Our nation's birthday is once again upon us. It seems like it was only a year ago when were celebrating our independence from tyrannical dictatorships and oppressive religious ideals by blowing up cardboard tubes and eating barbequed pig. Some of us will decide to write articles about how much God loves America, while others will to make videos on how we are truly a blessed nation. How many articles, pictures, and videos can you find right now here on Gather that contain that phrase?
Let's ignore the fact that on the 14th of last month, 1954, the words "Under God" were added to our pledge, and that the phrase "In God We Trust" was engraved on our money a little over ten years later. The founders of this country didn't do it -- it was a response to the Communist threat, and I get that. But all this fervor over "God Bless America" always flairs up around this time of year. We see it everywhere: on TV, in the supermarket, on billboards. We hear it on the radio and at sports events. But the question that crops up in my mind every time is, "Does that mean God damn everybody else?"
Let's look at it both ways. If it is supposed to be a plea for a God to bless us and curse anyone else not American, then that's egotistical, selfish, and probably evil. However, if it simply means -- as those who are confronted with the first choice will often backtrack to -- that we hope God blesses everyone but we just like to say it, then it's being overtly religious. Specifically a certain kind of religion, for that matter. What about Thor Bless America? I suppose we should also just ignore the 30,000,000+ Americans who don't hold to such beliefs?
When two opposing football teams pray before the game that God will bless them, what are they asking for? My guess is for a successfully swift victory with no injuries or complications. That inherently means that they are asking that the rival team lose. You can't have it both ways. Otherwise you're just asking a meaningless thing -- for God to bless both teams equally. So when one team wins (as teams tend to do), they thank God for the victory ('cause obviously their skill alone couldn't have allowed them to win -- that'd be ridiculous!). But when they lose, do they credit God? Never. At least not in public. [I thought one of the funniest parts in The Onion Move was the skit where the basketball player blamed God for losing.]
So is that what it all comes down to: God bless America, and therefore to hell with everyone else? Should we tighten up our borders and focus our products to Made-In-USA only? I hope not. I look forward to a day when such things as race, citizenship, or nationality are a distant memory. Sure, you might call me a dreamer, but I'm not the only one.
Please don't get me wrong; I'm glad to celebrate Independence Day, and I'm appreciative of what it means and celebrate it proudly. The fact that we had to fight to have the freedoms we enjoy is a moving thought. But I don't kid myself into thinking it was the final step for humanity, or that we are the greatest conceivable country ever. Hardly. And I don't see a need to plaster the phrase "God Bless America" all over a land that God didn't build.
-STA
(PS: sorry for the disheveled and rambling nature of this post. I usually try to structure my articles better, and for this I'm sorry. Blame the gallons of American beer, multitude of spicy chicken wings, and copious amounts of sun I've had. But all the same, Happy Birthday America!)
rate
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 47
I love America... I'm proud of how far we have come, I'm proud of all those who fought and died to preserve America. I am NOT proud of some of the means by which America has advanced - slavery, the slaughter of Native Americans, how we have mis-treated some other people and cultures and some of the things that are going on now. However, overall America has improved many things in the world for many people and I am proud of that too.
No religion might be nice for some... but having religeon is just as nice for others. But don't confuse human nature with God's will. People are selfish, greedy. deceitful... with or without God. You focus on the negatives of religion, somehow blaming religion for all the ills of the world I think. Imagine no religion if you want to, and as you do imagine how totally heartless, greedy and out of control human nature would be. Organized religion has done some bad things, but I think the worst things have come from people who have no religion at all. If you think that the whole world would just be this wonderful, love-filled place without religion... well, I just think it's a nice fantasy, but not realistic at all.
As a Christian I don't force my beliefs on anyone, would never enslave anyone and would never kill, hurt or deprive anyone of anything. I WILL defend myself - that "turn the other cheek" stuff only goes so far. Jesus said that we should love one another. Imagine if everyone did. Because people who claim to be Christians do everything opposite from what Jesus said does not make Jesus and His teachings wrong. Human nature tends to be what makes us wrong. Jesus tries to teach us to correct that tendency.
Yep - God Bless America...
Gene... would you mind giving an example or two of this statement? As far as I've been able to ascertain, there has never been a war started by atheists, nor has any leader of a nation been a self-proclaimed non-believer. What "worst things" are you referring to?
PS: sorry for the disheveled and rambling nature of this post But it wasn't disheveled and rambling, Tristan. It was very clear.
This is very convenient for you Gene. You can claim the "good" deeds for "real Christians" and dismiss the bad acts of "Christians" by denying their sincerity. You have just dismissed as disingenuous...every single person who claims to be a Christian...who has not completely upheld the teachings of Jesus or of the instructions of god.
You mean greedy like Rev. Creflo Dollar?
"It amazes me how so many people push God aside when things are going good, but as soon as something goes wrong it's 'Oh my God...'"
Are you serious? A simple use of a colloquial phrase isn't any admission of belief in anything. I can sing "Santa is coming to town" without believing in a physical, actual, real-life Santa Claus. Are you fucking kidding me? Jesus Christ!
"...overall America has improved many things in the world for many people and I am proud of that too."
Me too. Go us.
"No religion might be nice for some... but having religeon [sic] is just as nice for others."
Sure, I realize that it might be important for others to believe that everything's going according to plan, and that they'll see grandma when they die.
"But don't confuse human nature with God's will."
Oh boy. Here we go...
"People are selfish, greedy. deceitful... with or without God. You focus on the negatives of religion, somehow blaming religion for all the ills of the world I think."
You think? At what point did I ever claim that all the ills of the world are the direct cause of religion?
"Imagine no religion if you want to, and as you do imagine how totally heartless, greedy and out of control human nature would be." and later... "Human nature tends to be what makes us wrong."
Right. This stems from your idea that humans are innately "evil" and bad, and we're in desperate need of salvation, right? A mind like yours can't understand that it doesn't take religion OR A BELIEF IN A GOD to do good things for people. Science has even shown that doing something good and being cooperative with others feels good - our brains release chemicals similarly to the sexual response, thinking positive thoughts, etc. Believe it or not, some people actually do good JUST BECAUSE.
"Organized religion has done some bad things, but I think the worst things have come from people who have no religion at all."
Dame Ruth handled this best. When pressed by her to name the "worst things", you pointed to Hitler, a Roman Catholic by his own admission. I'm a huge fan of Christopher Hitchen's challenge to name an ethical statement made or an action performed by a believer that could not have been made or performed by a non-believer. And I put this challenge to you, Gene. I'm sure you can't, but that you would have no trouble at all naming an evil action directly attributable to religion.
"If you think that the whole world would just be this wonderful, love-filled place without religion... well, I just think it's a nice fantasy, but not realistic at all."
I can see now that your remarks aren't necessarily toward this article, but my atheism. I urge you to read, Gene. Read and learn. Stop listening to what your pastors tell you from the pulpit, stop listening only to the right-wing political pundits, and start understanding the ideas you find so distasteful. I'm not saying you have to love us, but at least understand what it is you're arguing against.
"As a Christian I don't force my beliefs on anyone, would never enslave anyone and would never kill, hurt or deprive anyone of anything."
I highly doubt that has anything to do with your Christianity (as countless others have enslaved, killed, hurt and deprived others because of their Christianity), but all the same -- that's great. I wish all Christians could say that, Gene. I'd be willing to bet that if you found out for certain that there was no God, Jesus, Moses, or any deity whatsoever, you wouldn't just run out and kill and rape and pillage, would you?
So why exactly, "God Bless America"? What does that even mean to you?
I often get criticized for painting all believers with the same brush, though I try to catch myself. I'm interested in what people believe, but I'm more interested in why they believe what they believe, and why they think they're justified. Having said this, I could just assume that Charles subscribes to the idea that his god has a "divine plan", and that we're all following it whether we know it or not. I'll of course let him answer on his own, but this particular idea would place "God Bless America" in the category of prayer, at which point we'd have to figure out just exactly what Charles thinks about God. So if you're interested, Chuck, mind telling me about your God (and prayer)?
Tristan, I'm thinking that might not be a persuasive argument considering the war on sex
Japan has a lower crime rate mainly because they have a real culture. In America we seem to only have a culture of "Gimme-gimme... I deserve it... I'm entitled... I can do whatever I want..." and we have big money advertisers telling us we can have whatever we want. There WAS a time in America when there was very little crime. Japan has kept its' traditional culture - Americas' has developed into a culture of selfishness - me first. Neither has much to do with religion.
Christians (and others) do bad things all the time. I don't ignore that or dismiss it. But since faith in God is really a personal issue how can I speak for what other people do? All religious people are not good and all good people are not religious. I understand that, and I only want you to as well. I don't want a world that is controlled by any religious group - not even Christian. Human nature is what it is. For me, I have allowed Chritsianity to become a factor in my life that helps me understand human nature - especially my own - and focus it on doing good rather than being totally selfish. For me it works. It might not for you. I am 55 and used to be a REAL asshole. For the first 45 years of my life I did what I wanted, when I wanted and didn't care who it hurt. I had rights. I was entitled. I was selfish, greedy, a liar, thief, dope-fiend, drunk, thug and many other negatives. I was very anti-religion too, and loved to dog religious people. The Jehovas' Witnesses only came to my house ONE time, and they NEVER came back. My point is that finding and truly UNDERSTANDING Christ changed my life. I am happier than I have ever been, I am tolerant of others (I wasn't before) and feel no need to force what I believe on you. I can read perfectly well so I don't rely on preachers to "interpret" the Bible for me.
The only way for any of us to know whether or not there is or is not a God, Moses or Jesus is to die. You could never prove to me with words that there is no God. But what if something happened to prove that there is a God? How would that effect you and what would you do?
Those of us without religion know this. We see and live it every day. What confuses their hell out of me is that those who claim to have religion also claim superiority in the morals and goodness categories but never address pesky realities like -- WHO really aborted those 50 million potential pregnancies? WHO fills our prisons? WHO starts our wars?
But what if something happened to prove that there is a God? How would that effect you and what would you do?
Nothing in my life would change. Not a thing. I have always lived a good life, I live a good life now, and I would continue to live the same good life. Back at you - would you revert to being a REAL asshole? Did you lose your assholery for Christ, or for yourself?
A little fun for you Tristan
On one hand you say that people use religion for selfish purpose...and then you ask us to imagine a world without religion...inferring that the world is a better place because of the influence of religion. Are you simply willing to play the numbers game? Are you willing to state that the good of religion over rides the bad?
Religion is a dependency. Now that you have revealed some of your personal history..it is simple to draw the conclusion that you have substituted one dependency for another. You are using your new dependency to allow you to enrichen your life and be "a better person". Good for you. You need a reason to be a non-asshole...many of us don't.
I suspect you met Jesus in a twelve step program. Am I wrong?
(confectionalized) Heaven forbid the idea that "Human Nature", by default, is (confectionalized) God's own damn FAULT. -i wrote an Article a while ago dealing with this exact inconsistency...and how perverse/contradictory it is to believe that such a deity is even your friend.
let aLONE a loving entity.
i heard that there's some "God gene" (if one forgives the pun), which may or may not be related to a "hero recognition" gene--which is to say, Some Are Built To Believe. it's a trip in their head--when enough coincidences tumble into place, attribute all things Good to something(-one) else.
we must forgive the weak.
it's only...godly.
to do so.
Religion for me is not a dependency. Many assume that it is. It's a matter of choice. Is non-religion a dependency? Probably not. Religion is not a reason to not be an asshole. There are many religious as well as non-religious assholes in the world. I chose to change my life for me - through Christ, not for Him. But I do promote Him as the One who can give you understanding.
Let me go back and add just ONE word to a statement that you are fixated on and maybe my position will be clarified. The word I should have used is "some". Like, "some" people have used religion for selfish gain. Not ALL. Sorry about that. Also, "Imagine no religion if you want to, and as you do imagine how [much more] totally heartless, greedy and out of control human nature would be." Clearer now? I did not mean to imply that religion is the glue that holds the goodness in the world in place. It's not, but I think it helps. What I infer from many athiests is that religion is the cause of all that is bad in the world. Like somehow the world would be peaceful and wonderful if there were no religion at all. I don't think it would be. No more so than it is now. We have already established that ALL religious people are not good. But what of those who are good? Do they not share in the credit for some of the good things that are in this world? There are good athiests, no doubt. Religion is a choice, just as lack of religious interest is.
I am not willing to say that the good of religion overrides the bad. The "bad" is not actually the religion. People can claim any affiliations they want, but a very true statement from the Bible wraps it all up very nicely: "You can tell the type of tree by the fruit it bears." Pretty simple. These people who claim to be Christians but are secretly molesting little boys are NOT practicing Christianity. These Muslims who blow themselves up and murder innocent people are not practicing Islam.
Sandy: I don't claim to be morally superior to anyone. I don't approve of abortion, I don't think war is the best answer to anything. The people who fill our prisons are mostly criminals. Lots of people have wonderful lives with AND without religion. All religious people aren't bad. We never hear about the good ones because they are never on the news. Morality is also a choice. With or without God. And finally, I would not revert to being a "real" asshole with or without God. That is a choice too. I don't believe that "assholery" is proper. I think "assholishness" works better.
I do take issue with your assertion Gene, that those who act in an un-religious manner are doing so without holy intent. This is one of the reasons that religion is, or can be so dangerous. It is subjective to each person and each person may claim his religion as being the most valid....his interpretation as real. Who can challenge one who has had a private communication with his god. Anything goes. This is what faith based tenets provide....self righteousness.
Blind religion is unsafe and dangerous. Self-righteousness is dangerous as well. The Bible teaches neither. Human nature again: Did you ever notice that many ex-smokers are suddenly holier than those who can't or won't quit? They get on the band wagon and preach about how they quit, how nasty smoking is and how foul and weak smokers are. Certain "religious" people do the very same thing. They become self-righteous and holier than everyone else. They are the ones who judge and condemn... who think that anyone who does not believe as they do are doomed to Hell... who think that Athiests are basically devil worshippers... who think that Muslims and Jews are devils. I can see where all the hate comes from, and I see very well where all the religious discontent in the world comes from. But ALL of us don't feel that way. I am OK with you being whatever you are... just try being OK with me being what I am. I am not a preacher, but I can preach if I need to, and only when invited to. I don't think I am better than you because I know this guy Jesus. I just pray that someday you'll get to know Him as I do.
Most people never READ the Bible - they hear about it from someone else. I have read it all numerous times, have studied and really thought about what it is saying, and it's message to me is perfectly clear. Maybe you wouldn't get the same message, but if you consider that Jesus NEVER preached hate, never told anyone to judge or condemn you'll see a good message there. He said that we should LOVE one another. Not just your family or your friends, but everyone. If we all did that what a wonderful world it would be. Where these other people get all their self-righteousness and bigotry from is beyond me. We can all read the same book and come away with a different story though, can't we?
Yes we can Gene....and we can have an entirely different perspective about the significance of the book.
Is this a fair assessment of your position? (I'd also like your response to what "God Bless America" means, as I think it may have something to do with your position.)
Like Sandy says, nothing whatsoever. I've never been a thug, used drugs, etc. I already lack the kind of ambition to acquire stuff and accomplishments that would actually be considered normal by most. So what would I do? Sing God's praises the whole day? Do people really think that an omniscient, omnipotent being would get some sort of satisfaction out of people constantly going on about how great he/she/it is?
And this takes me back to Tristan's article--doesn't anyone ever think that perhaps at one point God might get bored of hearing "God Bless America" all the time? That perhaps it might be counterproductive to inundate him with so many requests for the same thing? Perhaps we should each substitute our home towns, and that way we could cover the whole country, but since there would be a much smaller number of requests from each town, we wouldn't get God bored so quickly.
What? You don't think he can be fooled that easily? But he can be influenced with "God Bless America"?
Gene, thanks for that. The list isn't important, because what influences me might mean nothing to you. The point I wanted to make is that there is inspiration all around us, yet some people want to keep reading and quoting the same book forever. If you pay close attention to the people who do this, they often seem stuck in their thinking and learning (poor grammar, spelling, comprehension skills when reading articles and comments, and little imagination). Do you think it might serve them better to read more current books and keep up with society better?
I don't quite understand how this makes your point, Tristan, but it certainly was entertaining. The producers are "Rational Entertainment." This thing is a gem. I'm going to blast this link around to my friends. Thank you so much!
I think my favorite one is the PhD (and you just have to see him say it) who says he "was fired because the pro-gravity establishment doesn't understand everything."
That's a toss up with the woman who claims that the guy whose birthday is on a cusp who's married to a woman whose birthday isn't means that they're going to shoot each other on a summer day.
They're all really precious though!
I don't know you so I don't have any idea if you'll see the point, but it's pretty obvious.
Like I said, I don't know Tristan's purpose for having inserted this here, but it certainly more than serves any purpose I may have had today. Must be the way the stars are aligned.
I tend to link things that are relevant (or sarcastically relevant) to bolster my points, or just share the laughter.