An unlikely triumverate of ignorance

What does Pakistan, Iran, & Rison have in common? They all have primitive people living there who still attribute natural disasters to a fictional god. We all remember when the Iranian imams stated that seismic activity was related to immodest women. That's obviously bunk. Otherwise, malls across America would have spontaneously imploded ages ago.

Pakistan has had a crappy summer, but when the populace has been polled (I have no idea how or why this was done) they believe that "god" is angry & only returning to strict observance of the Koran & becoming closer to "god" will shield them from more turmoil.

Now I'm pretty sure if you've been following me on Twitter, you know how I feel about Rison, AR. It's a backwoods bastion of religious wingnuttery, obvious ignorance, & the pendulum swings wildly between the haves & haves not. I was having a discussion a few days ago with an interesting woman about the school here. We seemed to have a lot of the same opinions about how unqualified some of the teachers are, the rampant inbreeding of residents, & how corrupt the school board is.

That being said, she then expressed something that shouldn't have surprised me for the area, but did for her obvious intelligence. She said "People have to get closer to "god" then things like 9/11 won't happen anymore". Huh? Ya lost me there. It seems that people's religious indoctrination will quite literally raise it's ugly head at any point & time. I am continuously disappointed by people that can't make a rational conclusion using logic. Does it really make people panic stricken that nobody's steering the bus? Yes. People seem to crave the notion that childhood cancer, senseless murders, war, even becoming impregnated by your rapist is all part of a nebulous plan that some higher "power" has concocted.

It's still mind boggling to me that this kind of mythology is still perpetuated today. That so many people refuse to accept that we are on an insignificant planet, hurtling through space, orbiting a minor star. If our planet vaporized in the next hour, nobody would notice or care. There is no higher "power" that will rapture you out in any event beyond your ability to survive. And the bullshit people spew about how "god" won't impose burdens on you that you're not strong enough to handle is just that. Complete & utter bullshit. You can put it in a fancy vessel, adorn it with ribbons & flowers. But it's still mythology & folklore, no better than an aboriginal witchdoctor who uses hallucinogens to enter an altered state to interpret an eviscerated bird's organs, thereby deciding on a chief.

I can only conclude from this experience that no matter how smart or stupid someone looks here, a conversation can lead to potholes large enough to hide a Hummer in. It's my estimation that although I can't avoiding conversing with people in this town, with careful maneuvering, I can steer the conversation away from religion.