A Study in Religion and Living

 Religion. A subject that should never be discussed in public. Why? Mostly because people are very opinionated on religion; either for, or against, which denomination or faith is right or wrong. Jesse Ventura said, “Organized religion is a sham and a crutch for weak-minded people who need strength in number. It tells people to go out and stick their noses in other people's business... The religious right wants to tell people how to live.” Gov. Ventura was right.

The Bible is a great guideline on how to live. That's all. I read a book one time that one of the characters made a profound statement on the Bible. He said (paraphrased), “Moses had millions of people that he had to control. What better way than through fear. He didn't just go up on Mt. Sinai and come back with the Ten Commandments. He wrote the 'laws' of God so that the 12 tribes would be controlled. No better way, as has been taught through history, than through fear of retribution for bad deeds.”

I don't want anyone to think that I am trying to change minds on religion. I would never do that. You do you, I'll do me. I do believe in a higher power. I do not believe in the Big Bang Theory. Was the Universe created in six days? Highly unlikely. It took millions of years for the Earth to evolve into what it is. Did humanity just appear out of the dust of the Earth? I doubt that. Although I also have a hard time believing that we evolved out of that primordial ooze. All I can say about that is: I wasn't there so I have no first-hand knowledge.

Let's get back to religion. Moses to be exact. The Exodus out of Egypt was a monumental undertaking. Moses took the 12 tribes of Israel out of Egypt and into the desert in search of the Promised Land. Is there hard evidence of a mass exodus at some point? I believe there is, although I cannot recall the researcher's name that investigated it. But, if you think about it; Moses took millions of people out into the desert, was lost for years, then came upon the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land. He was not allowed to enter it but was told by the Almighty to send in his people and to kill all who lived there; men, women, and children. Only because they were non-believers (sound familiar to anything in today's world?).

Great story. A story of perseverance and faith in the Almighty. Did it happen the way it is recorded? Once again, I wasn't there. Is it possible? Anything is possible, the question is: is it probable?

Having blind faith is nothing more/less than sheer idiocy. Here's a modern-day parable. A story I heard a few years ago that makes my point more clearly.

There was a flood. The entire area was being evacuated because the dam was about to burst and send a wave crashing through the valley that would destroy all in its path. In the town there was a devout Christian man that was sitting on his porch in his rocker.

A pickup truck came by as the water was rising driven by a man in a flannel shirt with a cap on that had a Confederate Flag emblazoned on it. In the back window of the truck was a gun rack with a shotgun and a rifle. “Come on, man,” the driver urged in a thick Southern drawl. “The dam is getting weaker and starting to crack.”

“No. I have faith in my God. He will save me,” the man on the porch said. Thinking to himself as he watched the truck drive off, “I believe that man could be a killer, a terrorist, or something worse. He had guns in his window and showed pride in the Confederacy. I would never be caught with a man like him.”

A few hours later, the water had risen to the door and the man had gone inside to watch from his window. A man in a raft came by. “Come on, man! The dam is getting weaker by the minute. I can take you to safety.”

Looking at the rafter, the man shook his head, “No. I have faith in my God. He will save me.” As the raft took off the man thought, “That man had tatoos and a shaved head. He wore leather. He had to be a man of Satan. I couldn't trust him.”

Another hour passed and the water had risen to the second story. The man was looking out his upstairs window when a boat came by. “Come on, man! It won't be long before the dam breaks. The entire valley has been evacuated. Let me take you to safety.”

“No. I have faith in my God. He will save me.” As the boater sped down between the rooftops, the man thought to himself, “That man was colored. He would surely try to steal what little I have left.”

Finally, the water had reached the rooftop. The man was sitting on the top of his chimney when a helicopter came flying up. Over the loudspeaker a female voice shouted, “Come on, man! The dam is going to break within minutes. This is the last time anyone will be able to save you. Let me take you to safety.”

Looking up into the sky, the man shook his head and yelled, “No. I have faith in my God. He will save me.”

The dam broke. The water coursed violently down the valley destroying all in its path. The lone Christian man, sitting on his chimney was swept away and drown. The next thing he knew he was standing at the Pearly Gates looking into the face of St Peter.

St Peter smiled sadly at the man. “You have lived a good life. You have given to charity. Helped the poor. You have gone on missions to spread the word of God across the globe. You have believed wholeheartedly in the Word of God and loved his son. You are welcome into Eternal peace. Now it is time to go before the Lord God and be judged as all humans are.”

The man slowly walked through the gates of Heaven, looking around at all the beauty and listened to the sounds of the angels singing their praises. He was happy knowing that he would be part of this. Hadn't St Peter said as much? The Lord couldn't judge him poorly. He had done great things in the name of God and Christianity. He was a shoe-in.

Suddenly he stopped. He was standing before the Golden Throne of the Almighty. God looked down on him and smiled. “You have done great deeds throughout your life, my son. You have lived a good, clean life, adhering to my Commandments as best as any human could. You have repented whenever you fell short. Yes, you have done well.”

The man, having heard such praises from his Heavenly Father felt emboldened to ask a question. “Lord Father. If I may ask a question.”

“I know what it is you want to know but, proceed, child.”

“I have an unwavering faith in you and your power. I know that if I ask, you will give. Why then, when I needed you the most, I needed you to save me from the flood, did you not?”

The Father looked down at his human child and smiled. “Son, I did not forsake you. I knew that you would drown if you were swept away in the raging waters. I first sent you a truck. You refused because the man driving it had guns and wore a Confederate Flag. This went against your ideas of a good person. You were judgmental against someone that held pride in his ancestry and had been out hunting for food for his family and his neighbors.

“I then sent a raft. Again, you judged against a man because of his tattoos and clothing. This man is a pediatric physician. He has saved the lives of thousands of children that would have otherwise died.

“The third time I sent a boat. Again, you judged a man because of his color. This man was a teacher and a coach. He has helped hundreds of underprivileged children in inner-city schools from dropping out, joining gangs, using drugs.

“The fourth, and last time, I sent a helicopter flown by a woman that was in training to become an astronaut. She was first in her class at the Academy and had helped several others raise their grades to passing so as not to be disqualified. Again, you judged because you did not believe a woman was capable of saving you.

“You have lived a good life, not a great life. You have believed, blindly, in me and my power. You have judged against your fellow man that did not fit into your bubble of belief. I gave you four different ways to be saved yet you refused because of your prejudices.

“For that reason, you will not be allowed into the Kingdom of Heaven.”

It doesn't matter what deity a person believes in; it doesn't matter what kind of life a person has lived; it doesn't matter what deeds you have done; what really matters is how you treat others of different beliefs than your own. If you cannot accept another because of skin color, sex, origin of birth, ancestry, beliefs, sexual orientation, etc., then you have not achieved enlightenment enough to pass from this world into the next (whatever that next world is for you).

Each and every one of us on this rock must learn to live together. Kurt Cobain stated, “Life screws us all. No one gets out alive.” We all are born innocent, naked, alone. We all die guilty, clothed in sin, alone. What matters is what happens between those two occurrences. Did we treat other people right, without screwing anyone over? Did we treat the Earth right, take care of the world which keeps us living? Were we petty, obsessed with 'things,' more interested in our own well-being and feelings than that of others? Were we 'elitists' that couldn't be bothered with anyone below our standard of living? Most importantly: did we love one another?

It doesn't matter where you came from, what your economic or social status is/was, what your education level is, what your experiences in life have been; it is how you live that precious thing we call life. The past is done and over and cannot be changed. Forgive those that have done you wrong and let Karma take care of it. Forgive yourself for your shortcomings but work on being a better person. It is today and beyond that counts. Those that did you wrong will get what they have coming, one way or another, in this life or the next, just don't forget what they did and do not let it happen again. For those that held out their hand when you needed it, remember it and pay it forward.

Your choices make you who you are. How you treat people and the world we live in will determine whether you get to your 'Heaven' or sends you to your 'Hell.' You, alone, are the master of your life and afterlife.

"Now Is The Time For All Good Men To Come To The Aid Of Their Country"

“Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country.” A phrase any typing student knows well. Where did it come from? From what I have gleaned from the almighty internet is this: The original phrase came from Patrick Henry as, “Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their party.” Then, again, I also found that it was nothing more than a phrase from Charles Keller, a typing teacher. Either way, it makes for a resounding cry to any patriotic person from any nation.

Phrases from the past, from such noble historical figures such as Patrick Henry, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Nelson Mandela, Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Margaret Thatcher, Winston Churchill, William Wallace, Robert Bruce, Plato, Socrates, Alexander the Great, etc., are fodder for anyone wanting to incite patriotism, energy, fanaticism, or even common sense from a group of people. (Wow! That was a long sentence.) These, as were all great historical figures, were people worth quoting. These were great men and women that accomplished great things. But, does it really take quoting a great historical figure to bring everyday people into the fold?

What about those people that are normal, every day, working-class people that have a good head on their shoulders? I have had people give good advice that no one has ever heard of. Some of the best knowledge comes from those that don’t have a college degree, that may not even have a high school diploma. I knew a man once that hadn’t even finished the eighth grade that had more common sense and usable knowledge that it was incredible. I would have traded all my formal education for a fraction of his ‘street smarts.’

You see, it isn’t education that makes a person smart. It is the knowledge gained from life that counts. A college degree shows that you have formal education in a certain area. You may know accounting forward and backward, or engineering, or political science, or medicine and not have an ounce of common sense. As an example, just look at Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Here is a woman that supposedly graduated quite high in her class from a major college with a degree in economics. When she opens her mouth, what comes out shows that she has absolutely no idea about real life, history, or common sense. I actually feel sorry for her at times. I’m not AOC bashing. I am using her as a great example of how formal education means nothing when it comes to living.

I have a friend that turned me on to a certain author. He brought over a book and told me that he thought I might like it. I’d never heard of this author, but I read it. It was a great read. Since that time, I have bought almost every book this author has written. Why? I have read this woman’s words because she writes about life, about how hard it can be, about how anyone can overcome any obstacle if they just persevere. “Over, under, through, or around. There is always a way.” The funny thing about it is that when I went to Barnes and Noble to buy her books, I found them in the – ROMANCE section. I’ve never read romance novels. I was surprised, to say the least.

Wondering who that author is, are you? Well, let me say this: this woman has had a hard life, she was abused as a child and as a wife, she is dyslexic, she came from a poor family, she has attained wealth and fame in spite of all she had against her. In her novels, she writes of overcoming adversity and betrayal. “We are nothing more than life’s whipping boys, but we continue to fight because of the ones we love.” Through her characters, she tells a story of how a person can be more than what the believe; that life isn’t fair but that, no matter what, we must continue to live, and things will get better.

The author: Sherrilyn Kenyon. Her books: The Chronicles of Nick, The League, The Dark-Hunters, The Dream Hunters, and The Belador Series.

Here is an example of how an everyday person can inspire anyone. This is not an advertisement for Ms. Kenyon or her books, although I do recommend them to everyone. This woman has overcome great hardship to achieve great things. She isn’t a great political figure, social justice figure, community organizer, or historical figure. She is just a common woman with a story to tell. Throughout her books are life lessons worth learning; especially in the Chronicles of Nick series.

You see, there are people that haven’t gained notoriety that are quite knowledgeable in life. Some of these people have little formal education. It is LIFE that teaches us the most. If you don’t have some form of common sense, then life will beat you down. That is the problem in today’s world: all it takes is a lot of money or knowing someone in power and you don’t have to worry about a lot. Look at any political party in any nation and you can see that common sense is not at the top of their agenda.

The days of patriotism, commitment, loyalty, and common sense are over. Today is the day of feelings; how a person feels about any given subject is what is important. What the individual wants is more important than what the community needs. Special interest gets the venue, not common-sense policy. It boils down to where politicians can gain more power; and it isn’t just here in the United States.

“Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country.” A great quote, even if it is just a typing exercise. It’s just too bad that more people don’t take it to heart. This quote isn’t just about patriotism. It is about life. United we can achieve anything. Divided, we will fall to whatever comes along. Not just as a nation but, also, as normal, everyday people living together in a world that is hell-bent to destroy us.

Families need to get back to being families. Friends need to get back to being loyal and having each other’s backs. Communities need to get back to helping each other. “The good of the many outweighs the good of the few.” Too often the few demands more than the many can accommodate. When a minority’s wants are put before the needs of the majority it puts undue pressure on everyone. As can be seen in today’s world, minorities are fast becoming the influencers of policy regardless of the consequences of those policies. Political correctness is destroying the freedoms that every person should be enjoying. Families are no longer together, friends turn into enemies, communities become individuals hiding behind locked doors.

Maybe that great quote should be changed just a little. Maybe, instead of ‘the nation,’ or ‘the party,’ it should read, “Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their neighbors, their families, their friends.” Whether it be local, state, national, or global, isn’t it time we came to the aid of those we care about? Isn’t it time we got out of the idea that the individual is more important than the community?

I’m not talking about opening our borders to anyone and everyone that wants to come to the US. I’m not talking about the working people paying more and more taxes to support those that are unwilling to support themselves. I’m not talking about giving up inalienable rights because of another becoming offended. I’m talking about making sure that those inalienable rights are available to everyone wherever they are. Maybe if the people of the world would just let each individual be who they are it would be a better place to live. Let the LBGT community be gay. Let the hunters hunt. Let the vegans eat their veggies while the omnivores eat whatever they want. Let people worship the way they please without demanding the oppression of other’s beliefs. Don’t demand that everyone think and believe the way you do.

It’s a big world that is becoming smaller every day. There are a lot of people living on this little rock in space. As the Beatles once said, “Let it be.”

Is It Really Worth It?

     Is it really worth it? I mean, really? In today’s society where being offended is more important than keeping safe, where madness and chaos rule and sanity and calm are persecuted, where caring about another is looked down upon and hedonism is cherished, is it really, really worth it? Is love just something to be taken advantage of because it shows weakness?

     Ok, we have the liberals that are doing everything they can to destroy the Constitution, except the parts that they want for themselves (conservatives aren’t allowed any rights). They want to do away with freedom of religion (at least the right to practice Christianity), free speech (as long as it comes from conservatives), the right to keep and bear arms (except for law enforcement and their army of security people), protection from illegal search and seizure (except when it comes to their illegal activity which is totally within their rights to do, such as Hillary’s email server). Do you see where this is going?

     The problem is this; the conservatives aren’t doing a damn thing about what the liberals are doing. The Republicans in Congress sit back and cower, kowtowing to the liberal rants and giving them ground instead of standing up and fighting for our rights. Thank the gods of Asgard that Patton, McArthur, Washington, etc., all the great generals in each war we’ve been in since the American Revolution, wasn’t so fucking weak. We would have lost to the British, twice; we would have lost to the Mexicans, the Germans, the Viet Cong (oh, sorry, we DID lose to the Viet Cong). We are losing to the liberal left.

     We are sitting here, spending millions upon millions of taxpayer dollars on bogus investigations against Trump when the Clinton’s and Obama were given passes on all their crimes that COULD be proven. It is only allegations, rumor, mainstream media bias and a lot of ‘anonymous sources’ that are against Trump and Company. Yet, the Republicans are doing just what the liberals want – going along with their game against America.

     Is it really worth it? When actual crimes can be overlooked because they are committed by the liberals and rumored crimes are investigated beyond belief against a conservative it is beyond stupid. It is anti-American politics. It isn’t worth it anymore.

Facebook posts being deleted when they are anti-Muslim (actually anti-ISIS). Is it wrong to put out there what the fucking bastards are doing? Is it wrong to state facts that not all Muslims are terrorists but most terrorists are Muslim? Is it wrong to be wary of ‘refugees’ from ISIS controlled countries?

     I am not politically correct in any way, shape or form. I call a spade a spade and a terrorist a terrorist. I’m not racist or anti-gay. That being said, if you can’t handle the heat, get out of the kitchen. If words hurt you so bad go live in a bloody monastery. I will not, under ANY circumstances give up my right to free speech because of your feelings. No one bothered about my feelings when I was growing up and I learned to live with it all. If you don’t get your precious little feelings hurt then you don’t grow and learn other’s viewpoints. All you do, if you won’t let anyone hurt your feelings, is live in a bubble and don’t get a thick enough skin to survive this journey we call life.

     Is it really worth it? Stupidity and idiocy run amok while common sense and intelligence is ridiculed and persecuted. All you have to do is turn on CNN, MSNBC, Fox; read the New York Times, Washington Post, Oregonian or even the Des Moines Register; watch NBC, CBS or ABC.       Here in the United States it is getting worse and worse with the open arms policy of protecting criminal illegal aliens but in Europe it is so much more dangerous with their government’s open arms policies. The peace-loving citizens of the world are allowing the terror inducing RADICAL ISLAMIC TERRORISTS to just take over. They have said for decades that the world would become Islamic. They were right and every other religion, ideology, form of government, etc., are ALLOWING IT AND EVEN INVITING IT.

     Is it really worth it? As an over the road driver I see a LOT of stupid. Never underestimate the stupidity of people behind the wheel of a vehicle. Construction zones where it bottlenecks into one lane is a prime example: people will run up the lane that is ending at full throttle until the lane ends then stops all traffic just to get into the open lane. Three miles back there was a sign that informed traffic what was happening; doesn’t matter: gotta get in front of everyone else. There are also those idiots that just have to get in front of that truck, no matter what traffic laws they break to do it, just to slow that truck down. Where did these people learn to drive???? Stupid, stupid, stupid…. Idiotic, idiotic, idiotic. All because of some undeserved sense of self-worth that makes some think they are more important than everyone else.

     Is it all worth it? We elect politicians to represent us in government. That is the way the Founding Fathers set up this experimental government. Over the years these politicians have learned that they are above any laws they pass. All they have to do is state in said law that Congress is exempt. REALLY? Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Our elected officials have become absolutely corrupted. Once again, listen to the ‘news’ on the radio or television or read the ‘news’papers. When we get someone in office that is NOT a politician, the politicos do everything they can to destroy that person because he is NOT corrupted by politics. He may be corrupted by wealth and business but not politics.

     Is it all worth it? I have been called racist, fascist, bigoted, homophobic, islamaphobic, and a host of other things that really don’t describe me. I AM racist; I’ve gotten to hate the HUMAN RACE. As for hating any nationality, religion, color, creed, etc., nah. I love my black boys that call me dad. I love my Russian/Ukrainian boys that call me dad; I have friends that are Mexican, Puerto Rican, Guatemalan, Korean, English, Welsh, Malaysian, Australian, etc. I have known Palestinians, Catholics, Jews, Pentecostals, Presbyterians, Methodists, Hindus, atheists, Pagans, heathens, etc. Yep! I’m a racist.

     Fascist? According to the Oxford American dictionary, the definition of fascism is: 1) a right-wing system of government with extreme nationalistic beliefs. 2) an attitude that is very intolerant or right-wing. Well, I guess they have the ‘right-wing’ and ‘nationalistic’ parts of it right. I have noticed, though, that it is the left that has become very intolerant. I, myself, have been very tolerant of the liberal rants against the Trump Train, albeit with my own comments following said rants.

     I am not even going to go any further with explaining myself or my beliefs. It doesn’t really matter to anyone anyway. Suffice it to say that I am NOT what the left thinks I am.

     So, I ask: Is it all worth it? Is this journey through life worth all the bullshit that the human race piles upon each other? Is it worth the lies, deceit, corruption, greed, etc.? Is it worth all the protests against free speech, owning weapons? Is it worth it to fight against open borders, extreme tax and spend, taking from those that earn and giving to those that refuse to work? There are times that I definitely feel like putting the bottle to my head and pulling the trigger. Is it really worth it?

     There are a few things that I have in my life that make all the bullshit worth every minute: my children (Jennifer, Andrew, Jaquie, Michael), my grandkids (Destiny, Ryan, Oktober, Nova), my ‘adopted’ kids (Travon, Malcolm, Max, Misha, Julian, Josh), even my ‘adopted’ grandkids (Alex, Danny, the Bentley’s, Tucker, Lorelei, and a few others that I claim that belong to friends). I even happen to have a few friends that make it all worth it (actually too many to list, amazingly enough).        Things don’t make life worth living, things make life easier. Family, friends, loved ones are what make life worth living. Even though friends may come and go and family my disown you, it is the camaraderie, the love, the sharing of special moments with those people that make even the shortest time seem like a lifetime. Each person comes into your life for a short time and for a special reason only to leave when their time with you is up. Still, that is what makes it all worth it.

     So, is it really worth it? In a word: yes.

Relationships Today: Just a Little Advice

I think I’m going to do something a little different this weekend. Instead of something really controversial like politics or religion I’m going to delve into the realm of relationships. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, who am I to give out advice on something that I can’t even keep together? In answer to that question I will reply that I am very experienced in what NOT to do. After being married three times, three times divorced, having children with all three, I would like to think that I have a pretty good idea of what is going on. I may be wrong on that but I’m going to go with it anyway.

I got married the first time when I was twenty and she was eighteen. She wanted away from home and I wanted someone there. Trust me when I say that when a relationship is built like that it will never work out. Two years later, after she and I were separated, along came a beautiful baby girl. Was I ready to be a parent in any way, shape or form? Not on your life. Thank the gods that my ex-wife was a hell of a lot more mature than I was. My daughter grew to be a fantastic woman with children of her own that have grown into pretty great young people. When my daughter was around three I surrendered parental rights and let her step-dad adopt her. I thought I was doing the right thing.

Relationship number two, that ended in marriage and divorce, came along a few years later when I was 27. I met this girl while I was servicing a truck where I worked. I was covered in grease and oil and this cute little thing came wandering into the shop and started complaining about being stood up by some sop that had made a movie date with her. As it ended up my buddy and I got cleaned up and we both took her to the drive in movie. It was a triple feature that I have no idea what was playing. We talked through the whole damn thing. My buddy? He sat along the wall of the drive in bored out of his mind.

This girl had a three year old boy that was adorable. He came to me one day and asked if I minded if he called me ‘Dad.’ My heart melted. After we got married I adopted him. He was a great kid and I love him as much as if he was my own blood. But, once again, the fates decided that this wasn’t the one, either. We fought constantly about everything. I was a jealous SOB and she was an eighth Crow Indian and had an evil streak that made her want to stir me up.

I was working for Schwan’s at the time and came home one night to a note on the pillow. Yeah! Can you believe that old cliché? I wasn’t sober for about three or four months. I quit working for Schwan’s and went back to real trucking.

Number three was a few months later. I picked her up in a truck stop where she was hitch hiking. It was in Columbia, MO and she was trying to get to Minneapolis. You just don’t get from the middle of Missouri to southern Minnesota very easily. I gave her ride from there to Indiana and then back to Des Moines and put her on a truck headed to Minneapolis. A couple of months later she was back and in the truck with me.

To make this story shorter, in the ten years we were together we moved from Des Moines to Portland, my beautiful baby daughter was born four months after her mother turned eighteen and my son was born two and half years later. My boy was born in New York while I was still in Portland, OR. Yeah, I’m a dick and she thought I wasn’t paying enough attention to her so she took my daughter across the country for a year. She came back to Portland and then we moved around the country while I was trucking again. We ended up in Fremont, NE where it finally came to an end.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Every time I got married it was forever but, there is that little problem of me being a dick. When I got together with the last one I told her that I didn’t own her and she didn’t own me; as long as my children were taken care of she did what she wanted and I was not going to change my lifestyle of trucking. I didn’t cheat on her. I am NOT that kind of driver. I am loyal to a fault and once committed that is all she wrote. No.3 and I never fought until that last night when she walked out on me and the kids.

Throughout all three of these relationships there is one common denominator: my attitude that I was not owned by anyone and I was going to do what I wanted regardless. Don’t get me wrong, I did my best to take care of my family and my children are my world. That was probably the biggest thing, I paid more attention to my kids than the other half. Not the best way to keep a relationship together.

In any relationship it has to be a two way street. It cannot just go one way. Give and take and if you give a little more than you take then it will, more than likely, stay together; if there is any chance that one is taking more than the other it will end in disaster. Communication is just as important. If you can’t talk things through, you get angry and go to bed that way, you will end up as bitter enemies. You have to be able to compromise in all things. And, this one is very important, if you try to change someone that you are with, you’ve lost. You didn’t fall in love with what you want to change them into. You fell in love with what they are.

In today’s world I’ve watched these kids from 14 to 20 do their utmost to get into a serious relationship and have kids. Stupidest thing they could do. These kids are just as immature as we were back in the 70’s but they think they are much more grown up. I throw down the BS card on that. These girls today think they can be moms at 14, 16, 18 years old. They can’t. And these boys won’t be ready to be dads until they reach about 30.

I’ve seen girls destroy boy’s lives because they didn’t get what they wanted, which was to have a baby, and then if they do get what they want, they destroy that poor boy’s life and her own. Well, maybe not destroy but definitely make it exponentially harder. Life is NOT easier with a baby on your hip. When I was young and you had a child, that child was yours to take care of. Today, I constantly see posts on Facebook or hear girls cry because they need time off from their children. These girls seem to think that having a living child is like taking care of that stupid doll they have in high school independent living class. It isn’t.

Who is to blame for this social problem? I blame us. By ‘us’ I mean the parents of these children that think they are grown up at 14. We have become so complacent and relaxed in parenting that these kids are basically raising themselves. That doesn’t bring about morally adept children. They start sleeping with the opposite sex at 14 just to have someone to sleep next to. Next thing you know they’re doing the dirty with whoever it is next to them without protection and then, BAM, they’re pregnant and think they’re gonna get a Sony TV. Oh, sorry. That baby that is growing in there suddenly becomes one of two things: an income from a poor, unemployed teenaged boy and the government or, it’s an inconvenience and needs to be aborted.

My best advice to anyone from 14 to 25 – stay single, enjoy life, get set financially then start thinking about getting into a serious relationship. The world isn’t going to end if you don’t get serious with someone before you’re 30. Kids are wonderful gifts that require a LOT of work and a lot of money. Stay children for as long as you can. Being grown up is not as great as what it’s advertised to be. Life is hard enough by yourself and it isn’t any easier when you have others that you are responsible for. Relationships don’t last. I’ve known people that were married for decades that broke apart. Children aren’t mature enough to even know what love is much less what commitment and loyalty are. Most girls are out to get into a boy’s wallet and get a baby for an income. Boys are out to get their wedding tackle wet, period.

Those last two statements are generalities; there are those rare boys and girls that are actually loyal and true. If you can find one, keep them. The biggest problem is that those with good hearts, the loyal, are taken advantage of more often than not by those that are so immature that they can’t see beyond their own noses. Hedonism runs rampant in today’s world and that is the saddest thing that could ever happen. Dorian Grey is king; the only problem there is that these modern Dorian’s aren’t immortal.

Life is Like a Bowl of Cherries Just like Erma Said

Life is like a bowl of cherries. Erma Bombeck titled one of her books by that name. I have never read it, at least in its entirety. In fact, I really can’t recall one story in that book as it was many, many years ago that I actually read parts of it but, I know, that Erma Bombeck was a very intelligent author. She wrote her humorous stories around actual events in her life and experiences in a way that was entertaining, humorous and, if read in the right frame of mind, educational.

Why did I choose this as the main topic of this article? I chose ‘life is like a bowl of cherries’ because, through the past week, I have lived that bowl of cherries. Along with that wondrous juicy red fruit that is so delicious, there are always those damnable pits.

I have a friend that has told me for years that I am the only person he knows that can think himself into a bad mood. With my choice of career I have plenty of time to think about things. Amazingly enough, this past week there have been many, many things to think about from the Senate’s agonizing debates about Judge Neil Gorsuch to the bombing of a Syrian airstrip along with enough every day, non-political, work related subjects to choke the life out of anything.

The point I want to make, here at the start of this article is this: Life is actually pretty good for most people here in the good ol’ USA. Most, but not all; I have it decent. I have a pretty good paying job that I really enjoy, a roof over my head and food in the fridge. My bills are paid and nothing is getting shut off so why would I say anything about the ‘pits?’ Without the dark, we wouldn’t know anything about the light. For example, today started pretty good as I got to my receiver at a good time with only a few trucks ahead of me; I waited only a short time before being put into a dock door and it seemed I would get home early. That is as far as the good went. I waited over seven hours to get unloaded and almost an hour after that to get my paperwork. After leaving the receiver I was driving along at the speed limit, got behind a slow pickup truck, moved over to the fast lane to go around and the damn pickup truck decided to match my speed thus making me back traffic up behind me.

No big deal you would think, just slow down, get back behind him and travel on. Let me let you in on a little secret there: personal vehicle drivers do not like trucks. On any given day I will get slowed down by people that speed up when I try to get around them only to slow back down when I can’t and get behind them again numerous times. As a professional driver in a vehicle governed at 64 miles an hour I am at the mercy of a lot of things. I’ve been cut off by people that had to get in front of me, just to slow down or make that exit ramp that I just passed. I’ve had people pull out in front of me with less than a truck length between us. It gets more than a little annoying.

Today, being aggravated by the slow unload, this driver just pissed me off. As traffic is backing up behind me and this idiot not letting me by I blew my horn at him. Now, he could have sped up or slowed down, either way, no big deal; what did he do? He hit the brakes, looked up at me through the window and pulled off the highway. I’m expecting a call from the company about this as I am sure he took down the company name and trailer number because I was being an ass. I could have done more, like start to pull over into his lane to get him to move the hell out of my way for one thing.

As you see, with the day starting as that sweet, juicy, delicious fruit of me going home, getting to the receiver and getting into a door early, there came the pit of taking most of the day to get unloaded and then an idiot driver. Life was definitely a bowl of cherries today.

Another great author that I have come to admire is Sherrilyn Kenyon. For those that have been living under a rock or don’t read anything but Forbes and the Wall Street Journal, Ms. Kenyon writes fantasy/adventure/romance novels (the only reason they are romance is that she does put some pretty graphic sex scenes in there and the main character ALWAYS gets what they want). Maybe you have heard of her Dark Hunter, Dream Hunter, League or Chronicles of Nick books that are international best sellers. My personal favorites are the Chronicles of Nick, the adventures of a teenaged Cajun from New Orleans that has an attitude.

Why do I put her up there with such a writer as Erma Bombeck? Sherrilyn Kenyon was an abused child and she persevered and won the day. She survived and thrived through things that would permanently scar most people. She puts the wisdom of those years and her survival into her writing. Her characters, for the most part, are hundreds, if not thousands, of years old (the oldest that I recall is an Atlantean god that is slightly over eleven thousand years old. When a character has lived as many lifetimes as hers have, they gain a lot of life wisdom.

Ms. Kenyon’s characters have been betrayed by loved ones, been tortured by enemies, lived through hell and, in the end, won the day by perseverance and sheer determination not to let life run them over. Some, the Dark Hunters, have even by murdered in some of the most heinous ways only to be brought back by the Greek goddess Artemis as warriors against evil. Even then, these people have stories to tell and wisdom to share.

The point I am getting at is this: there are a lot of times that the gods make humans their punching bags and don’t give a rat’s ass what happens to us. It is up to us, the human race, to decide whether we will let life kill us or we go over, under, around or through the hardships and keep fighting. There is always something to keep fighting for: a loved one, an important cause, honor.

With all that is going on in the world today, especially since the election in November, there have been a lot of times when people have asked me how my day is, I’ve replied, ‘If it got any better I may as well take off my own head.” After years of fighting depression, it’s getting kind of hard to keep fighting the good fight for me but I do. I fight on because I have things worth fighting for, even if some of those things don’t care about me. As Dom Torreto said in Fast & Furious, “Never give up on family, even if they do.” I happen to have a lot of family, most of which are not blood.

To sum it all up, it doesn’t matter if you are liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican, wealthy or poor, mentally balanced or have mental illness, physically healthy or ill, there is always something or someone that needs you, would miss you, would die without you. It doesn’t matter who is in the White House, Congress, Supreme Court, who controls what country, who has done this or that, we all have our roles to play. What we do today, what we say tomorrow, what has happened in the past or will happen in the future, does not matter one iota to the Universe. It will all fade into nothingness through the mists of time. What will remain is whether we kept going, kept fighting for life or whether we gave in and ended it all without a fight.

Over, under, around or through, there is always a way. The gods are childish, narcissistic asses that look at the human race as entertainment. We only get what we earn by working for it and there will be no one there to help us. Friends come and go. We can’t take anything with us and no one gets out of life alive. It is our decisions whether our lives are a beach or a bitch. If you want some good life lessons, some good outlooks on life, read some Erma Bombeck and Sherrilyn Kenyon. There are other great authors out there that, through telling their stories, have wisdom to give but these two are my favorites. Give it try, read instead of staring at your phone or computer screen or game console. Chronicles of Nick, Life is Like a Bowl of Cherries, House of Darke (by Colin R Parsons), Wizard’s Quest (by yours truly) are a few titles for life lessons through stories. Fahrenheit 451, Animal Farm, Dangerous Minds, Divergent, a few other titles for what life could be, even the Harry Potter and Percy Jackson series’ can be more than entertainment if you really sit down and read them.

Don’t let politics, religion, nationality, or ideology cloud your mind. Life IS a bowl of cherries; all you have to do is spit the pits out and keep eating the sweet stuff….  

Friends v Enemies

There is an old adage that says, “Keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer.” In today’s world, do you really know who your friends really are? It is becoming increasingly more difficult to discern between friend and enemy.

A person used to know, beyond doubt, who would stand up for him or her and who would stab them in the back. Today, your most trusted ally may well be the one to place the knife between your ribs. Loyalty, commitment and friendship are all on a temporary scale. To find a true friend, one that would never betray you no matter what, is hard to find. As long as a person can use you, needs what you can do for them, you are their friend. As soon as that need is gone, when they no longer can use you, they turn on you and leave you in the dark.

That woman, or man, that means so much to you, that you love more than life, has no more respect or loyalty to you than they did for the person before you. Once again, to find someone that is permanent is rare. Divorce rates skyrocket while long-term relationships plummet. Women want a baby daddy; someone that will give them an income for the long term. As soon as she gets what she wants, she is done with you and on to the next man; all the while you are paying for her lifestyle.

That boy that tells you he loves you more than life is only playing a part just to get into you. If you become pregnant, you are history and that poor baby is forgotten about by his/her sperm donor. It isn’t about love anymore. It is all about lust and numbers. The more women he can get between the sheets the better man he is.

As friends, two people can be inseparable for a time, sharing everything from dreams to fears. All it takes is one disagreement and the friendship is gone. “If I show you the darkness within me, will you still think of me the same?” Most will not. If you show your darkness, your demons, most will turn and run away. Why? They run because they don’t want to have to deal with any kind of drama or conflict. Most people today are so hedonistic that they cannot see beyond their own noses. Only their wants and needs and desires matter. If you don’t cater to them, they leave.

You can give until there is nothing left to give to some people and when it’s gone, so are they. It is your fault that they have so little. It is your responsibility to supply them with what they want. A gentle, giving heart must set limits because the takers never will. They will take until nothing remains then they will move on to someone else that can give to them. It is a never ending cycle.

When you do find that one person that will have your back, no matter what, keep hold of them. If someone is willing to be there through thick and thin, through the demons coming out, for better or worse, that person is a jewel to be held onto, cherished. If you betray that person you are doing them, and yourself, a grave injustice. How so? By betraying them you have lost a treasure most will never find and you will have maybe damaged a kind soul to where they never will trust again.

Life is hard. Life is not fair. It has become a dog eat dog world and that, my friends, is the beginning of the end. When everyone must watch their backs to keep from having a blade stuck through it, then true commitments and loyalty will never be able to exist. Only alliances founded on mutual survival will remain. “My enemy’s enemy is my friend.” Like an alliance between Russia and the United States, it becomes nothing more than enemies bound by a common goal. Once the goal is reached, or is found to be unreachable, that alliance is gone and they are still enemies.

Once a person realizes that they are nothing more than the god’s whipping boy, all hope leaves and despair is all that remains. For those that always look for the good in everyone, it will be a hard life of betrayal after betrayal. There is good in each and every person on this planet. It is whether each one wants to let that good out or keeps it buried deep inside so as not to be taken for granted. Instead of ‘do unto other as you would have done unto you,’ it has become ‘do unto other before they do unto you.’ That is why the good is buried in so many.

Greed, lust, gluttony, vanity, envy, sloth and wrath, the seven deadly sins rule this world. Hedonism is king. Chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, patience, kindness, and humility, the seven virtues are a thing of the past or are to be taken advantage of. The two have to coexist to keep a balance on good and evil. Today, the balance is tipped in favor of the sins whereas, in the past, the virtues were more important. What has caused this change in the balance of power?

In days gone by, religion and morality were more important than personal feelings. It was taboo to have sex before you were married and even more so to have a baby out of wedlock. Charity started at home because taking care of your own meant your survival. Respect for your elders and those in authority kept you from becoming an outcast in society. Conservatism was necessary to stay alive and prosper.

Today, it is vogue to have babies before marriage, even encouraged. Sex is encouraged at a young age as sex education and contraceptives are handed out to preteens in school. Our children are taught to think only of themselves when it comes to feelings and desires. They are also taught that to be righteous and moral they must give to those less fortunate no matter whom that may be. Liberalism is the only right way to think.

The difference between liberalism and conservatism is this: liberalism today is communism at worst and socialism at best. Why do I say that? ‘From each according to his ability to each according to his wants and needs’ is what liberalism wants. Wealth redistribution in the form of taxing the rich more and giving that money to the less fortunate, whether they work for it or not.

Conservatism today is a capitalist society. ‘You don’t work, you don’t eat.’ If you put in an honest day’s work, you get paid an honest day’s wage. You are responsible for your own actions and welfare. If you need assistance, it will be given but if you are able, but refuse, to be a productive member of society, you deserve no help.

Why did I put those two paragraphs in at this point? Because it gives the difference between how things were and how they are. When conservatism was reigning, friends were friends, loyalty and commitment meant something and morality was important. Today, liberalism reigns and people are against each other and only think of themselves.

We no longer have to struggle to actually survive. We struggle to survive our wants but not our needs. Yes, there are homeless and hungry people, even here in one of the wealthiest nations on Earth but, for the most part, people are taken care of. It’s not like we have to go out and hunt our food and make clothes out of the hides of what we kill. If we need food, there are welfare or food banks. If we need shelter there is welfare and missions. Society is called upon to supply to those in need. Our struggles are to support our wants, our greed, and our gluttony. Because we no longer have to struggle, our battles are now against each other. We take from those that are willing to give because we want what they have. We ingratiate ourselves to the kind, gentle, giving souls just to stab them in back once we are done with them.

If society continues in this fashion how long do you think that humanity will survive? Soon, very soon, we will once again become a feudal society and kill each other off as the ancient Celts, Normans, and Vikings did to those weaker than them. World population will decline to a few of the strongest. Those with money will have the protection of the castle while the weak will only have their hovels to hide in. Once the battles begin there will be no stopping them. Where will those takers and hedonists go then? Of course, to those that are kind and giving, if there are any of those left.

Hopefully, one day in the near future, conservatism, morality, loyalty and commitment will make a reappearance and become the norm replacing the hedonistic society that believes in the seven sins instead of the seven virtues. Hopefully.

What is Right and What is Wrong?

     What is right? What is wrong? Is there a distinction between the two? It’s been said that nothing is either right or wrong but the thinking makes it so. An example of this is the difference between throwing someone off a building because they are gay and protecting that same gay person’s civil liberties. These are two different cultures; two different ways of looking at right and wrong. So, depending on what culture you live in depends on what is considered wrong.

     Here, in The United States, we have two different cultures that reside side by side. There is the conservative side that believes in self-sufficiency, self-reliance, smaller government, fiscal responsibility, the right to life, Christian values. Then, there is the liberal side that believes in big government that controls the population through regulation and laws. The many provide for the few that require help. In other words: from those according to their ability to those according to their need (which, by the way, is a Communist ideology). Liberals believe that it is a woman’s right to end a pregnancy simply because she doesn’t want to have a baby. Which is right and which is wrong? Or, are they both right and wrong?

     The Constitution of the United States became binding upon ratification by the ninth state, New Hampshire, on June 21, 1788. This document is the Law of the Land, permanent, binding and concise in meaning. It is not a ‘living document’ meant to represent the political agenda at any given time. It was written so as to be very difficult to change. The only way to change the Constitution is by an amendment which has to be ratified by a two-thirds vote of the States.

     The Constitution states that federal law supersedes any law of the States. Article VI is clear on this. Federal law is supreme and if any State law conflicts with Federal law, Federal law holds.

Article II explains how the President is elected. After the election of Donald J Trump in 2016, the liberal left has bemoaned the use of the Electoral College, saying that it is not fair. The Electoral College is set in stone in the Constitution. This is to make it fair to all states, from the least populated to the most populated. The States argued during the construction of the Constitution about how to make each State fairly represented. This is why the House of Representatives is filled by population and the Senate is filled with only two representatives from each state, and, the Electoral College was set up to represent each state fairly in any election for the high office.

     The Bill of Rights; the first ten amendments to the Constitution are the most important. Each one states certain inalienable rights to each citizen of the United States. Each is concisely written so as not to be misunderstood. There is no interpretation to be used.

     Amendment One provides several rights protections: to express ideas through speech and the press, to assemble or gather with a group to protest or for other reasons and to ask the government to fix problems. It also protects the right to religious beliefs and practices. It prevents the government from creating or favoring a religion. The Supreme Court has stated that burning the American Flag is protected under this amendment. Burning a flag, rioting, destroying property, etc., is not speech, a gathering, or asking the government to fix a problem. These are actions. Actions are not speech. The Supreme Court, in my opinion, was wrong in their decision to allow flag burning as freedom of speech. Rioting, looting, destruction of property, etc., are against the law and are in no way an expression of ideas through speech or the press.

     Amendment Two protects the right to keep and bear arms. “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” This is the entire amendment as it was written. There is no room for interpretation. Although the liberal left would like to believe that this is an outdated right because we have law enforcement officials to protect us, this was not meant for that reason. This was written because of what the Colonists had just fought a long war to overcome. There is no debate. This has nothing to do with hunting or feeding your family. It has everything to do with protecting yourself, your family, your community, your country from tyranny; to keep this nation free and safe from enemies, both foreign and domestic.

     The Third Amendment prevents the government from forcing homeowners to allow soldiers to use their homes. Before the Revolutionary War, laws gave British soldiers the right to take over private homes.

     The Fourth Amendment bars the government from unreasonable search and seizure of an individual or their private property.

     The Fifth Amendment provides several protections for people accused of crimes. It states that serious criminal charges must be started by a grand jury.  A person cannot be tried twice for the same offense {double jeopardy) or have property taken away without just compensation. People have the right against self-incrimination and cannot be imprisoned without due process of law (fair procedures and trials.) This amendment is one of the most important, in my opinion, and the most abused, by citizens and law enforcement. OJ Simpson was charged with murder and acquitted. Then, he was charged with a civil crime of wrongful death. Are these two crimes different? Only in the way they are prosecuted; same crime, different wording. In a legal search, personal property can be taken as evidence. Is that property returned or compensated for if the accused is found not guilty (innocent and not guilty are two different things). As for being held without due process, this is for citizens of the United States. War criminals, foreign nationals, illegal immigrants all have cried out, and the liberal left has joined in the cry, that they are entitled to due process under the Constitution. They are not held to the Constitution. They are not citizens of this great nation. War criminals, especially, cannot be expected to be protected under the Constitution. They are fighting against that law and the destruction of that law.

     The Sixth Amendment provides additional protections to people accused of crimes, such as the right to a speedy and public trial, trial by an impartial jury in criminal cases, and to be informed of criminal charges. Witnesses must face the accused, and the accused is allowed his or her own witnesses and to be represented by a lawyer. Here again, war criminals cry out that they are treated unfairly because they are not allowed protection under this amendment. Why should they be protected by the very thing they are fighting to destroy?

     The Seventh Amendment extends the right to a jury trial in federal civil cases. I have not researched if there are any cases that have not been protected under this amendment. As far as I know, every accused has been given the right to a jury by trial.

     The Eighth Amendment bars excessive bail and fines and cruel and unusual punishment. Here is an amendment, an inalienable right, that seems to have gone by the wayside without a murmur from the citizens of this great nation. Fines are exorbitant for some of the smallest offenses. Some people are charged high bail fees while others accused of the same or worse crimes are let go on their own recognizance. I understand the idea behind a flight risk. But, through personal experience, I have seen the unfairness of the judicial system on fines and bail. As for unusual punishment, once again, there are cries from the left that minorities, illegal immigrants, and war criminals are treated unfairly in their punishments. Is this the case? I would have to research hundreds, if not thousands, of individual cases to make a determination on this. The left would cite a few minority cases as the norm and this would be an injustice to the whole. Yes, there are cases where justice is unfair. The scales are tipped against the accused. Lady Justice is peeking from behind her blindfold at times. But, I believe, for the most part, that justice is equal for all according to the crime committed as far as race, color, sex, national origin, etc. are concerned.

     The Ninth Amendment states that listing specific rights in the Constitution does not mean that people do not have other rights that have not been spelled out.

     The Tenth Amendment says that the Federal Government only has those powers delegated in the Constitution. If it isn’t listed, it belongs to the states or to the people. The one thing a person must realize with this amendment is that Federal law supersedes state law if there is a conflict.

     Why, you ask, did I list out and explain the Bill of Rights? Because this is where the conservative right and the liberal left differ and it becomes a matter of right and wrong. The left, it seems, only use these rights if it benefits them. The Second Amendment, for example, is only used for protecting government officials, celebrities, and other high ranking citizens. The everyday Joe doesn’t need to protect him/herself. The First Amendment, as long as a person agrees with the left, free speech is fine; disagree and you are castigated and your right to free speech is muffled. The press has become a liberal opinion publication instead of reporting facts. Sensationalism and being the first to report on something is more important than actually investigating to make sure the rumors are true. And, when called out on false reporting, it comes down to free speech. Rioting and destruction of property is now an expression of free speech if it is for a liberal cause (I don’t, personally, recall any conservative march or protest that became violent and caused property damage).

     So, what is right and what is wrong? It all depends on the way you think. To the liberal left, the socialist/communist ideology is right even if it infringes on the rights of the people. To the conservative right, the Constitution is the supreme law and there is no interpretation thereof. Personal freedoms, the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is the American way; at least to the right. The left seems to think that the only way is to force everyone to their way of thinking regardless of how someone feels.

     I don’t care if you are white, black, brown, yellow, red, pink or polka-dotted. It doesn’t matter to me if you like the same sex or the opposite sex. You are from Russia, Indonesia, Mexico, Asia, Guatemala, the UK… as long as you aren’t trying to destroy my rights, liberties or my country I have no problem with you. If you come from a country that is known to harbor, train, export, or finance terrorism against my country, then stay out of my country. The President has every right, in fact, has the responsibility, to keep those who may do this country harm out. It really doesn’t matter if Achmed is an Oxford scholar and distinguished dignitary; if he resides in a country that is known to produce terrorists, then the possibility of him being a terrorist is greater than someone that resides in a country that is not known for that.

     The liberal left would like everyone to believe that every living soul on the planet is a friend. That we should allow all immigrants, refugees, the tired and poor of every country, into our borders regardless of where they come from. This is sheer idiocy. I put to you a question: if there were a hundred M&Ms in a bowl and two of them were poisoned, would you know which ones not to eat? Would you eat them anyway? The liberal left would like us to do just that. Without knowing, for sure, that refugees and immigrants from the Middle East are not terrorists, we are to allow them into our country; even though the terrorists have stated quite clearly that they will infiltrate into peaceful, non-Islamic countries as refugees. Their goal is to fulfill the Koran’s law of destroying the infidels in any way possible. So, what does the left want to do? Invite them in.

     The liberal left would like everyone to believe that a woman, who consciously indulged in unprotected sex and became pregnant, should be allowed to end the life of the unborn child that she, and her partner at the time, conceived. The Supreme Court, in 1973, decided that it was a woman’s right to end a pregnancy. Is this right? Is it the moral thing to do? For the liberal left it is. It is just fine to do away with a self-inflicted inconvenience simply because she wants to. In the case of rape or incest it would be a different matter, but, in the case of consensual sex, what was she expecting when she had sex with that guy; a Sony TV or an Xbox?

     The conservative right, on the other hand, believes that a child, unborn, has the right to be born, to live. Life starts at conception, not twenty eight weeks later. Pro-life, pro-choice, how about having the common sense to practice celibacy unless you want to have a baby? Make your choice before you get pregnant then you wouldn’t have to end a life.

     I realize that the liberal left would counter all points made here in some way or another; that is, if they even read it or reply to it. That is what they do. Ignore what goes against their way of thinking or dismiss it as racial, anti-woman, or some phobia.

     Just my opinion.

Why Are We Here?

Why are we here? What is the purpose of life? Two of the most ancient of questions. Is there an answer?

We are born, alone in most cases. In the case of twins, triplets, etc., we are still actually born alone. We have shared the womb with another but enter into the world one at a time. Most of the time we are a welcome addition to this world, but there are those times that a child is far from welcome because of hardship or inconvenience. This is where the questions come in: Why are we here and what is our purpose?

In ancient days, actually up until the mid-20^th century, most children were born simply to increase population and/or assist in daily survival activities such as farming, hunting, and/or gathering. After World War II, when the soldiers returned home, families started to grow out of an earnest sex life that had been derailed by the war. The Baby Boomers were the first generation that was born out of pleasure instead of necessity. But, why are we here? I don’t mean as individuals but, as a whole. Why does the human race exist and what is its purpose?

The scientific explanation is simple enough. We evolved from a simpler life form into the intelligent species that we are; if you can call what we are intelligent. From that single cell ameba to the complex Homo sapiens over many millennia we have evolved. Neanderthal to Cro-Magnon to Homo sapiens; it’s been quite a journey for us.

The Biblical explanation is even simpler; we were created by God in his image. Period. Out of dust we rose by the will of an omniscient being. No evolution. No missing link. We just appeared in Eden as modern day mankind. Simple.

Now, back to the question. According to the Bible, we were created for one purpose; to worship God. That’s it. Oh, and to take stewardship over the Earth; nothing to worry about, nothing to think about, nothing to question. But, is this what really happened? If we just appeared approximately 15,000 years ago on Earth, after the entire Universe was created in the six days before, plus one day for the Creator to rest, how are the dinosaurs explained? How is it that science has determined that the Earth is approximately 20 billion years old and the Universe is much older than that?

For the topic, we’ll just assume that evolution, not creation, is how we came about. If mankind evolved from Neanderthal to Cro-Magnon to Homo sapiens, why did we evolve into what we are? Why did we not just evolve into something more similar to apes?

Science has all kinds of answers to those questions. The big questions, though, have a more philosophical basis. Why are we here? What is our purpose?  Are we here just to be born, grow, and die? Are we here for a short time, pass on to another plane of existence to learn more and finally become deity?

We are born into this world helpless. As we grow, we become more independent and then, at the end of our lives we become helpless once again. Is that all there is to life? In today’s world we have about 16 years of dependence on others then take over our own support until we age to the point where we become dependent again. During that independent time of our lives what do we do? We work. We’ve had our fun while we were children with no cares. Once we enter adulthood, we work to pay for the privilege of living. Oftentimes we work so much that we really do not have time to actually live life.

In this scenario, we live for a few short years of living life, learning the entire time how to cope with others in society and to be able to effectively communicate and function during our adult years. Once we enter our adulthood, we work to support ourselves and our needs and wants. Do we actually live life during this time? Unless a person is financially well off, not really. We spend more time working to make money to survive and pretend to live life than we do actually living. We finally end up, dependent, once again, on the care of others before we pass from life to death.

What, exactly, is our purpose for being here? We come into this world, and have for thousands of years, and destroy that which keeps us alive. We cover the ground with trash or bury it. We fill the skies with smoke and toxic gases. We pull coal, oil, natural gas, precious metals and stone out of the ground to be used to further pollute our world.

To top it all off, we try to kill off every living thing that we can, including ourselves, from the buffalo to whales to bees, either for sport, to eat, or to use in various destructive ways. We are a species bent on self-destruction and we aren’t going down alone; we’re going to take everything else with us. Is that why we are here? Is that our purpose?

Through our adult lives we learn about greed, lust, corruption, and a host of other “sins.” The problem with that is we don’t just learn about these vices, we embrace them. Over the millennia we have fought each other over land, power, money, and, yes, religion. More people have been killed in the name of religion than any other reason. People will lie to each other to gain the upper hand over some small piece of real estate that sometime in the future will be taken over by someone else. We only rent what is here. After all, we only live so long then we return to dust taking nothing with us. Why do we need to have so much that it has to be taken from someone else?

A person can spend only so much money in one lifetime. Yes, if there is a surplus at the end of your life you can will it to someone else so that they don’t have to work for it. But is acquiring a mass fortune so important that a person needs to lie, cheat, steal, to get it from someone else?

Power over others is also a temporary thing. From the ancient beings that came before Homo sapiens to the kings and rulers of today’s world, power over others has been sought after and fought for. A person can only rule so long before they die.

Is that what we are here for? To rule over others and take what we can from them? Is the human race so arrogant and egotistical to believe that power and money will make us immortal? On average a human being will only live around 75 years. For those that seek power and money, those years are wasted. They live only to take from others for their own gain only to leave this world empty handed, alone.

Capitalism, freedom, liberty, socialism, oppression, control, war, peace, poverty and wealth are all just concepts that the human race has developed to categorize and divide with. The ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots;’ the rulers and the ruled; the free and the oppressed are all the same. Each human being on this planet is essentially the same as every other human being. We all bleed red. We all breathe oxygen. We all drink water. We all eat food. We all love, hate, laugh, cry… we are all part of the human race. None of us know why we are here. All we know is that because we are here we are going to fight, kill, maim, and destroy our home and each other for nothing more than temporary gratification or a misguided set of beliefs that one is better than another.

Is that why we are here? Is our purpose just to destroy each other and the one and only home we have? It seems that it is. That is what we, as a race, have done since the beginning of time; since before we were the ‘intellectual and civilized’ species that we are. We continue the destruction today and probably will until there are no Homo sapiens or Earth left.

That, my friends, is our purpose; the reason we are here. If it weren’t, we would have learned long ago that the seven deadly sins are a waste of time and energy and there would be peace on Earth and the world would not be taken advantage of to the point of destruction. We are born, we grow, we destroy, we die and leave a world worse off than what we started with.

If Creationism is the true beginning of mankind, the Creator made one big mistake. If science is the true beginning, we - mankind, the human race, have made one big mistake. Christianity says, “When I was a child, I thought, spoke, acted like a child. When I became a man, I put away those childish things.” Paganism says, “In all things, harm none.” Isn’t it time we grew up and learned to share this world with each other and leave the pettiness of childhood behind us, harming none as we go about our lives? I think so.