better grasp of American history as well. While she couldn't name all the founding fathers, not many Americans can after all, she had a firm grasp of the basics for our displeasure with the British all those years ago. I, on the other hand, could not tell her when Canada officially became a nation. I knew little of their political system apart from the fact that it mirrored the British. While she didn't fully understand our current health care system, she was amazed that we could go see any doctor we wanted and choose which hospital we wanted to have our baby in, she was a quick study and seems more and more "American" every day.

All this is leading somewhere, I promise you. My theory is this: America is more of an ideal than we are sometimes led to believe. That would explain the millions that cross the border illegally every year. Many outside this country learn our ways and our history as a matter of course in their own countries. I think many foreigners view America in much the same way many of us view Florida. As a destination where we will live the good life free of the struggle of everyday life. I have in-laws who live half the year in Canada and half the year here. My wife has told me of friends and acquaintances who have come across legally and just decided to stay because of our love of freedom and individualism. I suspect there may also be a very strong love of the climate as well. Can you blame them really? I mean, can you picture yourself firing up the barbecue in January...in Toronto?

Sticks, Stones and Glass Houses.

We all know the story of the boy who cried wolf. Told by thousands of parents for years as a way to teach one of life's most important lessons - "Always tell the truth." We instill this value into our own children and demand that they live this lesson every day just as our parents taught us. I have had my own struggles with the truth over the years dating back to the first time I lied to my parents about why I'd come home so late or why my report card was so atrocious. Despite our parents best teachings, society teaches us something completely opposite of their best advice.

Society teaches us to lie. It teaches us that not only is lying acceptable in certain circumstances, it's necessary for the daily battle to survive. Who amongst us has never cheated on their taxes, embellished on a resume' or any of the hundreds of reasons that present themselves on a daily basis? I suspect that there are none among us who are without sin on this score. It's a fact of everyday life now. Lying has become so commonplace these days as to seem passe'. What's worse is not only is it accepted, it's expected of certain people. So much so that hearing the truth sometimes raises the hackles on our necks in defense. Two groups spring instantly to mind - politicians and salesmen. Those groups are expected to lie to us and we have grown accustomed to hearing them spew great whoppers. We smile inside and tell ourselves, "This is the way of things, this is normal."

During our formative years, when the teachings of our parents is still fresh and causing us great consternation about lying, the story of George Washington and the cherry tree seems completely believable. We accept it as fact simply because that is what we have been taught. Ask yourself if you believe that story now. Washington was a young boy when the incident occurred so it seems plausible that he would own up to his misdeed and suffer the consequences. It's treated more as a fable now. Something used to reinforce the lesson on telling the truth just like the boy who cried wolf.

Which brings me neatly to my real point. Crying wolf has dire consequences when it is discovered to be false. It damages both the teller and the listener in obvious and subtle ways. The teller is soon dismissed as a liar and a fraud and the listener becomes hardened and cynical to the real danger that may be lurking in the shadows. As a result, the entire village is left open to the horrors of being devoured by a ravenous monster.

George W. Bush was a liar. So was Bill Clinton. So too is Barack Obama. Again, we expect this of our elected officials and they never fail to disappoint. What we do not expect is to have what was once the most trusted group of people in the country turn out to be liars as well. Once a guardian of our liberties, they now serve to cloud the truth and hide the facts. They editorialize and spew great whoppers but we give them a pass because they've learned to lie like politicians and salesmen do. They tell lies that comfort us and reinforce our own beliefs.

Before I continue, if you're expecting a rant on he evils of the media... you are correct.

I call Chris Matthews the "journalist who cried racism". He does it so often and with such skill that he is never questioned by a large segment of the people. As does Keith Olberman, Rachel Maddow and a growing number of commentators in the media. You can turn on any of the people I've just mentioned on any given night and during the course of their broadcasts, you will hear the cries of racism being thrown about like candy from a pinata. It's been made a staple of the evening news to the point of being disgusting. I am beyond the point of being tired of it. I've reached the point of no return with it quite frankly. It's as if Matthews and his ilk long for the days of lynchings and crosses burning to give them a vehicle with which they can "save the world".

I've tried to find the real reason for it and I have a few ideas of my own. Tell me if any of them make sense.

1. People who constantly call out people who are gay are called homophones and justifiably so. The theory was that those with the most fear and hatred of gays somehow harbored homosexual tendencies they were subconsciously trying to quell. Could not someone who constantly calls others out for being racists also be considered a racist? Are they not also harboring racist tendencies that they too are trying to quell? Shouting "Racist!" at others proves that I'm not one...right?
2. The vast majority of talking heads these days would like their own civil rights movement or some such social crisis. They need something on a grand scale to justify their own existence. A democrat president means they can no longer trumpet the evils of the wars we face or the collapsing economy so instead, they'll invent something they can fight using all their nobility and enlightened sensibilities.

3. Although somewhat darker and more sinister, the last reason is the most plausible to me. The incessant, and untrue, cries of racism by the media is just the age old tactic of marginalizing an entire group of people. In essence, "Don't listen to that group, they just hate black people." This serves two purposes: first, the silencing of dissent that those on the left think may be dangerous to their own. If it weren't effective, would they be fighting it so hard? Secondly, and most disturbing is this, the media's penchant for "social engineering" is at stake and they must preserve the work they've done over the last 18 months. They've worked so hard to get Barack Obama in the place he is in now and they simply won't allow anyone to tear him down.

Perhaps worse than the media's constant trumpeting of racism is to hear members of Congress do the same. Hank Johnson, (D) Georgia said that without reform, the Klu Klux Klan would roam the quiet countryside again, Charlie Rangel (D) NY says he sees the same faces in the crowds of the Tea Parties that he saw during the civil rights struggle. The latter is patently absurd but accepted as fact by most in the media without question. "If a black person calls you a racist, then it must be true." In fact, where the media is concerned, the only person who's character is above reproach has dark skin...unless he's Michael Steele, Clarence Thomas or Condoleeza Rice. All others are sainted and holy and must not be questioned.

Last time I checked, ALL humans are flawed, not just one political ideology. Last time I checked, we are all weak and imperfect and filled with the propensity to do bad things, despite who we voted for.

In summation, I'd like to remind those of you who are afraid of words that the great George Carlin once said, "Words aren't evil, intentions are." Disagreeing with a black man does not make me a racist.

Hey, I disagree with the teachings of Mao...does that mean I hate Chinese people too?