Is Faith Reliable?

Why does a person need faith? If a thing were based on certainty, would we need faith? A person does not need faith to believe that the sun will rise the next day. Even if that person dies, the sun will still rise. There is clear and verifiable evidence for the sun. On the other hand, people need faith to believe in God. Why is that? Is there not proof that a God exists? If so, is this God the Christian God? Fundamentalist Christians certainly believe so. What proof do they have? Their assertion is based on faith. But what is faith? It is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. That belief leads to pivotal questions. People hope for things they do not have. It is logical to conclude that what they do not have does not necessarily exist. Similarly, if you cannot see something, does it really exist? You cannot know it exists if you do not see it. Faith is hope in essence.

The problem is, hope does not always come to fruition. If one is honest, they will acknowledge that hope is sometimes empty. On the other hand, experience is full. We know that the sun will rise tomorrow based on long-term experience. We know that death is certain based on experience. We also know that marriage and family is real based on the evidence of things seen. We are not certain of the existence of a deity because we have not seen him/her. Does that mean evidence does not exist? To some, evidence is the bible and religion itself. The problem is, we also have the Quran, Hindu and Budhists texts, and also paganism. How does one determine which of those paths are correct? The true path is the one that is provable. The tangible world is provable.

What Is An American?

What does it mean to be an American? Does it imply belonging to a specific race, culture, or religion? Should it imply those things? I would say no to two of the above. To be an American cannot refer to a specific race since our nation was multiracial from its conception. We all know that the Indians were the first Americans followed by African slaves and European settlers. It matters little how any group arrived nor how they were treated once on American soil. All three groups are equally a part of the fabric of America.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali makes the case that to be an American is a concept rather than an ethnicity. She refers to the contrast between American immigration and Europe. Ali points out that to claim the title of English, Danish, or Dutch is to be a member of a specific racial group. I will take it a bit further and say that one cannot be a true Englishman unless they are white and native to the country. The immigrant to England can adopt the culture or religion, but they are not indigenous. This is similar to whites living in Africa. Some may live on the continent but they are not truly African. None of this means that immigrants on the European continent should be treated as second class citizens. It is to show that one cannot become Dutch like he/she can become an American.

On the other hand, becoming an American should include adopting a culture. There is a type of food, dialect, and diction that is unique to the United States. English is also the most widely spoken language here, although not official. Therefore, American culture includes language, food, clothing style, and worldviews along with shared practices.

So what does it mean to be an American? It is both a concept and a culture.

Are Arab Women Suffering As Much Oppression As We Think?

According to Queen Rania of Jordan, the issue is blown way out of proportion.

Admittedly, I was one to believe that there are more cons than pros to being a woman in the Middle East. Honor killings, forced marriages, etc. are pretty much all we ever hear about. As Rania points out, 1 out of 3 women are victims of violence throughout the world. Why is all the focus on Arabs? This is something I’d like to explore in depth. It is important, however, that I may end up coming to believe that the queen is sugar coating the issue. I’m more inclined at the moment to believe that she does have a point. I’ll wait to come to an informed conclusion once I hear from a broad spectrum of Arab women. She always appeared to me to be an independent woman who has nothing to cover up about her culture. We could possibly take her at her word.

For more videos, see QueenRania on YouTube

The Myth Of The Angry Black Woman?

I’m sure you’ve heard it before, black women have major attitudes. Given the climate that we live in, it would seem as such. But it really isn’t attitude at all; at least not in the negative sense.

What does one expect will be produced within us when we live in a racist society? If we do not assert ourselves, others will walk all over us. Honestly, I don’t think that assertiveness should be limited to black women. Women of all races, and even some men, need to stand up for themselves. Of course there are those who go beyond assertiveness. I will admit that I can be fiery at times. Never violent, but I don’t have a problem with verbal confrontations. This has nothing to do with a supposed innate racial characteristic, but just a reaction to what is going on around me. So black women aren’t angry, we generally don’t tolerate disrespect. No one should.

Video Courtesy of Abyantbirds

Should I Be Black First And A Woman Second? Or A Woman First And Black Second?

I’ve been visiting quite a lot of blogs lately. Aside from blogs concerning the atheism/theism debate, I’ve discovered a new angst. That being the good ole man vs. woman debate. This would be formally known as feminist vs. maculinists. I’d have to say it is a debate that I have not and cannot take seriously since men and women need each other no matter how much the opposite sex claims we do not. But there is another side to this coin. Could it have anything to do with race? Perhaps it does. Being black, I never felt any type of concern over gender issues. I’ve always loved being female and never faced any type of discrimination due to my genitalia. In fact, I always figured that when people looked at me, they’d see black skin first and sex second. But as I moved out into the world and lived a little, I learned the surprising truth. It appears that people see both which means I cannot escape my womanhood even if I wanted to…and I don’t. Why would I make such a statement about escaping womanhood even though I love being a woman? It’s a bit complicated.

I cannot deny that I am left with a sense of empowerment when racists react to my color. Just imagine being a woman who has felt powerless for most of her life, she encounters racists (racist men in particular) who are actually afraid of her. My very presence strikes fear in their racist egos. To me, that is a powerful feeling. BUT, sexism leaves me with a feeling of powerlessness that is hard to describe. When I am the victim of some type of sexual harassment, I feel as though I am reduced to a lower level. In other words, I don’t matter since I’m just a piece of meat on earth for some man’s sexual gratification. So in a sense, racial hatred=power for me, sexism= strips me of power.

A Jewish friend of mine spoke of her experiences traveling to the Middle East. I asked her about the possible anti-Semitism she may have faced. She said, “it’s the anti-female treatment that bothers me much more so than the anti-Semitism.” I could not understand what she meant then, but now it is all clear to me. Who knows? Maybe she came to the same conclusion that I have, hatred directed at us because of our race/culture doesn’t lead to vulnerability like sexism does. But does that mean I should embrace feminism? No. But that’s for another post. So perhaps I cannot be black first or a woman first. I am simply a black woman all at the same time. And you know something? I ‘m cool with that since I love being who I am. To be continued…

Ciao for now,

LorMarie

Are All People Really Created Equal?

One of my favorite short stories to teach and read is Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. It gives us a glimpse into the future where everyone is finally equal:

“THE YEAR WAS 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren’t only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else. All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution, and to the unceasing vigilance of agents of the United States Handicapper General.”

It explains what can happen when society takes the notion of equality too far. If you are swift on your feet, you will be handicapped so that those who are slower will not think less of themselves. If you are attractive, you will be forced to wear hideous masks so that unattractive people will not feel like “what the cat dragged in” as stated in the story. Then there is the young and handsome genius named Harrison Bergeron. He was taken away from his parents presumably because of his physical and mental gifts. It was only Harrison’s final act of rebellion that caused the handicapper general, Diana Moon Glampers, to shoot him dead. The story was written in the early 60’s so I can assume this may have been a stab at civil rights on the part of Vonnegut, an atheist. He’s dead now and is unable to defend that point. Whatever the case, there is an important lesson to be learned here.

I firmly believe that we are all equal as human beings should be. BUT, we cannot deny the fact that we are not equal in terms of intellectual and/or physical abilities. When I consider myself, I will admit that I will never have the physical prowess it takes to be an athlete. I do, on the other hand, have the intellectual capacity for scholarship. Still, the person with an I.Q. of “15″ and I are equals. That may be hard for those with inflated egos to accept, but it’s the truth nonetheless. So in a sense, all men and women are created equal.

Take Time To Quiet The Mind…

I’ve got one of the most stressful jobs you could imagine; I’m a public high school teacher. Sounds surprising to some since I can take the summer off and get about four scattered weeks during the year. But there’s a price for all that freedom…it’s called STRESS. Why is being a teacher so stressful? It’s being told to work miracles when it’s impossible for a teacher to do so. It’s being able to make students behave, but not succeed. With teenagers who are not your own, you cannot make them realize the importance of an education before it is too late. You can’t even get many of them to get off the path to destruction. In a few years, those same kids will be blaming “the man” for holding them back. If they’d only look in the mirror…

When you take a stressful job and add it to other stress triggers like health, family issues, and social pressure, life can become a shaken soda bottle if you get my drift. So what is one to do? Take time to quiet the mind. It is crucial to make other aspects of your life more exciting so that the stress drowns in the sea of forgetfulness. In other words, have fun. Fun for me is hanging out with friends, going to plays, laughing, and loving. I also find that pampering myself works wonders via regular manicures and visits to the hair salon. Of course, if there are stress triggers you can get rid of, by all means do so. Living life in spite of your circumstances beats stress. So get out there and live!

PLANNED PARENTHOOD DOES ITS BEST TO HELP THE BLACK COMMUNITY

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eygv8qEkiFE&hl=en]

And young girls with adult boyfriends

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTHOgoGBUkw&hl=en]

For more videos, see InfoWars

AMERICAN MEN BY AKIN SALAWU

Below is a moving video, by Akin Salawu, highlighting prominent men who support Barack Obama for president.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPjXqkZXbQ4&hl=en]

Visit this website for more information on the Akin.

Would You Like To Be Osama Bin Laden’s Daughter-In-Law?

The stupid things we women do sometimes… This article is about a 51-year-old British woman who married the 5th love of her life, the son of Osama Bin Laden. Her young stud, Omar Bin Laden, is 27. Wow, that is probably the same age as one of her children. Allow me to make one thing clear, I see nothing wrong with her marrying him per se. Just because you are related to an infamous, evil person (whether it is a relative of Hitler, or Osama) does not mean that you are also evil thus undeserving of marriage. What blows my mind is what appears to be happening to hers. Take a look at a quote:

 “Today, she is taking family loyalty to a somewhat improbable level, insisting again that the Bin Laden patriarch might just be innocent. With a jaw-dropping combination of stupidity and naivety, she says in her best school ma’am voice, when I raise the question of the Twin Towers: “I mean, do you know - beyond all doubt - that he did it?

“If so, I’d like you to show me the evidence. I don’t think it’s nice to make assumptions about someone when you don’t know the facts.”

I hope that I am wrong about this, but why does it appear that women fall for such nonsense more so  than men do?

Lord, help me not to be so gullible.

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