Religion or Peace?

Today is a day of reflection.
As I observe the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on our land, my feelings are mixed and at time saddened. Days like today we honor the deaths of many people. We pause and reflect on the horrible events that thrust us into another war.
I am a retired paramedic. There are many ways I have seen  people die, and the harm we can do to one another. Maybe that's why much of my sadness is blocked out.
I think about a lot of things surrounding this time that might anger other people. I think about the fact that the United States has troops in over a 150 countries today. I wonder if the names of the dead from other times were read, how long could it take? How long does memory last? What of those in places like Nagasaki and Hiroshima and Hanoi and Carthage? Will violence ever stop?
I think about peace, the subject of this blog today. I saw a shirt recently with the message on it,
"Religion or Peace?"  ...Been thinking about it ever since.
Somewhere I heard that wars are fought over real estate and religion.  How many conflicts have been waged by man because of a belief in one god or another?
We become greedy or desperate for resources. Those traits can be justified as an evolutionary drive.
But why must we invoke one god or the other to justify our violence towards each other?
Religion seems inextricably intertwined with war. It is used to justify hostility on a regular basis. Perhaps it is relevant that the religions of the world control a large share of the riches and the people...
I must go over there and kill them, because their belief is different! How many have suffered and died following this banner?
My god is stronger than yours...
You must change  your beliefs and behavior, or suffer the consequences. Oh, by the way, if you do adapt my doctrine and dogma then be prepared to share your goods  Or die for the cause..
If we are to survive as a species, we must learn to live together as humans, not adversaries. I believe we can no longer afford  to waste our lives and resources. What can bring this about? How can the people of the world learn to get along?
As John Lennon said, we must Give Peace a Chance.

Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin.

Writing is an escape from a world that crowds me. I like being alone in a room. It's almost a form of meditation- an investigation of my own life. It has nothing to do with - I've got to get another play ~ Neil Simon

Today feels somewhat sad to me. I lost a friend yesterday, and she is missed. May she rest in peace.

This essay lacks direction, and I feel almost lost, in a still place upon the turning earth. Reflecting on the death of Kathleen, it is difficult to imagine my own departure from life. I'm not sure where that path may lead, and my thoughts are random and loosely connected.

I have read a little about mortality; such works as the Elizabeth Kubler-Ross study On Death and Dying. She discusses five specific stages of the grieving process. I think it is more complicated than her explanation, and strongly influenced by the individual's thoughts and attitude towards religion and faith. Unfortunately my reading of such works as the Koran and the Christian Bible, the Torah and the Bagvadhita and the many other theological explanations have left me no better off or somehow enlightened.

Sometime in the past I became suspect of faith based ideologies. Subsequent investigation and a lot of thought led me to conclude that the concept of a creator or "God" is a human construct, an attempt to explain the unknowable, a desperate yearning to make some sense of the randomness of our existence.

I lack faith, and I'm not sure it was ever a part of me.

There are many people that believe in some sort of creator, and at times I envy the serenity their belief seems to give to them. Regardless of my efforts, I do not have faith as most people call it.

Faith is not a choice that can be made simply because one desires to possess it. I studied a philosopher that postulates that it is better to "believe" because if one does not profess faith and "God" exists, the consequence of a questioning attitude is eternal damnation. Further, he reasons, if "God" does not exist, the consequences are minimal. I'm not sure that I agree, having met a few religious zealots that seem bent on molding the world around their viewpoint.

When I was about five years old, in a sweltering church classroom, I asked a Sunday school teacher "If God made the universe, who made God?" Her response was, in a dismissive manner, "Does a chair question its maker?", . I still remember being puzzled with that answer! For that matter, today I see no resemblance between myself and a piece of furniture. Sixty years and I still ponder the elusive answer to my question...

Having no ready explanation for my surroundings is frightening at times. It leaves me with responsibility for my past, present, and future. I have no one to ask for forgiveness; repentance is a meaningless exercise. There is apparently no entity I can implore to relieve my misery or reward my good deeds. The mirror shows only my own image. At times the view is pleasant, at others it is poor. Sometimes it's cracked, but that's just the mirror, isn't it?

Roadkill. Is that what awaits us all? What irony that idea presents. No judgment for all our works, both good and bad. No Nirvana with seventy-two virgins or white raisins, depending on the translation? No Apocalypse to anticipate. If I'm wrong and you get called up, can I have your stuff?

Well, this is getting ponderous and boring, so now is a good time to stop. Maybe tomorrow I'll have the answer... 

Have you received it today?

Are you watching?

Today's news includes the cancellation of the space shuttle flight, the tornado damage in the South, birth defects caused by Paxil (paroxetine), and the Royal Wedding (a tempest, not a tornado,  in a teapot).
Guess which story has been in the news for weeks, exhaustively discussed, and the subject of more Google search hits than any other subject lately?
You got it! Westminster Abbey hasn't seen so much action since Diana, or maybe Henry the Eighth.
Our US worldview seems rather distorted to me. More people voted for the American Idol nominees than the President of the United States. Some folks cannot decide if Mr. Obama was born in this country, and the consensus seems to be that he is Black. Not to mention African-American. I suppose there is some validity to the observation regarding his ethnicity, given that he grew up in Kenya. 
How shortsighted is the color label, anyway? My DNA also came from that continent, and predates the Prez...So, I guess I qualify as an African-American as well. Or a American-African, depending on your preference. 
I have never seen him in person, but he doesn't seem to be too black in most pictures. The "politically correct" description of him doesn't really appear to be accurate. Given that his mother was Caucasian, and his father from Kenya, there might be grounds to dispute the label most commonly espoused by newscasters and other pundits that he is "Black", whatever that might mean.
Enough about Obama. I voted for him, and hope he does well in his administration whether it lasts four years or is extended with a second term. 
By the way, were you aware that the term "politically correct" goes back to the days of the Communist Party and its refusal to accept reality?
Babbling a bit. Hmmm...

Have you received it today?

Then give me some too. 

Some random thoughts

If you listen quietly, you may hear the universe. All sound, no matter the origin, continues forever from its starting point. Those old commercials we love to hate are still rattling around out there somewhere.
The gunshot from the grassy knoll still echoes in the depths of time.
Well, life's a breeze, and it's up to us to learn to fly
Headwinds are there so we can climb.
The end leads to the beginning.
Have you received it today?