It’s Christmastime and ‘tis the season for those holiday movies to reprise their appeals for kids who are on the cusp of becoming too old for Santa to “just believe” as the lyrics to Josh Groban’s song from Polar Express goes. To “just believe” in Santa is also a metaphor to implore a belief in God.
A belief in a god requires faith – a baseless, strong belief in something unseen. To have faith means that one must constantly make excuses for their god. Neglecting to make those excuses means accepting the fact that a god does not exist.
What excuses?
When a prayer goes unanswered the believer often makes the excuse that “God answers prayers in his own way and in his own time.” The alternative to that is to admit that prayers are seemingly answered randomly, much as they would be if God never answered prayers at all, or as if there was no god.
When evil people do things they should not, without reprisal, the believer is often comforted by a belief that the evildoer will get what’s coming to him in the end. That’s another excuse for God’s seeming procrastination in doling out justice. We don’t feel so bad that someone is getting away with murder if we believe that God will deal with them later. But we never really know for sure that’s what happens, do we? We just believe.
And why is it that so often those who do good works, who are kind and magnanimous, are sometimes stricken with serious illness or an untimely death? The believer makes an excuse for God, saying “The Lord works in mysterious ways.” Really? It’s so mysterious in fact, that it’s almost like God doesn’t exist at all. Bad things and good things seem to happen at random, but since there must be a god behind it all, it only stands to reason that he works in mysterious ways.
The believer is quick to extol the loving nature of God. “God loves us all so much that it breaks his heart when we do bad things,” is what I’ve heard parents tell their children. But what about the parents of children who are handicapped or have some kind of genetic disorder? Why does God allow those sweet, young children to suffer so much? The believers I know make up the excuse that, “God will not lay any more on us than we are able to bear.”
Is that right? Or is it just a way of comforting oneself and others for not being able to explain why suffering seems to be bestowed at random. It can’t be random if there is a god, so maybe he is a sadistic god who wants us to suffer, but he doesn’t torture us any more than we can stand. If so, what about those who are tortured into committing suicide? Was it too much for them to bear? Did God miscalculate? Or is it actually just nature behaving randomly, like one would expect if God didn’t exist?
The easy answer to all these questions is that nature really does operate at random. Bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people in the same proportion as the number of good and bad people. Is that God mimicking nature, or is it simply nature behaving randomly, as expected? Does God really need us to make excuses for him so that we can comfort ourselves in our faith, or is faith something we should perhaps not hold in such high esteem?
If an omniscient overlord does exist, then one should expect him to behave in a rational manner. But if God does not exist, then events will happen at random. Things actually do happen at random. We can accept that and go on with our lives, or we can continue to believe in an omniscient, all-loving god, and continue to make silly excuses for why he behaves in such a mercurial and capricious fashion.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Sunday, December 05, 2010
Blue Laws Making Me Blue
The Indiana General Assembly, during its upcoming session, will once again consider whether to lift the ban on Sunday sales of liquor. It tried last year and failed. Proponents of lifting the ban have higher hopes for this coming session.
Several states join with Indiana in banning the sale of certain items, such as alcoholic beverages or vehicles, on Sunday. These are called blue laws for reasons that are not entirely clear, but it is not because these laws were once written on blue paper or in books with blue bindings as some say. They date back to Puritan days when this ultra-religious sect banned certain activities on the Christian Sabbath.
In the U.S., blue laws are permissible as long as their purpose is allegedly secular, even though in almost every case the day on which the sale of certain items is banned is Sunday.
But there is no real purpose for blue laws and they should all be repealed. Decades ago, many states banned the sale of almost anything on Sunday. Why Sunday? It was obviously tied to the Christian day of rest and worship. But in 1961 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that blue laws were constitutional as long they had a secular purpose. I can’t imagine a true secular purpose for banning sales on Sunday, but the ban on liquor and automobiles remains in effect in at least a dozen states, including Indiana.
Most states no longer have or enforce blue laws prohibiting shopping on Sunday. In 1990, Massachusetts became the last state to lift its law requiring shopping malls to be closed on Sundays.
Sunday has become a major shopping day. As part of a two-day weekend, it is the time when most workers can spend the day at the mall. But in many states, they can’t spend their day shopping for cars. In Indiana, they can stop by the bar for a couple of beers, then proceed to drive home, but if it’s Sunday they can’t stop by the grocery store or liquor store to buy a six-pack of beer to consume while at home.
If it is true that the purpose of these remaining blue laws is to protect commissioned sales people from the undue stress of a highly competitive industry, or to protect Mom and Pop liquor stores from increased competition from chains, then why choose a huge shopping day like Sunday for the ban? Why not, as some states already do, allow the store owners or auto dealerships to choose whatever day they wish to close?
The liquor store lobby doesn’t want the ban on Sunday sales lifted. They want their day off, free from competition. But laws are supposed to be for everybody, not just the big lobby groups. If a liquor store owner wants to close one day a week, let him pick a day that typically has sketchy sales and close that day. It might be a Monday or a Wednesday, but it probably won’t be a Sunday.
If an individual store owner wants to close on Sunday, then that is his or her choice. But to force a Sunday closure smacks of religious intrusion into public life.
The time has come for adult consumers in general to have the right to shop for anything on any day they wish. The time for blue laws has passed, if it ever actually existed in the first place.
Several states join with Indiana in banning the sale of certain items, such as alcoholic beverages or vehicles, on Sunday. These are called blue laws for reasons that are not entirely clear, but it is not because these laws were once written on blue paper or in books with blue bindings as some say. They date back to Puritan days when this ultra-religious sect banned certain activities on the Christian Sabbath.
In the U.S., blue laws are permissible as long as their purpose is allegedly secular, even though in almost every case the day on which the sale of certain items is banned is Sunday.
But there is no real purpose for blue laws and they should all be repealed. Decades ago, many states banned the sale of almost anything on Sunday. Why Sunday? It was obviously tied to the Christian day of rest and worship. But in 1961 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that blue laws were constitutional as long they had a secular purpose. I can’t imagine a true secular purpose for banning sales on Sunday, but the ban on liquor and automobiles remains in effect in at least a dozen states, including Indiana.
Most states no longer have or enforce blue laws prohibiting shopping on Sunday. In 1990, Massachusetts became the last state to lift its law requiring shopping malls to be closed on Sundays.
Sunday has become a major shopping day. As part of a two-day weekend, it is the time when most workers can spend the day at the mall. But in many states, they can’t spend their day shopping for cars. In Indiana, they can stop by the bar for a couple of beers, then proceed to drive home, but if it’s Sunday they can’t stop by the grocery store or liquor store to buy a six-pack of beer to consume while at home.
If it is true that the purpose of these remaining blue laws is to protect commissioned sales people from the undue stress of a highly competitive industry, or to protect Mom and Pop liquor stores from increased competition from chains, then why choose a huge shopping day like Sunday for the ban? Why not, as some states already do, allow the store owners or auto dealerships to choose whatever day they wish to close?
The liquor store lobby doesn’t want the ban on Sunday sales lifted. They want their day off, free from competition. But laws are supposed to be for everybody, not just the big lobby groups. If a liquor store owner wants to close one day a week, let him pick a day that typically has sketchy sales and close that day. It might be a Monday or a Wednesday, but it probably won’t be a Sunday.
If an individual store owner wants to close on Sunday, then that is his or her choice. But to force a Sunday closure smacks of religious intrusion into public life.
The time has come for adult consumers in general to have the right to shop for anything on any day they wish. The time for blue laws has passed, if it ever actually existed in the first place.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Five Thanksgiving Myths
Thanksgiving is an American holiday set aside to be grateful for all that we have. There are a lot of customs and traditions associated with this holiday. But there are just as many myths. Let’s take a look at some of the myths of Thanksgiving and then what really happened.
Myth 1: The first Thanksgiving took place in 1621.
Reality: There was, indeed, a three-day harvest celebration in the fall of 1621, but it was not a holiday and it was not repeated for more than 150 years. In 1676 another feast of thanksgiving was held in June. It too was a one-year affair. Then, in 1789, George Washington declared a National Day of Thanksgiving. It was a controversial proposition and it also was a one-time event. It wasn’t until Abraham Lincoln, in 1863, proclaimed Thanksgiving Day that the tradition stuck. Every president after Lincoln proclaimed the holiday until, in 1941, Congress made it a national holiday.
Myth 2: Our modern Thanksgiving meal staples of turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie is traced back to the original feast of the Pilgrims and Indians.
Reality: The Pilgrims had neither flour nor sugar. It had all been used up long before the fall of 1621. So they had no pies or cakes. They didn’t even have bread except for some fried flatbread made from cornmeal. It is questionable as to whether they had turkey. They did eat wild fowl, but it could have been ducks, geese, or pheasant. They certainly ate venison, lobster, and other seafood. They had cranberries, but without sugar, there was no way to make a sauce. They ate watercress, corn, pumpkins, and turnips. But they ate no potatoes, since many Europeans still considered them to be poisonous.
Myth 3: Thanksgiving is a religious holiday in which we give thanks to God for our blessings.
Reality: Many people do give thanks to God for their blessings. But the day was and always has been secular in nature. People can give thanks to each other, to nature, and to simple good fortune without the need to bring in a deity.
Myth 4: Turkey makes you sleepy because it contains a lot of tryptophan.
Reality: Turkey does contain tryptophan, an amino acid that can induce relaxation. But turkey contains no more than most meats and certainly not enough to induce sleep. More likely, overeating carbohydrates is the culprit.
Myth 5: The day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday, is the busiest shopping season of the year.
Reality: Actually, although this might have once been the case, in more recent years the last Saturday before Christmas is much busier for shoppers who are looking for those last-minute Christmas bargains.
Myth 1: The first Thanksgiving took place in 1621.
Reality: There was, indeed, a three-day harvest celebration in the fall of 1621, but it was not a holiday and it was not repeated for more than 150 years. In 1676 another feast of thanksgiving was held in June. It too was a one-year affair. Then, in 1789, George Washington declared a National Day of Thanksgiving. It was a controversial proposition and it also was a one-time event. It wasn’t until Abraham Lincoln, in 1863, proclaimed Thanksgiving Day that the tradition stuck. Every president after Lincoln proclaimed the holiday until, in 1941, Congress made it a national holiday.
Myth 2: Our modern Thanksgiving meal staples of turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie is traced back to the original feast of the Pilgrims and Indians.
Reality: The Pilgrims had neither flour nor sugar. It had all been used up long before the fall of 1621. So they had no pies or cakes. They didn’t even have bread except for some fried flatbread made from cornmeal. It is questionable as to whether they had turkey. They did eat wild fowl, but it could have been ducks, geese, or pheasant. They certainly ate venison, lobster, and other seafood. They had cranberries, but without sugar, there was no way to make a sauce. They ate watercress, corn, pumpkins, and turnips. But they ate no potatoes, since many Europeans still considered them to be poisonous.
Myth 3: Thanksgiving is a religious holiday in which we give thanks to God for our blessings.
Reality: Many people do give thanks to God for their blessings. But the day was and always has been secular in nature. People can give thanks to each other, to nature, and to simple good fortune without the need to bring in a deity.
Myth 4: Turkey makes you sleepy because it contains a lot of tryptophan.
Reality: Turkey does contain tryptophan, an amino acid that can induce relaxation. But turkey contains no more than most meats and certainly not enough to induce sleep. More likely, overeating carbohydrates is the culprit.
Myth 5: The day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday, is the busiest shopping season of the year.
Reality: Actually, although this might have once been the case, in more recent years the last Saturday before Christmas is much busier for shoppers who are looking for those last-minute Christmas bargains.
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