H.O.P.E.

I am an American living in Germany, and I feel compelled to tell the half of U.S. citizens who rationalized voting for Trump that the reaction of Europeans range from dismayed to horrified, but mostly they are confused. Their confusion does not stem from ignorance (most Germans know as much or more than we do about U.S. politics), but like me, they just cannot fathom why Americans would select a man like Trump to lead our nation. I am not ready to renounce my citizenship, but I am deeply saddened today and will probably retain my expatriate status for a while longer. The global community’s faith in our country was waning, but it just fell off of a cliff. I think there is enough international disgust that the world will wrest the mantle of Leader of the Free World from President-elect Trump, and they will be right to do so. If you think that it is possible for the U.S. to be isolationist, ethnocentric, and xenophobic in 2017 and not have our economy suffer, then you are uninformed.

Conservatives would like to go back to the “good old days” as evidenced by the campaign slogan “Make America Great AGAIN”. Unfortunately, those days that they yearn for involved women being treated less than equal and minorities being treated less than human. Conservatives have been on the wrong side of history time and time again (woman’s suffrage, civil rights movement, etc.), and while the Strom Thurmonds of the world seemed to admit they were wrong publically, they apparently nursed a deep resentment for losing their dominion of those they deemed as lesser. The younger generation was moving us toward a place where a person’s race, religion, or sexual orientation did not affect our opinion of that person.  Aging white America showed today up en masse to voice their long-held grievances about equality. Most of them are self-proclaimed Christians, and they cast their ballot for a man who, with the probable exception of murder, has broken all the Commandments and feels no remorse.

I realized that in just one morning, I have gone through all 5 Stages of Grief:

Denial-“He’s not really going to win, is he?”

Anger-“I’m never moving back to the States! They can all sleep in the shitty bed they’ve made!”

Bargaining-“Maybe they will do a recount and find some major error.”

Depression-“I want to go home, crawl under the covers and weep over a pint of Häagan Dazs.”

Acceptance-“Maybe this will lead to some real reform of our system…10 years from now.”

I needed something to take my mind off of the election results, so I clicked on my blog here (it has been 3 years) and the subtitle lifted my spirits a smidge “There is light at the end of the tunnel.” When Barrack Obama was running the first time, his slogan was “Hope and Change”. This will now need to take on new meaning for those of us in favor of progress. HOPE can be an acronym for “Hold On, Pain Ends”. The next few years will likely be painful for Americans, but sometimes when an individual or country loses its way, he, she, or it must hit rock bottom before healing can begin. My country has been on a downward slide for decades and we all sat back like frogs in a pot, contentedly trusting that the corruption, debt, and poor environmental stewardship would not come to boiling point for a few generations to come. It appears that now the shit is going to hit the proverbial fan sooner than later, so we can choose to hide out with our ice cream spoons, or we can use this election and its fallout as a wake-up call and initiate a concerted effort to enact some real change in the future.

Evolution and Religion, not "versus"

My 12-year-old son mentioned something a few days ago, and it has been on the back of my mind ever since. He was chatting with his classmates and mentioned that his dad was a scientist. One of the kids piped up with “oh, that means you believe in evolution,” then proceeded to not talk to my son for a week. It makes me sad to think some parents are teaching children that science is an affront to their religion. I have never understood how explaining our natural universe through observation could be is seen as an attack on religious beliefs. The main sticking points are evolution and the age of the Earth.

I was recently explaining to another adult why two similar creatures would behave differently on separate continents and her response was, “I don’t believe in evolution.”  This is perplexing to me, because evolution is not an idea that one can choose to believe or not. It is just a natural process that you either understand or you don’t. You may not understand the physiology behind cells converting glucose into useable energy that keeps your brain alive, but it has nothing to do with faith. After studying physiology, ecology, geology, and related topics in depth, I understand why people like the notion of intelligent design. It is spectacular that life exists at all, let alone with such beautiful complexity.  Believing that a divine being guided the development of life on Earth is perfectly rational.

The wonderful thing about science is that it is malleable. It is never absolute and subject to refinement based on progressive experimentation, which leads to the poorly understood scientific definition of “theory,” .e.g. evolutionary theory, atomic theory, theory of relativity, etc.

A scientific theory is a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world, based on knowledge that has been repeatedly confirmed through observation and experimentation.

Evolution can be witnessed on a short time scale, but dramatic changes take a long period of time. This brings us to the age of the Earth. In the 17^th century, Archbishop Ussher made various assumptions and came to the conclusion that the Earth was created 4000 years before the birth of Christ. This is one fallible human that has unnecessarily created a rift between people lasting nearly 400 years.

The rock we stand on was formed 4.6 billion years ago. Radioactive decay is measurable and precise and that is how we know how old the oldest rocks are. From the very tangible fossil record, we know that organisms began to thrive in the oceans about 540 million years ago. This is not a matter of belief, it is visible and measureable. We know that the Earth is not perpetually uniform, but dynamic. Ocean floors can be pushed miles up into the sky, then eroded flat again. This cannot happen in mere centuries, or even millennia-it takes millions of years. Lifeforms that live on this Earth must also be dynamic to survive. Some species go extinct, but those that adapt to compensate for the changes of the Earth spread out and fill endless niches.

A literal interpretation of the Bible leads to the idea that death did not exist on Earth before the fall of Adam. Whether or not you believe humans were created divinely, we have millions of years of record of creatures that lived and died before humans.  I would argue that the focus of Bible study should be the teachings that encourage us to treat each other selflessly and not the parts that may or may not be metaphorical.

Water Is Life

I can't believe I forgot to post something for World Water Day, as clean water for everyone is the issue I am most passionate about. Many of the problems suffered by impoverished communities can be solved by access to clean water. It can be stated simply: Untreated surface water carries pathogens that infect, debilitate, and even kill those that drink it; Groundwater is naturally filtered and therefore potable.

A simple community well can mean the difference between surviving and thriving. Millions of women and children spend their days gathering unsanitary water, making education impossible. Sickness from unclean water prevents parents from providing for their families. Most of us in prosperous countries take for granted the fact that the water in our toilets is cleaner than what many are forced to drink. I have seen firsthand the joy that clean water brings to people who have not had it previously.

http://thesweetestthing-family.blogspot.de/2011/03/her-village-gets-clean-water.html

This problem can be solved in our lifetimes, so get involved with one or all these great organizations:

http://water.org/

http://www.charitywater.org/

http://www.tapwater.causevox.com/

Santorum redefined

Okay, I’ve been silent long enough. Is the GOP serious with Rick Santorum? He said that JFK’s assertion that church and state should be separate made him sick. He then went on to quote James Madison who ironically was an even more ardent supporter of this separation than JFK. The founding fathers wisely set up a system where freedom of religion was absolute, but religious organizations could not dictate legislation. Are you really that blind to history (and current events) Mr. Santorum? Theocracies, be they Christian or Muslim, don’t work. A republic, like the United States, functions because its leaders are accountable to the public. The intrinsic problem with religious leaders dictating policy is that they cannot be questioned. When people believe that their leader is the mouthpiece of God, be he the Pope, the Ayatollah, or Warren Jeffs, they follow orders without questioning motives or outcomes. Now, can anyone guess what happens to a leader whose authority is unquestioned?

"We establish no religion in this country, we command no worship, we mandate no belief, nor will we ever. Church and state are, and must remain, separate.” –Ronald Reagan

Penitent State

I just listened to Bob Costas’ interview with Jerry Sandusky and it made me want to vomit. His nonchalant attitude made me positive he deserves a public castration. If you were falsely accused of this horrific thing I think you would be a little more vehement in your denial. Bravo Bob for calling him a monster to his face.
As many as 18 boys are accusing him of molestation and/or rape and he has the audacity to deny it instead of putting a gun in his mouth? And calling rape ‘horseplay’ makes me wish a slow agonizing death on this man. Ever see or read “A Time To Kill?” I’m not threatening Mr. Sandusky, but I hope he is not protected when he goes to jail and the other prisoners dish out some real justice.
Anyone with knoledge of these crimes deserves a lifetime of shame and derision for not acting. McQueary may not deserve jail time by law, but anyone with a conscience knows he should have stopped what he saw.
I have been a long-time admirer of Penn State football and Paterno’s adherence to the ‘purity’ of the game, but fuck him and fuck all Penn State fans that protested his firing, because putting the “program” before the welfare of a child is a hell-worthy trespass.

It's About F--king Time

Today marks the official end of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy of the United States military. This is of course long overdue, as DADT and has forced many heroes and hard-working Americans to resign their posts. Still, I applaud the Pentagon, Pres Obama and Congress for finally making it happen. The truth is, whether or not someone is gay has been a non-issue for most soldiers (airmen, marines, sailors, etc) for quite some time. If you do your job well, no one worries about your gender, race, religion or sexual orientation. Being in the military forces people to get to know their peers very well, and they know who is gay and for the most part, they just don't care. The only problem was the DADT policy forcing military personnel to continually lie to their commanding officers, which of course violates their code of conduct, creating a Catch-22. I think that prejudice has a half-life and I'm optimistic that it will continue to degrade with each generation.

Arrogant Cartography

I was looking something up on Google Maps today when something significant struck me. Most countries spell and pronounce the name of their country completely different from the American/English version. I dunno...seems pretty disrestpectful in this modern globally interconnected world.

Check out Europe for a taste of what I mean. -I do give Google props for putting the correct name in a larger font.
http://maps.google.com/?ll=45.336702,17.094727&spn=24.427528,46.494141&z=5