Friday, October 13, 2006

The Effect of the Metaphoric Two-by-Four


It seems that almost any person can see the light if they get hit upside the head with enough two-by-fours. In this country I have categorized a certain group of people as being comprised of two distinct types; ignorant (as in not well educated or just plain stupid) and rich (well, maybe not filthy rich, but pretty damn well off). If you guessed I am referring to fundamentally religious and/or hard-right conservative Americans, then put down the two-by-four, you're safe.

In the good old U S of A, if you are parking more than two cars in your garage, at least one of them is a luxury SUV, you have a boat docked at the local marina, and you've always had to think about how to spend your money, then I consider you pretty well off. The rest of us, well, if we have more than two cars, they are up on blocks, we are probably still paying on at least one of them, and the only boats we own are captained by our kids in the bathtub. We don't have to think about where our money goes; it's gone the day after payday.

As far as education goes, well, that's relative. I've known too many uneducated geniuses to give much credence to parchment as an indicator of intelligence, and I have met many the idiot with a degree and not one lick of common sense or any indication that they learned anything. One thing I do know from observation is that many people have an inability to absorb knowledge that isn't fed to them by a preacher, priest, or payroll officer. There has been this rivalry going on between evil, satanic, godless science and whatever is translated out of the bible, and science usually comes in second, especially if one needs to think in order to accept the fact being offered. Facts are also subject to the scrutiny of whoever that fact might impact, such as God fearing, conservative, patriotic American CEO's who operate power plants, pesticide plants, and various other industries that pollute the environment or pump out greenhouse gases like there's no tomorrow. So, you can imagine how much such a person want's to "educate" the local populace of said plant as to the loss of jobs that could result from allowing those damn liberals to spread fear with their godless environmental propaganda.

One good example of the eventual effectiveness of the metaphoric two-by-four, given time, is what has happened to the good people of West Virginia, a good portion of them proud to call themselves conservative evangelical christians, who have depended on the jobs provided by those fine companies ripping the tops off the mountains and filling in the valleys to get to the coal beneath. Environmentally, it has been an unmitigated disaster. Coal dust and other particulate contamination is everywhere, the streams have been destroyed and entire fish populations wiped out, and the water table throughout the region has been poisoned by the waste products running off the sites. I'm not even going to go into the very idea of leveling whole mountain ranges that took millions of years to build up (oh, I'm sorry, appeared overnight when God snapped his fingers and said "Let there be mountains.."). Of course, the long suffering christians did just that, suffered, until one brave lady stood up and did the unspeakable. She vocalized the blasphemous idea that destroying nature can't be in God's plan, that God told man to be a good steward of the Earth; if anyone was going to destroy the Earth, it would damn well be him! And believe it or not, since it's happening to them, right there, they are rallying around her and fighting back. If you would like a more in-depth view of this new awakening by conservative evangelicals all across America, as well as the resistance they are up against from their own "brethren", click here:


  • Is God Green?



  • That's a good thing, right? That evangelicals could actually be environmentalists as well and not burn in hell for it? Yes, it IS a good thing, but I would like to point out something that really irks me. If a LIBERAL (that's a word that used to be a positive label but got morphed into this evil moniker) makes the same noises under the same circumstances, the warnings fall on deaf ears, because anything a godless liberal has to say MUST come straight out of Satan's mouth and is nothing but communistic propaganda designed to turn good christian folk into homosexuals. Remember, I DID say that ignorance rears it's head in the strangest places. However, if a CHRISTIAN screams that the ship is sinking quite awhile after the bow has been submerged, only THEN will such people consider the need for lifejackets.

    We as a people, such the mixture of races, creeds, and colors that we are, really need to stop arguing about that light heading towards us from the other end of the tunnel and for once consider getting the hell off the tracks. It's a very narrow tunnel, folks, and if we don't head out of it TOGETHER, we are ALL getting run over, TOGETHER. Many of us are really tired of committing suicide by proxy, allowing so many of you, in the name of God no less, to ignore and impede our efforts to save our Earth, and the people who live on it. We are tired of having our empathy for life being turned into something so ugly by the very people who claim that blastocysts have a "right to life". Your hypocrisy is killing us all, and I hate to say this, but if I'm going down, I'm at least comforted by the fact that you are going down with me.

    8 comments:

    Paul said...

    There are very, very few individuals and free thinkers and many of them aren't activists or vocal. In seminary ethics classes we discussed environmental issues from the perspective that caring for the earth is a good thing and is our responsibility. How can a "christian" not be an environmentalist?

    Unfortunately, most people are followers and they will follow anyone or any idea that promises wealth, a life of ease, a sense of being above others, the concept of belonging to an elite group -- any idea that intoxicates a person against low self-esteem and personal responsibility.

    The current political and relgious mafias know this and know how to lead by manipulation.

    These are the sad facts of life.

    Buffalo said...

    Do you realize how much your writing skills have grown over the last months?

    I agree with some of your point in the piece and others I disagree with almost completely. That is a good thing. Shows we're both, at least, thinking.

    Alex Pendragon said...

    Yes, Paul, it seems that being different and unique is not enough for this culture, somehow we HAVE to be "better" than every one else. Pride goeth before the fall.......

    Buf, thank you, really? I appreciate that coming from you. As far as disagreeing with me, whatever could that be about? That you are one cute and cuddly teddy bear? Hehe.....thanks, friend, I can't think of a better person to differ with.

    Time said...

    THE Michael, I saw statistic the other day that 97 percent of the religious right voted for Bush in the last election. Tells you something.

    anna said...

    I_wonder always says it so much better than I can. I agree with what he said.

    Romeo Morningwood said...

    I Wonder is right...
    They don't call themselves followers for nuthin'
    (how is my 'merkin?)
    GO FORTH AND SUBDUE THE EARTH!
    That isn't a suggestion...it's all here for us and when its gone god will just make some new stuff..DUH!

    I love your synopsis of the educated idiots and the genius commoner..that is so true..them thar fancy book learnin fellers is so stupid sumtimes.

    Great examination ..again.
    Green Schmeen!
    On top of ol smokey..all covered with lobbyists..

    JP (mom) said...

    Well said ... unfortunately, if one looks around the world, continent by continent, the religious divisions are rigeur du jour, no matter what issue.

    Linda Navroth said...

    AMEN, BROTHER!!!!! hahahaha! No, really--you are right on with this one. Unfortunately you forgot about the other schlomos who don't give a rip about the earth either--the average, brain-dead working stiff who can't think farther than their next paycheck--if that far. And all the kids who live in an electronic world and don't know two-by-fours come from trees, that their burgers were once living things, that there is even life outside of their computer games. We are in a world of trouble--literally.

    Peace,
    Linda