Let's talk about...

Politics.  And God.  Politics, God, and society.  There's a loaded topic.  As I'm writing this, I'm sitting in my Modern and Contemporary Christian Thought class; a theology class, for all-intensive purposes.  We have gotten zero theological study out of this class, but instead my prof has decided to cater to the one guy in here who is literally obsessed with the "what came first"s, the "what did Jesus LOOK like"s, and the 'fact' that racism "doesn't exist" anymore.  It got me thinking.  When did America as a whole become like this?  I'm sure there are others who think this way (Koran burners, The WBC), and that could explain why we're so ass-backward as a nation.  Does it matter what came first between the chicken and the eggs?  We have chickens AND eggs, and we get nourishment from both, end of subject.  Does it matter who came up with the idea of 'pantheism', 'panantheism,' 'deism,' etc...?  Nope.  Not at all.  It matters that they're there.  People have different beliefs, people are different, period.
A couple weeks ago, there was a ridiculous ongoing commentary from said ridiculous guy about how "9/11 was an isolated incident, the world religions get along really well, and since 9/11, the world's been a much calmer, more peaceful, safer place."  Um, herro Kim Jong Il (yes, I'm referencing "Team America"), not so.  We've been at war, both within our own borders and without.  How can you miss that?!  How can someone be so oblivious to the suffering of people everywhere, all across the world, and make statements that are so ignorant they make my blood boil?  So I guess I'm wondering: am I insane for thinking HE'S insane?

Piggybacked to my weekly Thursday night shenanigans is the anger I feel at how racist America is.  It makes me angry that anyone can be blind to this, especially with the condemnation that President Obama has been undergoing in a very public manner for the past 2 1/2 years.  Where is the outcry against the injustice of the forced humiliation of THE MAN WE ELECTED INTO THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT AS A NATION by repeatedly asking for his birth certificate?!  This 'birther' movement, Donald Trump, conspiracy theorists are never going to be satisfied.  He releases the illegal-to-release long-form certificate of live birth and it's fake.  He releases the normal, government-issued birth certificate, has Republicans and Democrats verify it's authenticity and it's a conspiracy.  Nothing is ever good enough because of society's perceptions of what's right/wrong, acceptable/unacceptable, moral/unethical.  Listen.  We are ALL from somewhere else.  We ALL have ethnic names, whether we realize it or not.  'Johnson' dates way back to the UK's naming system, and literally means "John's son."  'Smith' alludes to some form of European tradesman: blacksmith, silversmith, locksmith, etc.  'White' is a surname that was given to black slaves to denote who they "belonged" to.  Connell is the short-form of O'Connell- obviously Irish, McKidd is Scottish, Diaz can be a plethora of Hispanic countries as is Castro (Cuban or Dominican, for example).  My point is, there is an ethnic history behind every single surname in this country, and it enrages me that we are such hypocrites as a nation. 

I got teased for my last name when it was "Salazar" because it sounded like "saladbar."  For a girl who developed faster than everyone else around me and was significantly taller than everyone, my "nickname" was Chewbecca- aka Chewy.  So then I became a wookie entree in my "full nickname" Chewbecca ate the Saladbar.  This is what we do to people with ethnic last names.  We ostracize them and make them outcasts.  It goes much less noticed when we're younger because it's school and children are mean.  But when we begin calling out our elected leader and picking on him because his last name is different, all the exceptions made for previous white men (*cough cough* John McCain and Mitt Romney) come bubbling to the surface as injustices.  It sickens me to the core.

I could catch a lot of flack for this next statement, but as for the religion of the President of the United States?  Or anyone else, for that matter?  I don't care.  I don't care what denomination of Christianity the President is, or even if he's Christian.  What I do care about is whether or not he believes that there is something bigger than us and that no one can carry a country on their shoulders alone.  I don't think God calls himself "God".  If we want to get into Scripture, he only says "I am" or "I am what I am."  What his earthly name is can change, and who's to say who's right or wrong?  God to Christians can be the same Allah of the Muslims who can be Buddha to Buddhists or Yahweh to the Jews or Brahma to Hindus.  In my mind, they are all the same.  I do, however, care about how I choose to raise my family, and I do care that I'm allowed the freedom to raise my family the way I see fit.  (Which happens to be a Christ-centered household, in case you're wondering! :) )  I may be Christian and have Christian beliefs, but I don't believe that's the only way to be.  To think that Christians are the absolute key-holders to all things divine, I think that's ignorant.  Like I said, I could catch flack for saying that, but that's okay.  We're all entitled to our own opinions, and those are mine.

To wrap it up:
Am I the one living under the rock with a warped worldview?  I don't get it.  At all.
Okay... my rant is over, and I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Until later....
B