The Measure of All Things

Socrates is one of the most common and celebrated names in philosophy circles, and his material is often covered in any philosophy 101 course.  What made his ideas so special?

The height of Socratic wisdom is something many may argue was not wisdom at all – devoid of philosophical value.  Despite all of Socrates’ reason and original thinking, his contention that the only certainty he could obtain is that he could not be certain of anything challenged the value of his philosophy.  How is this useful thinking?  Some may contest that the idea finds no application in our world today.  They may suggest that this apparent lack of knowledge is no wisdom at all.

The Greek roots of the word “philosophy” summarize it in its entirety.   The Greek translation is “love of wisdom.”  This leads us to explore the wisdom itself.  Wisdom might be summarized as the optimization of knowledge itself.  If Socrates was so wise, so aware, then why resort to such humility?

Life should be a very humbling journey.  Just as wisdom, it is not a destination.  Socrates dedicated his life to the vigorous pursuit of obtaining a deeper realization in relation to the world around him and his self.  He developed many ideas and synthesized bytes of information into industrious tunes of understanding.  Yet, he remained humble in his findings.  Certainty, or, truth, is the holy grail of the philosopher.  I would compare absolute certainty to knowing the mind and form of what we commonly refer to as “god.”

This humbling conclusion is the very reason people continue to seek answers, knowledge, and truth today.  Everything is not known, and this fact compromises everything that can be known.  Philosophers that arrived on the scene after Socrates demise have been expanding on Socratic wisdom by drawing up schematics for human understanding.  Immanuel Kant, pioneered metaphysics by attempting to define what he termed “noumenal” reality.   Though Kant’s hopes were misguided, they still caused him to drive out new and fascinating conceptual identities that continue to broaden the contemplation of the modern thinker.

“Noumena” defines phenomena in the sense that it is the root of perception as it exists, and is extended from, within the individual.  Kant went so far as to argue that noumena creates phenomena.  In this sense, the observer (or, subject) would be the measure of all things.  You may ask yourself at this point – if reality is purely subjective, would it be important to think about it?  I would argue, yes in all cases.  I  would also argue that Socrates and Kant make a powerful duo when they are both considered right.  Subjectively, we are the measure of all things, but wisdom lights the path upon realizing the limits of our measure.

Advanced Mind Bending

In modal logic, tools for understanding epistemology have been traditionally known as conceptual models for reality – or – conceptual reality models.  This is a form of sub-structural, or, modal, logic.

Here are three pieces to one puzzle –

1) Absolutism

2) Relativism

3) Realism

Absolutism states that truth is absolute and can be fully known.

Relativism states that the truth is relative.

Realism holds that the truth cannot be known.

Traditionally, these have always been seen as contradicting ideas – aside from dualism, which combines absolutism and relativism.  If you ask me – this is simply a classic example of man making a stone so heavy that he cannot lift it.  These models have always been pieces to the same puzzle.

The challenge is :

Can you figure out how they all fit together?

Thinking for Yourself in a Social World

Most people feel that they are ultimately in control of what they believe, why they choose to believe it, and that their beliefs are individually unique.  Unfortunately, research suggests otherwise.  Everyone is a conformist at some level.  The human being is a social animal, and adaptation has shown to play key roles in survival of the human species and all other species as well.

Another area many people feel comfortable with is in maintaining a generally liberal bias.  The average person will not easily admit that they are judgmental toward others.  Yet, this is a survival skill that all animals employ naturally.  An environment must be cataloged accordingly in order that a species may survive it.  When discussing evolution, it is commonly misunderstood that the theory postulates that the fittest are favored to live on – avoiding extinction.

Ninety-nine percent of all species that have ever existed have become extinct.  This places survivors roughly in the one percentile.  The big and bad have fallen among this ninety-nine percent.  It is better stated that adaptability sustains a living being.  During the time when large carnivorous predators scoured the earth’s surface for sustenance, every living being was targeted.   Evidently, it was not the strongest that survived.  Rather, the small mammals that were able to burrow underground eventually would lead to us – the homo-sapien.  These small animals adapted, thus, leaving a very important lesson about the processes of evolution behind.  As it turns out – sharp elongated teeth, powerful muscles, and sheer size does not guarantee passage through the shifting sands of time.

Adaptability requires a comprehensive understanding of the surrounding ecosystem(s) and the dynamics of cohabitation in that environment.  Humans expend little worry about wildlife today.  Instead, their focus is centered on survival within their own species.  Upon meeting a stranger, a multitude of judgments pass through our decision making processes in order to determine how (or if) the new subject is to fit our social hierarchy schematic.  Some of these evaluations are conscious, others are not.  This is known as the primacy effect.  No one actually gets a second chance to make a genuine first impression.  In contrast, incorporating the idea of susceptibility to change into how we think of others is a wise choice.  Otherwise, we can be easily deceived.

Modern civilization finds itself in a historical seat that has become the very fulcrum for the balance of survival – not only of its own species, but the rest of the inhabitants of the earth, as well.  It has monopolized adaptation to the point of selfish lethargy.  This is also known as apathy.  The dark irony lurking in these very human shadows is the idea that caring for each other and our environment may prove to be the height of our adaptation.

In light of this looming threat of social conformity, truly unique thought may seem impossible.  That is due to the fact that society is the product of a progression.  There are no completely independent thoughts – but there will always be room for progress.  And…it is progression that defines the future.  Think…interdependently – think progressively – this is the key to survival in such a strange and cumbersome world.

The Detriment of Ignorance

When I was 20 years of age I decided to join the military.  A more important note is “why?” – why did I join the military?  I was peeking around a local unemployment department one day – looking for work.  I had a fairly long list of job history under my belt at the time.  In other words – I had already been employed and quit more jobs than most people do in their entire lifespan.  Nothing fit.  Nothing fit, and I was heartbroken at the time.  I just quit my latest relationship as well.  Needless to say, I was discouraged.  I paced around the building gathering information and browsing websites.  I just wanted out.  Out of my situation and do something exciting.  I wanted to travel and see the world.  Or something…  Truthfully, I had no idea what I wanted.

Head down, I moped out of the front doors of the building.  I looked over to my right and there was a building hosting every type military recruiting office.  I always liked the Army – so, I went there.  I wanted to be something creative like an aircraft mechanic, I told the recruiter.  He scanned the pages of his job catalog.  He didn’t say much before an older, white whiskered, stout man snagged my attention.

“Let’s have a look at you” as he grabbed both of my shoulders in a firm grip.  His eyes moved over my upper body.

“Do you like to hike, repel, and work outdoors?”
My eyes widened.  “Yeah!”  I said excitedly.  “Well, son, you should sign up for 11 Bravo!”

I just wanted out of my skin.  There wasn’t much thought involved.  Sign me up – send me around the world.  I was simply young and wanted nothing more than a shiny new life.  Before this moment, I had worked in a restaurant, a trucking freight warehouse, data entry, department stores, temporary work, and I was even a car salesman.  I walked off jobs.  I even jumped a fence one time because I just didn‘t want to deal with my manager.   The last job I previously held involved working for a general construction contractor.  I had served as a pack horse for three months.  I didn’t want to be anyone’s slave, either.  I didn’t have the drive to work in modern day society anymore.  This explains why the Army looked like an agreeable option at the time.  Though, the work would offer something equivalent to a hired thug.  I had even been to college and dropped out by then.   I was twenty years old, and empty – but still searching.

Long story short – I found myself on a plane to Fort Benning, Georgia.  I had signed up for the job the old guy with a dad feel to him sold me.  I signed up for what he suggested as if he held my best interest in mind.  But, the recruiter told me…that I was going hiking?

I can laugh about it now.  I quickly found out that I signed up to be a killer, and guess what?  I have held violence in contempt my entire life, and I just took the most violent job they had to offer.  I was gullible…so gullible, when I was younger.  I believed in people and I still do.  I never read the fine print at that age.  I was green, naïve, and ripe for the hustle.  I was optimistic.  I had doubts concerning this new lifestyle, but I told myself I was going to do it.  I would be a killer if that’s what it took to find my place in this world.  The more cunning side of me was after the bonuses and G.I. bill, but I was just lost and throwing myself to the wolves.

I conditioned before I went in.  I ran often – sometimes for ten miles or so.  I lifted weights.  I honestly wanted to be an effective soldier.  I sold myself on it all.  The conditioning paid off and so, all the push-ups, flutter kicks, and other creative physical training didn’t phase me.  The defining moment of clarity came when I was in the middle of a two hour drill focused on bayonet attacks.  The drill consisted of hopping in a three point turn.  At every point, the platoon in unison, would perform three stabbing maneuvers.  Every time we used our rifle to stab we had to shout “Kill!”  Each first thrust exacted stabbing at the groin, the second at the torso, and the third at the neck.  “KILL, KILL, KILL” we shouted for two hours as we jabbed the air with bayonet armed combat rifles.  I made a mental note to carry extreme amounts of ammunition because this was preparation in the case my last clip ran dry in battle.  Images of stabbing enemy soldiers coursed through my mind.

I felt like a savage maniac.  That’s exactly what they were training me to be.  Later on, I was sent through courses and stabbing humanoid targets.   It wasn’t long before my personal bubble of illusion burst, and reality crept in.  My optimism felt like a cunning dark joke.  There were talks of “peace keeping missions” in the Middle East.  They were saying that most of us would go.  That shifted from a rumor to an ice cold reality when the drill sergeants gave their platoons the news.  Killing others became a reality I knew that I would soon confront at that point.

This all gave me a lot to think about.  Everything became clear when I stopped conforming and dared to think.  I had taken a year of psychology in high school.  It was my favorite class, along with art.  My eyes were open the entire time, and I had realized the mechanical being I was becoming.  Before, I had convinced myself that I belonged there.  As soon as I stopped tricking myself, the behavioral conditioning the Army used to coerce my conformity screamed at me from every corner I turned.  I had been there for eleven weeks up to that point.  I was two weeks from graduation.  Yet, I wanted out…and NOW!  I looked over my paperwork during my down time.  I scanned through the thick stack of legalities I had barely glanced at upon when I was unknowingly signing my life over.  Finally, I found a door.  The contract was not officially binding until I graduated basic training.  I decided to refuse to train in order to prevent my graduation.  I first told my drill sergeant.  He barked at me.  I didn’t move.  He sent me to the Captain of the battalion.  From there, I was sent from officer to officer.  One of them spit in my face and told me I was a disgrace to the U.S. flag.  The words sailed over me like some foreign object that I didn’t understand.  I took no offense.  Apparently, the flag was an idol symbolizing something he believed in.  I was reminded of pledging allegiance in grade school.  Flag praise seemed like lunacy to me, though I wasn’t very judgmental at the time.  I was a child and I figured flag worship was what the adults in my community did.  I had not learned to question authority – nor, conformity.

What is the point of this story?  I may have not been taken against my will to appease some cultural god, but my ignorance proved to be the shackles around my feet.  I had taken “Think For Yourself” 101 in a very rudimentary setting.  I wanted to rip the brochures out of every high school.  I wanted to talk with children like myself that were convinced the war machine of America deserved their devotion in the name of all that is right and good.  I wanted to devour a thousand times, the ignorance that had chained me.  I looked around, wagging my heavy finger, but there was no one to blame but myself.  I did not have the warrant to push my anger in such directionless aim, yet I was placed upon a sacrificial mantle nonetheless – another body adding to Army numbers.

Ultimately, our awareness is molded by our own choices about how and what we think.  I made a choice to not fall in line.  I made a choice to look within.  I did not see a murderer in myself.  It did take more courage to walk away.  That much was true.  I chose to be lost again instead of found by something other than myself and used like a tool.  This is an issue with generations of modern times.  War is an ongoing theme, and the flag may as well be the stone idol that the Aztecs appeased by pouring sacrificial blood on it.

I took time to study reactions of the other boys training to become sacrificial men. The authorities in this arena would explain war as a necessary evil without hesitation if a new recruit were to question it.  I watched some embrace the change, and I watched it break wills.  Lost children did everything from plunging off a high roof top to drinking laundry detergent in a means to find their way out.  The training techniques were concrete.  It was an orchestrated force conducted by instructors, who themselves, were weapons forged on the same anvil.  Like a river, it (the training and propaganda) coursed through the psyche of the young men around me and eroded their doubts – for, it was pure belief at work. Psychologist B.F. Skinner coined this project in mental technology, “behavioral conditioning.”

To put it bluntly – beliefs are dangerous.  A belief can be sold, and/or forced.  Lying in wait, these viral ideologies are coiled to strike.  It is belief that drives me to write these very words.  The core of it all is – what is a belief based on?  Quite simply, a belief is grounded in knowledge in one form or another.  The knowledge may be abstract or unquantifiable, yet it is the credibility perceived that makes an idea undeniable.  Whether it holds truth is irrelevant to its existence.

In finality, to answer the question concerning whether one can be certain of something – definitely.  Yet, this confirmation alone does not verify any truth beyond how the knowledge is perceived.  Thus, you see, knowledge and certainty maintain very human elements in regard to objective reality.

Beliefs Are Dangerous

A proficient philosopher (anyone who understands relative connotations in a story) understands that models, metaphors, and other forms of illustration are necessary for expressing certain concepts. Personally, I find it meaningful to extrapolate from history for both guidance and illustration while demonstrating real world application. History is my greatest teacher. From its clutch, I can uncover rich parables and lessons from those who‘ve treaded earthly crust before me. It’s simple enough to point to Nazi Germany or Mao’s China, but tribal civilization is the oldest well to draw from. The events leading to the social collapse of the Easter Islands is a decent starting point.

The Easter Islands were once abundant with tropical life. Plants, animals, trees… It was paradise according to modern ecologists, geologists, and historians. Today, the island is barren much like a desert, though restoration attempts are underway. Remains of carven stone will continue to serve as a lesson to the human species. The island was originally colonized around 1200 BCE. The new inhabitants were likely Polynesian – a superstitious culture. However, as with most cultures, their beliefs varied as time passed. Since 300 – 400 BCE settlers had come, all carrying with them different perspectives on reality, gods, natural forces, among other cultural themes. The dominant cultures believed that the dead supported the living with luck, health, and overall survival. With a bit of positive reinforcement in those areas – one could even strive for a happy and full life. Thus, this supernatural facilitation was valued highly. When things went well, praise was given. When hard times came, some cursed the gods and spirits.

The idea of a god allows for a venue of belief and/or knowledge that provides reason for what seems otherwise unpredictable and frightening. Some gods give purpose in the believer’s mind. Tribal peoples have traditionally placed great emphasis on finding a reason behind natural phenomena. Why? A deity can explain away raging seas, wind gusts, rain, sun, temperature, etc. In effect, forces that once evaded primitive comprehension were made tangible – and thus, available for control to some degree. Once in awhile a coincidence would coin someone a medicine man, or, “Shaman,” in tribal rank. For example, a ritual performed by the individual may coincide with a natural event. Such a phenomenon is enough to nudge along the idea that the practicioner is in touch with conjured unseen forces. Those believed to maintain a connection with the unknown were/are often sought for their counsel. Through Shamanic understanding, believers could glean off of the promise of obtaining metaphysical knowledge. Leaders sought/seek counsel from the Shaman, as well. At times, Shamans were/are even elected to lead. Throughout history, there are not many cultures that have closed Shamans out of their councils. The Shamanic seat of authority can be shown to greatly affect physical reality, and not through magic. Rather, the role of the Shaman is a political one. In this model – Easter Island Shamans suggested erecting monuments symbolizing the deified dead.

This cultural landscape launched the decline of resources available based on the belief that raising stone idols appeased these godly ancestors. The expense was high, and would prove to be the island’s demise. Carving the stone required hard labor. The statues were erected with log built structures. The logging eventually led to deforestation. People were enslaved to carry out the tasks. The second element involved in this extinction event was an increase in population. Depopulation later became justified by a new cultural movement called the Bird man Cult. The cult contended that the direct line to the dead was no longer sufficient through the monuments alone, but must be attained through physical combat. Emerging victors were thought to have won the favor of the gods. Reminance of petroglyphs laden with bird man features tell pieces of their story. The creator deity, “Makemake,” was thought to play a key role in combat proven leadership rituals.

Europeans would eventually arrive and erect a monument to their god of choice (also known as a church). Peruvian raids raked the region repeatedly shortly after to capture slaves to be either sold or sacrificed to gods in their culture. Many island inhabitants vanished. Due to a devastating lack of resources, cannibalism plagued the region as well. The statue production left the land torn and the tree roots that once bound the tall trees to the ecosystem no longer served their vital purpose. Soon, soil erosion devastated the remaining vegetation and the land could not support a significant population. After the environmental decline, under 50 people were reported to be remaining inhabitants. The island serves as a microcosm for the final conclusion within a much larger schema. This allegory is merely one tale in history where ignorance was placed higher than achieving crucial knowledge. This same plague eroded other ancient civilizations despite their demonstration of possessing a much deeper understanding of the workings of the universe and their respective ecosystems.

Ancient ruins of the Mayan people, some archaeologists estimate to be roughly 10,000 years old, echo both tales of civilized success and civilized destruction. Mayan peoples sought to appease their gods of belief as well, by holding rituals for many occaisions – some performed to harness the power of the sun. Despite the idea sounding like lunacy today, this was a reasonably logical aim. Modern civilizations today understand that the sun is a necessary resource. If modern technology could wield its power, it would be a valuable commodity – bought and sold on the stock market. Mayan natives of old were an industrious civilization focused on agriculture, technology, architecture, art, cosmology – among other crafts. For its time, Mesoamerica housed a highly advanced empire. The culture was among the first to develop a complete language. Through observation, they formed a highly accurate calendar that is the centerpiece for archaeological marvel today. With an intricate understanding of mathematics, they built temples that also capture modern scientific awe.

Mayan interest in cosmology seeded the culture with a rich scientific background. Day and night, the Mayan peoples watched the sky move in order to record natural events and effects. Their keen observations spawned a practical system for understanding the world in which they lived. Mayans consistently held pantheist views that bridged human existence with nature, animals, and the universe. Yet, they also maintained a diverse allegoric mythology. Gods were assigned to disease, lightning, thunder, rain…among other elements and animals. Often, “Maize” is seen as the primary cultural deity of the time – A female commonly personified through important resources such as Jade, Maize, or Cacau. Ritualistic practices, including human sacrifice, were incidentally packaged in their ideas concerning the workings of the universe as well. Ritual that reflects the depths of cruelty and inhumanity.

Human sacrifice was conducted by Mayan culture to sanctify events. Most religions host a deity, or system of deities that require sacrifice of some kind. This is a common theme found in superstitious thinking. Rituals can call for fasting, bowing, and/or some form of sacred practice that displays worship, humility, obedience, and/or an act of sanctity. Captured rulers and warriors were highly honored in this tradition. The sacrificed were thrown to the masses to be eaten. The not too distant Aztec culture held similar beliefs. According to record, the Aztecs sacrificed 20,000 people in a single ceremony once. The lifeless corpses were then eaten by the crowd below.

This all may sound a bit shocking and well beyond current trends concerning moral rationale. I assure you that this streak of humanity’s capacity for bloodshed is not buried in the distant past as you would prefer to believe. A particular practice prevails in current civilizations and is visible throughout human record. This plague spans the globe. I am addressing the practice of war. Simply because this act runs beneath a different title, does not exempt it from the discussion. In principle, war parallels the travesty of human sacrifice. The difference between war and religious sacrifice is the driving ideology behind them. Generals send soldiers to their deaths just as ancient rulers once forced heads upon mantles.

In conclusion, what ties this brief exploration of human history together is belief itself. The Polynesians exploited their local resources to the extent that the ecosystem became unsustainable. The Ancient Mayan and Aztec cultures cruelly captured human beings and sacrificed them. The entire world has practiced human sacrifice through war since men came into being. There are countless examples, ranging from the petty to the magnificent, that can show the motivation of belief behind such moral deviance. Aside from auto mechanical bodily function, everything humans do requires a quality of hope, belief, knowing or ideological motive.

Calling God

Jesus is often a theist preference when the older part of the bible is questioned. A model citizen of upright character worked as a humble carpenter. He taught peace, love, and moral values. He overcame the temptation of Satan. A feat even his father could not achieve.

Practically flawless, Jesus is revered worldwide today. Jesus, was, above all – an exemplary human being beckoned from the relics of human history. However, people are also taught that he is a god. He walked on water, made festive drink, and commanded the sky to rain fish. Oh, and his resurrection seals the claim. There were many witnesses – none of whom can testify today. Equally, the authors of the text cannot be questioned.

And, of course, the text commands that it is not to be questioned. Interesting reading. If you were to question any alteration of the text, the text will also inform you that this god commanded that it not be changed. How convenient.

Ironically, the god of the bible lifted weights far beyond his capability. He changed the properties of water, violated the laws of thermodynamics, and a Christian favorite – made something come from nothing. Actually, he made a lot come from nothing. Including himself.

This is the very logic that draws many people to belief in a god or gods. The idea that something cannot possibly come from nothing. However, this claim is purely of theist origin. There is not one scientific theory that proposes the something from nothing idea. However, this is common logic that Christians use to assert ‘nothing’ is core fiber of scientific theories. Coincidentally, this nothing is also the origin of Jesus’ second life, summoned fish, father, and the fracturing of his own universal structure. Yet, when theists are accused of hiring the same logic, we are told that our feeble intellects cannot grasp such miracles. The origin, mind, presence, morality, ways of God are held from tangible reach. It seems that this being has abandoned the universe. Yet, unbreakable scientific laws are broken to account for his existence. The god concept is the ultimate catch all.

Welcome to the conundrum where you must either choose to deny what can be known about the universe or deny what you cannot know about the universe. The latter option being the dismissal of a god. Or – a particular god, rather. Upon accepting the god concept, you are invited into a vortex to explain something incomprehensible with, well, the incomprehensible itself.

Conclusion – this option leads nowhere logical, yet appeals to logic. I honestly hear it every time I discuss my lack of belief in a personal god with a person that believes in him – despite its apparent and ominous contradiction. Since when did explaining something in terms that cannot be explained – or, defined, become a reasonable answer? In mathematics, variables are used for hypothetical circumstances. Until defined, they hold no value. God offers no answers. No value. The concept has always been intellectually bankrupt. It is simply an anthropomorphized placeholder for the faithful. A human like universe. A variable that is scientifically untenable. In contrast, scientific discovery does not contradict itself – making such a human invention like a god both dismissible and unnecessary. Scientific discovery is derived from observation – not feelings.

Perhaps, the intellectual Christian may suggest that their god is everything at work that is not yet understood, or defined rather, in scientific understanding to date. Coincidentally, this same unknown body of knowledge is the very pursuit of modern scientific thought. This undefined body of information is revered by atheists alike. Some scientists even call it “god.” Yet, no laws were broken, and consistency is prevalent.

It seems that the ever growing body of science is quickly consumed by the faithful as evidence for their squandering, yet only accepted because it is undeniable. As our knowledge grows, illuminating the dark places, gods are forced into the shadows – claimed as metaphysical, unseen, and unknowable. Just as if they had never existed at all. Yet, universal workings are beautiful whether they have a face or not. Philosopher, priest, atheist, and scientist alike, all gracefully bow in humility before the universe – for the light shines from the dark unknown.

Truth is an ongoing journey that the past has merely hinted of, our imaginations only glimpsed, and our sciences have gently touched.

In the words of Einstein:

“The most beautiful and most profound experience is the sensation of the mystical. It is the sower of all true science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead. To know that what is impenetrable to us really exists, manifesting itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty which our dull faculties can comprehend only in their primitive forms – this knowledge, this feeling is at the center of true religiousness.” (Albert Einstein,The Merging of Spirit and Science)

Hell and the Evolutionary Prerogative

Hell. We’re all familiar with the concept. There are many religions that claim its existence. Even the idea of reincarnation offers a dismal look at eternity if the cards one is dealt are not played right. Hell is the ultimate prison. Prison for eternity. I’ve never been to a prison, but can only imagine the detriment of a cage populated with humanity’s worst offenders. People, wicked as any demon, lie in wait for the fresh fish entering their population. I couldn’t fathom being held in an earthly prison – let alone – a metaphysical one for all of time. If I were to believe in hell, I’d probably stammer in my very foundation.

Luckily, the idea has never entered my mind as credible. Yet, I remain civil regardless. I’m a pacifist and see violence as a crude technique employed by the less evolved. I didn’t need hell to scare me into this line of thinking. But…I digress…

I may not stand among the average person when I state such convictions. On a world scale, violence is a reality that refuses to sleep throughout recorded history. It seems to be a reoccurring subject. What confuses me is that though I may not feel the judgment of God or gods – devil nor demon, I choose to live with a code of ethics that surpass those written of in holy books. I would never attend a public execution – or, stoning (depending on what age I find myself in). I want to help those in need. No traditional god or threat of eternal prison has defined this idealism for me. In contrast, a simple look at the natural suffering of life has lead me to this conclusion – ranging from the cuddly herbivore to the human slave.

I have made others helpless under my physical strength in self defense and only felt saddened. This is who I am. I have seen others do the same as well. I have likewise witnessed those who gain some kind of thrill by inflicting suffering upon others. Some of whom believe in hells and gods. I witnessed no difference in their behavior. Perhaps at time – but no lasting influence over their behavior. Yet, holding others in my view only cloud it. Clearly, all I speak for is my self.

I seek the same ends as those that contend morality is influenced by the fire of hellish threat do. I seek peace on Earth. Yet, tales of hell have never accomplished what I feel is a humanistic progression. In fact, the most violent times existed when hells were most widely believed in. Only objective morality has ever paved the way to righteousness. Only through arriving at the realization that our actions affect those around us in a manner that echo universal repercussion have we sought to change direction. This threat is immediate, relative to action, and thus, founded in objectivity. This is consequence in real time.

Hell is scary indeed, but alas, holy books fail us. A real threat walks among us, threatening something we need not imagine – Earth. If future generations do not act – they will be verifiably doomed. Hell is no longer needed. The real threat is written in non-fiction. Facts condemn us – not gods or devils. The pieces are set for all to see – and, any prevention is “holy.”

Rythem of the Masses

And the masses sway to the popular song.

It would not matter if the lyricist were wrong.

The authority clasped in the illusion of a vote.

Told you had a voice.

Told you had a choice.

Lies spun of slick truths that miss the identity

of what would be a real case in point.

The aim drawn to fool.

The slight hand ever so faint.

If only one sought to ponder human affairs to date.

An aware public crafts an ominous device where the truth cannot slight.

If everyone closely examined our history there would not be much questioning.

Patterns of human nature course the veins of our evolution.

All the wasted potential following each hope of a spell or applauded saint.

Frozen by worship casting you to the lost and hoping.

At Jesus’ robe you are groping, yet his work told in counsel.

Slow student, you damage our world.

So …the deft leader crafts gods you can hold.

Dumb by the sight, the class taught in vein.

And of the miracles explained away?

Since when did magic make more sense than logical evaluation?

Any good teacher spoke on how to live, not mindless wit to give.

The planets held by forces bound by their own definition –

not Atlas, Zeus, or described in the book of Galations.

God is a comfort – not something that bears explanatory power.

I understand you need to comprehend, however…

I seek and have sought far beyond simple religion.

And I’ve graduated this spiritual kindergarten.

Pushing, pulling….shouting “MINE!”

only hurts the treasure you will find.

Intelligence is the metaphorical tree that will drive you out of the caged garden.

An apple eaten expels the tale.

And it becomes yours to tell.

What a burden to shoulder…

I say – better than a blind man’s somber.