Can It Be? It Is!

Hello everyone! You may have noticed a lack of activity over on our other blogs, No Gods No Masters and The Adventures Of Justin (check out Justin's latest post!). That's because Red Town Blues is back! After some discussion we have decided to recombine our forces and give it another go. We have found that we are able to motivate each other to write on a much more frequent basis (certainly not a schedule, we are busy people and this is a hobby for us). There has also been so much political chaos lately that we just need to write about it! I am also personally excited for the goldmine of material that is forming as the presidential race starts to take off.

So there you have it! We are back, and hopefully for good. There will be changes, of course, but bear with us as we get this ball rolling again. It's nice to be rejoining our blogging friends and network!

With sincere love,

The Rev.

The Reverend's Rants: The Oslo Terror Attack

This is the face of a terrorist.

Today I talk about the horrible attacks in Oslo and Utoya. This is the perfect example of the dangers of extremism in any form.



My sympathy goes to all the victims of this attack, it truly is heart breaking. Please feel free to email me with questions, comments, or concerns at askthereverend@yahoo.com.
/rant

The Reverend's Rants: A Religious Education

In today's rant I talk about giving our students an education in religion.



Please feel free to email me with questions, comments, or concerns at askthereverendrtb@yahoo.com. Thanks for listening!
/rant

Marriage Equality

THIS WAS ONE OF OUR BETTER POST'S BUT I FEEL IT WAS OVER LOOKED BACK WHEN REVEREND ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IT AND I FEEL IT DESERVES  BETTER AIR TIME. SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, I GIVE YOU "MARRIAGE EQUALITY" BY THE REVEREND......

 

I recently read a slightly optimistic bit of news. In a quick summary it says;
The firm hired to defend the DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) has dropped out due to the political backlash they have received from the gay community and its hetero supporters.
Good. Unfortunately there is no shortage of law firms willing to defend that bit of legislation.

I'm not really here to talk about  the news story, it was simply a catalyst, but to express my opinions on gay marriage, marriage in general, and equality.

I have never heard a valid argument for the denial of marriage rights for homosexuals. Not once. Never. I hear religious arguments, but this isn't a theocracy. This is not a country where we look to an old bronze age text to make our laws. Well, it's not supposed to be. I have no patience for those arguments. Your deity is not special, your book is not magical, and no amount of faith should ever justify bigotry and oppression.

Then there is the sanctity of marriage arguments. 'If we let the gays marry it will ruin the sanctity of the whole thing!" What? How? They can never seem to give a satisfying answer to how. Marriage has ruined its own sanctity. Here are the divorce rates from Wikipedia;
More reliable statistics are available that measure the percentage of marriages that end in divorce within 10 years. One data set based on age of the bride indicates that the rate is 48% for people under 18, 40% for ages 18–19, 29% for 20-24, and 24% for 25 and older.
Those are some pretty high rates, and here in Utah many brides are around the 18-20 age. But hey, it's a super sacred institution still, right? Well, no. If it was so sacred, it would never have changed.


The last argument I usually hear is that marriage is defined as a man and a woman. Well definitions change, it's the beauty of language of changing times. Marriage has changed before. It will continue to change. If it remained in its 'perfect, sacred' definition, women would still be property, and divorce would be illegal. Only the craziest fundy wants that to be how the state regulates marriage. The arguments just don't add up and I think they really are just being half-hazardly thrown together to hide the simple fact. People who are against gay marriage are bigots. They won't admit it, but they are. They throw this smoke screen of faith, morality (like sexual orientation is a moral decision), and strict definitions to hide their bigotry, hate, and fear.


In Utah we have a church that spent $22 million to deny the rights of gays in California. Money that could have been used for any number of good deeds was used to get legislation passed that actively stripped people of their rights. They allow homosexuals in the church, if they take what amounts to a vow of celibacy. They truly believe homosexuality can be 'cured' through counseling, like it is a psychological disease. That is crazy to me. I had someone tell me that and I asked him, "So, can I send you to counseling and make you want to suck my cock?" He was flabbergasted that I would even suggest that, but that is essentially what they are claiming. We can change how you feel sexually with therapy! What horse shit. They do all of these horrible things, then have the gall to say that they are a loving faith, an inclusive faith, and just the sweetest people you can hope to meet.


Personally, I dislike all marriage. It seems antiquated, and I don't think it really is able to cater to all the different kind of relationships real people actually have. I am am advocate for love, whether that is expressed as a man and a woman, a gay couple, two men and a woman, etc. As long as all parties are consenting adults, and happy with the arrangement. If you want to get married, by all means go for it. If you want that as part of your loving relationship you should have every right to get it, but to deny that right to fellow citizens is appalling. I also believe the state needs to offer the same legal protection to all sorts of adult relationships. If 3 people want to be married to each other, let them. What does it hurt?


I can already hear the arguments to my opinion, so let me be clear on one thing,


Allowing this to happen does not endanger, cheapen, or lessen you marriage/relationship. If it does, then you were on shaky ground long before. No one is going to try to take your relationship away from you, or how special it makes you feel.


Watching these bigots make their hate speech to fellow citizens sickens me. It makes a pit in my stomach. They are people too. The gay people I know are caring, compassionate, wonderful people. They aren't these immoral monsters people paint them to be. We are all human, we all deserve the same rights, and sexuality doesn't change that.

The bright and dark side of religion

This is me at age 3

This is me when I was three. Young, innocent, tender, trusting, kind hearted, and loving. Much like my own daughter is now. It was soon after this picture was taken that the LDS indoctrination began. I was strangely fortunate enough to be raised in a household with a LDS mother and non-religious father. So at a very young age I was able to decipher both worlds and decide for myself what I felt good about.

However, I was very much a Mormon in my younger days. And the pressure of making sure I prepared for the day that I would one day serve a mission was pretty intense and unbearable. And by the age of seven the stresses of being a Mormon kid showed...

This is me at age 7

 I remember my grandpa patting me on the head at this age and with a twinkle in his eye, and a big smile on his face, lovingly telling me,"I love you so much".."Your my flesh and blood and I'm so proud of you".."You are special and I'll always love you".."SOMEDAY YOU'RE GONNA GO ON A MISSION." I clearly remember even at that young age thinking"what does that even mean?" 

Now for the non-Mormon readers an LDS mission is when you're 19 years old you go off for two years to force, manipulate, seduce, bribe, and trick other people to join the church. In Utah this is pretty much what you were put on this earth to do, that, and come home and marry a young teenage girl and have seven or eight kids together and live happily miserably after, the end!

I remember wishing and praying to "heavenly father and Jesus" that someday Dad will join the church. I always felt pressured from my peers, teachers, and extended family to get him to join. That somehow it was up to me. Years went by and I started to become aware of what was really going on. It evolved into," Why is my Mom making me go to this church that makes me so miserable and unhappy? No wonder Dad doesn't go!" To be fair to my Mom she only wanted what was best for me and my siblings and has sense left the LDS church behind. 


I left the church at seventeen and I'm pleased to say it's been 10 years since I've considered myself LDS. From seventeen to before my daughter was born I was very much an Atheist and damn proud of it! I hated all religion especially anything Mormon! It all changed the day I saw the ultrasound of my daughter. Something happened to me that day that I'll never forget. And then after she was born I remember she was a few days old. Me and my wife were watching her sleep when suddenly she started making a giggling noise in her sleep. That's the definitive moment that I knew in my heart that indeed there is something more out their! How could this few day old baby who's only memories are that of being in her Mom's womb make her giggle. She couldn't even giggle yet when she was awake but there she was, giggling in her sleep.


From that day to now my belief in god, or an entity, or higher power is strong, I just refuse, will not, can not, never will believe in any religion this world has to offer! I've always said jokingly to friends that the only religion I'd ever consider joining would be the Jedi from Star Wars.  That is my heart felt belief and nobody will ever sway me otherwise. Atheists would consider me wishy washy and religious folk would consider me a heathen. But that is my belief.  

• religion divides more than unites
• brings hate and intolerance
• pins us all up against one another
• is the greatest cause of war and famine
• brings more death than life

This is the bright side of all religion..

This is the dark side of all religion...

My final thoughts on this is I'm not an anti-religion guy. I think we all have our own path to walk and it's nobodies business to tell us other wise. I only take issue with religious people who expect everyone else to be like they are and hate them if they're not. Obviously I've been raised and brought up in Mormon Utah so I'm biased toward that particular religion in my disdain because I know it very well. But I'm quite sure that if I was born anywhere else I would be the same way to whatever the predominate religion was around me..


I'm not the type that says,"Everybody is instinctively good." I actually think opposite, people are instinctively shitty, some just try harder than others not to be.

In God We Trust(To Divide)

It's true, and it's unfortunate. 'In God We Trust' is the official national motto. It was codified into federal law in the early 50's, during the McCarthy era, while America was doing everything in its power to separate themselves from the godless reds.

If you talk to most people on the street they will tell you they are completely fine with this. The phrase is printed on money, and the majority of people believe in the deity. This presents a problem for me, not just because I am an atheist, but because it is wholly un-American. The phrase is divisive and unconstitutional.

The average American will tell you this a democracy. The majority of people like the motto, or truly believe it NEEDS to be our motto (This being a Christian nation and all), and that because the majority wants it, it needs to be so. But they forget this is not a pure democracy, this is a democratic republic with safeguards to prevent this kind of thing. The tyranny of the majority.  For whatever reason the people of this country think if the majority wants it, it must happen. Nothing can be further from the truth. The Constitution has rules in it to prevent the minority from being obliterated.

One of those rules is freedom of religion. As Americans we have the right to choose our own religion, and not have others force theirs on us. We also have the right to have freedom from religion, because you can't have true freedom of religious choice if you can't abstain from making that choice. The state is not allowed to favor one religion over another, or religion over non religion. For all intents and purposes, the state is atheist. Our motto is purely unconstitutional.

The motto is also divisive. I have to live in a country that bombards me with 'You have all these great freedoms!', then goes ahead and endorses religion over non-religion. Am I a second class citizen? Does the state not respect my choices? Slightly dramatic questions, sure, but valid. Add on top of that the people who insist this motto is protected, special, and anyone who disagrees isn't American. They ignore the whole 'freedom of religion' thing, and say if you aren't their color of Christian, you are not American.

What I don't understand is why we can't go back to E Pluribus Unum. It was never codified as the official motto, but it was inclusive to all. Out of many, one. What could be a more American sentiment? Out of all the cultures, religions, races, and orientations we have in this great country, we come together. We stand united. We overcome those petty differences and make something great. This is a motto everyone can stand behind. This is what it truly is to be American, to be part of the melting pot.

My question to all this is, why can't America include all of its citizens, not just the majority?