THEISM VERSUS SECULARISM .......part one.

Fewer and fewer countries in our world today are run or governed officially or semi officially by religions or their representatives, except in cases where religions are a shield and a cover up for some oligarch or dictator or usurper. Still, some of the countries totally immersed in world conflicts, wars and aggression are theist or covered by religious institutions, where religion or religious groups play a big role in their daily life and political strategies.

The United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Iran come to mind immediately, where religious dogma still reign and exert big influence. Aspiring Turkey, Russia, India, Serbia, Myanmar and Rwanda are all on the good path. Many include secular ideas, non Theist ideologies, and even declared atheist groups and individuals, but deny them even the basic human rights or even a minimum right to participate in the governance of their countries, once in power they all invariably move toward fascism and totalitarian exclusive process and tactics.

We all know and acknowledge that atheists don't practice nor go to churches, synagogues or mosques but they are no more likely to commit crimes, or incite violence and wars than people who claim to pray and several times every day. History as well as contemporary events tells us very clearly, that we have much more to fear from consequences led by religious zealotry, jihad and religious apartheid and proselyting than from the consequences of religious free thought or even open irreligiosity.

In all four previously mentioned countries plus some of the other aspiring ones, people must hide their religious opinions or their irreligious attitudes to be able to run for public office, while the state still claims to be ruled by democracy, and religious liberty, and not by hypocrisy.

Ending the power of religious books and their interpreters, the influence of the Bibles, Old Testament' several books, the Quran and its affiliates from our daily lives and reducing their status to that of ordinary books is more of a moral necessity in our actual times for our human survival, evolution and civilization . Does anyone at our present stage of life really think all these religious books were written by the finger and pen of God ??? If some enlightened theist could argue that the words were inspired by divine or Godly power instead, what would prevent a president Bush, Trump or Hitler and Netanyahu or many others from claiming the same divine power and inspiration !!! And many did .

Never can religions bring anyone physical relief from the weight of poverty, the horrors of our gross injustices of our systems created by men and women of our world. Religions are the conspiracy of ignorance against reason, of darkness against light, of submission and slavery against independence and freedom,  of the denial of strength and beauty and compassion against indoctrination and brain-washing of the younger and older individuals, against the affirmation of the joy and glory of life. By filling our kids' minds with hate and suspicion toward the other non conformist, while claiming love and false compassion.

       This blog is divided into two parts, possibly three, my next writing will contain the rest and some of my conclusions, My usual many thanks to all my good readers all over the globe....   

           

DIVIDED WORLD , DIVIDED NATIONS ....

Back in 1985, critic and educator Neil Postman published "Amusing ourselves to death" an impassioned warning addressing our media, politicians, and political ways, to illuminate the dangers, he contrasted two pivotal works of dystopian fiction ; George Orwell's 1984, and Aldous Huxley's Brave new world. I'm copying some excerpt from this work.

In Orwell's vision, he notes, we are crushed by a merciless oppression imposed by others, whereby in Huxley's vision, we are seduced, sedated and satiated, we enslave ourselves.  What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban books, for there would be no one who wanted to read one.

Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much information that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us, Huxley feared that the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared that we would become a captive culture, Huxley feared that we could become a trivial culture preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy and the centrifugal bumble puppy.

In 1984, Orwell added, people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave new world, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we love will ruin us. Orwell who in 1984 was fixed on Nazi devastation and Soviet ascendancy, seemed to have nailed it, but 37 years later, Postman saw that in our time and place, it's unquestionably Huxley . 

Postman portrayed a world that led inevitably and unavoidably to the election of Donald Trump and Netanyahu and others, Mr Trump's main rhetoric pumped out endless streams of comedy and melodrama, apocalypse and deliverance, bitterness and bullshit, to some it was thrillingly candid and glorifying, to others Trump's times did not merely subvert America's core values, it shattered their world view, and the way the world looks at us. Mr. Netanyahu like some other demagogues and dictators, managed to create a reality in Israel and all it's neighbors that will rival and surpass the worst tragedies of modern history.

Let's face it, all over, the laws of human nature do not allow the triumph of reason, history has demonstrated time after time that this notion is a false stereotype, it is a cold truth that stands against all codes and laws that rule the world and govern countries. James Cooper back in 1830 declared that "While the contest was for great principles, the press aided in elevating the common character and maintain the common interests.... but since the contest has ceased and the struggle has become one purely of selfishness and personal interests. It is employed generally for preparing the nation for some terrible reverses, and as the propaganda machine now exist, it seems to be expressly devised by great agents of mischief to depress and destroy all that is good, and to elevate and advance all that is evil in the nation."     

The excerpt was gracefully inspired and in parts borrowed from an excellent book called "The trouble with reality" by journalist Brooke Gladstone, I owe him my many thanks.  And as usual all my thanks to all my readers.           

THE DEAL .....

Few days back, the Trump team published their one sided version of a peace plan between the state of Israel and the Palestinian people, not even between the two people, offering strictly one sided ridiculous solutions and propositions that will at best totally bury the possibility of a real peace, a possibility of two independent, viable countries, not even the possibility of one country holding all its people equally and dignified under a real secular democracy.

Mr. Trump with all his problems at home, his stupid non existent foreign policy, and his almost intentional destruction of every American institution, his deliberate mischief trying to depress and destroy all that's good, and to elevate and advance all that is evil in the nation. Even sending the budget deficit into unparalleled trillions of Dollars, and reaching uncontrollable levels, has decided in his high wisdom to solve the most difficult injustice of the last 75 years, the results are caricaturist and ridiculously poor and one sided. Totally non applicable on the ground, but quiet adequate for reelection purposes both of himself and his beloved Bibi of Israel.

For a president facing an impeachment trial at home , and an Israeli prime-minister under criminal indictment, the plan sounds more like a road map for their own futures than for the Middle-East people, in fact it looks more of an annexation and colonial hegemonic plan than a peace plan. A deal that any and every honest observer would agree that it is totally biased, written with the same apartheid superior mentality that reign now in most of Israel, by a bunch of Zionist pseudo politicians, belonging to both leaders.

Mr. Trump, Netanyahu, Friedman and baby Kushner, plus Adelson, Greenblat and Berkowitz, are simply trying to impose on everyone in the Middle-East, and the entire world a specific plan, based totally on their interests and needs, and their false feeling of power, realities turning eventually into forgeries of themselves, while the true reality is that fake humans will only create fake realities, then try to sell them around to others.

But somehow, at the end I don't only blame Mr. Trump, his son in law or any of the other cheap demagogues who helped draft this paper, as they always declared their malignant intentions. But I cannot hold my anger toward some or most Arab States, Muslems around the world, most official Christian churches, Europe, China and Russia, all these who are and have sold the Palestinian people for their instantaneous interests and fear of revenge, and are accepting, even promoting the deal.

The entire world is watching in cold blood the gravest injustice of modern times, plain theft and bestial cruelty. An injustice equaling all of the holocausts, pogroms and wars combined, because it's a premeditated injustice, with the full acceptance of the world. Even Tomas Friedman declared in the NY times;"Given the timing of the release of president Trump's Middle-East peace plan, I have to begin by asking, is this plan about two states for two peoples or is it about one heck of a  diversion for two dirty leaders." 
                        My, as always many thanks for your time .