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.

Corruption

Corruption.

From local government to the highest offices in the world there is corruption. There is absolutely nothing the common man can do about it. Sure, we can vote the corrupt out of office and replace them with others but, soon enough, those new politicians will be just as corrupt as the old ones. Why? Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The Federal Government has that absolute power.

What about local government? You know the ones; the mayor, the city manager, the chief of police, the sheriff, the magistrate, county attorney, assessor. They can all be corrupt. Even the newest member of the local Gestapo, sorry, police force. I can't seem to bring myself to call them law enforcement officers because they aren't; they are revenue agents and bullies with badges in a lot of small towns across the nation. Even in the big cities, there are those that use their badge as a crown.

There has always been those in government that did whatever they had to to get their way from bribes to threats to downright murder. Everyone knows the story of Hanging Judge Roy Bean. Wyatt Earp wasn't exactly a saint his whole life. Presidents have been assassinated because someone was afraid they would be exposed by the highest office or someone wanted to move up a notch without going through the democratic process.

Look what is going on in DC today. The far left-wing liberals up there that are supposed to have sworn to uphold the Constitution and protect the nation from threats are fighting against the President who is trying to do just those things. The duly elected Congressmen and women are more interested in making sure the Donald J Trump doesn't win than protecting their constituents against foreign invasion from the southern border by people bound to destroy us.

How about the local constabulary that has a boner for someone? The racist cop, the drug-dealing cop, the cop on the take – it happens all over the country. And these are the ones that have sworn to uphold and protect the law. They do, when a private citizen breaks the law but, if a lawman breaks the law they are protected by the Blue Veil of Secrecy. And, if a citizen even thinks about reporting a lawman breaking the law they are threatened with incarceration for some fabricated crime with planted evidence. It happens. It also happens that there are those lawmen that will fabricate crimes on people they don't like.

How about those that have served time in prison? Let's say someone spends five to ten years in a so-called correctional facility for smoking weed or some other half-baked, nonsense crime. They spend their days doing nothing except going insane from boredom. They are in there with others that have broken some insane law that doesn't make sense and some that broke a law that needed punishment. What happens? They learn that the law is unfair, their minds go numb, they become more and more angry, and, to top it off, they learn how to break more severe laws.

When they come out do they receive help returning to society? Some do, some don't. An ex-con can become a productive member of society if the justice system will help them. A lot of times the justice system does its best to send that ex-con back to prison. Probation officers make it hard for that man, or woman, to get even try to get set up again. Let's put an ankle monitor on their leg that wears a hole in their skin and shows the world that this person is bad. Let's not let them get a driver's license so they can get around. Let's make sure they can't have a phone to make and receive calls from potential employers. Let's not let them have internet access (if they are convicted of any kind of sex crime) so they can't communicate with friends and family.

The justice system is not just and the court system is not blind. Courts are not a place of justice, only what can be proven and how much money you have to spend to defend yourself. Even court-appointed attorneys are not free and they usually work for the county, not the client. Plea bargains are commonplace instead of a presumption of innocence until proven guilty. If you do happen to proven 'not guilty' it isn't saying that you are innocent only that they didn't have enough evidence to prove you guilty.

Congress continually legislates more and more laws. For such a free country we are weighed down with laws against everything. We can't hunt, fish or trap without paying for the privilege of doing so. We have to wear helmets and seat belts. We can't swim where we want. We can't stop, stand or park where we want. We have to pay to do just about everything except breathe and, sooner or later, they will find a way to make us pay for that. If the government can't tax it, they say you have to buy a permit for it. If you take a good, hard, honest look at it, I'd say that close to 70% of what a person makes working goes to the government in some form of tax or permit or fine for some small infraction.

Brings me to another point. The Constitution says that excessive fines are prohibited. Funny, for an overweight fine in some states it can cost from $200 to $4,000. Littering from $75 to $500. Court costs (which I thought taxes paid for the court system) can run up to $500 plus other extortion fees they charge on TOP of the fine. A little excessive if you ask me.

It comes down to corruption. And this country does its best to fight corruption in foreign countries. Corruption in its finest form. We hate it when a foreign nation tries to interfere with our electoral process but we will do our best to screw over some third world, or up and coming, country's government. Who is the corrupt ones? Who is worse – Meduro from Venezuela, Putin from Russia, Kim from North Korea, or Pelosi from the US and May from the UK? Which country is more corrupt? I think it's a toss-up. I live in the USA so I can only say what I see here and it ain't good anymore.

"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.”

The Conservative Talk Show Hosts Are Idiots

Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Andrew Wilkow, David Webb, and, yes, Rush Limbaugh – You all are complete and total buffoons. You are idiots.

Let me elaborate on that statement just a little. These conservative radio/tv talk show hosts sit behind their microphones touting the advantages of conservatism and the hoaxes of the far-left wing’s liberalism. Each and every day, Monday through Friday and sometimes on the weekends, the airwaves are filled with their right-wing rhetoric. They call out the liberals on their lies and hypocrisy. Sometimes they answer their listener’s calls and comment on those opinions. In other words – they do exactly what the liberal hosts do in the opposite.

Why does that make them buffoons and idiots? It is rare that a liberal will call in and they answer that call. On the occasions that they do take those calls they usually talk over them. I’ve listened to Tucker Carlson shut down liberal guests on his show by not letting them answer questions fully. I’ve heard Hannity, Levin and Limbaugh do the same thing. I do have to admit that Levin did a great job in letting that psychiatrist woman put out her opinion on Trump the other day. You know, the one that diagnosed Trump as being ‘dangerous’ to the world because of his narcissism and mental instability?

What these conservatives don’t do is tell the whole truth. They don’t say that Trump can be a childish egotist. That his tweeting is middle school mentality at times. That his name-calling is consistent with a five-year-old most of the time, especially when it comes to other world leaders (Rocket Man come to mind?). They stick with the accolades of his accomplishments and what he is trying to do.

It doesn’t matter that minority unemployment is at record lows. It doesn’t matter that he has quashed the ISIS threat. It doesn’t matter that the stock market is at record highs. It doesn’t matter that he’s doing everything he can to secure our southern border. It doesn’t matter that he instigated the largest tax cuts in years and put more money into middle America’s pockets. All that matters is that the whole truth is spoken.

If these conservative talk show hosts would just open up and say that Donald J Trump isn’t a saint. If they would just say that he’s not gotten North Korea to dispose of their nuclear weapons and that Iran will never adhere to any deal they make with America. Maybe they should tell their listeners that China might agree to a free-trade deal but when the Democrats win back the White House it will go back to stealing our intellectual property and putting tariffs back on our products going into China while not paying America a dime.

His mental capacities are waning. He’s 70-some years old and everyone knows that Alzheimer’s has got to be setting in. He speaks out against Omar, Tlaib, AOC, Nancy, and Chuck more and more instead of praising them for their inability to work with him on any issue. He stands by Israel which is, as everyone knows, the bane of the world because of its’ desire to survive as a sovereign nation against every other country’s demands for its’ annihilation. He expects North Korea and China to stand by any deal made with them and that Russia will not interfere with any other country in the world.

Another way to prove that Trump is losing his mind is by his insults against the far-left-wing liberals that are campaigning for the 2020 election. Sleepy, Creepy Joe Biden who doesn’t even know where he is most of the time shouldn’t be disparaged. After all, he was the Vice President of the United States and has served in Congress for decades. Elizabeth Warren, Pocahontas, can’t help it that she lied about her heritage to gain power and influence. Corey “Spartacus” Booker was just making his point when he spouted off during the Senate hearings for Brett Kavanaugh. This name-calling has got to stop.

The conservative radio/tv hosts should bring all this up while expounding on the virtues of conservatism and the Constitution. Which brings me to another issue. The Constitution of the United States of America. It was written and ratified over two hundred years ago. The Founding Father could not have expected people today to follow the Law of the Land to the letter. They didn’t expect the country to have over a billion people living here and importing millions every year. They couldn’t have foreseen the advent of a police force that was militarily equipped and able to respond within minutes to any call for help that might need to be answered in seconds. Why would they expect the country to become a two-party political system where one party uses the press against the other on an hourly basis? Did they think that law enforcement would ever forget about unreasonable search and seizure or presumption of innocence?

All these conservative hosts do is talk about the rights and freedoms that have been fought for since the beginning. That just isn’t right. They need to address the feelings and wants of every single individual that might be offended by words or presumed actions against them. They need to start advocating for the murder of unborn (and in some states the barely born). They need to stand up for boys wanting to use the girl’s bathroom because boys are being turned into effeminate wimps by the immoral minority. They should agree that every single person that wants to come to America to take what we have and not give anything in return should be able to. Borders are just imaginary lines drawn on a piece of paper; except when that border is a wall around a multi-million-dollar estate owned and occupied by a liberal.

Back to why these hosts are buffoons and idiots. They are such because they are preaching to the choir. They are the pastors of a great church that sits empty except for the choir. The windows are open, and the doors are not locked. Everyone is welcome and invited in. The only problem is that the ones that need to hear the message won’t listen and the ones that listen don’t need to hear it, they know it. They talk to Congress over the airwaves. They talk to the liberal left over the airwaves. They are idiots because they actually believe that the left is listening to them just as the pastor believes his message is getting to the ones that need it the most but are preaching to an empty congregation.

To the very few that they do get to, it doesn’t matter because they have been brainwashed into believing that all conservatives lie and twist the truth. The few liberals that I have listened to on these radio shows wouldn’t change their minds for love nor money. Well, maybe money. Maybe but doubtful. It does absolutely no good to talk about any of it. It doesn’t change a thing. It didn’t change the liberal’s belief that Trump had colluded with the Russians for over two years when every bit of evidence showed it was the Clinton campaign colluding and obstructing justice. They will not change their minds.

Until the brainwashing stops it won’t change. I am all for freedom of the press and speech. I don’t have to agree with the opposition. But when the press usurps its responsibility and becomes propaganda for a political belief that goes against the Constitution and everything that has made America what she is, then maybe that freedom should be curtailed just a bit. With great power comes great responsibility.

Yes, Hannity, Levin, Wilkow, Webb, Carlson, Limbaugh and the rest of the conservatives on radio and tv are idiots for believing they are actually making a difference by speaking out against the socialism/communism of the liberal left. They aren’t. Even I, as a conservative blogger, am doing nothing to keep America great and free. My message doesn’t get to the ones that need it. Hell, my blog isn’t even read enough to make a difference to a conservative. I could only wish that I had the exposure that radio and tv has.

I’m glad they are there. I just wish that it would actually do some good.

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.

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….  

Religions of the World, Ancient and Modern

I have studied many religions over the decades. In recent years, due to my writing stories about the beginning of the world, ancient religions have been a research topic. I realize that modern day religions are nothing like the ‘mythologies’ of the ancient world but, what makes modern religion any more right than that of the Mesopotamians, Egyptians, Greeks or Romans? Let’s take a walk down the religion path from ancient Mesopotamia to modern day America.

Religion (from the Latin Religio, meaning 'restraint,' or Relegere, according to Cicero, meaning 'to repeat, to read again,' or, most likely, Religionem, 'to show respect for what is sacred') is an organized system of beliefs and practices revolving around, or leading to, a transcendent spiritual experience. There is no culture recorded in human history which has not practiced some form of religion.

The Greek philosopher Xenophanes of Colophon (c. 570-478 BCE) once wrote:

“Mortals suppose that the gods are born and have clothes and voices and shapes like their own. But if oxen, horses and lions had hands or could paint with their hands and fashion works as men do, horses would paint horse-like images of gods and oxen oxen-like ones, and each would fashion bodies like their own. The Ethiopians consider the gods flat-nosed and black; the Thracians blue-eyed and red-haired.”

Xenophanes idea of one god was not widely accepted. Ancient people believed that there was a different god for different things much like there were different people for different things much like doctor’s specialties. A monotheistic religion really didn’t start until Judaism came around and that wasn’t widely accepted at first. But, that is getting ahead of the timeline.

Ancient Mesopotamia has the earliest known record of religion, dating from somewhere around 3500 BC (I will continue to use the old standard of BC and AD, I do not subscribe to the new BCE and CE that is now used) from Sumer. These people believed that the gods were co-workers alongside humanity, not some distant, invisible deity that just oversaw what went on down on the Earth.

Marduk defeated Tiamat and the forces of chaos to create the world. Unfortunately, those forces of chaos weren’t completely helpless and could possibly regain their strength and take over again so humanity had to work alongside the gods to keep them at bay. That is why humans were created, to work with, and for, the gods toward a mutually beneficial end.

Inanna, the goddess of love, sex, and war later was taken over as Ishtar of the Akkadians (and later the Assyrians), Astarte of the Phoenicians, Sauska of the Hurrians-Hittites, and was associated with Aphrodite of the Greeks, Isis of the Egyptians, and Venus of the Romans.

Egyptian ‘mythology’ was first recorded around 4000 BC and their gods were already well established. The Egyptian creation was much similar to that of the Mesopotamians, starting out as chaos and being formed into the different aspects of the earth and sky. And, as with most mythologies, each god was charged with taking care of a different aspect. Osiris was the ultimate judge of who entered into eternal life by weighing the heart of the soul of the individual in the Hall of Truth, much like the Christian God writes the names of those destined for Heaven in the Book of Life.

Egyptian religion was similar to Mesopotamian belief, however, in that human beings were co-workers with the gods to maintain order. The principle of harmony (known to the Egyptians as ma'at) was of the highest importance in Egyptian life (and in the afterlife), and their religion was fully integrated into every aspect of existence. Egyptian religion was a combination of magic, mythology, science, medicine, psychiatry, spiritualism, herbology, as well as the modern understanding of 'religion' as belief in a higher power and a life after death. The gods were the friends of human beings and sought only the best for them by providing them with the most perfect of all lands to live in and an eternal home to enjoy when their lives on earth were done.

Religion is thought to have developed around 4500 BC in China having been a mix of animism and mythology as designs of animals and dragons have been found on ceramics of the time period; by the time of the Xia Dynasty (2070-1600 BC), the Chinese had many anthropomorphic gods that were worshiped with a chief god, Shangti, presiding over all. This belief continued, with modifications, during the period of the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC) which developed the practice of ancestor worship.

This ancestor worship influenced the two greatest Chinese religions of Confucianism and Taoism in which ancestor worship was the most important tenet. In time, Tian (heaven) replaced Shangti. To get into heaven, one had to cross the Bridge of Forgetfulness and drink from a cup to purge all memories of life. If judged worthy, you crossed the bridge, which spanned an abyss, if not, you fell into the abyss (hell). Another ideology to this is that a soul as reincarnated after drinking from the cup. Either way, the living were expected to remember the dead and honor them.

Hinduism, the oldest religion still practiced today, was first recorded around 700 BC. Hinduism is usually thought of as a polytheistic religion but is actually henotheistic. The one supreme god, Brahma is too immense a concept to comprehend so he presents himself in many different aspects that a human mind can comprehend; Hindu scripture counts these deities at 330 million.

In Hinduism there is an order to the universe and every individual has a specific place in that order. Each person on the planet has a duty (dharma) which only they can perform. If one acts rightly (karma) in the performance of that duty, they are rewarded by moving closer to the supreme being and eventually becoming one with god; if they do not, then they are reincarnated as many times as it takes to finally understand how to live and draw closer to the supreme being. This belief was carried over by Siddhartha Gautama when he became the Buddha and founded Buddhism. In Buddhism, however, one is not seeking union with god but with one's higher nature as one leaves behind the illusions of the world which generate suffering and cloud the mind with the fear of loss and death.

(Hinduism, according to hinduismfacts.org, originated sometime during the Neolithic period between 10000 and 4000 BC. It is difficult to pinpoint a date as Hinduism did not start out as a religion but rather a way of life.)

The above information was gleaned from Ancient History Encyclopedia, Religion in the Ancient World, John J Mark published 02 September, 2009 (www.ancient.eu/religion)

At this juncture, I should probably give definitions to the different forms of religion. The definitions are from Merriam-Webster Dictionary online.

Polytheism: the belief there is more than one god.

Henotheism:  the worship of one god without denying the existence of other gods.

Monotheism: the belief there is only one god.

Let’s go on to a couple of better known religions (mythologies), the Greek and Roman. Greek mythology is believed to first appear about 2000 BC and the Roman around 1000 BC. As with most polytheistic religions, the Greeks and Romans had different gods for different areas of life and the elements. Each of the 21 gods of the Greeks were taken over by the Romans, renamed and given slightly different attributes such as Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades for the heavens, the sea and the underworld in the Greek with Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto being the Roman counterparts were the top three gods each. The creation of the earth, as with most mythologies, begins with a supreme being creating the world and first people out of chaos.

According to Reference.com/world-view, Judaism originated around 4000 years ago in the area between the Jordan and the Mediterranean known as Canaan, which today would be Israel, Gaza and the West Bank.  Primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/religion/jewish says Jewish history begins with the covenant established between God and Abraham around 1812 and the Torah, the primary document of Judaism, was given to the Jews by the Prophet Moses about 3,300 years ago.

What do the Jewish people believe? Jewfaq.org, on their Judaism 101 page has this to say:

Judaism has no dogma, no formal set of beliefs that one must hold to be a Jew. In Judaism, actions are far more important than beliefs, although there is certainly a place for belief within Judaism.

The closest that anyone has ever come to creating a widely-accepted list of Jewish beliefs is Rambam's thirteen principles of faith. These principles, which Rambam thought were the minimum requirements of Jewish belief, are:

    God exists

    God is one and unique

    God is incorporeal

    God is eternal

    Prayer is to be directed to God alone and to no other

    The words of the prophets are true

    Moses' prophecies are true, and Moses was the greatest of the prophets

    The Written Torah (first 5 books of the Bible) and Oral Torah (teachings now contained in the Talmud and other writings) were given to Moses

    There will be no other Torah

    God knows the thoughts and deeds of men

    God will reward the good and punish the wicked

    The Messiah will come

    The dead will be resurrected

As you can see, these are very basic and general principles. Yet as basic as these principles are, the necessity of believing each one of these has been disputed at one time or another, and the liberal movements of Judaism dispute many of these principles.

Unlike many other religions, Judaism does not focus much on abstract cosmological concepts. Although Jews have certainly considered the nature of God, man, the universe, life and the afterlife at great length, there is no mandated, official, definitive belief on these subjects, outside of the very general concepts discussed above. There is substantial room for personal opinion on all of these matters.

Judaism focuses on relationships: the relationship between God and mankind, between God and the Jewish people, between the Jewish people and the land of Israel, and between human beings. Our scriptures tell the story of the development of these relationships, from the time of creation, through the creation of the relationship between God and Abraham, to the creation of the relationship between God and the Jewish people, and forward. The scriptures also specify the mutual obligations created by these relationships, although various movements of Judaism disagree about the nature of these obligations. Some say they are absolute, unchanging laws from God (Orthodox); some say they are laws from God that change and evolve over time (Conservative); some say that they are guidelines that you can choose whether or not to follow (Reform, Reconstructionist).

So, what are these actions that Judaism is so concerned about? According to Orthodox Judaism, these actions include 613 commandments given by God in the Torah as well as laws instituted by the rabbis and long-standing customs.

Christianity, of course, started a little over 2000 years ago when Jesus was preaching to the Hebrews about God, was crucified and then resurrected to live with the Holy Father in Heaven. The Holy Bible is the history, belief, laws and story of the Christian world.

What are the core beliefs of Christianity? This is what gotquestions.org/Christianity-beliefs has to say:

The term Christianity seems to imply a religious system in the same way that Islam and Buddhism are religious systems. Within religious systems are core beliefs, along with codes, rules, and standards that must be mastered in order to achieve a desired end. Christianity does not fit that definition and therefore the term can be slightly misleading.

Jesus did not come into the world to start another religion. There were already plenty of religions, including Judaism, which had begun as a relationship with Almighty God but had deteriorated into another religious system on par with idol worship. Jesus came to bear witness to the truth, to seek and to save the lost—those separated from God by their sin—and to “give his life as a ransom for many”. With that said, those who follow Christ do share some core beliefs.

Biblically speaking, Christians are those who are forgiven of their sins and who have entered a personal relationship with Almighty God through faith in Jesus Christ. In order to become a Christian, a person must fully accept as part of his or her own personal worldview the following core beliefs:

• Jesus is the Son of God and is equal with God

• Jesus was born of a virgin

• Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life

• Jesus was crucified to pay the penalty for our sins

• Jesus rose from the dead

• We are saved by the grace of God; that is, we cannot add to or take away from Christ’s finished work on the cross as full payment for our sin

It could be argued that belief in the inerrancy of God’s Word is also a core belief of Christianity because, if the Bible’s veracity is suspect, then all we know about God is in doubt. Saving faith is inextricably linked to the Word of God: “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ” (Romans 10:17).

But the mental acceptance of the above points of doctrine is only the framework around which salvation occurs. Faith is more than intellectual assent, and mentally agreeing with the core beliefs of Christianity does not equal entrance into God’s kingdom. Even Satan and the demons know certain things about God. We can mentally agree with facts without making those facts the centerpiece of our lives.

Can a person be saved without holding to the core beliefs of Christianity? No. But along with accepting as true those core beliefs must be a spiritual transformation. Jesus said that in order to inherit eternal life one must be “born again”. To be born again is a work of the Holy Spirit in the heart of a repentant sinner. Just as a mother in labor does all the work in bringing forth a new life, so the Holy Spirit does the work in transforming a sinner into a new creature. This process begins when God draws a heart through conviction of sin and hope of forgiveness. When we surrender to God and repent of our sin, God applies the blood of His own Son to our account and cancels the debt we owe Him. By this act of transference, God pronounces us “not guilty”; that is, He justifies us. Salvation is a divine exchange: Jesus becomes our sin so that we can become His perfection. This is the gospel at the very core of Christianity.

Lastly, Islam, inarguably the youngest of the world’s religions, can be traced back to 7th century Saudi Arabia. Islam is thus the youngest of the great world religions. Allaboutreligion.org tells us the prophet Muhammad (circa 570-632 A.D.) introduced Islam in 610 A.D. after experiencing what he claimed to be an angelic visitation. Muhammad dictated the Qur'an, the holy book of Islam, which Muslims believe to be the preexistent, perfect words of Allah.

The origin of Islam is generally accredited to the prophet Muhammad but to the devout Muslim, Islam began long before Muhammad ever walked the earth. The Qur'an was dictated by Muhammad but, according to the Qur'an, it did not originate with Muhammad. The Qur'an testifies of itself that it was given by God through the angel Gabriel to the prophet Muhammad. "This is a revelation from the Lord of the universe. The Honest Spirit (Gabriel) came down with it, to reveal it into your heart that you may be one of the warners, in a perfect Arabic tongue" (Sura 26:192-195). "Say, 'Anyone who opposes Gabriel should know that he has brought down this (the Qur'an) into your heart, in accordance with God's will, confirming previous scriptures, and providing guidance and good news for the believers'" (Sura 2:97).

The Origin of Islam: The "Previous Scriptures"

The origin of Islam is controversial. The "previous scriptures" mentioned above are the Hebrew Torah, the Psalms of David, and the Gospels of Jesus Christ. The Qur'an accepts these books as divinely inspired and even encourages us to test its claims by these "previous scriptures." "If you have any doubt regarding what is revealed to you from your Lord, then ask those who read the previous scripture" (Sura 10:94). But this is where we run into a problem. The problem is that the Qur'an thoroughly contradicts the Torah, the Psalms, and the Gospels. For example, the Qur'an explicitly denies Jesus Christ's crucifixion while all four Gospel accounts clearly portray Jesus Christ as crucified and resurrected.

One contradiction in particular has caused a great deal of conflict between Muslims and ethnic Jews and is thought to have been and continues to be the cause of much bloodshed in the Middle East. According to the Hebrew Torah, God made a covenant with a man named Abraham. God promised Abraham a child through whom He would fulfill this covenant ("the child of promise," Genesis 15). Abraham was at that time childless. His wife, Sarah, was barren. This of course made the promise very special to Abraham. But it would require nothing less than a miracle. Sarah, conscious of her condition, decided to help God out. She offered her maidservant Hagar to Abraham with the hope that Hagar might conceive and bear the child of promise. Abraham agreed to take Hagar as his concubine. She conceived and bore Ishmael. God allowed Ishmael to be born but Ishmael was not the child of promise God had in mind. God promised a child through Sarah, not Hagar, and in due time God fulfilled His promise. "And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken. For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him-whom Sarah bore to him-Isaac." Isaac was the child of promise. Isaac later begot Jacob, the father of the twelve tribes of Israel, and the Messiah, Jesus Christ, eventually came into the world through the nation of Israel, fulfilling the covenant which God had made with Abraham. God also promised to give the land of Canaan (Palestine) to Isaac's descendants, the land which Israel possesses today.

The problem is that the Qur'an teaches that Ishmael was the child of promise and so Muslims believe that God's covenant promises were meant for Ishmael's descendants, not Isaac's. Muhammad descended from Ishmael and so Muslims seek to lay claim to these covenant promises, namely the land of Palestine.

So, there you have the major and ancient religions. My question to you is this: what makes one religion any better, or worse, than any other? Why is one the ‘right’ one and all the others wrong? Are those ‘mythologies’ just that, mythology, or are they true religions as much as modern day religions that one day may be described as ancient mythology? It is up to the individual. The way a person believes is a personal thing. Some believe in God, some in Mohammad, some in the ancient Celtic, Norse, Greek or Roman gods, and some even believe in witchcraft. All I have done here is give some very basic information on several of the world’s religions, both modern and ancient. I hope you have gleaned some interesting facts from it.

Are We Still One Nation Conceived in Liberty? Meaning of the Gettysburg Address

Four score and seven years ago…. Well, maybe a little longer than that. It was on Nov 19, 1863 that Abraham Lincoln gave his famous speech, even though he said the world would not remember it, which is remembered and will be for a long time.

What is the point I am trying to make? Maybe, if you have read, or heard, the Gettysburg Address you would somehow come to the answer. Do you know what Abraham Lincoln said that day? Let’s remember that speech together. Here is the Bliss copy:

“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

What, exactly, is Lincoln saying here? Why was the Civil War even fought that the President of the United States of America should give such a speech? What happened because of the Lincoln Administration and his policies? First of all, you have to understand that, as far as I know, Abraham Lincoln was the first President to shred the Constitution. You see, the Civil War was not fought because of slavery. In fact, the North had just as many slaves as the South. No, the war was fought over States Rights. The right to secede in particular.

So, what does this speech actually mean? In it, Lincoln states that 87 years before, the Founding Fathers brought forth a new nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the ideal that everyone is created equal. That is part of the Constitution now. Everyone has the same rights, privileges and freedoms. Funny that it was said over 143 years ago and today there are those that are still arguing about it.

The Civil War tested our nation. It tested our resolve to stay one nation and not divide ourselves. He further states that those that died for that cause, the ability to stay one great nation, were heros and the living were not worthy to even dedicate the ground those men died upon. Going further he said that we, the living, had to finish the work those brave men started so that they did not die in vain. We are one nation, under God and that the government is of, by, and for the people and that it should not perish.

So, what is the point of this? Let’s see, today we have the liberals that are doing everything they can to destroy the Republican Party and the Trump Administration. They seem to believe that Donald J. Trump, the current President of the United States, is out to destroy our country. How? According to the Democratic Party, Mr. Trump is going to bankrupt the nation, pollute our air and water to the point of not being able to use it, do away with all social programs that the liberals have set up to support able-bodied people that refuse to work, do away with programs set up to kill unborn children because said children have no rights and are an inconvenience to the mother, undo all legislation pertaining to equal rights for minorities (even though those rights are guaranteed by the Constitution), increase racism and downgrade women.

It seems to me that the Democratic Party, the liberals (or progressives as they like to call themselves) are trying to further divide this country than it is since the advent of the Obama Administration in 2008. All that this nation has gone through in the last 240 years, all the progress we have made in civil rights, freedoms for all, lessening racism, increasing coexistence with other nations, losing thousands of young men to several wars, several of which were not our own, etc. has been set back 50 years in the last eight. What those men died for on that battlefield at Gettysburg were in vain if the liberals, progressives, could have their way.

We are a divided nation. This time it isn’t the northern states against the southern. It is one political party against the other. It is neighbors against neighbors, and it has escalated exponentially over the last year. Why just over the last year? The only reason that I have been able to comprehend is that the Democratic Party needed their candidate, Hillary Rodham Clinton, to win the election so that she could finish the job that Barack Hussein Obama started. Since she did not win and Donald J Trump did, they are not happy.

Trump has started to fulfil all his campaign promises, which is unique for a political candidate. Most will promise the stars but only deliver mud. Trump started fulfilling his promises the day he was inaugurated. The thing the liberals don’t like is that his biggest promise was to undo as much of what Obama had done as he legally could. This is, in my humble opinion, the biggest reason the liberals are dividing our country as much as they can with violent protests, cries of ‘Not my President,” and the most ludicrous of all: “Impeach Trump!” That last one was being screamed by the liberals everywhere in the country, including the Congress.

Yeah. Those soldiers that fought to keep our country together died in vain. The men that fought against the English in 1776 died in vain. Our servicemen and women who have fought in two world wars, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and now all over the Middle East have all fought and died in vain.

The Founding Fathers set up an experimental government, one that had never been tried before; a democratic republic where the people were the owners of government, not the other way around. It was a government that was of, by and for the people. Could this type of governing endure the test of time and survive throughout the centuries? They hoped so. The Continental Congress met in Philadelphia to debate what kind of Constitution should be written, what to put in it, what rights, freedoms, responsibilities should be guaranteed and set as the Law of the Land. It took months to get it down on parchment so that everyone would be happy, albeit with a lot of compromise. Some representatives wanted to keep the tyrannical rule they had just fought to overcome while others wanted too much free rein.

In the end, after much debate, those men had down by ‘iron pen’ the Law of the Land and the 13 colonies agreed to it, thus creating the greatest nation on Earth. Now, 240 years later, because of the differences between parties, this once great nation is divided again. Only this time there is no debates, no compromising. All we have is divisiveness, hatred, intolerance and a lack of moral code. Abraham Lincoln’s famous speech has become nothing more than a bunch of words that were spoken over 143 years ago and the liberals don’t think it applies anymore any more than they believe the Constitution is set in stone instead of a ‘living document meant to adhere to the political ideology of whatever time period it is.”

I, for one, believe that it is time to go back to our roots of a common goal. The common goals of one nation, under God, indivisible, dedicated to freedom and equality of every citizen that resides within our borders and call themselves American. The common goal of patriotism, pride in being American, respect for our flag and all it stands for, gratitude to the men and women who have fought for, and in more cases than should be, died for our freedoms. To once again be that nation that is conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. The common goal of a country that cannot be defeated by any enemy, foreign or domestic, respected and feared by all other nations. To be America.