America's moral authority regarding past moral transgressions

The argument that America's moral authority is hypocritical is invalid. America has a constitution that is based on one guiding principle; the fallibility of the government. From our country's inception, we admit that our government cannot be absolutely trusted with anything, and we retain the authority to change the rules governing the governors. To have this system for any period of time without a history of mistakes, amendments, and eventually hypocritical proclamations, is to have only a partial process.

The process consists of making a mistake, correcting, and learning from the mistake. The natural result of learning, is the desire to teach. America holds a powerful position in the world and on many issues we are looked to for leadership by other nations. Our past mistakes, if they are corrected, not only can, but should be those pushed hardest against when seen elsewhere. It is not then hypocrisy, but wisdom, which guides us. It is this most precious resource that America has in abundance.

It is not that America's moral authority is invalidated by our past transgressions, it is our transgressions which serve to substantiate our authority. It is our responsibility to ensure that this does not lead to a sense of overbearing pride in our wisdom. Humility is the only vanguard against hypocrisy, for only when we are wise and humble may we assert our authority with dignity. We must aspire to the ideals left to us by those wise men who willed us a great nation, and the only way to honor the sacrifices of those who have come before, is to correct what can be corrected while leaving as our legacy the ability of those who are yet to come, to correct us.

Just for fun

I have an answer to the age old question.

Which came first? The chicken, or the egg?

This seems simple to me, it is the egg.
The question does not stipulate that the egg is a chicken egg, and eggs were in existence long before chickens evolved.

Just for fun.

Questions for Creationists

I have a few questions for Creationists, here they are.


Why do we look different than each other? How do you account for variation amongst human beings?

Why do people resemble, i.e. share common traits with their families?

Do you believe that the Theory of Evolution predicates one species directly producing a completely new species (i.e. a monkey giving birth to a human)?

Do you believe in one species' moral and/or spiritual superiority over another species?

Do you believe that God created races separately?

Do you believe that children are created directly by God, or by the process known as procreation?

Define Theory?

Taking Chances

It is not fear of success that cripples the poverty stricken mind.
It is fear of losing that little bit of stability.

Knowing there is no safety net to help if things go bad.

Knowing the years of toil that lay ahead of the failure, simply to return to where it is now.

Knowing that failure is not a foregone conclusion, but merely enough of a chance to merit inaction.

Choosing Sides

It was that time I told you about, it was that time when I had run away.

There was a party, I told you about the drug, and asked you to get past that to get to the higher understanding.

It was the time of choice.

We all choose, whether to care, whether to love, whether to try, whether to bother.

How many of us remember the moment when we made that choice?

How many of us mark that occasion in yearly ritual?

Are you prepared to love? Or are you simply going to consume? Will you be elemental and be consumed? Or will you transcend the cycle of consumption and become spirit?

Maybe that choice is made earlier for some, maybe it is made easier? Maybe it is never made at all.

There can be no half measures. A side must be chosen.

Will you dissipate in the darkness, or will you become the light?

For me, it was March 25, 1996.

I knew exactly why.

At the ripe old age of 13 I was being driven to confirmation class every Wednesday night at my parents Presbyterian church. I was not terribly excited at the prospect. I would rather have been causing havoc with my friends, or playing guitar, listening to music, or even sneaking cigarettes. In the face of all these other options I was going to confirmation class. If I remember correctly, the class was from 7 to 8 o'clock.
During the class, as the pastor (who I actually did like and respect) would be explaining things we needed to know, I would ask questions. I had done a dangerous thing by this point in my life, I had read the Bible. There were things that Mr. Edwards had gotten confused, and I have never been one to believe that this was not a big deal. What should be more important than what we believe in regarding God? All other things come second, and look at that, God left us this nifty manual full of stories and rules. Well, it still is my credo, RTFM. When asking questions, or opening a debate on what something meant, or what did or did not make sense about what we were 'learning', I am sure that I appeared to be a snarky 13 year old. You know, the kind of kid who actually cared about this stuff.

"Yea, have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?" (Matthew 21: 16)

Anyway, one night early in the year I was either at class early or waiting for my ride at the end, and Mr. Edwards pulled me aside and asked why I came to confirmation class. I told him that my mother was forcing me against my will. I told him that I respected him, but that I just saw too many inconsistencies, and that I wasn't finding much truth at church. He said that he understood, and asked me if I had explained that to my mom, and I responded that I had. It had no effect, because I was to do as told. He said that he thought my discussions were disruptive, and I'm sure they were. This was not a theological debate class, this was a confirmation class, though I have never been convinced that they are not one in the same. I said to him that I understood, and even felt bad, but that I couldn't simply sit there and agree with things that I didn't. He asked me if I had a solution. I said yes.

I will stop coming, and you will neglect to mention my absence.

I swear to God it worked. Every week from then on I was dropped off on time, or even early, and dutifully walked through the church (so as to appear that I had gone inside) to the front door and out towards the pool hall 3 doors down. This arrangement lasted quite a long time, a few months at least. until I think it was a scheduling mix up that finally got me caught with my mom.
It was the end of the year and she was wondering why I was not being confirmed. I wasn't.

I knew exactly why.

See, the purpose that I was sent to church with was to learn to obey. Not to obey God.

To obey authority.

I rejected then and I reject now blind adherence to authority.

I did not want to go to the class, as I already knew that I didn't find anything real in our church, but I was supposed to submit to the will of my mother.
There were things in that class that I disagreed with, but I was supposed to submit to the pastoral authority.
I was supposed to silence my beliefs and not interfere with my classmates 'learning'.
I was supposed to rote learn empty ritual and submit to the social constraints of the congregation.
I was supposed to learn to submit.

I was not supposed to find or worship God.

I knew exactly why.



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Here's some questions I never got an answer to.

What happens to those who lived before Jesus? Do they go to Hell? Purgatory? Some other construct of Dante's literary theft of heretical texts?
What about those who lived after Jesus, but never heard of him? Need they suffer eternally because they were kept ignorant by lack of technology?
Who are the people of Nod?
Why does the Bible never have a problem with slavery?
Why does Jesus consistently refer to his being the Son of Man?
Why did God choose one small stone age people to reveal his truth to? Why did he give them a Holy Land, only to let everyone else and their brother take it away from them?
Why did God think everyone else inferior?

Singularities, Dualities, Attributes

Hello.

We use language to create communication. In order to have communication, you need common language. This allows us to accept that some sounds mean this, while others mean that. Humans have done pretty well with languages. They are abundant.

Terms we use to describe sound, such as loud, soft, shrill, fast, slow etc., are all terms describing segments of the overall sound. No one description embodies the sound completely. We are limited to describing attributes of the sound. Our other option is to attempt recreation.

In our attempt to describe the sound we find that attributes have values. A sound that is loud is loud compared to other sounds. If we find that sound to be loud then we mean that it is loud compared to more sounds than would make it seem not loud by comparison. More industry specific terms are applied with more advanced study. Tone, timbre, frequency, harmonic qualities etc.

What we find are that we have series of properties with two possible trajectories. These properties either increase in value or decrease in value. Our system of comparative property description does not allow for properties to not exist, they would simply diminish in value beyond all other comparable attributes. This system of an increase or decrease of energy is dualism.

The realization that these properties are simply labels humanity concocted leads us to the oneness of the object (sound) with itself. It is defined truly only by what it is. Its very existence is its explanation. This is the singularity.

What is left after the singularity is simply an energy pulsation, on a trajectory that will either increase or decrease its energy.