The Power of Culture and Indoctrination

It's been a national story soon after it happened on Sunday on a highway in Westchester, NY. Actually I was going to NYC on Sunday when I heard that the Taconic parkway--the one I take to go to NYC--was closed due to a horrific accident. It happened right by the place I work. I know the area well and I can't imagine how a driver could get on the northbound lanes and travel at high speed southbound (against the heavy traffic) for 1.7 miles before colliding head-on with another car resulting in 8 people dying, including several children. There are many questions to be answered and the investigation continues.

Immediately the references to God became apparent. Of course, they followed the same pattern: God gets only the credit for good stuff, not the bad. That he should be praised for allowing one child (of the 4) to survive the crash. The other ones, all under 10 years old, weren't deemed worthy of survival. God may have "special plans" for the survivor, etc. Prayers and special church services are now part of this unfolding story. It's amazing to me that people haven't figured out that even if there's a God he doesn't interfere; he doesn't alter the laws of nature that he allegedly created. Therefore, praying to any god or to the sun yields the same results. [George Carlin explains this one here.]

And here's a longer version. Do you find it offensive?


We all know that bad stuff happens all over the world, though usually we tend not to focus on the suffering for too long. It's not a bad thing, because otherwise we couldn't have a normal life. Obviously people have different ways to deal with adversity and grief. One common thread is religion. They pray. The want to believe that God is active in their lives (intervening) and he takes care of the departed souls. Making imaginary friends or any entity is an old phenomenon. Culture and indoctrination from childhood make this illusion all but real for most people. Very few of us have escaped this predicament. Hopefully, more and more humans will shed this prejudice, superstition, and this need for the supernatural.

The following video could be very challenging to those who don't want to see the obvious. It shows human behavior and thought processes that go against the logical, reasonable approach to everyday life--it ain't easy, but wanting to believe in something simply because it gives a false hope is not appropriate for grown-ups.



Well, are you up to it? Can you handle the truth? It's a bold question and a bold step to leave behind ancient explanations fit for people who didn't know any better. But, we do! And, we know that the universe doesn't revolve around humanity. We've progressed a lot, learned so much about the physical world and there's so much more to find out. Yet, have you pondered, how do we know things? What is the process, the tool we use to systematically discover, invent, and reason? It's the scientific process. This is the best method/tool we have to understanding ourselves and the universe itself.

Give it a try. But, be careful: once you take certain steps, you can't go back, that is, if you decide that you want to know--no matter what the truth is--you can't revert to being ignorant. It's like losing your virginity...