Promised Land

This promised land
Doesn’t hold much promise to me
When bloodshed and tears
Seem to see no end in sight.

Of course my people want to be free,
But things aren’t the same now,
Do we really need to be so defensive?
I just want to go somewhere else.

The bible teaches us
Over and over again
That no one person is better than another
Then why are all these people,
Who are living on our land
Hated because they aren’t one of us?
We are all one people, after all.

I love to be part of this community
That stretches across the globe
But really, we don’t need to shut others out
Apartheid was never the way to go
To say ‘I belong here, and you do not’
Removes any possibility of equality
And turns us into a racist state
That is conceited entirely.

How can you even begin to think you care about this world,
About others,
When your very ideology
Is so rooted in hatred and racism
And differentiating between who is worthy.
The Muslims, Jews, Christians
We aren’t that different
Maybe you’d like to believe we are
But none of our religions,
Or any at all,
Would ever ask for something like this
No God would ever want this.

I was taught to hate you,
It is in my blood
But I think I never did
To me, you are just another soul
You could even be my friend.

Right vs. Good, Wrong vs. Evil

Soar, soar, I want to soar,
I bite at my cage,
Tug at my leash,
Wildly pace back and forth.
Clearly agitated,
I need to get out
Need to roam wild and free.

No need to lock me up,
I’ll cause no harm
Just let me be what I am meant to be.
Not everything in this world
Needs to be controlled
All we need is a little trust
No sirens or fear,
I know what I’ve done,
No need to tell me it was wrong.
I know it wasn’t, and that is the truth
But since no one will believe me,
I guess I’ll have to pay up
There are other options,
But are they worth the struggle?

You try to convince me that you know what is right,
But the way I see it,
Is there is no right or wrong,
Sure, there are morals, they don’t mean a thing
And ethics, they’re important no doubt,
But we don’t seem to see eye to eye,
So I’ll give you the benefit,
But continue my suspicion.

Anything that is good vs. evil
Usually leaves something out
Bad vs good, is usually a lie
I never got to hear your story,
How you got this way,
Can’t we just listen to what he has to say?

You don’t need to be protecting
Anyone from me
I won’t hurt them,
You’ve already done enough harm.
You’re trying to protect
Your traditional ways
This idea is so stuck in your head
But these morals you speak of,
Aren’t about ethics.
They’re shallow and dull,
A mere manifestation of your own anger
Allowing itself to lash out at others
I don’t know who you’re protecting yourself from,
But you sure as hell don’t have to protect me.

Don’t use my religion,
Don’t slander this name
You are just putting
Your own people to shame.

If it makes someone suffer,
It’s not worth a thing
If you say he is more worthy than they
You’re just swallowing your own regurgitated words
Biting your tongue again and again,
Don’t you know where to end?
When will this ever end?
This isn’t His word
Don’t damage it and slander it so
You’ve taken something holy
And hacked away at it with a dull rusty knife
It’s lost its shape and form
And those that are true to the roots
Don’t recognize it anymore.

I’m a fundamentalist
You wouldn’t recognize me if you tried
I just think all the other fundamentalists have got it wrong,
They’ve lost the way
I suppose I’m hacking away at it as much as they,
They might not recognize what I’m holding here.

I suppose all of us, each and every one
Are just different knives,
Some of us rusty, some of us sharp,
Some blunt and unassuming,
Others serrated and unforgiving,
All carving our own way through this
Some of us recklessly hack away
Others carefully saw
None of us are right
But I think some of us are wrong.

Either way, stop worrying and enjoy life

Some people have been distressed over ads on the TTC that proclaim "There probably is no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy life." I believe that all religions should be able to exist free of discrimination, but don't have a problem with this ad and don't find it particularly offensive.

Anyone that has more than an ounce of faith isn't going to abandon God because of these ads, and the message isn't really making an attack on people of faith or their beliefs, its more so (in my interpretation) addressing people who are unsure of whether there is a God and are worried / fearful about the prospect. The TTC accepted the ad because they allow religious advertising, showing that they are willing to accept some minor backlash in order to do what they felt was right in a secular society. Atheism should be accepted and tolerated just as religion in its many forms should. I find that in efforts amongst faith groups to embrace the religious beliefs of others, Atheists are often left out. Also, many atheists are openly against ALL religion, and may do so in the name of human rights, citing the many problems that religion causes in the world. But those problems are really caused by specific interpretations of religious teachings. Religion can be an important part of culture, and in being intolerant of a person's religious beliefs, you are subjecting them to discrimination. In large doses often this leads to the oppression of specific faith groups.

The United Church of Canada (which is the denomination that I grew up in and still associate with) has launched the counter ad pictured above. The ad was intended to include both atheists and people of monotheistic faiths, and create discussion amongst both groups, but I find that it also provides a link between the two different views and shows that our ideas aren't all that different. Some people don't sweat the small things because they don't believe in God, and aren't worried that a higher power with punish their actions. Others don't sweat the small things because they do believe in God, and know that God will take care of them and keep them safe, so they aren't as worried about the details of day to day life. Some people who don't believe in God worry a lot, and feel that they are responsible for every little detail of their life, and feel panicked when things go wrong. Some people who do believe in God worry a lot as well, and feel that they need to do everything right in order to please God and fear punishment if they do not meet certain ideals.

So if people of faith and people of no faith are both feeling the same emotions, tensions, and levels of anxiety, then maybe it isn't really religion or lack thereof that is causing these things. Maybe it is a state of mind / personality type that people have, and they interpret their beliefs into it.

Speaking personally, I generally don't worry about things and trust God to take care of me. I believe in fate and have found that when things seem like they couldn't be worse, a sudden turn will change my perspective on what is happening and as things resolve and work out, I understand the reasons why things happened the way they did, and often it was for the better.

I like the dual advertisement, because it brings forth the message that whether or not you believe in God, you should stop worrying and enjoy your life. There are reasons to do so under both attitudes towards religion, and its a positive message for anyone who needs a reason to relax.

The Pope's stance on AIDS

The Pope says condoms not answer to fighting AIDS

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090317.wpope0317/BNStory/International/home

I am quite disturbed by this statement, not because of any personal views but because of the severe consequences this can have on the battle against AIDS. Progress can be seriously hindered and the situation could get potentially worse, all because of one religion’s biased interpretation of ethics. The statement that condoms “increase the problem” is downright false, and we already have far too much false sexual health information circulating around areas that are heavily infected with AIDS. Yes, maybe condoms are not THE solution, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t PART OF the solution, and we need as many mechanisms at work as possible to combat a disease as widespread as this.

I personally think the pope is a good person with good intentions, and of course he would not want to make a public statement that supports the use of something which the Catholic church has a general consensus against, but he must take into consideration the impact of his statements, and how powerful his voice is to those who take him seriously.

Abstinence only sex education clearly does not work, and I don’t know why the Catholic church can’t just get over itself and accept this. It is irresponsible to prepare youth with insufficient knowledge when you know that they may not accept and follow your teachings. To blindly teach the same ineffective curriculum year after year not only doesn’t make sense, but it shows that you clearly do not have the ability to evolve and keep up with current social situations, which means you are incompetent to be teaching youth.

It is positive that the Catholic Church is helping with the AIDS situation in Africa (although I am generally suspicious of all religious-based aid or development), but to really help, they must keep up with modern health standards rather than trying to impose their own moral standards on communities of people. Anyone can just go to Africa and tell people that if they don’t want to get aids they shouldn’t have sex, but that is a judgemental and unreasonable request that people aren’t likely going to follow through with. It doesn’t give people the knowledge or tools to make their own informed choices; it presents them with only one decision which has already been made for them, and if they don’t follow this decision, they don’t have the knowledge to protect themselves in other ways. I encourage abstinence to be taught alongside other alternatives, and can even be emphasized, but it should never be taught alone, as that does not fully educate the person and leaves them vulnerable and lacking in information.

This type of biased help is similar to conditional aid, in which a country or institution will lend money to another country in need, but in order to get the money they must follow a set of conditions, which often means making changes to their economic structures and government. This gives the lender power over them, and means that in order to get much needed money, they must give up some of their own independence and follow the rules of someone that doesn’t necessarily know what is best for them.

The pope is basically saying “I’ll help you, but we’re going to do it my way”, rather than looking at what would actually be best for the people of sub-Saharan Africa and have the most effective results to prevent AIDS.

I’m hopeful that the nurses, doctors and volunteers that are actually working directly with people will use their own common sense and make a far less selfish decision when directing help towards people.