Freedom of Religion, The Plan to Destroy the Individual, This is What I’m About

“And this I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected. And this I must fight against any idea, religion, or government that limits or destroys the individual. This idea is what I am and what I am about.”
— John Steinbeck

Good morning. Can we talk about freedom of religion?  Oh, I know a heavy topic for a Wend morning, but hear me out.  I have a guilty pleasure; I like to watch board meetings of various city councils, H.O.A’s, and other board meetings.  I don’t know why; most I watch are spicey, my algorithm feeds me well.

Last night I caught a clip of a small town in God only know where and the news was reporting that a Satanist had asked to give the invocation for the board meeting.  The council allowed this, and people got irate!  How dare he! 

As I watched it, I began belly laughing. First, I deemed this a stunt to make a point, but at the end of the meeting, the young man and stood up and said, you are forcing your Christian beliefs on others, can you please allow a moment of silence so those of those are praying to other gods can have our time?

 We all want freedom of religion, but we want it to be “free” under the guise of our belief system.  Look, Jesus is my quarterback; I think there is something bigger than ourselves; if you read my shit, you know this.   But folks, we have to let everyone speak, let him, he, or they say what they want.  Freedom of speech is freedom of religion even when you disagree with what they spew as fact.

There is an excellent exchange between the actor and genius, and should I also point out atheist Ricky Gervais and Stephen Colbert.  Stephen, a devout Catholic, asked Ricky how he can be an atheist.  Ricky, a witty man with solid beliefs, states, and I am paraphrasing, “Stephen, you believe in one God, correct?”  Stephen affirms.  Ricky then states, “In the world, through many religions, there are over 2000 Gods. So you, my friend, disavow 1999, and I disclaim one more.”

My mantra this year is and will be, “you do you, and I’ll do me.”  I could give two shits of what you think about anything.  Treat me with kindness, and I’ll do the same.   Come at me with your vitriol about this or that, and I’ll kindly walk away.  I don’t have time for anger, angst, or fury; I have time for only love, joy, and happiness.

You are listening to the words of a man that lives on top of a mountain.  I have three children, all successful, I have a granddaughter, I am married to the most beautiful and understanding woman globally, I’m a writer, a teacher, and I own a successful small business.  Do my words sound like something of a calloused man?  No, these are the thoughts and ideas of a sane man with a Christian upbringing that now seeks to help others.

I hear you, “check your EGGO man, well EGGO’s are for breakfast, and if you took the time to know me, you might find me to be one of the most rational and down-to-earth folks you will meet on your life’s journey.  I’m a simple man with a simple plan.  Connect with others who are open to a positive experience that wishes to change the world; that’s it.  Are you in my 8%?  How about a conversation?

How can you find me? If you can’t locate me, you are not looking. However, I’m open to exploring others and learning from you, and maybe I can share some insight that helped me arrive at the best version of myself. So my question is, “are you the best version of yourself, and if not, why?”

Please take a look around, things are strange, but we still live in the most opportune time in the history of humankind.  I would say mankind, but the woke Grammarly would tell me that mankind is an outdated word.  Suck it, Grammarly; I’m like Popeye.  Keep your woke bullshit on the coast; we fly over state folk don’t’ care about your feelings.

I’ve got a confession to make; I’m writing these words at night, it’s 6:18 p.m., an evening soup if you will, but I’ll share tomorrow.  I just had some pent-up ideals and values and thought I’d share.  I’ll get up early, refine, redraw, and rewind these thoughts, and craft something acceptable, but for now, I’ll leave it here and see what my morning self agrees, disagrees, or is agnostic about; see you in the a.m. B.T.W., how about that Steinbeck quote? I get inspiration from the greats! 

Good morning from the morning self, and I agree with most of what he said; I did clean up my evening self’s spiciness, I left a slight edge, but my evening brain and morning brains operate differently.  I will say the Steinbeck quote might be one of my new favorites, one I might put to memory; it’s like the man summarized my existence many years ago.  -cheers, I’ll see you tomorrow.  Red Rocks tonight, our first time in 18 months, and let me tell you, we are READY!

“And this I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected. And this I must fight against any idea, religion, or government that limits or destroys the individual. This idea is what I am and what I am about.”
— John Steinbeck