Season's Greetings

Wow.  Really long time no write.  Can't say why.  Haven't had much of import to say I guess.  But the internet has pushed some buttons so here I am.

Politics.  Hate em.  I just don't have the words for how disgusted I am with what's going on in this election season.  Or maybe I have too many words.

Religion.  Yeah, too many words here, too.  I'll just leave this paragraph at this for now.  That image of that county clerk with her beatific smile and arms raised like the Slow Loris and a fucking presidential candidate holding up her arm while an iconic rock song plays like she just ran up a mountain of steps will forever haunt me.

The K Klan.  No, not that one.  The Kardashian one.  Still hate em.  If there's a god, why doesn't it do something about that?  And isn't anyone talking about the fact that they named the latest future scourge on the world Saint?  Is no one offended by this?  Catholics, you out there?

I have a guilty pleasure.  Okay, lots of them, but I'll just talk about one for now.  "Ancient Aliens Theory" and religion from the perspective of archaeology and historic investigation.  I know that's two things, but I put them together because it's basically about the same thing.  I'm fascinated by the documentaries on these things.  They raise questions, and make me think about what the answers could be.  The reason these two things go together is that they both debunk religion so beautifully.

I'll start with Ancient Aliens Theory.  I'm not saying I agree with it, but I'm not disagreeing either.  Some of it is a stretch, some is just plain silly, but a lot of it...well, I haven't heard a better explanation.  Something very important in human history was going on long before the biblical stories were conceived.  Even before the ancient stories that were plagiarized by the bible.  If not actual extra-terrestrials, then maybe there were highly advanced civilizations that failed for whatever reason.  It's a lot easier for me to accept physical ETs as gods than mystical gods.  An idea that came to my mind is that humans are the ETs.  We came here, did amazing things, and then some apocalypse caused a collapse leaving just enough alive to begin again from scratch.  We scattered and forgot what happened, or didn't write it down, or did write it but not accurately or legibally, and now today, we're trying to piece that early history back together.

One theory suggested in the AAT series was the existence of a "god gene".  According to the documentary, someone studied this, and did find a gene that seems to be common to devout people.  The scholars wondered what evolutionary advantage such a gene would have, and thought it might have made it easier for people to live and work together.  They invented an idea they could rally around, and the people had to be susceptible to accepting it.  My thought is that it wasn't an advantage, it was just exploited.  Human nature being what it is, certain dominant personalities used it to their advantage to become leaders, and then control the community for their personal gain.  As the population was controlled, and the gene pool somewhat closed, the god gene was perpetuated.  Now there's a huge number of people that refuse to believe what science has learned, and cling to outdated and implausible doctrines that don't apply to modern times.  The god gene is no longer necessary as we've become numerous and educated enough that we can work together without a controlling mythology, but the powers that be are still using it to this day, and the masses are letting them.   The AAT also suggests this gene was planted in the human genome by ETs, but I think it more likely that it was a mutation that arose naturally as a consequence of a restricted gene pool.  That's if there really is a god gene.  I obviously don't have it, and I'm thankful for that.

The series that investigate religion, and particularly the bible, are also fascinating to me because for the most part, they validate what I think.  God is a man-made concept, not the other way around.  Religions started as stories that fancifully explained the natural world.  The bible ripped off stories that were told thousands of years earlier, and powerful men convinced (or forced) people that this was divine law and truth, and said bow down.  It wasn't about spirituality, it was about power.  Myself and other freethinkers, we just don't get how everyone doesn't see this.

I'll say here that I only have a problem with religion when it affects me.  Unfortunately, it does.  All the time.  My taxes are higher because of the vast number of churches enjoying their tax-exemptions.  Door-knockers intrude on my home way too often.  Too many of the presidential candidates are pandering to the religious right.  Every attempt to insert religious agenda into the government affects me because one of my fears is that they'll succeed.  What will happen to people like me if that happens?

Another pushed button.  Selfies.  Stop it.  Just stop.  Unless there's something or someone else in the picture to make it interesting.  And no, the empty backseat of your car or bathroom or bedroom doesn't qualify.  And for fucking sake, stop with the fish lips.  You don't look sexy or cute, you look stupid.

The Winter Solstice is finally here.  The original reason for the season, and the one of most importance for me.  If I worship anything, it's the sun, and I live for the days to grow longer.


Happy Holidays from The Wee Dark Hours.