What's normal?

Okay, here goes. Seems we need to repeat this from to time.

Gender orientation and sexual preference are physiological conditions. They result from perhaps billions of impulses, triggers, and connections within our genetic makeup, any one of which may affect our final condition. One scientific premise, for example, is that all embryos start out as female. Over time, and countless genetic maneuvers, physical folding, merging, and transformations, some develop as male, although with useless breasts, hirsute shortcomings, and a dearth of nurturing synapses.

Over geologic time, the pairings of genetic types of mostly male and mostly female tend to enjoy of the evolutionary advantage of reproduction-capability. Thus the predominance of so-called, “heterosexual” genetic models. Since we don’t believe it aborting rarer genetic types, (Right?) we fully expect to share the planet with models whose sexual preference or identity lies outside the majority but who stand among us nonetheless. In short, we are all brothers and sisters within the genomic bell-curve.

It all evolves from scientific determinants.

On the other hand. Bigotry and prejudice are conditions that erupt like projectile vomit from the basest of human sources, the worst of those among us. We, as individuals, must accept or reject the venomous teaching and societally induced impulses generated by humans, even when they are fed by so-called religious sources. Actually, we should reject those in particular, as they demean and sour the acts of truly spiritual people seeking love, stability and harmony in an unpredictable world.

So there you have it. If you went to church this morning and paid attention to the minister when he or she preached love and grace, go forth in peace. Peace and understanding may yet save the planet.

On the other hand, if you listened to a drooling bigot when he urged hatred and bigotry against a fellow creature whose genetic makeup differs from yours, you need to find another source of religion.

In short, using an exalted position to repeat false witness, hatred, and bigotry to a cult audience deprived of critical-thinking skills is a sin.

Being born with a genetic makeup that differs from that of a hegemonic minority is not.

Quit trying to create a moral equivalency.

Amen. Closing hym: Just As I Am Without One Plea.

Contributions to this sermon may be mailed to my home address or to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, folks who really know how to treat kids.

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Love and Grace

Saw something unusual yesterday, a post by a Christian espousing love and grace. Yes, of course it was from  a member of one of the mainline religions that still follow the teachings of the Galileans.

You don't hear much about love and grace from the Evangelicals these days. There's lots about the joys of greed and the dangers of not worshiping their new Messiah, nothing about grace or love for our brothers and sisters.

The new Messiah? Oh he's a billionaire who's on his third wife and who doesn't allow an hour to pass during the day in which he doesn't violate the Commandment that we not bear "false witness." I think he's a little light on the adultery one too, maybe some others as well. The Evangelicals don't mind. Situational morality is their newest and strongest doctrine.

Franklin Graham loves him for some reason and pronounces dire punishment to those who don't.

I think I'll take some time today and try to determine what, if anything, the God of the Good Book says about the ownership of vengeance.

Divide and Conquer

Sometimes Americans have a hard time understanding one another. I fear that social-media makes it worse and may lead to our downfall if we don't change our ways.

For example, I wish those among us who are liberal and progressive in their thinking (more in tune with the man from Galilee than with Ayn Rand, it is true), would consider the following.

There are brothers and sisters among us who, if asked, would say, "I've always tried to do right as a citizen of this great country. I obeyed my parents and showed appreciation for having been provided a stable home environment. I never embarrassed anyone. I may have bitched, but I've always paid my taxes in full and on time.

"I obtained an education. I served in the armed forces. I went to work and have remained employed for my entire adult life. I've never been arrested and am considered a solid member of the community. I've never looted, stole, robbed, or caused massive traffic jams while I protested what I perceived as injustice, thus alienating the guilty and innocent alike.

"I only blame others for my troubles when I perceive that they are taking my taxes in order to live large, free of work and worry at my expense.

"Now, I'm considered a deplorable citizen of some in our country because I have little patience with those I see who haven't done right and who depend, it appears to me, on governmental largess as opposed to individual initiative and hard work. You may say that my attitude enables the unworthy to gain elected office. I say I am looking out for my own."

Yes, one might observe a lack of thoughtful contemplation that would lead to one's understanding that not all people are equally enabled. These include children fathered by men who face little consequences in generating children with no intention of providing their care, and who face little stricture for such neglect within a male-dominated hegemony.

It includes the women, some who are ill-prepared for the trials, who must care for the abandoned children while struggling for a success that came so easily for me, a white male of European ancestry.

It includes the babies bred and fed into a society that increasingly cares little for their fate. I think of the secretary with whom I worked once whose husband kicked her and their two-year-old child into the street one evening so he could bring his new girlfriend over. A male judge awarded her a  child-support payment that was $12 less than the monthly cost of a day-care center.

The ex-husband's new girlfriend was from a rich family that owned stables. After "visitation weekends" the child would return home all aglow, asking his mother why they couldn't buy a horse.

It includes my brothers and sisters who served in the same war I, but weren't allow to return, marry, find a good job, and buy a home in a stable neighborhood, as was I.

Our differences lie not in morality, it seems to me, but in levels of understanding and empathy. The demands required for a successful life don't always allow time for reflection upon the conditions of others. So we misunderstand one another, blame one another, and avoid one another, except through the anonymity of Facebook or Twitter.

Unfortunately, there are politicians who eschew such misunderstanding, preferring to utilize our mutual disaffection for their evil purposes. Social media is proving to be their most effective tool in modern times. As they attract moderates such as the one quoted above, they secretly muster in the worst dredges of society, forming a coalition that appears more and more to be unstoppable. Fox News, for reasons known only to its owners, joyfully promotes distrust and deceit.

Deceitful men like Franklin Graham use perverted religious thought to separate us into groups who would despise one another for no reason whatsoever.

Divide and conquer has been a strategy for destruction since we left the savanna. It's best antidote is to, at the risk of sounding maudlin, unite, respect, and love.

May we all hope for better understanding.

Will We Never Be One Again?

Yesterday showed us that there may be few days in the future of our country in which events don't occur to divide us further.

A popular actress in a popular television show posted a rather tasteless comment on social media. The furor was exacerbated by the fact that the actress is a vocal admirer of the current president of our country. Further, the character she plays in the TV series voices support of Donald Trump in her dialogue. Opponents of the president were already angry about the show. Fans of the president were equally joyful.

The network cancelled the series with great fanfare. The results proved predictable.

Opponents of the president chortled and danced like fairies.

Supporters of the president stiffened in their resolve to hate anyone who is not an avid member of their cult.

Americans in the middle scratched their heads. Rumor has it that tears ran down the cheeks of the Statue of Liberty, but no dependable source has verified this.

I've never watched a segment of the TV series in question, either in its original or current form. It's not my cup of tea. So far in America, we have freedom of choice. At any rate, I can't vouch for the quality of the program. I do feel for the many actors and support staff who lost their jobs along with the transgressor.

The problem is, as I see it, that she, the transgressor, will enjoy the fame, and profit by the enhanced support that she will receive from the president's supporters. I also believe that an added percentage of previous neutrals will take her side. Americans are about fed up with what they perceive as "political correctness," even when it points out acts of hatred and bigotry. I think maybe we crave love and grace, but who am I to say?

Franklin Graham will say that the transgressor was speaking through God and her firing was a direct blasphemy of the Almighty. He may even go so far as to recommend that God's treatment of the Midianites be replicated against anyone who doesn't love Donald Trump. He's that crazy.

The president's political party will gain an additional five percent or so in voter support.

America will continue toward Gotterdammerung.

In a few months, the effects of the flareup will remain, but the reasons will have been forgotten.

Good morning America, I hardly know you.