Am I different than you? Just curious.
Read below the fold and let me know if I’m strange.
Here’s me, in no particular order:
•I don’t believe in the death penalty, but I also don’t believe it’s unconstitutional.
•I believe too many Americans are incarcerated.
•I don’t believe we do enough to rehabilitate those who are incarcerated.
•I believe that some people who are incarcerated are not capable of being rehabilitated, no matter how hard we try.
•I am a former atheist. Now I believe there is a God.
•I respect atheists. But I was a very smug atheist and I find that most atheists don’t hesitate to ridicule those who believe in God.
•I pray. By myself. Sometimes I wonder if I’m silly for doing so.
•I never pray "for myself".
•I have a real problem with people who pray in public.
•I wonder: Why do Christians think it’s odd when people of other religions pray in public, but don’t seem to think it’s odd to do it themselves?
•I don’t like it when athletes thank Jesus for their success on the field. Was he mad at them on the days they didn’t win?
•On CNN, I watched people praying to I-35 (I shit you not). Though I believe in their right to do this, I would like to slap the shit out of them.
•I believe strongly in the separation of church and state as a protection for both the churches and the state.
•I don’t go to Church. Though I was born into a Catholic family, I haven’t attended regularly since I was 14. I no longer consider myself Catholic.
•I believe organized religion is the source of most of the world’s problems.
•I do not like the idea of elective abortion but I absolutely believe it should be legal.
•Consider this: If you were in an accident and needed a blood transfusion at the scene, what if the paramedic refused to perform the procedure based on the grounds of religious objection? Would the public accept that? I find it ironic that so many people betray that logic when it comes to Pharmacists who refuse to dispense certain medications.
•I think the super-wealthy should pay more taxes. Yes, I realize they "earned" it. But they earned it because of the whole of the society in which they live. I do not consider my ideas to be "pure" socialism, but I’ll admit there is a bit of socialism in there.
•I wonder why the wealthiest people in the world need to keep all that money sitting in the bank.
•I’d like to see a "promotion" program at larger companies that pays for college and then ties wages to both performance and education level.
•I despise Wal-Mart. I only go there twice per year. That’s probably two times too many.
•I hate the smell of Wal-Mart.
•I laugh my ass off when I see people wearing their Bluetooth headsets in the aisle at Wal-Mart. Okay; I laugh at Bluetooth people just about everywhere. But it’s infinitely funnier at Wal-Mart for some reason.
•I think 70% of the TRs on this site are bogus. I would like to hire someone to review all the TRs and ban those use them incorrectly.
•I really really don’t like people who read only the first paragraph of a diary and then decide they have read enough to leave a comment.
•I am not afraid of dying. But I would like to keep living for awhile.
•For the most part, I am amazed by the world we live in. But far too often I am disgusted by the cruelty that seems to be such an inherent part of the human animal.
•I like college football more than pro football.
•I believe that if you schedule your social calendar around your baby’s nap time, you are pathetic. My wife’s grandmother raised 14 kids. They are all fairly intelligent, non-criminals with great families. She didn’t worry too much about naps. Your baby is a lot more resilient than you think and you’re doing nothing but ensuring he/she will be a needy adolescent and adult.
•I think Americans were spoiled by the 90s. I include myself in this assessment.
•I believe America still has a deep racial divide and there is much more racism (white towards black) than white people will ever admit.
•I believe that for something to be racist, the person’s intent must be racist. And this is a critical distinction. Sometimes ignorant people make patently ignorant or uneducated statements; but it’s not racist unless it is really intended to be racist, IMO. Some people are just stupid or don’t know better. To me, this is much different than knowing better and still being a vile, intentional, racist.
•Some people have questioned whether America is "ready" a black President. I am troubled when those people are accused of racism or race-baiting. It makes no sense – to make such a statement means that one acknowledges there is still racism in this country. And these same people are likely color-blind on the issue personally.
•I believe racism stems from an inherent human tendency of fear towards things that are different. I think it’s exacerbated by some of the very measures that are intended to counteract it. We try to say that "we are all people" and everyone is the "same". We’re not. People and cultures are different. That is a good thing. I love cultural diversity. This includes history, cuisine, etc. I’ve been to Germany. The culture was different than in the US; and I enjoyed that difference. Same for Italy; Same for Quebec; Same for the Czech Republic, etc. So why do we try to tell ourselves that everyone is the same? Why don’t we just accept and celebrate those differences? Life would be boring without those differences.
•I think it’s funny that in America we have this black-white idea of races. It’s even funnier that "white" people think this way. "White" people in America today are quite the blend of cultures. But I guess it’s easy for unintelligent people to practice black-white racism / prejudices.
•I despise the anti-drug campaigns that put marijuana in the same category as cocaine and heroin. I think it does more harm than good. Narcotics are many times more dangerous than cannabis. I do not smoke marijuana, btw. But I still feel this way.
•I imagine the resources we could put into real progress if drugs were legal and there was no drinking age. We waste a lot of time worrying about underage drinking and it wouldn’t be such a lure if it the drinking age were removed. I also understand if you disagree with me, but that’s still how I feel.
•I think it’s hilarious that most of the people who would fight for a government funded display of the Ten Commandments can’t name them all.
• I think it’s even more hilarious that so many devout people break multiple commandments every single week, some of them every single day (Graven images? The Sabbath?)
•I think, under the Constitution, that homosexuals have the right to the same laws as all people. I don’t even see how that’s questionable. So how has it been accepted in so many states that homosexuals cannot get married? "Marriage" falls under law as far as the state is concerned, which is separate from the "rite" of marriage, which has nothing to do with state law.
•If people enact laws against homosexual marriage because they find it "immoral", then why don’t the same people fight just as hard to outlaw divorce among heterosexuals?
•I don’t listen to music as much as I used to and I miss it.
Updated: To remove bad language. With all the F-bombs I see on ths site, I didn't expect the P word to get such a response. Live and learn.