DeeEl's Mo Chroí Scríofa

The Forbidden Topic

Okay, if you know me well enough, you know there are two topics I will not speak on unless asked specific questions; and then I will only answer those questions as long as I do not believe the other person is only seeking an argument.  I refuse to argue these two topics for anyone or any reason.  The mere mention of religion or politics in some arena causes people to jockey for position; some to prepare to argue and others to prepare to head for the hills.

I’d like to break my own taboo and speak here on religion.

Earlier I was reading a Brit friend’s blog and her post on this same subject.  Her words caused words to begin to swell up inside my head and gave me the courage to relay them here in a more definite manner to allow people to see where I am at.  I am not doing this to start a debate or provoke long-time friends to try to persuade me different.

When my best friend Sissy was still alive, she had no reserve about arguing her religious views.  I recall one occasion sitting in a Wendy’s down from my apartment with her and two gentlemen of a different denomination.  An argument ensued.  I firmly stated that I would leave if they did not cease.  The discussion abated briefly.  However, when it began again, I collected my things and prepared to depart.  The gentlemen stood, apologized and returned to their wives.  Sissy and I left.  This is related to remind you how firm I am on NOT debating or arguing religion.

I was raised in a so-called Christian household where one thing was preached and another was lived.  Alcoholism, abuse and adultery were rampant.  As a child does, I accepted what I was told and believed how I was told to believe.  I listened while members on both sides of my family orated their bigotry and hatred for those who were different (I will get into this in an upcoming post as it has more to do with my new mission in life).

As a child I knew there was something different about me.  I recall one Sunday while Grandmaw was preparing Sunday dinner, my uncle and I were playing a game of cards.  Grandmaw came in and said we were sinning by playing cards on the Sabbath.  I thought she was going to have kittens when I calmly said, “But, today isn’t the Sabbath, yesterday was”.  Her disapproving look advised never to broach the topic again.

At the age of 21, my mother, while in the process of disowning me, looked at me and told me I was a “damn Jew” just like my father.  This gave me pause.  I had never heard anything before about Jewish heritage in my family tree.  I have since found that connection.  The statement did give me reason to think.  While studying the Jewish people and learning of their plight, I always felt a connection.  I attempted as an adolescent to hone in on my German roots and forget those feelings.

A few years after my mother’s enlightenment, I learned about a Messianic (congregations of Jewish believers and Gentiles who embrace their Jewish religious roots) congregation in my area and began attending services.  Here, I flourished and began learning about this hidden limb buried in my family tree.  Growing in this setting I accepted what I was taught and began to relinquish the past teaching.  To say I completely gave up my past is inaccurate.  Nor did I pick and choose what I wanted to keep from each.

In my mid-twenties, I began to question.  I questioned everything I believed in.  Recalling there is a place in the scriptures that encourages this kind of questioning, I pushed forward.  I learned through my study that holidays, both Christian and Jewish, I had kept were not what I was trained to believe they were.  It was like a child finding out that there is no Easter bunny nor Santa Clause.  I continued to embrace my Jewish roots and remained with the Messianic congregation.  However, I kept true in my own ways.

Seeing false faith in both the Christan and Messianic worlds, I needed to find my own peace, my own way.  After I got sick and people from both of those worlds began to disappear, I really began to question things.  As I look back over the past few years (generalities, so not trying to diss anyone) it seems the ones who have offered the most sincere support to me are those from the Atheist, Buddhist and mix-n-match realms.

I have not kept anything within the Christianity world in many years.  I keep the Jewish parts in my own way.  It is more in the Buddhist meditations that I have found inner peace.  When things seem to be the most troubling for me, I finally pause and realize I have not been meditating.  There was once that, while in the midst of a Meniere’s bout of full-blown vertigo, I had a passing thought I hadn’t done my meditations.  I focused the best I could and tried to work on my Chakras.

It has been since Passover 2009 that I have attended any religious services.  While I still consider myself Messianic, I don’t really have any formal belief system other than knowing what I have studied and continue to learn.  I will no longer accept with “blind faith” what a mere mortal says.  I will also not look at man’s book of scriptures solely as a resource.  I will prove everything out from historical accounts and keep things the way I keep things and not the way someone else tells me to.  I will not “pray” to a god I cannot trust.   I will send good thoughts and energy to those who need it.  I respect that you believe your way and only ask for the same consideration in return.  I will not try to persuade you to believe differently, which is why I didn’t give details of what I learned when I searched for answers.  I expect the same from others.

Liar, Liar

Setting aside the old joke that you can tell a politician is lying because his lips are moving I find the need to address the newest news-maker, Anthony Weiner.

When the story first hit the wires and came into my living room I hardly gave it consideration.  Was he sexting?  Was his Twitter account hacked?  I didn’t know and didn’t care.

I am not a fan of sexting and yes, I do believe that if you are doing things like this with anyone other than your spouse or significant other than it is cheating.  Any time you take an intimacy that should be reserved for that special relationship and you give it to someone outside that relationship, it is cheating.  This is my opinion and does not reflect any other person or group’s opinions or beliefs.

Mr. Weiner was caught with his pants down, proverbially and literally it seems.  Was what he did in sexting with other women wrong?  Perhaps, but that should be between he and his wife.  For this I do not believe he should resign.

Resignation would seem to be in order however.  When the news first broke of lewd photos appearing on Mr. Weiner’s Twitter account his first report was that someone hacked his account.  After this it was brought forth that these were actual photos of the Congressman and he claimed that either someone Photoshopped his photo or obtained the actual photo from his computer and used it.  More lies?

When women began to emerge claiming that Mr. Weiner had in fact been sexting them, he came clean and admitted to the accusations.

On-line activity is still quite new and the laws haven’t quite caught up so I don’t know that he has broken any laws in what he has done.  Ethically and morally speaking he needs an attorney, so to speak.  This would not have been such a media sensation had he just fessed up and told the truth from the beginning.  At that point he would have just had to contend with his wife and the other women.  Now he has congress seeking his resignation.

If he were my representative in congress I would be calling for his resignation as well.  If he can’t own up to something and has to tell all these lies than I would not be able to trust him to make the best decisions where it counts.

Another old saying comes to mind here, “Liar, liar, pants on fire…”

The US Government

Okay people.  I have taken my pot-shots at the US government, the presidents, the law makers and policies.  However, I have never, let me repeat that, I have NEVER said anything derogatory toward the government as a whole.  I was just reading a post someone placed in a writer’s forum which they titled “Socialism”.  The person who started this thread is actually a spammer.  However, there are those who have agreed with what this person had to say.  I do not know if this person is male or female, but had to reread the piece a couple times.  The comments in the thread seemed to be all over.  There was talk of Communism, Socialism and equal opportunity for all.

I have not always been in agreement with the ones who have occupied the White House in DC, but I have respected them for being the President.  I vote and I vote in every election.  Since I was 18 years old and first registered to vote, the only elections I have not voted in were when I was ill and could not get to the polls or the time I moved and didn’t make it to register in time.  I can count on one hand the number of elections I have not voted in.  What gets me is the most noise and lam blasting comes form those who do not vote.  I don’t think anyone should have the right to voice their opinions if they are not willing to get out there and vote.   Another thing about me when I voice my opinion, is that I do my research first.

I don’t just come in here and start spouting off (except this time) unless I have first researched what I am about to say in order to get my facts straight.  When I wrote my initial posts regarding the health care reform bill, I read all that I could find in print of what Mr. Obama said about it.  Then before I wrote my next post, I actually took the time to read the bill (most of the politicians voting on it never read it.  They just read the Cliff-notes).  I am still re-reading the bill in order to write my follow-up post since the bill was signed in.

Right now there is a lot of protesting going on in Arizona claiming that the Governor signed a law legalizing racial profiling.  Of course she didn’t do this, but some  feel this law which is getting tougher on illegal immigrants will cause undo racial profiling.  I have had a fascination with history since I was old enough to hear about it and retain what I was hearing.  There has been racial profiling since before there was a United States and a US government.  There has been profiling against Native Americans, Black Americans, Asian Americans, German Americans, Jewish Americans, Arab Americans, Mexican Americans and the list goes on.  Racial profiling is a fact of life all over the world.

Back to the reason for this post.  One thing that caught my eye was the last line of this spammers post and how they post on internet forums regarding how “SOCIALISM in medicine is BAD because the government can’t do anything right.”  This is the line which struck a nerve with me.  While no government is perfect, you can’t say that the government can’t do anything right.  If any government failed at doing anything right, then the country would cease to exist.  I may dislike many things about the United States government, but it does have many good qualities.  We have come so very far in many respects from our humble beginnings.  However, I also believe that there are some areas where we have not improved at all and in fact have digressed and even regressed.  If you are so very unhappy you have many options.  You can move to another country for starters.  Or you can shut your mouth and run for office to make changes in the laws.  At the very least you can shut your mouth and get off your bum to vote.