So some organization of Atheists have decided to go up in arms over a nativity scene in front of Legislative Building in Olympia, Washington. If it was simply a matter of “there is supposed to be a separation of Church and State”, I wouldn’t mind so much. However, instead it is an organization very aggressively pushing the concept that God does not exist into people’s faces, and then claiming that they are doing no wrong. In fact, the nativity scene is the aggressor!

While I typically get irritated from Atheists acting so smug about not believing in a God, these people grate on my nerves in a different way. They are trying to claim that the nativity scene says “if you do not bow down to our God, you burn in Hell”. This is an argument that has always confused me, as well, as Atheists shouldn’t even believe in Hell. Why would you be bothered by the concept of something you don’t believe in?

The fact of the matter is, there is an agenda these Atheists are trying to push, and they are doing it in the most absolutely wrong way possible. You do NOT put out a plaque that says, as if it is fact, that there is no God and religion is the cause of all the world’s troubles and claim you are not the bad guy. You are directly attacking the core beliefs of others by claiming them not only to be false, but to be harmful.

Of course, the Christians aren’t tackling it too well, either. “We will call upon our supporters to stop this Un-Godly campaign!”. See, just by saying “Un-Godly campaign”, you reveal another agenda. The issue here shouldn’t be that it is an “Un-Godly” campaign, it should be that someone is taking their freedom of speech and making irresponsible use of it. Our freedom of speech is intended to allow us to discuss matters of the Government publicly without being arrested or silenced unjustly. However, if you decide to try and exercise your right to speak freely in a manner that disturbs the peace, then you aren’t looking to speak freely. You are looking to create a stir in the community, and such a stir does not have peaceful or rational intentions.

I don’t care if a nativity scene is taken down from a government building. If there are Christian employees that want to have a nativity scene, they are free to place one in their home or on their lawn. However, this organization is just as bad as any Christian community or organization trying to ban gay marriage or abortion. They aren’t arguing for true freedom, they are fighting for their agenda to become the majority. They are actively seeking to piss off Christians and trying to get others onto their side.

I do not care what your organization stands for, such methods are wrong and consequences should be paid for such a thing.

For those of you not aware, an employee of Wal-Mart was killed the morning of Black Friday in New York, and two others were shot at a Toys ‘R’ Us in California, one of them the age of six. It is the result of people so focused with greed that they do not care for anyone but themselves. All they care about is THEY are the ones to get the latest deal, or THEY are the ones to get a present for their friend/spouse/child/relative, and they will fight anyone else tooth and nail for it.

Or at least, that is how the stories typically go.

I’ve already heard our capitalistic society being blamed for this behavior, as well as the commercialist holiday of Christmas. I do not believe either of these things are to blame, though, and that is the real tragedy. After all, I love the concept of capitalism because it has a history of breeding innovation in the face of competition. Just look at the past 100 years of our society. Or, for an example anyone reading my blog can relate to, look at the latest video game consoles. Microsoft came in with online gaming to try and get a real hold on the market, and has since evolved what that means for a gaming console. Nintendo came up with a new method of play, as well as learned to focus on a completely different market. Without fans nagging Sony to have a “real online presence”, they would have stayed with the same strategy they had for Playstation 2. Because all three companies are in such strong competition with each other, they each are forced to evolve the market instead of letting it stagnate.

As for Christmas, I must admit I am a bit biased since I have some religious investment in the holiday. However, just because I like Christmas doesn’t mean I like seeing commercials for it appearing the day after Halloween, or the massive crowds at the malls. I especially hate the mall crowds, having lived in a densely populated area of New Jersey where the roads aren’t built for such traffic for most of my life. That doesn’t mean that the holiday itself is horrible, or its traditions. I love buying gifts for friends and family. I don’t ask people what they want, but look around and find things that just scream out their name. When I give someone a gift that is a genuine surprise, I am filled with delight. I find more joy in giving than I do in receiving, in addition to all the spiritual value I find in the holiday.

The reason why Black Friday tragedies occur, as well as others during the season, is not because of Capitalism or Christmas. Companies have learned that people can be manipulated with these sales and advertisements. If people can be manipulated, then there is something wrong with the people.

It should also be worth noting that this madness does not occur everywhere. My mother went out in the morning while I stayed home to take advantage of the sales online, avoiding the crowds and crazy folks willing to crush me. She came back with no gripes or complaints, as none of the stores she went to had trouble. Kohl’s was crowded, but the shoppers weren’t rude. K-Mart was practically empty (probably because everyone was at Wal-Mart). The mall and Best Buy were stuffed with customers, but none of them were pushing or shoving to compete for a deal. It was merely crowded was all.

My purpose in writing all of this is to just point out that it isn’t a problem with the system, the holiday, or even that this kind of tragedy occurs everywhere. The real problem is that these events and ideas have revealed a darker side because of the people in our society. That such things can happen is not the fault of Christmas or Capitalism, but the fault of greedy, uncaring people that cannot learn to live without. These ideas were not taught by the corporations having the sales, or in the countless films or television specials about Christmas.

Make sure that when you blame something, you know who it is you ought to blame.

Religion. It’s one of those tricky topics that I’m always afraid to bring up. Being surrounded by Atheists, Agnostics, Wiccans and more, I have sometimes felt as if I should apologize for the actions of my fellow Christians. Other times I have felt like bringing a baseball bat to the head of any of those jerks that suggested anyone that believes in a God is a dullard. Either way, someone is pissing me off.

This time it was the other Christians.

I saw on television today that Sarah Palin, the running mate for McCain, is against sex education in schools. I don’t care about the actual politics at the moment, I just want to let you all know this is a foolish perspective to have. Bad Christian! No communion for you!

It seems that Christian parents feel that the way they raise their kids should be the way all parents should raise their kids.

Wait, scratch that.

Most parents feel that the way they raise their kids should be the way all parents should raise their kids.

There, that’s a much more fitting generalization.

It’s true, though. No matter the faith, all parents are irresponsible jack asses that think they know what is best. Considering that just about everyone in the world is an irresponsible jack ass that thinks they know what is best, this shouldn’t be too surprising. If you disagree with me and think people in this world are nice and aren’t horrible, selfish bags of flesh, I suggest you read the news. If that doesn’t convince you, Google 4chan.

However, there are some matters that Christian parents are particularly irrational over, and as a fellow Christian it is my duty to point the finger and say “UR DOIN IT RONG”.

The first problem is that you are so uptight you not only expect but demand that your child remains abstinant until marriage. In some cases, your child may comply. In a lot of cases, your strict and strong attitude on the matter will only encourage them to have sex as soon as possible. It’s kind of like the age limit on drinking. Because it’s there, teenagers are going to drink themselves stupid. Compare how teenagers and College kids drink in America compared to other countries with less strict rules about it. We look like idiotic children in comparison.

This is a mentality that needs to be understood. The more you try and tighten a leash onto a kid, particularly a teenager, the more they will think it’s a noose and fight you to set themselves free. If you try and force your child to behave, they will only want to lash out and fight back. If you let your child know the rules, but also let them know you trust them to obey, then they will be more likely to comply.

And if they break that trust, you are free to whoop some ass.

So to summarize: if you demand that your child remain abstinant until marriage, it will only make them want to do the opposite.

The second problem is the parents themselves will not take the responsibility to educate their child. Most kids have learned about sex by time they are ten anyway. I remember being in grade school and hearing all the other kids talk about Playboy magazines they grabbed from under their dad’s bed. By time kids are old enough to learn about sex, they already understand some of the basics.

However, parents are, as stated previously, irresponsible jack asses. They will either expect their kids to learn on their own, or they will just insist that they don’t have it until marriage. This generally leaves them to learn about sex from what is in movies (which is typically “it’s completely fine to have sex on the first date…assuming you have a first date”), in pornography (let’s count everything that is wrong with this method of learning) and their friends (who likely learned from the first two and tried to apply it to personal experience…or is simply talking out of their ass).

If Christian parents really want their children to be responsible and intelligent about sex, then the best thing they could do is allow schools to educate them. My highschool had a sex education program my sophomore year that taught about multiple forms of protection, as well as various STD’s. They basically teach teenagers how to be responsible, how to avoid catching and spreading diseases, and how to appropriately use the different forms of protection. It turns out that there are incorrect ways to put on and use a condom! It may seem simple, but this is a nation where Pop-Tarts need instructions on the box.

I have heard some parents assume sex education also means they teach teenagers how to have sex. This is untrue. The furthest they really got was oral sex could be a bad idea if the other person had STD’s. Which is kind of common sense at this point, but again, Pop-Tarts. They do not hand out the Kama Sutra as a textbook, or go over the intricasies of how many places to place a penis. It is simply about how to avoid pregnancy and the spreading of STD’s.

Also, they mentioned that abstinance is the only 100% sure way of avoiding said difficulties so much that it could be a drinking game.

Of course, with Christians wanting their children to avoid sex until marriage, why should they worry about all these things? Well, as should be made obvious by now, you cannot control your children. You can do your best, but in the end they are left to make their own choices. That choice may be to have sex, and you sure as Hell didn’t teach them how to do it safe since you spent so much time telling them not to do it.

But the primary issue is that not all parents care if their children wait until marriage or not. That’s not to say most non-Christian parents are fine with their children screwing anything with two legs that looks remotely human that comes their way. However, not all parents worry about their children having sex before marriage, and to demand that schools do not teach sex education means the children of those parents aren’t learning to be safe, either.

Parents, it is completely possible to separate your religious values from your political beliefs. As I said, I do not believe in wanton sex personally, and part of that comes from my religious background. However, I support sex education in schools because, in a nation where religious belief is a freedom, not everyone is going to agree on when someone should have sex and when they shouldn’t. In the end, it’s best to take a road that both sides are fine traveling.

I’m a fatty. Plain and simple. I’ve come to terms with this fact long ago, and do what I can to try and fix it. I don’t feel extra sympathy for other fat people, however. If I see someone relentlessly insulting a person for being overweight, well, I think they’re an asshole. I think they’re an asshole because they are blatantly being an asshole about it. Yet when someone sues McDonald’s for making them fat, no. That’s a result of personal stupidity and lack of responsibility. It isn’t the fault of McDonald’s that you ate their food too much.

As such, I think this reaction to Sony’s new Playstation Network game Fat Princess is retarded.

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Politically, I tend to be a moderate that leans to the right. I tend to become greatly frustrated with people on either wing. In fact, to create an analogy, a bird needs two wings to fly, and they have to fly in synchronization. I see that both left and right need to work together for this country to work to its full potential and learn to make compromises.

Being in a College, particularly close to a city, I am surrounded by left-wing Liberals, though. Honestly, you’d think I’m a complete Conservative given how much I argue with people here since I rarely stumble upon Conservatives of the stupid variety. However, I constantly hear these left-wingists telling me that I need to care more about the poor people of the world, that I should be helping the unfortunate instead of myself, and that I should care about the environment.

Yet what happens when a situation arises that requires people to step up and help the less fortunate? They ignore it, or do the bare minimum, and continue with their day. A man gets hit by a car that just continues off, and what happens? People gawk and move on. No one runs or bikes to try and catch the driver’s license plate, or possibly confront the guy at the next stop light. No one runs into the street to help the guy. The article tries to reassure you that the city isn’t as heartless as it seems, as a total of four people called 911. Oh, hey, congratulations on doing the bare minimum.

It has been commented on that, in this day and age, people may easily be afraid that helping will result in a lawsuit. After all, if the slightest thing goes wrong, your attempt to be a good samaritan can be turned into a problematic law case. Yet I didn’t even consider this while reading the article. Are you telling me everyone there saw the guy and thought “Oh man, I’d help him, but what if I get sued”? Why are people thinking of themselves in such a situation in the first place? My first reaction would be to go up to the guy and see if he’s still alive, seeing if he’s ok, and seeing if there are any wounds that need temporary bandaging. Yet no one was lifting a finger, except to dial their cell-phones.

So why did I bring up all that junk about political left and right earlier? Well, for starters, this is a city. That means it is left-wing central. Second, in a crowd that large, there have to be members of both sides of the spectrum, and they both showed just how hypocritical they are. The left-wing that will try and guilt me into giving money to the poor of third world countries, money they’ll never see because the crime lords are intercepting it and taking advantage of “good will without violence and action”, yet they won’t do anything more than call 911 after a guy has just been hit by a car. Simultaneously, the right-wing will preach and preach about how unGodly so many things in this country are, be it homosexuality, abortion or even video games, yet they can’t even think “Jesus would help that man” and step up and do what is right. Hell, regardless of the threat of lawsuit, you should be willing to face that as a consequence to do what is right.

This world certainly is going to Hell in a hand-basket, but it’s not because of the gays and video games, or of the “oppressive religious”. It’s in the united selfishness of everyone looking out for their own interests, and a society cannot succeed unless people are willing to work together. How can we trust that we can work together, though, if we can’t even help a man that could be dying on the side of the road?

Let’s not forget that someone drove off to avoid the consequences of hitting said man as well.

The world is going to Hell in a hand-basket.