Friday, August 1, 2008

Dear Anonymous

An anonymous recently left this comment on the McGowan thing I wrote a little while ago. It struck a chord with me and I reprint it here with my thoughts on the matter following after.


Anonymous said...
I enjoy the works of McGowan very much and as an ex-southern fundamental christian, the more truth I find the better.

The sad truth about that for me is what difference can it make? I have no doubt that ALL religions are lies for the purpose of deceiving the masses and the few getting richer, but if there is no right or wrong, god or devil, why should any of this matter?

If I try to live and do good to my fellowman and someone else lives a life only to hate and destroy and we both get the same at death..nothing...what does it matter what we do?

Why should we try to make things better for the following generations if there is nothing beyond this life? We should steal, kill, lie or anything we can do to get all we can get while we are here!!!!

Hundreds of sweet precious children are abused mentally, emotionally and sexually almost every 30 seconds and few people care. What difference does that matter is there is nothing better beyond this life? If a man strives to do good and be kind to children and another man only lives to rape a child and yet they both get the same at the end of life why should we strive for the 'good'?

What kind of world is this and what does anything matter at all? Maybe this is the jumping off place of the universe but in the religious pious stupidity we are led to believe we are better! I want no part of any religion for as long as I draw breath.



Dear Anonymous,

Whatever pathetic consolation it may be, I know precisely how you feel. In fact, I suspect that most of the regulars here would be nodding their heads. Mate, you are not alone. A lot of us have been there. Everything that had once comprised the bedrock on which we based our understanding of ourselves and the world, has turned to shifting sand. Actually it was always thus. But now it's become so obvious that none of us can miss it. We've all learned that nothing was what we thought it was. And with nothing firm beneath our feet, it's hard to know who one should be.

It is my conceit here, to I think I have something to tell you. Maybe I do, maybe I don't. I'm going to write it regardless and hope that it's of some use. If it isn't, and you don't care for it, feel free to dismiss it. I will not take it personally.

Professionals might disagree, but I reckon you are undergoing a slo-mo variation of a nervous breakdown. I say this because your words were mine and 'nervous breakdown' was how I chose to define the complete disconnect I experienced. But don't be afraid of the word 'breakdown'. You may as well embrace it. When a thing is built wrong at a foundational level, invariably there's no point fiddling around the edges. You may as well break it down and start again. It is a good and necessary thing. And I'm not talking about society here. I'm talking about you.

If you're like me, your understanding of yourself was based majorly on your understanding of the world. And now you've realised you've been had. It was all a con, a load of shit designed by vicious greedy bastards. Religion is a con, banking is a con, tax is a con, the media is a con. All of these things told you who to be and what to do. And now the scales have fallen from your eyes and you know it's all bullshit. So! Who are you? Who should you be? How should you behave? Where is the firm ground on which you can say, 'This is who I am'?

Well, I hate to tell you that you will never find this firm ground - certainly not externally. The only firm ground you'll find will have to be yourself. That which is outside us, is not us, and nor should it define us. You say that there is no right and wrong. Actually there is, but so far you've pretty much let others define it for you. I'm not attaching any blame to you for this. You, me, we all did it. The main thing, in rejecting this definition-of-others, is that you don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Which is to say, don't throw yourself out too.

Let's start with the wrong end of the stick. Clearly there is wrong behaviour. And you identified it quite eloquently. But rather than making sense of it with a thicket of complex rules, why don't we distil it into its single essence? All wrong behaviour is merely an expression of selfishness. Every 'sin' is only so, if it is carried out as an act of selfishness. All of the ten commandments can, believe it or not, be done selflessly - in which case they are no longer a 'sin'. Who knew?

Think of Robin Hood. He would lie, cheat, and steal, but all in a spirit of selflessness. Who cares what the reality was - he's mythologised for this selflessness. Had he robbed to enrich himself, there wouldn't be any myth. His heroic stature doesn't come from his breaking of the rules but from why he broke them. The rules were, and still are, bullshit. They were there to serve the selfish, which is to say, the wealthy and powerful. Forget the rules, the only thing that counts is the selflessness. The ten commandments, the seven deadly sins, whatever, only make sense in terms of their selflessness. If you view them in this fashion, idiotic discussions about white lies etc. are instantly resolved. Contradictions, clever tricks and self-serving loopholes all turn to a puff of smoke.

The rules are, and always were, bullshit. Given that the only certainty is change, they must fail. And they do. And you've seen it, you said so. So let's chuck them out. The only thing that counts is the question of 'for whom was the action done?' Did a person act out of narrow self-interest, or for the benefit of all?

It won't take much of a prompt from me to get you to wonder at the religious power structure of which you were a member, and why they never put things in terms of selflessness. Ha! The question answers itself. If an organisation was governed by the simple rubric of selflessness how, or why, would it's leaders amass all that power? How would they explain all those mansions with their hot and cold running blowjobs? These organisations, in refusing to discuss things in terms of selflessness, are telling you where the answer lies.

Let's not forget the government and the media. Of course the media tells you that greed is good. The media is run by the powerful and wealthy, which is to say selfish, and unsurprisingly they want you to revere the powerful and wealthy. Sure, of course. And here am I telling you, media-style, how to behave. But I'll also tell you - don't take my word for it. Do not believe me. Belief is what led you, and the rest of us, astray. Instead take this thought of selflessness (it's not mine you know. I merely echo others) and roll it around in your head. Apply it to anything you like. See for yourself if it makes sense.

For no particular reason, the Beatles song 'Money Can't Buy Me Love' came to mind. As did the old phrase, 'You can't buy happiness'. Wonder at these again. What are they apart form simple discussions of selfishness and selflessness? Simple things are easy to see. Complicated things are not so easy. This simple template of selflessness is not some magic key that will do your thinking for you. You've already had people hand you all the answers and you know what that's worth. Nothing.

You will have to be your own bedrock. You will have to struggle to embody what is right. Not only will you have to struggle to understand the right thing to do, you will have to struggle in the face of all those who will tell you that you are wrong. Stand firm. Don't be distracted by the selfish end of the continuum, regardless of how many people tell you that sins are virtues. Being distracted by the selfish and their selfish behaviour will serve no purpose. It's arguable that any religion (or society, same-same) basing itself on what one shouldn't do, was always doomed to failure. Forget what's wrong. Aim for what's right.

By defining yourself by what's best for others, you can find a strength that is unimpeachable. If a man cannot be accused of acting selfishly, he cannot be accused - period. He need not fear the lies of others. To shed fear is to shed the confusion and unhappiness that the lies are designed to instil. The selfish do not have this option. Those with the most to lose will live lives of fear. It stands to reason. And sure, they wish you to be fearful. Hell, do they ever! Reject them. Reject their falsehoods. Reject their fear. Turn away from all of it. Find yourself. You are all that you have and all that you need.

You have already come a long way. The path you are on is difficult. The main thing is that you knew to start it. I salute you. Here I will not discuss what I think you will find at the end of this journey. That would merely be my opinion, whatever that's worth. Not much, since I haven't found it yet. And I may never. But it doesn't really matter. With each step, one casts off fear and knows oneself better. The ground beneath one's feet become ever firmer and each footfall more confident. Eventually you will find the solid bedrock of yourself. Godspeed.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for your comment. I thought for awhile I had posted on a blog that would ignore this subject, as so many have done.

Seeing firsthand as I have seen the effects of abuse on children and the obvious shunning of this in our society has nearly destroyed my faith in mankind. In every area of power and control the abuse of children is always a by-product. It is as if these people who have wealth untold and power need to stoop to the lowest level of existence to experience the ultimate taboo of perversion. Today I read an article of a mother who had discovered that her 3 year old son had been sodomized at the nursery he attended. The way he tried to tell his mother what had happened to him was so pitiful and heartbreaking. People pay these places to care for their kids and this is what happens to so many of them. What kind of person could rape a baby?

This shit happens in the highest level of our government and no one wants to know about it. This country is being controlled by perverts and still people turn a deaf ear and blind eyes. If anyone here has not read the book The Franklin Scandal Cover-up by Senator John DeCamp needs to do so. It will inform them of how corrupt and sick our government really is and how the 'faces on the milk cartons' are the ones paying the price for these degenerates. When I first read that book I cried and cried until I was sick. Someone once said that all it took for evil to triumph was for good men to do nothing. I highly disagree with that. Good men would never sit back and allow these things to happen. Lazy self-centered and self-serving men would. Good people would lay down their lives to save the innocent. The children can't save themselves! There are many nights I can't sleep for knowing somewhere a child is being raped and I can't stop it. I know from experience the churches teach the children that 'god' has angels watching over them and 'jesus loves me this I know'. What a crock of shit to those children who suffer what most of us cannot imagine. Religion is insanity and people pass this nonsense on to children who believe 'god' will take care of them. I guess I drive myself to the edge trying to find a way to stop this obscene abuse of children and I really know there is not much hope. If there is no justice for anything else, I just hope with all my heart there is some justice for what these children have suffered. There is nothing more heartbreaking than looking into the eyes of an abused child. Those eyes are dull instead of sparkling with life. Those eyes have seen things that no eyes of a child should ever see. I detest any person who abuses a child and I would love to be the one to pull the switch, squeeze the trigger or empty the needle to kill those bastards.

Thomas Paine wrote that he "believed in one God and no more and he hoped for happiness beyond this life". I hope there is something to that but I still wonder how any god could allow any child to suffer when they are truly the innocent of this world. Sometimes I wish I had never seen the things I have seen.

I would also like to slap the living shit out of every lying pastor that lives off of stupid people.

nobody said...

Actually I started in on a much shorter reply to you over at the post but my battery has taken to cutting out at a moment's notice and it was lost. So I went home and wrote a thing that turned into something of an epic.

The short version pivoted mostly on recommending a book to you. The book is 'Buddhism Plain and Simple' by Steve Hagen. It is not religious. I wouldn't recommend it if it was. Actually for mine, Buddhism is not a religion. It's merely a philosophy.

In fact it was a philosophy founded in Siddhartha Gautama's acknowledgement of suffering. One could distil Buddhism down into many things but not least amongst them is an acknowledgement of suffering and it's flipside of compassion. The Buddha famously said, 'Life is suffering'. I don't know if Hagen's book will provide you with any specific solace. All I can say is that I found it tremendously helpful. I know I sound like Oprah, but it changed my life.

Otherwise you might want to pop over to pennyforyourthoughts (the link is on the front page). She is in amongst precisely this discussion right now. Keep in mind that both this blog and her's cover myriad subjects and don't stick with anything too specific.

That aside, Dave McGowan's 'Pedophocracy' piece, which Penny provided the links to, has done my head in. The repercussions of it are still bouncing backwards and forwards in my head. As loathsome as the subject is I might see if I can make something of it. No promises, you understand.

---

Folks, head over to Penny's and follow the links to McGowan's piece. Don't miss chapter VI and the report of the customs agent who busted the headquarters of the 'finders'. Read it carefully and be amazed. As ever, the rabbit hole is waaaay deeper than anyone knew. I'm still in shock.

Penny said...

YOUR StILL IN Shock! OMG!
Have you read the latest out of Canada?
My mind is blown, right now!

Dave's book just keeps rolling in my head over and over reading this bit of news

I don't know what to make of this, but I have saved a bunch of stories, and am going to watch this one.

I just keep thinking Manchurian Candidate, but then , is this possible and then I feel freaked out!

Anonymous said...

Thanks again for taking so much time and it helps to know someone understands how I feel. When I finally walked away from religion, which I will never regret, I stumbled upon McGowans site and I have read everything there, also the pedophile info. It make me so sick and so mad to think so many perverted people can exist and get away with hurting and killing little kids.

Children are taught to respect those in power such as clery/priest, doctors, policemen, teachers, caregivers etc. Instead of teaching our kids to trust blindly we should inform them to be aware of everyone. The bible teaches kids to 'honor' mother and father, but what about those children who are dreadfully abused at home? Honor are respect are earned and not demanded. I know there is right and wrong. It just seems so few people care as long as their little make believe world is not affected. They go through this life like a bunch of 'see no, hear no and speak no evil' monkeys. They are told in church that it is just the old devil and all things will be made right in heaven. In other words, don't bring up the ugly things of the world and make them think they need to do something. Ignoring all of this will not make it go away.

Just knowing that this world is being run, for the most part, by slimey filthy perverts is almost more than a person can bear. It is fear that keeps others from getting involved until it happens to a loved one. There are far more decent people than there are these parasites, but until people are informed and get enough of this shit things will continue to get worse. How much does it take for people to wake up and care? Who could not care about what is happening to the children?

You are a very nice person and I thank you so much for your helpful words. I suppose 'breakdown' could apply, but I guess I needed to get all these feelings out and deal with it head-on. I write letters and send emails galore to anyone I think needs to be informed or let those in power know that the day will come when they will get the payday they deserve. With all the info available and free it is a disgrace that so many people choose to remain oblivious to the injustice that surrounds us.

I have not heard of Steve Hagen's book, but I will look into that. Thanks friend.

nobody said...

Curiously enough, I was reading my favourite author Patrick O'Brian and came upon the following passage. It's narrated my Stephen Maturin, a physician, and describes Plymouth England in the early 1800's.

"I wandered about its dirty lanes, solicited, importuned by its barbarous inhabitants, male, female and epicene, and I came to the poor-house, where the old are kept until they can be buried with some show of decency. The impression of meaningless absolute unhappiness is with me yet. Medicine has brought me acquainted with misery in many forms; I am not squeamish; but for complications of filth, cruelty, and bestial ignorance, that place, with its infirmary, exceeded any thing I have ever seen or imagined. An old man, his wits quite gone, chained in the dark, squatting in his excrement, naked but for a blanket; the idiot children; the whipping. I knew it all; it is nothing new; but in this concentration it overcame me so that I could no longer feel indignation but only a hopeless nausea."

This was a mere 200 years ago. And were we to read of 200 years before that, it would be much the same. And before that, and before that...

I lived in China for a couple of years and it is the land of a million heartbreaking stories. My heart was broken over and over. But China is nothing compared to the grinding poverty of any number of countries. I expect the people of Afghanistan could only dream of a place as peaceful and prosperous as China.

And then I expect that there are places worse than Afghanistan.

The suffering of the world is endless. It will eat you alive if you choose to let it do so. No purpose will be served by this. How can one be the embodiment of compassion if one's soul is crushed? We have to go on mate. All the best.

Anonymous said...

Hea-vey!
Tony

kikz said...

'Children are taught to respect those in power such as clery/priest, doctors, policemen, teachers, caregivers etc. Instead of teaching our kids to trust blindly we should inform them to be aware of everyone.'

sound advice. and exactly what i've done w/my own. trust is a matter of degree and situation.

our latest revisit on this subject included the question from my eldest (13).. how do you 'know' whom/what to avoid?

after a moment's gathering..my answer.
first, listen to your gut, it knows b4 your brain. the brain will rationalize away most anything, don't let it.

be it a personal relationship, a religion, a government...

if it is demanded that you accept anything in totality w/o question... run.

if you are denied a choice, it is tyranny. it's just that simple.



nice piece noby, as always...

sorry i've been so mute of late... since wed, i've been busy dealing w/the news that my eldest daughter has idiopathic adolescent scoliosis. most common form. so in 3 days i'm well on my way to 'total info awareness' on the subject.. as is my style of coping.....

still awaiting her 'scores' from the xray series. then we can get her registered as a patient w/the Scottish Rite Children's Hosp here in dallas, and get her spine stabilized (brace) if needed and hopefully get her realigned as much as possible thru physical therapy and yoga, before she stops her growth spurt.

coupla days ago i was an emotional wreck. i'm better now though.

and thank god for the scot rite hosp.

the Silverfish said...

Sorry for not commenting for a bit but I've been out sailing and have sort of lost touch with the blogs.
Just wanted to drop by and say great posts and I will be back full time soon.

nobody said...

Hey kikz,

Yup, there is no short answer to the idea of thinking for yourself. And matey, all the best with your daughter. I'm glad you're keeping yoga in mind. It's had to beat the wisdom of the ancients. Otherwise with all the horror stories one hears of American healthcare and insurance, I'm hoping you make it through okay. I thank God we don't have that system here.

Silverfish!

Half your luck mate! I'm a book sailor, me. Mad for the aforementioned Patrick O'Brian. In honour of your return I'll splice the mainbrace.

Otherwise I was wondering where you'd gone. Mind you, I've decided that if people take a break for a while I'll leave them to it. I won't presume to be in some position where I should know where they are. Kind of thing...

the Silverfish said...

Many philosophies and religions concern themselves with how to live a happy life, albeit approaching the question in different ways. Philosophy typically comes up with applied theories and then tries to reconcile those theories with how the world (and the people in it) is.
Religions are more fundamental, claiming universal truths and offering an infinite reward if the person simply follows the creeds and accepts the values of that religion. It is no secret that philosophers on average are not typically the happiest of folks generally speaking. I myself am prone to state that "happiness is over-rated". Philosophy offers no guarantees but simply the questions that can broaden perspectives and give individuals and even sometimes societies a fighting chance at understanding the world and our place in it.

Religious people seem happier than philosophers, but I believe that this façade is a simple and thin one. Religious people seem happy only given that they believe their infinite reward to be guaranteed through God. That is to say, that religious folks define happiness by looking forward to what they consider inevitable future events and having faith that those events will actually come to fruition. I myself find that philosophy offers me the freedom and hence the happiness to think honestly and thoroughly and keeps me from relying on creeds and dogma.

Some people claim that without their religious faith, they could not be happy at all, but I would argue that such a statement shows the true nature of what those people consider happiness is, and it does not seem to be happiness at all.

According to The World Values Surveys, "The results clearly show that the happiest societies are those that allow people the freedom to choose how to live their lives," I happen to agree given some stipulations. First, people must be free to choose how to live their lives, and secondly actually and consciously choose how to live their lives. Let's face it, most of us believe that we are free to choose how to live our lives but do not really know what it is to choose. In other words, we do not act on intentional choice. Most of the "choices" that we make are not choices at all but reactions to situations that we find ourselves in either by chance or by reactions to other events. In short, we are led downstream by the proverbial currents of life. To be free is to both be capable of acting and understand the motivation behind that act.

People often believe that they make a choice to have children, but procreation is not a rationally motivated act: it is biological. The more free choice would be to act intentionally against the biological motivation to have children. Such an act takes willpower and intentional choice, and thus frees us from the evolutionary drive that is within all of us. The act of procreation does not make people (or parents) happy; neither does the belief that having children is the natural order of life.

Happiness, as a virtue, is the product of nothing less than the conscious understanding of any action taken.
In the same way religious belief, the belief in an infinite reward after death or the belief in an all-powerful deity who looks after us, does not make us happy. Religious beliefs are not based on rational choices but on faith. To have a religious belief one must have faith in something that refuses (rather than defies) to follow the edict of conscious understanding and as such religious people are not free to actually and consciously choose how to live their lives.

Biological evolution drives most people to procreate, not free choice. In the same way, fear (a bi-product of biological evolution) drives people to accept religious creeds and dogmas. In fact, it is not uncommon for people to simply accept what they were told as children. This phenomenon is ubiquitous as any philosophy class will show. Blind acceptance, another word for faith, is simply an easy way to answer a complex and seemingly unanswerable question. The edict seems to be: believe and get on with life. This is not happiness but simply ignorant bliss.

Recently a poll found that Denmark was the happiest nation on earth. The definition of happiness was based on health levels, prosperity and education. While this may seem to be worthwhile basis', they are not necessarily based on free choice. My point is that when we speak of happiness it is important to differentiate it from chance, happenstance, genes, evolutionary drive, and ignorant bliss. When we speak of true happiness, it must be understood that we speak of a conscious choice to act based on rational thought rather than unrecognized sources, evolution or faith.

To be happy, we must understand that our happiness is warranted, that we chose the path that led us to be happy, and that sometimes happiness entails hardship, is unnatural and will inevitably be difficult to achieve. While chance often defines individuals, it is the rational and active individual who defines the situation that chance gives them. While easy answers and a credit card seem to lead us to happiness, we must understand that such feelings are short-cuts unworthy to be considered as true happiness. While biological evolution allows us to be rational, we must realize to be happy we must fight for control over our biological drive in order to attain the freedom that our intellect will allow us.

To be happy is to truly choose how to live our lives. That choice, however comes at a cost: the acceptance that happiness may not be what we believed it to be.

nobody said...

Mate,

I grooved on this, but I found this to be a very curious statement -

"The act of procreation does not make people (or parents) happy; neither does the belief that having children is the natural order of life."

Would you disagree with me if I said that it would be more correct to say "does not 'necessarily' make people happy"?

I'd say that there's tremendous happiness to be found in having kids.

Sure enough I embrace the teachings of the Buddha. But I also embrace Darwin. These two are not at odds with each other. Darwin explains a thoughtless system and Buddha explains a thoughtful one. Neither is wrong. Darwin represents what is and Buddha represents what is possible.

the Silverfish said...

I made a Boo Boo and I stand corrected.

Penny said...

hey nobody et al:

in case you may have missed the Dave McGowan/ Programmed to Kill, the first six chapters, I have perma-linked them in the side bar on my blog, above the Manipulators against Sharia trash, but hell that crap has been getting hits, which is good, to help out the posers!

Kikz: I am hopin it all will work out for your daughter.

The Yoga sounds like a great idea, and I am a big fan of Pilates also, and they both get the nod from the chiropractor.

Kids are such a worry, sigh.......

nobody said...

It was only a minor point silverfish. Mostly I thought you were spot on. Like I said, I grooved on it.

Hey Pen, onya mate. Once more, anyone who hasn't checked out Dave McGowan's 'Pedophocracy' thing head over to Penny's and have a read. You will never view the world the same again.

kikz said...

thanks y'all :)