There's probably no God....

These ads have been approved for display on buses in Toronto and efforts are being made across Canada to get them approved in other municipalities as well.

Personally I would lump them in with ads exhorting one to “eat broccoli – it’s good for you”. In other words, meaningless and pretty harmless, destined to be ignored for the most part once the initial reaction to them wears off.

But not so the reaction from the more religious among us, including everyone’s favourite wing nut, Chuck McVety . To them these ads are an outrageous attack on their beliefs and their response is to rage at the audacity of “atheists forcing their views down our throats”. A typical reaction was a woman who called in to an Ottawa radio show and who, after establishing her bona fides by explaining that she was raised Catholic and later converted to Islam, termed the ads “offensive”.

Okay folks, let’s get a grip on reality here. No one is trying to subvert your personal faith or steal the children from the bosom of your church (synagogue, mosque) under cover of darkness. Your faith will be none the weaker for having read these words, and in fact, may even become stronger if they cause you to reassess and reaffirm your own beliefs. That’s fine if that’s what works for you. But for McVety (the poster boy of intolerance) to call these ads “intolerant” is about as stupid as calling the “God is Love” billboards publicly displayed outside churches intolerant, or “Jesus Saves” painted on barn roofs intolerant. They simply offer a perspective with which it is your option to agree or disagree. You have no more right to be offended by them than by a sign in a travel agency that offers you “The perfect winter get-away vacation.”

We’d all get along so much better if people just remembered that it’s freedom OF religion, not freedom FROM religion.

There is a real world out there...

For the past month or so I have been lurking in the shadows, watching the blogosphere react to the Cons latest questionable actions related to the in-and-out scandal, the religious wingnuts’ (is that an oxymoron?) attempt to get Chief Justice McLachlin removed from the bench with, presumably, a scarlet letter of some sort attached to her robes, and the Harpercrite’s own musings about a dysfunctional Parliament (another oxymoron?).

While fun and amusing in a watching-a-train-wreck sort of way, it is all so tedious and predictable. Religious fundamentalists of all stripes will never be satisfied or silent until all of society adheres to their own little warped and twisted view of what constitutes acceptable behaviour coupled with suitable obeisance to their imaginary god(s). And politicians are simply elected idealists who have morphed into opportunists who will tell any lie, break any rule, abuse any trust to continue to manipulate the levers of power. Fakes and phonies all.

Contrast that to a couple of weeks ago when I had an opportunity to mingle with some real people – people who had no pretences, no hidden agendas, no ulterior motives, and who wanted nothing from me but respect and friendship. I was in Sturgis South Dakota for the 68th Annual Black Hills motorcycle rally, along with 450,000 other pilgrims, for it is, in fact, a pilgrimage for many of the people who attend year after year. These were men and women who crossed continents and oceans for one reason only – to be in Sturgis for the rally and ride the Black Hills of South Dakota. I guess that’s actually two reasons, but whether it was the guy who allowed as he’d “had some trouble with the law”, the UPS pilot, or the Wisconsin firefighters, what you saw was what you got, most everyone got along, and all had a great time.

There is no comparison between the two worlds, and right now I know which one I’d rather occupy. So I guess I’ll go back to lurking for a while, periodically reminding myself that not everyone is a cheat and liar and that there are still real people out there, living real lives, outside the political bubble.