Religiosity

I just watched Elizabeth Edwards' interview with Oprah. What was the one thing I was thinking about during the entire interview? Please try to be honest with yourself. Most of the things Elizabeth said were how she felt, but didn't reflect reality. To say, "she's not a part of my or my family's life" is a bit naive. I have half-brothers and sisters somewhere and I don't deny them. Yet, I sympathize with her. I know where she's coming from.

What makes this thing inside humans stir? To be unfaithful, is it mostly reactionary to stress and wanting an escape, or is it just lust? Before, I would have categorized it as just lust, but I'm not in the shoes of a very powerful and constantly stressful man. I'm reluctant what I write on this blog and there are things I do not share. That's appropriate. Still, I want to divulge on religion today.

Why is it that view my world around race? Simple. The elected doesn't properly represent the elector. The UN states that in a legitamate democracy, the racial makeup of the electorate must match that of the elected. The opening of the Supreme Court has some people (liberal and conservative) uptight about the appointment. It will probably be a women: but a women of color, or better yet, a women of color and a lesbian? Will that satisfy the demographics of Hispanics, blacks, native americans, and asian americans who claim half the the U.S. population by 2025? We're not there yet.

On the flipside, would I want an academically challenged person, who happens to be a person of color to be representing me? (Maybe if their heart's bigger than their mouth) No, I wouldn't.

So I'm all for affirmative action until qualified people of color being to rise up in government, but when an estimated ten percent (Kinsey scale) of our population is gay, fifty percent are women, and almost 40 percent are racial minorities, yet only two of 8 are either of those, democracy needs a bigger voice.

Sorry, off topic...again. Religion. My definition of religion is a set of beliefs that sets a foundation for a person's life and allows them to find common ground with another group of individuals. So religion can be good if used for human advancement, but faith is even better. When religion collaborates with our values, we get mixed results. We get politics. When faith mixes with values, you get human advancement. Faith is the belief in things yet hoped for, according to the Bible. This saying is timeless. Religion stymies the possibility of hope. Specifically, fundamentalism stops dialogue. I like fundamentalism in the sense that it doesn't skew things: beliefs, virtues, a value system. But it must not stymie others', and religion, as history has shown, tends to do just that. I can talk about this for hours so lets move on.

I leave to NY and DC Monday night on a red eye. I meet Osley, Adam, Dean Gallucci, Carlata and IDF for a week of mayhem. Potlatch, Congressmen, Pentagon, Georgetown, NY (which I haven't been to since being born there) is a lot to digest, but I better get used to it. Today is beautiful, tomorrow will be even better!