Less really IS more (Or how to not live in fear)

In my day-to-day life, the people I encounter (friends, neighbors, co-workers, students) all generally seem to be good; they want the best for themselves and the world they live in, they do not wish to do harm, and they are concerned about global warming, the wars, and biological threats. They want to be happy, and they want the people around them to be happy. Many of them are actively engaged with projects and endeavors that benefit others; they are motivated by a sincere desire to change the world in which they live.

I started thinking about this the day after attending a performance by a troupe called “Bench Press Burlesque.”  Four of the members of the group take yoga classes with me and I wanted to support them. I had seen them perform previously and was delighted with the wit, intelligence, and cutting-edge weirdness with which they deal with current issues and culture. Their most recent production, “Bad Jokes and Tight Ropes” did not fail to deliver, in my opinion. Perhaps I am a bit prejudiced (I know them and I love them!) but I was again tickled and pleased to see them as they took on President Bush, Technology, Corporate Environmental Rape, Bad Parenting, Gender Mis-identification, and the Catholic Church in their unique, campy, low-budget, sexy and freaky style. There was a decent performance of a West African dance that had the audience clapping and stomping, a puppet show on Sex Education and musical interludes by the house band …

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The love of money may be the root of all evil.

I like money.  With money I can clothe myself, pay for my grandchildren’s piano lessons, drive a reliable car, eat some great food, and visit friends in faraway places.  I don‘t want a barter economy, especially since I have nothing physical to barter for necessities, unless you count the endless reams of paper I can generate.  But this American drive to get rich, and get rich now with a minimum of effort, is doing us in.

Some people use the lottery.  Lotteries, or gambling in general, do not particularly offend me.  I do think they are the resort of people who failed 6th grade math, and I dislike the false advertising claiming the lottery benefits our school systems (the percentage going to education is way too low to make that an advantage of lotteries).   But I don’t think they ought to be illegal (funny how they don’t pass laws requiring that we eat our Brussels sprouts, everyone is too busy trying to outlaw the fun things, like alcohol, sex, etc.).

Some people “collect” things, believing that if they buy every coffee mug with a logo on it, someday their ‘collection’ will be worth millions.  I think collections are junk that gather dust and requires me to buy shelves or boxes or storage space to put it (think of George Carlin’s monologue on buying so much stuff that you have to buy stuff to put your stuff in or sell some stuff to buy other stuff).  That doesn’t seem to be …

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Read more about the article Who first invented the golden rule?
Who first invented the golden rule

Who first invented the golden rule?

Answer:  Not Jesus. Who first invented the Golden Rule? Uncover its origins and dispel misconceptions. Explore the shared principles of major world religions. This post is dedicated to the many people who have claimed to me, without any evidence or research, that the Golden Rule was invented by Jesus, as…

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Moral Values…hmm

 In 2004, George Bush was reelected.  We can debate endlessly over whether or not he stole that election, but it’s beside the point for this rant.  Besides, four million popular votes seems like a big wad to steal.

What we need to figure out if we want to have any possibility of turning this misdirected ship around is WHY SO MANY PEOPLE VOTED FOR THE REPUBLICAN RIGHT?  Not even just Republicans–there are decent Republicans that I would support (Arlan Spector comes to mind, as does a pre-2004 John McCain)–but the rabid fundie far right wing of the party, the wing that is destroying it and trying to turn this country into something like a theocracy. 

So what was it?

    The factor listed by most exit polls in Middle America was–is–Moral Values.  Not in California or the Northeast corridor, but in the Heartland.

    Moral Values.

    I had thought for a long time that the issues driving Bush supporters floated between abortion, school prayer, and taxes. I’m now not so sure tax cuts are that important–these people have got to realize that if Bush continues his policies, at some point a huge bill is going to come due.

    The furor over gay marriage in the last months of the campaign underscores the exit polls. Moral Values.

    If I thought the votes were driven by the deep morality stemming from a Kantian apprehension of the nature of the right, the good, and the universalizable as determined by a focused application of the categorical …

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No damnation without representation!

One of the main causes of America’s Revolutionary War against Britain was the fact that British Parliament was passing tax laws against the Colonies, but was also denying the Colonists the right to be represented in Parliament to protest those taxes.  “No taxation without representation” was the rallying cry that swept through the New world and solidified opposition to Britain’s dictatorial rule.

This rallying cry came thundering back into my head this week as I was reading the Bible — specifically, Daniel, chapter 9.  Nearly the entire chapter is devoted to Daniel begging for God’s forgiveness, because of Israel’s failure to obey God’s laws.  I suddenly realized that of the 600+ laws that God handed down to the Isrealites (the Ten Commandments were only a brief summary), *not one* was enacted with the consent, or even the counsel, of the Israelites.  As I read through the chapter, I suddenly realized how absurd Daniel’s begging sounded.  God did not give Daniel, or any other Israelite, any role whatsoever in making the laws that God handed down, so why should the Israelites take the entire blame for not following them?  Just as the American Colonists did in the Revolutionary War, shouldn’t Daniel have objected to dictatorial law-making as fundamentally unfair, instead of begging forgiveness for not adhering to it?

Let me anticipate the Christian objection:  unlike British Parliament, God is righteous and perfectly fair; therefore, his laws are, too.  Really?  If God is so perfect and fair, then why didn’t his elaborate …

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