Good, Evil, And Religion

There's been so much rhetoric lately on domestic terrorism, given the recent events in Paris and now San Bernadino, CA.  It seems there's no middle ground for people who think the answer is arming ourselves with more automatic weapons, or banning said weapons, or perhaps banning immigration altogether.

This week, it was taken to the extreme by the non-to-be-taken-seriously Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who suggested banning new Muslims from entering America.  It's an unconstitutional, certifiably insane idea, but he actually gets cheers from other extreme Republicans for saying it.

I plan to blog about the presidential candidates sometime before the Iowa caucuses.  In the meantime, to all who think like Donald Trump, I say in the famous words of Joseph Welsh to Senator Joseph McCarthy, who destroyed lives in the 1950s with false accusations of communism:  "Have you no sense of decency?"

The underlying current behind all of this rhetoric is religion.  We like to think religion reminds us to love our fellow man, but aren't there as many examples of religion making us hate?

I'm not just talking about radical Islam, either.  I know plenty of Christians who have no problem discriminating against gays (yes, that counts as hate), for no other reason than their religion tells them to do so.  Religion and religious differences have promulgated hate for centuries, from the Crusades to the Revolutionary War to the World Wars.

The other day, I came across a quote from more than a decade ago, attributed to Steven Weinberg.  He's an American theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate in Physics for his contributions on the unification of the weak force and electromagnetic interaction between elementary particles.  (Whaaaaat?)  Let's just assume he's a very smart dude.  Oh, he's also an atheist.  His quote pretty much sums up how this deal works:

“With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things.  But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.”

Not Thankful Yet Again

Here's the 7th annual edition of my Thanksgiving-time list of things for which I am not thankful. You can get to the trail of prior lists here or by using the label Thanksgiving.

As usual, this year's list is in no particular order:

People on social media who believe everything they read, and then forward it, without question.

Superhero movies.

Caitlyn Jenner and her/his so-called courageousness.

Academic professors more concerned about their tenured, taxpayer-supported livelihoods than needed academic reform.

The Ebola virus.

Those who refuse to vaccinate their children because they don't understand science.

Those who refuse to acknowledge climate change because they don't understand science.

The Southeastern Conference.

Bill Cosby.

The end of the Grantland web site.

Another year without medical marijuana legalization.

Vive la Facebook

A few days ago, a coordinated terrorist attack in Paris, France murdered over 100 innocent people and wounded hundreds more.  It’s saddening and infuriating, as all terrorist actions are.

What I want to write about, however, is something that happened in the aftermath that I also find saddening and infuriating, in a much different way.  It’s the response of Facebook users to this tragedy, and to other man-made catastrophes similar to it.

Within hours of the attack, before we even knew of the true scope of it, Facebook had created a way for users to show their support for France by putting overlaying the French flag to their profile picture.  Untold numbers of users have utilized this new feature.  Now, this seems benign enough, why would that be saddening or infuriating?

Because the vast majority of those users are only trying to make themselves look/feel better.

I’m not saying these Facebook users don’t care about the victims, or the victims’ families.  I believe they do.  But let’s get real, 'supporting' them or France by adding a transparent French flag on social media for your friends to see is not making the slightest difference.  At best, it’s a self-serving coping mechanism, not to mention a PR win for Facebook.  At worst, it’s a faux-show of concern over terror victims, and terrorism in general.

We’ve seen how social media can be powerful tool to elicit social change in the world – in some instances, not for the better.  However, no good change whatsoever is going to result from a short-lived symbolic gesture like this.  It doesn't DO anything, that's the saddening part.

Here's the infuriating part:  Most of these same Facebook users couldn’t point out France on a map, nor name their own elected federal representatives, to whom they’ve actually granted power that might effect change.

No, it’s only a matter of time, probably just days, before these same folks forget about France or terrorism and go back to forwarding stupid animal videos, or posting far right-or-left wing political and religious propaganda.  Of course, these things are also without real meaning.

If people want to do something using social media that might actually make a difference to reduce terrorism, or to support the ideals of liberty and a free society like France, they needn't waste time updating a Facebook profile picture.  Instead, use the time on social media (or elsewhere) to learn more about the geo-political, scientific, and especially religious issues at the root of domestic and international conflicts and terrorism.  Or learn the names of elected officials.  You can even learn where France is.

Support and resolution requires understanding.  It does not require an updated Facebook image.  If this is too much work for Facebook users, well, just keep posting those hilarious animal videos!

New York City, Part 2

Here's the second and final installment of my New York City trip summary.  Part 1 dealt with my overall impressions of the city.  This one focuses on the sightseeing aspects of the visit.

Rockefeller Center
Got there early enough to watch some of the Today show being broadcast live, there was even a Broadway show performance for School Of Rock outside the studio.  That made the whole thing worthwhile, since there isn't that much else to see or do.  Fortunately, the skating rink on the plaza had just been opened, so I got to see that as well,  I'm sure it would be better to be there when the Christmas tree is also there and lit.  Also walked by Radio City Music Hall, which is just a block away.  Overall grade:  A-

Times Square
With all of the huge lighted signs, restaurants, theaters, and tall buildings, it had a very Las Vegas feel to it.  Picture-taking tourists were everywhere, belying its seedy past.  I didn't realize the famous Times Square New Year's Eve ball was in view all year.  We mostly saw the area during the daytime, but went back the next evening, when the large crowds and glowing signs gave it even more of a Vegas-vibe.  Overall grade:  B+

Ed Sullivan Theater / Hello Deli
Just up Broadway from Times Square, I had to go see where David Letterman, and now Stephen Colbert, taped The Late Show.  There was no taping that day, ergo no line, but we did go around the corner to buy a sweatshirt at the Hello Deli, and had a nice visit with Rupert Jee, the man Letterman made famous.  Overall grade:  A

Statue of Liberty
This was a bit of a disappointment, partly because I only viewed the statue from the Manhattan shore.  It was great to see it, but the bottom line is, it’s a statue.  Did not want to spend the time and money to ferry to the island to get a closer look, and if I did, I’d be as interested to see all of Ellis Island.  Overall grade:  C-

Wall Street / NYSE
There really isn’t that much to see in the financial district.  The New York Stock Exchange is walled off by security, you can’t even go through on a tour these days, so you’re stuck with outside pictures.  Touring it, like I did the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Chicago Board of Trade many years ago, would’ve made all the difference.  It was cool to be there, but I didn’t get the feeling it was the financial capital of the world.  Overall grade:  B

Columbia University
Wanted to check out Columbia, since I know some kids who attended school there.  Enjoyed the openness compared to the skyscrapers of mid-and-lower Manhattan.  In the end, it looks like a lot of urban college campuses, nothing more, nothing less.  Overall grade:  C

Macy’s
The largest department store in the world, and it is crazy big.  Eight floors of retail items, representing all of the big, expensive brand names.  My best story here came from the first floor, where the cosmetics folks present a virtual gauntlet for one to walk through – if you can do it without someone spraying perfume or cologne on you, congratulations.  Overall grade:  C+

9/11 Memorial Site and Museum
This was definitely the highlight of the trip.  The outdoor waterfall memorials, in the footprints of the original World Trade Center buildings, were beautifully done.  They included the names of all those who died in the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, including those at the Pentagon and in the aircrafts.  The museum itself was awesome, with so many facts and artifacts from that day.  It’s a sobering reminder of what happened, and of the loss of so many people in the prime of their lives.  I was inside the museum for four hours, and could have stayed much longer.  A must see for anyone in New York City.  Overall grade:  A+

Central Park
An vehicle-free oasis of greenery in a place with virtually none of that.  Lots of people exercising, sharing space with many horse-drawn carriages.  Also, got to see and have a beverage at the famous Tavern On The Green restaurant.  But at the end of the day, it’s just a park (a really, really big park), and after a while, trees and squirrels can get boring.  Overall grade:  B-

New York City, Part 1

Made my long-anticipated, first-ever visit to New York City (or is it New York, New York?) last weekend.  There was so much to see and do, it's too much for one blog entry, so I'm going to break it up into two parts.  This first part will be my overall impressions, and I'll devote the second part to the sightseeing aspect of the trip.

As prologue, recall that I'm basically a child of the 70s, when NYC was the consensus murder capital of the world, a gang-infested, dark and dirty place.  I know that it changed since then, especially in the 90s and beyond, but to me it was still a place you only saw on TV.

So to start, I found the people there to be more friendly than I expected.  I'd set the bar low, but there were at least two occasions where help was given that was not expected.  The first time happened right away at the airport, where someone offered help when buying train tickets into the city's Penn Station.  Granted, this was that person's job, but she was still very accommodating.  The second time happened the next day, when a random Yo-Pro noticed a bit of confusion in our search for the correct subway train, and offered his help.

Speaking of the subway, it was also better than I expected.  I was prepared for something much more grimy, with panhandlers at every turn.  Turns out it was clean enough, and other than a few homeless souls wandering around, it was just a whole lot of folks trying to get somewhere else as quickly and inexpensively as they could.  It was actually pretty incredible to think of this huge, efficient, subterranean train system existing several stories below ground.  (Note:  I did see a couple of official subway rats.)

Which brings me to the next thing -- New Yorkers are in a hurry.  It was easy to tell the tourists from everyone else, because everyone else was walking at breakneck speed to wherever they were going.  I had no problem with this, I just wonder if they're always running late to get somewhere, or maybe they just hate where they're at now.

Another observation has to do with food.  Namely, ready-to-eat food, and the great number of food carts and restaurants and bars on every city block.  I suppose with so many residents and workers, New York City has to have a lot of places to eat and drink, it just seems like there are too many of those vendors to survive.  Here's another thing:  In three days of walking around Manhattan, I didn't notice one grocery store.  Not one.  They must be there, hidden in the nooks and crannies of buildings, but you aren't going to see any supermarkets.

Finally, one peculiar thing I'll always remember about NYC, especially after staying at a hotel in mid-town Manhattan, is.....car horns.  The sound of people honking their horns -- typically at other vehicles, not at pedestrians -- was always there, even very late at night.  So many cars (mostly taxis or limos or delivery trucks) on so many narrow streets made for lots of folks honking at one another.  And unlike Iowa, it wasn't to say hello.

Golf Season (At Bushwood)

Now that it's October, and the days are getting colder and darker, any round of golf I play may be the last one of 2015.  Here's a summary of the beginning and end of most rounds I played with my buddies, using scenes from Caddyshack:

On the first tee

Al Czervik: What're we, waiting for these guys? Hey Whitey, where's your hat?

Judge Smails: Do you mind, sir. I'm trying to tee off.

Al Czervik: I'll bet you a hundred bucks you slice it into the woods.

Judge Smails: Gambling is illegal at Bushwood sir, and I never slice.

[Swings club, slices ball into woods]

Judge Smails: Damn!

Al Czervik: OK, you can owe me.

Judge Smails: I owe you nothing!

At the 19th hole

Bartender: Another Rob Roy, Bishop?

Bishop: You never ask a navy man if he'll have another drink, because it's nobody's goddamned business how much he's had already.

Judge Smails: Wrong, you're drinking too much your Excellency…..

Bishop: Excellency, fiddlesticks, my name's Fred and I'm a man, same as you.

Judge Smails: You're not a man, you're a bishop, for God's sakes!

Bishop: There is no God.....

Viva il Papa

Pope Francis visited the United States last week, attending events in Washington D.C., New York City, and Philadelphia.  Thus did faith (generally) and Catholicism (specifically) become the top news story of the week.

As a Catholic, I viewed the media attention the pope received with mixed feelings.  To be sure, the fact that the host cities were in the major east coast media markets made a difference.  Plus, there is definitely more excitement about having a likable, more open-minded, quasi-celebrity leading the church.  But why are the messages of hope and compassion given so much more attention when delivered by the pope in person, as opposed to any other time?

I especially loved how our federal politicians over-compensated, giving Francis time to speak at the White House and to a joint meeting of Congress.  There’s a basic cynicism to that, given how most of them aren’t practicing Catholics, but knowing how crucial it might be for voters to see them with the pope.

On the other hand, it was understandable how some devout Catholics considered the pontiff’s visit to be a spiritual, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see him in person.  I wish there’d have been a way for them to get more exclusivity, they deserved it.  For those not-so-devout Catholics and others, I was left to wonder if seeing the pope in person constituted a faith/life-changing event, or just a chance to see a celebrity.

In the end, the pope’s visit to America made for a generally uplifting week.  Given the past scandals and unappealing social conservatism of the Catholic Church, it’s encouraging to see so many people enthused by Pope Francis.  The church – the world – needs more of him, and more like him.