Disclosure: going a little off topic today but every once in a while it is good to let the gears churn a little bit in the head as opposed to the bike...
It dawned on me yesterday that there are many similarities between politics and religion. Most political groups and religious organizations are exclusive by nature. So if you are part of one particular political party, you are automatically against the other...the same applies to most religions where if you are part of a particular religion, most others are in the wrong. I am of course making generalizations and understand there are exceptions to the norm.
So as this thought rambled around in my mind I started to think more and more about it. Many people's beef with religion is that it is exclusive and that it has not evolved and adapted as the humanoids have (I suppose you could argue we have devolved but let's just go with the evolutionary aspect for a bit). As a result people identify less with many religious organizations because they have not adapted to our quickly changing world. The same could be said about our political system...very very very slow to adapt - mostly because it is not in their best interest...that change thing can be scary for some.
In my opinion, religious and political views are often inherited from the parental units. It seems as most people seem to align with their parents belief system...which I guess makes sense considering how they raised you has a huge bearing on how you see the world. The journey of self discovery can sometimes lead people to different views of the world but me thinks this is probably more the exception than the norm. I think this is changing somewhat considering that people are finding it more difficult to identify with archaic views that the churches still hold on to, etc
War...in the past, religion was the source of many a war - imposing religious beliefs on others could often lead to a forceful show in order to make people 'believe'. Hmmm, the same could be said for political beliefs and how trying to change countries over to a new political system has also been the source of a few wars.
It can also be argued that religious and political parties do not have their flock's (excuse the association) best interest at mind, but ultimately their goal is to preserve and grow their power at any expense. This is usually done by recruiting people but more than anything it is often done via financial routes. The most powerful churches tend to be the ones with the most money - same for political parties. Somewhere along the way both political and religious organizations have lost their way regarding taking care of their flock. Unfortunately their agendas are driven by selfish reasons/agendas and not humanitarian ones. Don't question authority and accept the status quo as fact.
The consequence of either organization's hunger for power (and them having obtained it) results in an above the law mentality where they are immune to the working person's plight and reality and their are little to no personal consequences for abhorrent or unethical behavior.
The biggest consequence of the exclusivity of religious and political groups is that instead of uniting, they divide. The irony is that when you strip away the blubber and noise, most religious organizations have the same core belief system - we ultimately know what is right and wrong as individuals...the same goes for politics...ultimately they know what is right and wrong but we have somehow been able to turn an easter egg hun into a butt-f#$@-athon (to steal the quote from the move 'Made'). We tend to blur the obvious by wrapping all sorts of peripheral discussion around what are easily identifiable right/wrong views.
In some ways, religious views and beliefs drive political agendas. Just as the right is hard conservative in some ways, the left is equally on the other end of the spectrum. What I find interesting is that the right is unwilling to be open to discussion and possibly change their views - but the left is no better. They are equally steadfast in their views and how wrong the other side is. The exclusivity that surrounds these organizations automatically sets up a scenario where good solid dialogue is never achieved because they can't ever get to the table to discuss - they would spend too much time arguing about where the table is and what it should be made of, and what shape it should be, what height it should be....all non-consequential things that have nada to do with whatever the core discussion points should be. Is it any wonder that in this day and age of technology where life moves quickly that not only do individuals suffer from ADD, but so do organizations.
as an end note, I turn to the great philosopher Groucho:
'please accept my resignation. i don't want to belong to any club that will accept people like me as a member'
there is a lot to be said for that which is probably why I don't affiliate with either political party or particular religious organization.
It dawned on me yesterday that there are many similarities between politics and religion. Most political groups and religious organizations are exclusive by nature. So if you are part of one particular political party, you are automatically against the other...the same applies to most religions where if you are part of a particular religion, most others are in the wrong. I am of course making generalizations and understand there are exceptions to the norm.
So as this thought rambled around in my mind I started to think more and more about it. Many people's beef with religion is that it is exclusive and that it has not evolved and adapted as the humanoids have (I suppose you could argue we have devolved but let's just go with the evolutionary aspect for a bit). As a result people identify less with many religious organizations because they have not adapted to our quickly changing world. The same could be said about our political system...very very very slow to adapt - mostly because it is not in their best interest...that change thing can be scary for some.
In my opinion, religious and political views are often inherited from the parental units. It seems as most people seem to align with their parents belief system...which I guess makes sense considering how they raised you has a huge bearing on how you see the world. The journey of self discovery can sometimes lead people to different views of the world but me thinks this is probably more the exception than the norm. I think this is changing somewhat considering that people are finding it more difficult to identify with archaic views that the churches still hold on to, etc
War...in the past, religion was the source of many a war - imposing religious beliefs on others could often lead to a forceful show in order to make people 'believe'. Hmmm, the same could be said for political beliefs and how trying to change countries over to a new political system has also been the source of a few wars.
It can also be argued that religious and political parties do not have their flock's (excuse the association) best interest at mind, but ultimately their goal is to preserve and grow their power at any expense. This is usually done by recruiting people but more than anything it is often done via financial routes. The most powerful churches tend to be the ones with the most money - same for political parties. Somewhere along the way both political and religious organizations have lost their way regarding taking care of their flock. Unfortunately their agendas are driven by selfish reasons/agendas and not humanitarian ones. Don't question authority and accept the status quo as fact.
The consequence of either organization's hunger for power (and them having obtained it) results in an above the law mentality where they are immune to the working person's plight and reality and their are little to no personal consequences for abhorrent or unethical behavior.
The biggest consequence of the exclusivity of religious and political groups is that instead of uniting, they divide. The irony is that when you strip away the blubber and noise, most religious organizations have the same core belief system - we ultimately know what is right and wrong as individuals...the same goes for politics...ultimately they know what is right and wrong but we have somehow been able to turn an easter egg hun into a butt-f#$@-athon (to steal the quote from the move 'Made'). We tend to blur the obvious by wrapping all sorts of peripheral discussion around what are easily identifiable right/wrong views.
In some ways, religious views and beliefs drive political agendas. Just as the right is hard conservative in some ways, the left is equally on the other end of the spectrum. What I find interesting is that the right is unwilling to be open to discussion and possibly change their views - but the left is no better. They are equally steadfast in their views and how wrong the other side is. The exclusivity that surrounds these organizations automatically sets up a scenario where good solid dialogue is never achieved because they can't ever get to the table to discuss - they would spend too much time arguing about where the table is and what it should be made of, and what shape it should be, what height it should be....all non-consequential things that have nada to do with whatever the core discussion points should be. Is it any wonder that in this day and age of technology where life moves quickly that not only do individuals suffer from ADD, but so do organizations.
as an end note, I turn to the great philosopher Groucho:
'please accept my resignation. i don't want to belong to any club that will accept people like me as a member'
there is a lot to be said for that which is probably why I don't affiliate with either political party or particular religious organization.
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