Sine ethicam: II

With the 4th coming up, alot of ideals and thoughts regarding the climate of the United States have been creeping up on me. A few things in particular have stood out to me. I do not believe that the U.S was founded on religious freedom. I believe that that idea was a part of the conception, but the constitution and founding principles that this country was created upon are more varying than one singular belief. What those principles all have in mind is a freedom from tyrannical control; free to create business, free to create in general, free to explore, free to believe in a diety of choice, free to express ideas. I also believe that the founders of our country, while living in a much less advanced time (obviously), had the brilliance to utilize ethics and values that should be timeless. There is a huge difference between adapting application to fit the modern circumstance, and re-interpreting the original meaning. I believe that in the attempt to understand and uphold a few of our founding constitutional rights, our country has regressed in helping us progress as human beings.
The right to create business and democracy has turned into a capitalist crisis; big buisness rules government and is rarely held accountable creating the most drastic class separation this country has seen since slavery. The dollar is paramount to the the corporations in this country that remain economically dominant and wealthy, yet on a global scale is approaching worthlessness.
The right to create has turned into mass media producing and recycling garbage. Reality tv runs rampant displaying a society that is the quintessential example of a narcissistic sociopath at best. Violence and sex are pushed to the extreme to satiate a thirst for stimulation in a culture lacking in imagination and creativity. Books and hand made arts are soon to be far too antiquated to be accepted in popular culture as anything other than historical. The right to explore has become the foundation for gluttonous destruction of natural earth. Finding virgin land and "product" does not equate to the chance for knowledge or serenity but for profit.
Freedom of belief has turned in to a war against "morality" and dieties. This god is wrong, your god is evil, you are a second class citizen for believing in your god. Religions are targets for attack instead of being a chosen social unit for individuals. Instead of being beacons representing the various beliefs in dieties, our culture has turned them into the proverbial snake head so many don't even believe in.
The right to express has turned in to a closing of minds. Instead of sharing talents, ideas, philosophies, knowledge etc; the individual opinion reigns supreme. The spewing of ones' own narrow minded paradigm has given way to negativity that is causing irreparable damage to the human spirit and American culture.
All of these things are interdependent and self-fulfilling. The fundamental issue is that the ethics and values that were meant to be a foundation for a great nation have been lost; used as an excuse to become an indulgent, lazy, degenerate nation consumed with the concept of self, inflicting on each other in an analagous way, the same tyrannies fled.
Be a kind person. Believe as you wish, but do not degrade or force feed those who choose another way. Make something of yourself. Better your society to the degree that you are able. Do not remain content with being stagnant. Defend humanity; do not idly stand by as people degenerate. Do not tolerate mediocrity and self-absorbtion. Share wealth and knowledge with those who are open to receive it. Value other beings and surroundings as much or more as you value yourself. Make a conscious effort to envoke serenity and positivity. Be a person of character. Remember and re-inforce the lost idea of goodness.

Sine ethicam: I

Why is it that human beings feel compelled to justify their own existence, and furthermore only validate and quantify anther's existence by using religious rhetoric as a criteria? Why is it so taboo to believe that the only criteria upon which one should base a fair and decent treatment of another is humanity itself? ( I do believe in a discretionary fair treatment of other living things, however that is another point to be made)
Understanding humanity on a molecular level may never be obtained. I feel that rather than accept that the human mind is, and most likely will always be striving to understand its own origins as well and the innumerable complexities of the human condition, humans create a perfect paradox of existence. Is it not easier to claim that a being with intelligence and capabilities far beyond our own created everything we see and understand? How lazy and convenient is it to claim a god that has a wide spectrum view of all things temporal and metaphysical gave us all and taketh away and that the human mind is too feeble and finite to understand how or why? Perhaps it is the recognition of the minds limitations that strikes a fear in someone. So much so in fact, that the imaginative side of our brains compensates for the rational breakdown and relieves our anguish in the form of a deity.
Regardless, why do the majority of humans subscribe to a mass organization of this type? It is a proven anthropological theory that people willingly cluster themselves in to groups. But, among the many hierarchies one could be a part of, none seem to cause as much controversy as a religious devotion.

Tombstone(s)

Yesterday I buried my last grandfather.
(That may sound strange, but I found out two years ago that my maternal grandfather was not my blood relative.)
My grandpa Tony was born In Dec. 22, 1916. He was approaching his 95th birthday this year.
He lived in Tombstone, AZ. Yes, the namesake of the movie, but cinema does not do this "town that refused to die" justice. An hour and a half drive from the nearest city, Tucson, dirt surrounds everything. I walked from the rental car to the American Legion Hall where the viewing was and my black shiny shoes looked like they had been left out in the desert for days. The town was desolate with the exception of things that I would describe as novel. Horse-pulled wagons, a single convenience store, saloons, every one room shanty with a wooden porch complete with matching rocker. The old high school is the size of a large house.
My grandfather was the oldest living member of the American Legion; 64 years of continuous service and membership, including leading the annual parade. There was something both beautiful and tragic about having a service led by his frail, disoriented comrades. As we drove through the tiny town in procession, it was something cinematic. The town is quintessentially western and and so are the people. The church bells chimed for grandpa Tony, the shopkeeper came out of the shop and placed one hand on her heart as we passed by. The ladies that lived in the same senior living building came out with lawn chairs and fans, sobbing as they watched the procession. The town bikers, (that weren't carrying flags in the procession) pulled over and removed their headgear in deference. The world may not know who Anthony T. Perotti was, but every single living thing in this town did.
As we arrived at the grave sight the meaning of the town name became evident and palpable. The graveyard is nondescript, just like every other part of the southwestern desert. Dirt, rocks, weeds, cacti, and desert inhabitants all around make this hallowed ground seem desolate and empty. You would never know this was a place for the dead to rest were it not for one identifier: tombstones.
Among the dust and land are placed beautiful tombstones. Some of the more modern and common type, placed flat on the ground, usually marble or quartz or some other hard durable rock. But more common in this place were the traditional Roman-Catholic cement coverings of the grave sites. Floors of concrete, engraved with the details of a humans' existence placed atop the caskets to protect. Angels and rosaries accessorizing the graves. The stones identifying the dead seemed to stretch for miles across the uneven desert.
I don't deal well with death. I find it morbid and traumatizing to sit in a room with a corpse for hours on end, simply so that friends and I can "pay my respects". If you cannot show respect to your fellow human being during life, if you cannot find a way to show your thanks to someone who defended your country and protected your liberties, if you can not show honor to someone whose life experience far exceeds your own, then you have no business mourning their death in private or public. The essence has left this rotting flesh and the empty shell left in front of you, will not hear nor heed your post-mortem cries of regret.
I will be glad to leave this town. Although I appreciate the richness that it provides for my own personal history, I find myself feeling hollow and desolate, as if I should have my own tombstone.

Verum Vitiosus

Normally there is some sort of an introduction. Some clever or insightful quip explaining why the blog you are about to read is unique and quirky. Why the author has chosen to lust after the billions of voyeueristic weirdos' attention via the www.
Narcisssism.
The truth is, this is for me and, at some point (many I imagine) I will contradict myself. Unapologetically.