Looking Down on Ourselves

photo of desertI’m not sure if you’ve noticed this, but whenever you hear people talking about humans that lived in the past they usually have this condescending tone in their voice. Especially on television, from “scientific” research, and hyperbolic depictions in motion pictures.

It’s like when we talk about where we thought infants came from when we were little. “Haha, I used to think babies were made in tummies after a kiss! I was so dumb!” Example: the common belief about our solar system, before we had sufficient evidence otherwise, was that the sun orbited the earth. “Wow, humans really thought that? How naive of us! It’s a good thing we’re smarter now!”

Except we’re not.

Read more

Never Question Anything. Ever.

Photo of two women wearing blindfolds walkingY’know how people hate being questioned? Having their authority challenged? Nobody ever really wants to have to look at what they believe and ask themselves “why do I believe this? Is this right? Is this true?

Because that could lead to horror. That could lead to them finding out they are wrong, and then they would have to… change! GASP!

I’m trying really hard not to mention any of the major scientific debates and controversies going on right now. Firefights between two major schools of thought in the United States come to mind: atheistic science and creationism.

The former is obsessed with trying to snuff out the ideology they perceive as childish and imaginary that the latter believes, and the latter fights fire with fire because they feel threatened by what they see as oppression by and false information of the former.

Ironically, both usually get really defensive, even angry, when you question them.

Read more

Blog Update: The Blog Life (Revisited)

Photo of floor tiles colored to look like a decorative map compass*Author’s Note:*  this is admittedly a bit of lazy work today, but I’m posting this to show how far I’ve come and provide some clarity to where I am going. I wrote this tiny piece sometime around 2012 (roughly 4 years before this post). It’s cute that I thought 400 words was an acceptable length for a quality blog post: now I am bobbing around 1000, and even that is a bit on the low side. Read on and see how silly I was – and in four more years I’ll look back at this and see how silly I am. Still… onward!


Direction (Or Lack Thereof)

Before I had direction – that is, before technical school, before meeting the perfect woman, before Christ (all Christians have a BC era), before Dave Ramsey and Dan Miller and Craig Groeschel and Francis Chan and all the other public figures I chose to inspire myself by listening to – I had no idea where I was going.

Read more

So You’re a Preteen Now – Good Luck, Kid

Something that really sucks about growing up (for most of us) is that the second you start having difficulties and dealing with new social pressures happens to be the same second you start feeling extremely uncomfortable opening to up to anyone who would actually be able to help you.

Photo of preteens on ropes courseSorry parents, I’m not necessarily saying you didn’t do a good job or anything like that; it’s just a cruel curse of the world that we really don’t wanna talk to you about what we’re really dealing with because somewhere inside we just don’t want to hear an answer, whatever it may be.

Fact is, this is a part of your life that will define many of your insecurities, anxieties, traumas, and other horrible things you will carry with you for years to come. The redemption is that you will also find some passions, skills, interests, hobbies, and maybe even a couple of friends to take with you as you go.

Read more

Why are Christians so Stupid?

Photo of a dunce hat on a stool in a cornerYou’ve talked to them. You’ve heard about them. You’ve seen them on TV. Heck, you were raised by them! The nutty and nitwitted Bible-thumpers not only want to prevent everyone from having fun; they want to keep you from learning and exploring!

Why are Christians so stupid? Why are Christians so ignorant? What in the world made them this way? Why do they cling so tightly to their extremely conservative philosophies, ignoring and preventing societal progress?

Is there any way to get through to them? Will they listen? Why do they deny science and reason and statistics and just plain facts? Believe it or not, there are understandable reasons behind the madness of the super-religious. And especially Christians.

Read more

Identifying the Beast

I have this problem. It’ s a problem we all have, really. But everyone struggles with it to different extents and with varying alternations.

Hand-drawn picture of a werewolf under a full moonSometimes I feel like an animal. An animal who is bound by instinct and genetics and what have you to perform a certain habitual set of actions. And while on one hand I have the free will to change any of those predefined actions and do as I please, it seems I first must sever a thickly metallic commitment of my nature that is hell-bound to perform those default actions.

I am sorry if I have confused you already. Please understand that I cannot fully grasp this concept myself. I don’t think anyone really can. But I think that at the very least, being aware of the problem is one step toward being able to fight against it. To fight against the beast.

Now I have gone from using the word animal to using the word beast. At first I felt that animal was an appropriate word to use, but it seems too innocent. Visions of woodland creatures frolicking in a meadow might come to mind at the mention of a mild word such as “animal.”

Read more