Happy Holidays, 2013!

Merry Xmas! There, I said it. And, happy holidays to all. This is a nice time of the year to be spent with friends and family, as there are several common days off. I hope you had a nice winter solstice (Dec. 21st). Festivus, Humanlight, New Year, Kwanza, and whatever else you desire to celebrate may all come with good times and health! Let's eat, drink, hang out with the good people around us, and enjoy.

Humans have tried to make sense of the natural world but in the absence of knowledge they made up stories about spirits, gods, and thought they knew the order of the universe through revelation. Slowly, we grew up--well, some people who asked questions, sought evidence, applied reason, and were able to revise in the face of conformity and tradition.

Why so many humans are still in the dark ages after dawn of the Enlightenment is amazing. We have a modern state, with relative stability, affluence, education & access to information, plus a good amount of scientific knowledge, and yet, so many choose to live by edicts and observations of small-minded ancestors of the bronze age!  Why isn't obvious that the god in the Bible, Koran, and any other "holy text" is so outdated.  It's so clear that what's in those books came from the mind of people who were ignorant, superstitious, homophobic, genocidal, misogynistic, slave holders, and fearful of nature.

It bothers me to high heaven when modern people have their opinions informed by those ancient texts. And, they draw some perverse morality from those. The vile rant of the clan leader of Duck Dynasty, the reactions of conservatives against same-sex marriage (the same cons who applaud Uganda's capital punishment for homosexuals), are all informed by passages in the Bible.  Ridiculous, simply ridiculous.

But, I love the federal judge's ruling that Utah's banning of same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. This is a strike at the heart of a very religious state and against the efforts of the Mormon church that has spend lots of money, even out of state, to defeat equal treatment under the law. It is about equality. Progressives aren't threatened by this change of tradition, only the conservatives are. 

Back in 2004, I wrote in this blog that there would be a clash between the progressive forces and the reactionary conservative/religious forces. I hoped that the former would prevail, and I'm happy to see that it's happening. Not at the pace I'd like, but we've come a long way in the last quarter of a century, indeed in some 10 years since I wrote that post.

So, let's celebrate our progress and look forward to a new year ahead when we can do much more; we do have to keep fighting for a system that delivers for the 99%, and for a society that promotes the good life, access to opportunity and conditions that allow for an individual to fulfill their own potential.

Best,

George