From: "SVTKate"
Subject: Politics

I see that some of us do not agree on politics.

I suppose the reactions here are an example of why
that politics and religion are best left out of most polite conversations

The subjects seem to bring out the worst in people.

Why do you suppose that is?

Kate

Politics and religion both hit us where it hurts. The government has a huge
influence on the daily lives of the citizens and the government can do
things like take away your right to make decisions about your own body, they
can put you in jail for life because you got caught with a small amount of
marijuana three times in Alabama, they can take all your hard-earned money
from you and put it to the good use of investing in all sorts of special
interest pork that does not benefit you in the least. They can make laws
that seperates people into catagories of good and bad such as the gay
marriage ban or other civil rights issues. That is why people are so
passionate about politics. They are trying to have some sort of control
over their lives.

Religion brings out the worst in people for some of the same reasons but I
think religion actually scares people more. People don't come to religion
willingly out of a rational conclusion. People turn to religion because
life is very difficult and it makes it easier to handle the turmoil if it is
all someone elses fault/responsibility.

I am still baffled that any women would believe in christianity because the
bible clearly states that they are considered property along with the ox and
the ass. People seem to feel very comfortable with using the parts of the
bible that they agree with and discounting the rest. This shows me very
clearly that the bible and religion in general is a tool for coping and
nothing more. What rational adult would think that there is some magical
being with superpowers out there with some random plan that nobody can
figure out who we all have to bow down to for some unknown reason,
especially when it is based on a book written by PEOPLE some 2000 years ago?
I think most religious people actually believe that God wrote the bible.
When we hear in the news about someone who claims they did something because
God told them to, we put them in a psychiatric ward for observation. If we
REALLY believed in God, then why is it so ridiculous to think that God might
actually talk to people.

The reason religion survives is because we are all frightenend. The reason
religion survives is because we are all weak. This is also the same reason
Bush was re-elected; we are all afraid of the boogeyman and want someone to
protect us who has the power of the almighty God behind him. How can we
lose?

Religion brings out the worst in us because we realize that if we are wrong
about the existance of God, then the current state of the world is all our
fault and all our responsibility. Nobody wants that. So we fight 'till
death to defend our religious beliefs because the alternative of taking
responsibity for ourselves is far too frightening to imagine.