Interactive....
...question of the week.
Is there any question you would like to ask the PlainGeek?
No question is too dumb or too smart. Nothing is out of bounds. Feel free to ask in anonymous form or via email. I promise to answer as thoughtfully as possible.
Is there any question you would like to ask the PlainGeek?
No question is too dumb or too smart. Nothing is out of bounds. Feel free to ask in anonymous form or via email. I promise to answer as thoughtfully as possible.
Labels: Question of the week.
posted by Glenn at 6:42 PM
5 Comments:
How do you feel about religion and spirituality? If you are religious, how and why? And if not, what's it like to live in Georgia and not be religious?
This is a tough question and, at the risk of alienating my three or four regular readers, here is the true answer...
I was raised as a Christian but I couldn't tell you if I was a Catholic, Baptist, or Mormon. Aside from the occasional funeral or wedding, I've been to church exactly once in my life. It was an Scientology church that my mother took me to in the '80s when we lived in LA. So, to answer your question, I'm not religious at all. I'm more inclined to believe in UFOs than God.
I do believe that there is great logic in many of the commandments and recognize that many are at the heart of modern civilization. At the core, my personal commandment is to "live and let live" or "do unto others." I believe that you have the right to do whatever you wish as long as it doesn't interfere with anyone else's' ability to do so or harm others in the process.
The problem I have with living in Georgia has nothing to do with the place itself. It's one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. The natural beauty of this area never ceases to amaze me. All of the people who I've encountered here are nice and pleasant to be in contact with. My issue seems to be with two particular types of people that reside here. Sometimes they are the same people wrapped up in one package. It could be just me but I don't think it is.
I think the main reason I haven't run into any problems living here in the south is because I'm white. I often hope or naively believe prejudices are the exception instead of the norm. On the surface, from my prospective, this appears to be true. All the black people I've encountered here seem to be genuinely nice, forthright, and bear no open hostility or prejudices to me. A few people that are members of my "race" are a completely different story. In public they seem to be modern tolerant individuals but many times I find they are just as intolerant in private conversations as someone you would find here in the south in the 1800s. It turns my stomach when they let stuff like this slide in front of me because they feel it's safe to do so and makes me want to run as far away from here as possible. I didn't grow up in this type of environment and I just can't get used to it. I try to distance myself from these individuals but it's difficult. It also makes me bite my tongue when I want to lash out at them in certain instances for fear of reprisal. The truly sad thing is they are genuinely nice people most of the time.
The Christians do disturb me here but it's more as a group than as individuals. This is a nationwide problem in the US but, because of the concentration in the south east, it's even more evident. Such a large portion of the population here is so caught up in their own little world that they forget that they were once persecuted and The US Constitution was written to protect, not only them, but people who have different beliefs. It's very much "my way or the highway" in their minds. Stuff like drinking laws that only apply on Sunday, fights to post the ten commandments in government buildings, and their absolute distain for Gay marriage really blow my mind and heavily contradict my personal live and let live policy. They pretend these rules aren't religious in nature and provide lame thinly veiled excuses as to why things should or shouldn't change. One other thing that bothers me is their ability to build churches wherever the hell they feel like it. This wouldn't bother me except, once a church is there, there are rules as to what type of businesses can open in or around those churches (no bars and the like) which again encroaches on my live and let live policy.
Thanks! Very interesting, though very sad that such intolerance still exists in private....
When are you going to tell us more about the girl from "Get Out Of My Head?"
Don't remeber ever saying I would tell you more but, since you asked (twice no less), I'll get to it.
Post a Comment
<< Home