Tags
bible, Bill O'Reilly, environmentalism, flu shots, global warming, God, Michelle Bachmann, swine flu
If you had seen me this morning, you might have questioned my, shall we say, collection of marbles? My brains in other words. My capacity to logically move from place A to B without swerving off to F. Got that?
I’ve been assaulted this week with certain adjectival and nounish bullets that would put a less well put together psyche down. Not to worry, I have a strong constitution (no not the “we the people” stuff), and an army of disparate fellow travelers who encourage me, and reassure me regularly. I am not crazy, and I’ve said that before. It’s time you took that as a given.
I must say, it does dawn on me often, that I should question my own sanity. Others certainly do. I mean I don’t ask for much, just a reasonable logical explanation of things. This I often do not get, and thus the worry that all is not so well upstairs in the attic of my flashing neurons.
Reading the following, I seriously questioned once again whether I was legally able to fulfill the duties of citizen of planet Earth. It seems that one Billy O’Reilly, Foxy blatherer extraordinaire, suggests that Ms. Bachmann’s detractors are just jealous of her good looks. Yes indeed, Billy Bob Boob, that’s the reason all right. We are jealous cuz she is lovely to be behold. Now that takes care of the lesbians, what about the rest of us straight women? Huh?
Sorry Uncle Bill, but I still find her intellectually bankrupt and morally absurd, or intellectually absurd and morally bankrupt.
Which brings up the whole ugly issue of intelligence. I was recently, or my brains were, compared to a piss-ant. Imagine that? It was also suggested that it was a modern marvel that I could walk and breathe at the same time. This from the paternalistic/defender husband of a woman who told me that I hated Jesus since I couldn’t believe in her wacko notions of creationism.
I can of course consider the source, and move from this personal assault on intelligence, noting that for some uneducated persons, “common sense” is vastly more important and doesn’t require any actual work. It comes naturally, like the wisdom just there for the asking from God. No matter that just perhaps, God might have thought books could be a way to acquire wisdom. No we shouldn’t go there. One remembers the man who drowned, waving off all boats because he trusted that “God would save him.”
Some months ago, I started a forum thread about the environment. The environmental catastrophe we are flirting with is something like evolutionary theory, so well known worldwide as to not really be in question any more. Even the Bushites, playing it down of course, grudgingly admitted that it appeared true.
Anyway, my question was, if you claimed there was no environmental climate change, did you base this on scripture or something else. To a person, all claimed that their doubts stemmed from a general conservatism which somehow translates into suspicions about science and scientists in general. Why they don’t have the same suspicions about oil companies and other polluters is not known. In no case did anyone claim there was a spiritual reason.
But now we have one. I have recently seen a FaceBook entry which cited the bible, specifically Genesis for the proposition that we need do nothing regarding the environment. The verses are Gen. 8:22.
As long as the earth endures,
seedtime and harvest, cold and heat,
summer and winter, day and night,
shall not cease.”
From this we are to deduce (if we so self-interpret) that the earth will remain until such time as God in his good pleasure decides otherwise. Well, I think that’s a pretty big stretch, and even if so, it makes no claims as to the condition the earth will be in “as long as the earth endures.” Frankly, I find it as meaningless as the claims by some Catholics that “go forth and multiply and be fruitful” is God’s direction against contraception. But no matter.
It’s pretty flimsy evidence upon which to bargain the life of one’s children and their children and theirs on. At least as I see it.
Speaking of which, I saw another set of links to UTube, you know that academic land of excellence, wherein parents were warned not to let their kids get flu shots this year. Given that people are DYING from swine flu, and that the target groups are the very young (who can’t decide for themselves) and pregnant women, who can, I’d say it’s pretty irresponsible to invite people to make up their minds based on UTube.
Particularly so, when the link has to do with mercury being in some flu shots. Actually the truth of the matter is that some shots are stabilized with thimerosal. I know about this since I am allergic to it. This is easily solved by asking for the vaccine without the preservative. Simple. It is not wrong to raise some concern, but surely the way to do that is to direct people to their physicians? rather than UTube?
But then again, some folks have no sense of “sourcing.” Bad sources make for much laughter. But in the hands of the wrong trusting people, they can lead to tragedy. Beware giving advice when you have zero in the credential field.
So it just goes to show you, that if you are crazy enough, you ensure that I am sure that I am not. I don’t need no stinkin’ shrink for that!
Just sayin’.
Existential Ennui 