The Perpetual Digression

Somebody once asked me if I believed in evolution or creation. My response was a chuckle.

From the time I was little, I was fascinated with the world around me: how people respond to hardship, the way in which some use religion to justify their behavior, and--perhaps most importantly--who was right.

Coming from a largely secular family, these questions were ones that I kept to myself in fear of chauvinistic responses; because I spent much of my childhood with my grandpa, my perspective of the world was shaped at a susceptible age to emanate that of a liberal. Since I was little, I vehemently questioned the mindset of conservatives and eventually became irascible when someone would disagree with my view on politics. Yes, I abandoned Hot Wheels at the young age of 11 to deliberate something from which some adults even abstain.

Growing up, I tried to take the world around me from an objective position. My family returned to the Catholic church and--almost immediately--I began to appreciate the world from a different angle. Unbelieveably, I still remained pro-choice--yes, going to church did augment my belief that the views of liberals were "right"--and believed in welfare, restrictions on guns, and the separation of church and state. 

While some conservatives believed that America should be run on Christian values, I questioned the fact that they simulatenously resented Middle Eastern countries for adopting a theocracy: basing their government on the morals of the Islamic religion. I couldn't fathom the hypocrisy.

It was sickening to me that conservatives refuted the morality of welfare and even considered it profuse. I've heard it many times, but I will grudgingly repeat it: "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." That's very cute, but extremely idealistic. While social mobility is promised in America, people like us don't understand that some poor folks absolutely cannot conquer their situation. 

Is that their fault?  No. The conditions under which some are oppressed simply do not allow for mobility on the socioeconomic ladder. Yet, some religious conservatives exhort that they deserve no help. How Christian. 

Then, there's the old adage: "Guns don't kill people, people kill people."

Don't people kill people with guns, though?

I completely abandoned my aforementioned Catholic perspective, however, when a Catholic friend ridiculed my refutaiton of creationism. When I was asked whether I believe in evolution or creation, I said neither.

That was my response not only to this friend, but to the world. A world that exposes us to the undeniable facts of science and juxtaposes them every Sunday with the promise of salvation and faith with the simple acceptance of creation. My response was the rebellion to conform to these two contrasting concepts--ideas. 

I'm a liberal who believes in a God that embraces the good in people and the salvation of the world beyond life. My god is not concerned with the mundane convictions of humans that digress the true accomplishment of religion: to be able to love one another and yourself and achieve peace.