Why is it so hard to accept religion into my life?

  Can the church help you?

     Maybe you are a Christian, or a member of some other religion -Jew, Mormon, Mohammedan, Buddhist, or what not.

     It makes no difference. A man should be free to believe whatever he pleases. The point is not what your religious faith is, but whether religion can abolish the evils we suffer from.

     As I said before, we have only one life to live on this earth, and we want to make the best of it. What will happen to us after we are dead we don't know. The chances are we'll never know, and so it's no use bothering about it.

     The question here is of life, not of death. It is the living we are concerned with; with you and me and others like ourselves. Can the world be made a better place for us to live in? That's what we want to know. Can religion do it?

     Christianity is about 2,000 years old. Has it abolished any evil? Has it done away with crime and murder, has it delivered us from poverty and misery, from despotism and tyranny?

     You know that it has not. You know that the Christian Church, like all other churches, has always been on the side of the masters, against the people. More: the church has caused worse strife and bloodshed than all the wars of kings and kaisers. Religion has divided mankind into opposing beliefs, and the most bloody wars have been fought on account of religious differences. The church has persecuted people for their opinions, imprisoned and killed them. The Catholic Inquisition terrorized the whole world, tortured so-called heretics, and burned them alive. Other churches did the same when they had the power. They always sought to enslave and exploit the people, to keep them in ignorance and darkness. They condemned every effort of man to develop his mind, to advance, to improve his condition. They damned science, and silenced the men who thirsted for knowledge. Till this very day institutionalized religion is the Judas of its alleged Savior. It approves of murder and war, of wage slavery and capitalistic robbery, and always stands for the 'law and order' which crucified the Nazarene.

     Consider: Jesus wanted all men to be brothers, to live in peace and good will. The church upholds inequality, national strife, and war.

     Jesus condemned the rich as vipers and oppressors of the poor. The church bows before the rich and accumulates vast wealth.

     The Nazarene was born in a manger and remained a pauper all his life. His alleged representatives and spokesmen on earth live in palaces.

     Jesus preached meekness. The Princes of the Church are haughty and purse-proud.

     'As you do unto the least of my children,' Christ said, 'you do unto me.' The church supports the capitalist system which enslaves little children and brings them to an early grave.

     'Thou shalt not kill,' commanded the Nazerene. The church approves of executions and war.

Alexander Berkman 1929

Self policing is true justice and equality

     Suppose you see John beat and kick Bill when the latter is on the ground. Both may be strangers to you, but if you are not afraid of John, you'll tell him to stop kicking a fellow who is down.

     But when you see the policeman do the same thing to some citizen you will think twice before interfering, because he might beat you up too and arrest you to boot. He has the authority.

     John, who has no authority and who knows that some one might interfere when he is acting unjustly, will - as a rule - be careful what he is about.

     The policeman, who is vested with some authority and who knows there is little chance of any one interfering with him, will be more likely to act unjustly.

     Even in this simple instance you can observe the effect of authority: its effect on the one who possesses it and on those over whom it is exercised. Authority tends to make its possessor unjust and arbitrary; it also makes those subject to it acquiesce in wrong, subservient, and servile. Authority corrupts its holder and debases its victims.

 

Alexander Berkman  1929

Setting the stage, and other things we don't want to do

As time marches on, we experience many changes in the world. What was once thought taboo is now common. What was once an acceptable practice is now persecuted. The common denominator is the older generation’s disgust in the situation of society. They fail to realize the vital part they play in catalyzing the loss of values and the liberation of what was once denounced .

The alarming rate of children’s desire to wear sexy clothing at earlier and earlier ages, causes much concern for the older generation. The fashion statement escapes them. Many people have shown disappointment in types of language they see and hear in everyday life. They can’t understand the obsession with young adults paying for breast implants. They can’t believe that things that were once free of charge, now cost money. They show despair for the lazy attitude and lack of work ethic in the young generation. They are appalled at the violence portrayed in the video games kids play today. It used to be very shameful to live with a member of the opposite sex, unless they are married. Today many couples have children together without getting married. They can’t believe the amount of money professional sports players earn today.

Less than two hundred years ago, slavery was still an accepted practice in the United States. During the abolition of slavery, many white people had a very difficult time dealing with the freedom of the men and women from Africa. Later still, people had a hard time accepting them as Americans, today we still call them African-Americans. There was a time that it was perfectly acceptable to smoke marijuana, which has now been prohibited. Children could ride their bicycles down the street with out a helmet. The people could speak freely with their opinions on the government, without fear of being targeted as a terrorist. There were less taxes, more freedoms and a more united spirit in the world amongst the citizens. In fact…only the governments of the world are experiencing more unity as they try to gain control of the entire world. The more land to cover, the more government officials will be needed to control the world, so there is no fear of losing power.

After all this, our grandmothers and grandfathers are frequently asking the rhetorical question. “What is the world coming to?” What the world is coming to is the train station at the end of the railroad they put us on. Everything that we do today, we learned from our elders, applied knowledge and learned more to provide the future with the new platform. If we like wearing sexier clothing, getting plastic surgery, and starving ourselves, we learned that from the older generation. Directly or indirectly, The elders showed us how important is was to look good. They taught us racism and judgment. They showed us that humans could not handle marriage the way humans did in the older days. They proved how we can not be trusted with our own safety, or our own opinions. Whether we follow their advice and examples or rebel against them, it was the elders that failed to guide us into positivity by example. It may be too late for them to do anything, but instead of blaming it all on them, we need to correct the problem. Starting today, understand that everybody that follows you, will reflect you. You can refuse to believe it all you want, but without our direction, humans would be wandering around the Earth, picking fruits and nuts for food, playing and procreating in the sunshine. Embrace the future, and set the stage for all of those that come after you. You will see the fruits of your examples before you die, so make sure you will feel satisfied when that day comes. If you aren’t satisfied, nobody wants to hear you say, “What has this world come to?”

Let me get this off my chest

What does it mean to get something off your chest? 

Is it the simple fact that you say it out loud?  If so, anybody can do that anytime...even in front of a mirror if that's what they need. 

Is it telling another human being?  Do we need to tell somebody something that is bugging us, to dispel the stress?  What if that person has nothing to do with the situation.  If the person DOES have something to do with the subject you need to get off your chest, I can understand the feeling of relief. 

Or is it a matter of seeking out another's opinion or solution to that very "something" that you need to get off your chest? 

I'm very disappointed that I haven't heard many comments on the things that you read here.  You can always email your comments.  It's quick and painless.  How am I supposed to know what is right, if I never hear from you whether or not I make sense?  How can I do my best at making your life better, if I don't hear whether or not I'm misguided?  How can we learn the truth, if you dismiss ideas without adding your two cents? 

OK...I got that off my chest.

Justice

This chapter is too long for my journal...so click here to view my message

 

http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archives/bright/berkman/comanarchism/whatis_8.html

Lyrics from the band

The Earth,, the wind, the sky, the sea

The birth, the life, the air we breathe

The truth, the lies, the in between

The hate, the love, the waking dream

 

In the waking dream, of all the things unseen, the cycle is complete

The universe has justified my life and set me free

A smile spreads across my face, prepares me for the ride

The setting sun begins to set the perfect way t die.

 

homelessness and vehicle registration

Let me set up a scenario.  I am a homeless man, who owns a car.  I would like to register this car, because I have enough money to pay for a car, but not for shelter.  Shelter is much more expensive than a car.  How do I register my car?  I have no address, and no family and friends to provide me with one.  I do not reside in one town, I reside wherever I land.  I can provide services to scrap together enough for the car, insurance, and food, but no more than that.  What do I do?

A joke, oooor is it?

  The following is supposedly an actual question given on a University of 
  Toronto chemistry mid-term. The answer by one student was so "profound" 
  that the professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, which is, 
  of course, why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well.
 
  Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic 
  (absorbs heat)?
 
  Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law (gas 
  cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some variant.
 
  One student, however, wrote the following:

 
  First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we 
  need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at 
  which they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul 
  gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving.
      As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different 
  Religions that exist in the world today. Most of these religions state 
  that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since 
  there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong 
  to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell.
 
  With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls 
  in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of 
  the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the 
  temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has 
  to expand proportionately as souls are added.
      This gives two possibilities:
 
  1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls 
  enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until 
  all Hell breaks loose.
 
  2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in
  Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.
      So which is it?
      If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman year 
  that, "it will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you, and take 
  into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then number 2 must 
  be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen 
  over. The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it 
  follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is therefore, 
  extinct...leaving only Heaven thereby proving the existence of a divine 
  being which explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting "Oh my God."
 
  THIS STUDENT RECEIVED THE ONLY "A

I get arrested for smoking pot, sniffing coke, and taking pills of ecstacy...

But I don't get arrested for wasting my life away with alcohol.  Do you see the problem here?

Some more stuff to think about.

Always looking for reasons to believe that we should regain control of our own lives, I stumbled across this... http://www.pushhamburger.com/criminal.htm is where to find the rest of the story...The majority of Americans have been duped.  Be willing to admit your mistakes.  We aren't perfect, and "going with the crowd" is a good way to ignore those mistakes.  The more peole that admit their mistakes, the more people we will have to bring this criminal government to its knees.  Your mistakes are like little fish in a big pond.  The mistakes by the government and corporationsare giant sharks in this same pond...who pays the price?  Us. 

 

While the 1990s was a decade of booming markets and booming profits, it was also a decade of rampant corporate criminality.

There is an emerging consensus among corporate criminologists.

And that emerging consensus is this: corporate crime and violence inflicts far more damage on society than all street crime combined.

The FBI estimates, for example, that burglary and robbery -- street crimes -- costs the nation $3.8 billion a year.

Compare this to the hundreds of billions of dollars stolen from Americans as a result of corporate and white-collar fraud.

Health care fraud alone costs Americans $100 billion to $400 billion a year.

The savings and loan fraud -- which former Attorney General Dick Thornburgh called "the biggest white collar swindle in history" -- cost us anywhere from $300 billion to $500 billion.

And then you have your lesser frauds: auto repair fraud, $40 billion a year, securities fraud, $15 billion a year -- and on down the list.

Recite this list of corporate frauds and people will immediately say to you: but you can't compare street crime and corporate crime -- corporate crime is not violent crime.

Unfortunately, corporate crime is often violent crime.

 

 

The FBI estimates that, 19,000 Americans are murdered every year.

Compare this to the 56,000 Americans who die every year on the job or from occupational diseases such as black lung and asbestosis and the tens of thousands of other Americans who fall victim to the silent violence of pollution, contaminated foods, hazardous consumer products, and hospital malpractice.

These deaths are often the result of criminal recklessness. They are sometimes prosecuted as homicides or as criminal violations of federal laws.

And environmental crimes often result in death, disease and injury.

I hope this leads you to go to website I copied this from.  The worst cliche in the world seems to be, "That's life."   "That's life" should refer to the common dangers that all living entities on this planet endure.  A tree who can not hold its branches against the wind.  Oranges that can't survive an early freeze in Florida.  A squirrel who doesn't quite know how to stay out of the automobile's path.  In our case, losing a loved one to accident or natural occurence.

The logical concession speech by John Kerry

My fellow Americans, the people of this nation have spoken, and spoken with a clear voice. So I am here to offer my concession.   I concede that I overestimated the intelligence of the American people.  Though the people disagree with the President on almost every issue, you saw fit to vote for him. I never saw that coming.  That's really special. And I mean "special" in the sense that we use it to  describe those kids who ride the short school bus and find ways to injure themselves while eating pudding with rubber spoons. That kind of special.

I concede that I misjudged the power of hate. That's pretty powerful stuff, and I didn't see it. So let me take a moment to congratulate the President's strategists: Putting the gay marriage amendments on the ballot in various swing states like Ohio... well, that was just genius. Genius. It got people, a certain kind of people, to the polls. The unprecedented  number of folks who showed up and cited "moral values" as their biggest issue, those people changed history. The folks who consider same-sex marriage a more important issue than war, or terrorism, or the economy... Who'd have thought the election would belong to them? Well, Karl Rove did. Gotta give it up to him for that. Now, now. Credit where it's due.

I concede that I put too much faith in America's youth. With 8 out of 10 of you opposing the President, with your friends and classmates dying daily in a war you disapprove of, with your future being mortgaged to pay for rich old people's tax breaks, you somehow managed to sit on your asses and watch the Cartoon Network while aging homophobic hillbillies carried the day. You voted with the exact same anemic percentage that you did in 2000.   You suck. Seriously, y'do. Thank you. Thank you very much.

There are some who would say that I sound bitter, that now is the time for healing, to bring the nation together. Let me tell you a little story. Last night, I watched the returns come in with some friends here in Los Angeles.  As the night progressed, people began to talk half-seriously about secession, a red state/blue state split. The reasoning was this:  We in blue states produce the vast majority of the wealth in this country and pay the most taxes, and you in the red states receive the majority of the money from those taxes while complaining about them. We in the blue states are the only ones who've been attacked by foreign terrorists, yet you in the red states are gung ho to fight a war in our name. We in the blue states produce the entertainment that you consume so greedily each day, while you in the red states show open disdain for us and our values. Blue state civilians are the actual victims and targets of the war on terror, while red state civilians are the ones standing  behind us and yelling "Oh, yeah!? Bring it on!"

More than 40% of you Bush voters still believe that Saddam Hussein had something to do with 9/11. I'm impressed by that, truly I am. Your sons and daughters who might die in this war know it's not true, the people in the urban centers where al Qaeda wants to attack know it's not true, but those of you who are at practically no risk believe this easy lie because you can.  As part of my concession speech, let me say that I really envy that luxury. I concede that.

Healing? We, the people at risk from terrorists, the people who subsidize you, the people who speak in glowing and respectful terms about the heartland of America while that heartland insults and excoriates us... we wanted some healing. We spoke loud and clear. And you refused to give it to us, largely because of your high moral values. You knew better: America doesn't need its allies, doesn't need to share the burden, doesn't need to unite the world, doesn't need to provide for its future. Hell no . Not when it's got a human shield of pointy-headed, atheistic, unconfrontational breadwinners who are willing to pay the bills and play nice in the vain hope of winning a vote that we can never have. Because we're "morally  inferior," I suppose, we are supposed to respect your values while you insult ours. And the big joke here is that for 20 years,  we've done just that.  It's not a "ha-ha" funny joke, I realize, but it's a joke all the same.

As well as conceding the election today, I am also announcing my candidacy for President in 2008. And I make this pledge to you today: THIS time, next time, there will be no pandering. This time I will run with all the open and joking contempt for my opponents that our President demonstrated towards the cradle of liberty, the Ivy League intellectuals, the "media elite," and the "white-wine sippers." This time I will not pretend that the simple folk of America know just as much as the people who devote their lives to serving and studying the nation and the world. They don't.

So that's why I'm asking for your vote in 2008, America. I'm talking to you, you ignorant, slack-jawed yokels, you bible-thumping, inbred drones, you redneck, racist, chest-thumping, perennially duped grade-school grads.  Vote for me, because I know better, and I truly believe that I can help your smug, sorry asses. Thank you, and may God, if he does in fact exist, bless each and every one of you.

This will go down in Jaylectricity history

Who makes the majority of money in this country?  The entertainers.  Musicians, actors, sports players.  Governmental officials rival the entertainers in income.  Maybe we should start electing entertainers to the government.  After all, government officials seem to be little more than entertainment for us sheep.  Then I would feel we were spending our tax dollars wisely. 

haha...I kill myself.

An exchange of ideas

Email I received

IMMIGRANTS,
NOT AMERICANS,
MUST ADAPT.
I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we
are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11,
we have experienced a surge
in patriotism by the majority
of Americans. However, the dust from the attacks had
barely settled when the "politically correct! " crowd began complaining about
the possibility that our patriotism was offending others.

I am not against immigration, nor do I hold a grudge against anyone who is seeking a better life by coming to America. Our population is almost entirely made up of descendants of immigrants. However, there
are a few things that those
who have recently come to
our country, and apparently some born here, need to understand. This idea of America being a
multicultural community
has served only to dilute our sovereignty and our national identity. As Americans, we
have our own culture, our
own society, our own language and our own lifestyle. This culture has been developed over centuries of struggles, trials, and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom.


We speak ENGLISH, not Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language.
Therefore, if you wish to become part
of our society, learn the language!

"In God We Trust" is our national motto. This is not some Christian, right wing, political slogan.. We adopted this motto because Christian men and women,
on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented.
It is certainly appropriate to display it
on the walls of our schools. If God
offends you, then I suggest you
consider another part of the world as
your new home, because God is part
of our culture.

My response That's hogwash.  Everyone's individual preferences have caused us to be divided?  The only part of government that should have any part in your life, is the part that the government was set out to accomplish.  The government is not here to tell people how to live their lives.  We are here to live our lives.  Forcing any immigrant to live like the people in this country have lived before is against our constitution.  The more immigrants that come to our country, the more people there will be to defend our rights, from many a different persuasion.  Diversity will help the brainstorming process, and give us many a vault of creativity to draw upon.    His response However, I will argue.  I am tired of walking into hospitals, for instance, and seeing every imaginable language translated.  Or paying interpretors to help people who are freely in the country.  You want to become American, speak American (English).  Don't make my government have to take extra measures to accomodate you, with ONE exception.  We could provide classes in English. But, that's the only thing we should do. My response: I have heard your argument so many times in the past, not just from you.  But this is the land of the free.  Even immigrants deserve to be free.  Why should they have to do something they don't care about doing?  If life gets too hard for them, they will find out how to learn our language...or maybe they will start teaching us theirs...either way, it is a road to understanding.  I thought America was about thinking differently from all nations in history.  Most of the people that immigrateto our country are outcasts in their own country because they didn't want to conform to the forced religious and political practices in their country.  Again, didn't we build this country on freeing yourself from coerced religious beliefs?  Didn't we build this country to allow the people to control the government?  I welcome anybody who is attempting to excersize their human rights of freedom.

 

Wal-Mart Stop & Shop and others

     I watched South Park the other day, and guess what? Wal-Mart was their target. They didn't tell me anything I didn't know, but it was funny as hell. Here's why I'm on the fence about Wal-Mart.
     Wal-Mart does anything and everything possible to provide you with inexpensive commodities. It has many markets to offset any profit loss in a specific region. It devours all local markets, and leaves business owners with no choice, but to shut down and start being a wage slave. It is dangerously close to being a monopoly. Only companies that can compete will do the same things Wal-Mart is doing to control the market. In my area, (New England, U.S.A.) Stop and shop is a very big supermarket chain. They recently started selling gasoline in their parking lots. As they increase their profits, they can use the profits as capital to encompass another market.
     This is the reason I support Wal-Mart. Can you guess why? Probably not. If these huge companies continue to corner the markets, lay off American workers, and exploit less fortunate nations on this planet, they will go too far. I am implying that if we give them enough rope, they will hang themselves.
     All animals, including humans...will fight for their lives if they feel too oppressed. If they didn't, we would still be mired in the royal leadership and dictatorships that we have cast into the wind as time goes on. The powers that be will fight till the bitter end, so fighting them may only prolong the tyranny.
     So my solution is an "all or nothing" approach. Either boycott them, or patronize them until they control everything. At that point, we can unseat them. I know you guys are with me, but it's the fear of the unknown that will hold us back.
Don't we deserve to be free from the upper hand? Did not our country fight to abolish slavery? We are slaves, until we stick together, and take care of each other...for we are the majority, silent or not.

 

The Day After

I don't think it matters if we have to wait 11 days to count all the votes.  If Kerry concedes defeat, does that mean that even if the final tally of votes proclaims Kerry the winner Bush will still be president? 

The second peculiar topic of discussion is which states voted for Bush, and which states voted for Kerry.  If you look at the span of the country, All the huge, lower populated states in the center of the country voted Bush in.  All the smaller, more populated Coastal states, kept the race close.  Which states are the biggest targets of terrorism?  California, Massachusetts, New York, even Washington D.C. who voted 90-10 in favor of Kerry have the largest amount of targets for terrorists to hit.  We wanted to feel safe, but we were denied by all the central states.  The central states who have no fear of terrorism, because they are not on the front line.  So thank you Bible Belt, for putting the economy of this nation in fear.  Thank you for giving us the privelege to be the first ones to fight the terrorists if they decide to infiltrate our soil.  For it is not you that loses, unless we can't handle the pressure.  By then, you won't have a redneck to stand on...and you call us cowards?

Election Day

Well, worried is a strong word, but I see a few things happening.  If either candidate wins by a landslide, "The People Have Spoken."  It's the close race that I'm worried about.  If this race is close, and Bush wins it, I foresee a little bit of unrest.  Some people will be bullshit, and some will be content...but even the bullshit people will affect the content.  How can we have a nation that is fairly opposed to each other and still get what we all want?  People might say, if you don't like it, move out of America. 

Just what WOULD happen if all the people that were slighted in this election DID move out?  What kind of shock to the system would that send?  Where would the government get all the billions of dollars it needs to live lavishly, get special treatment...uh I mean, where would the government get the funds it needs to support this war...uh...wait...I mean...where would the government get the money to accomodate us Americans? 

If those people that are sore about the opposing side winning stayed in the U.S. is it unreasonable to believe that they feel they have no choice?  If they have no choice, aren't they slaves?

I can guarantee you a post tomorrow, when the dust has settled.  I ask many questions in my journal here, only to let you think.  I can offer my ideas, but if you can answer my questions, feel free to post them...if posting to this site is too tedious for you, email me with the comments and which post you are referring to, and I'll add them for you.

A poem to a woman

More I see, More I know
cliches not my way to go
it takes away from what I say
other's games I do not play
I watch your slender body move
I want to add you to my groove
held your rings rubbing all the curves
felt them ALL like a trench coat perv
NO, not THAT dirty...just in my fingers
Now in all my thoughts, you linger
when you look in my eyes, what do you see?
can you belong to someone, and still be free?
I don't have all the answers, but I know the way
to make the best of everything, day after day