Dec. 16, 2001

 

 

“If we believe absurdities, we will commit atrocities.”

 

                        French philosopher Voltaire made this bold assertion sometime in the 18th century.   It was true then, it is true now and, unfortunately, always will be true because when we “believe” anything we flirt with irrationality. Although there might be some debate as to what constitutes an Absurdity and, depending on whose history you read, what constitutes an Atrocity -— there can be no debate about what Belief itself means.

 

                        The Random House dictionary defines Belief as, “…confidence in the truth, the existence, or the reliability of something although without absolute proof one is right in doing so.”  Thus, by definition, “belief” in ANYTHING is an acknowledgement that we don’t really know the truth of the matter and, more to the point, likely that we have closed our minds to the facts that would lead to the truth.  There is no crime in Believing, as there is none in being closed minded or ignorant, but there are huge risks and consequences with both.  Inevitably, we choose to ACT on our beliefs rather that on our knowledge (i.e., what we KNOW to be true ) and no matter what our beliefs are-- no matter how innocuous they may seem or how non-absurd they may appear to us – they will lead us to commit atrocities.

 

                       “One man’s theology is another man’s belly-laugh”

                        -- Robert Heinlein

 

                        Please consider:

 

                        If we believe we need more pastureland,  more cattle,  more hamburgers, and better decks for our barbeques --  we  will commit the destruction of rainforests and redwoods.

 

                        If we believe we need clothes dryers, hair dryers, electric can openers, SUVs, and disposable diapers --  we will commit Three Mile Islands, Chernobyls,  acid rain, air pollution, water pollution, and global warming.

 

                       If we believe that rhino horns, elephant tusks, leopard skins, and dead whales make us virile, rich, beautiful, and  -- and there is NOTHING dead whales make us! -– we will commit extinctions.

 

                        If we believe our own bodies are imperfect and someone else’s body can be our property, we will commit; clitorectomies, circumcisions, breast implants, face lifts, anorexia, bulimia, child abuse, spousal abuse, sexual abuse, rape, slavery, murder, and suicide.

 

                        If we believe in astrology, ESP, UFOs, or in a Creator of the Entire Universe who speaks directly to us and whose Will we are here to obey --  we  will commit Crusades, Inquisitions, slave trading, witch trials, Manifest Destinies, Jonestowns, Heaven’s Gates, Solar Temples, and eternal tribal warfare in the mideast, Ireland, eastern Europe, the Asian subcontinent,  Africa, and everywhere else.

 

                        If we believe we can preserve our Beliefs and Way of Life and obtain Justice by killing innocent people, we will commit Wounded Knees, Lynchings, Holocausts, Nankings, Hiroshimas, too many “ethnic cleansings” to list, My Lais, AUM sarin attacks, Wacos, Oklahoma Cities, and World Trade Center bombings.

 

                        If we believe the absurdity that we are fundamentally different from the perpetrators of the heinous crimes of September 11 --  we will commit the atrocity of bombing more innocent Afghanis and Iraqis.

 

                        It is time to wake up to reality.  If we can take the first step toward sanity and at least acknowledge that we are as befuddled with absurd beliefs and as capable of brutality as bin Laden and his followers, maybe we can refrain from fulfilling Voltaire’s dictum. Maybe, if we stop “believing” altogether and start thinking, we will commit acts of “sanity” and in the process maybe commit peace.

 

                       “Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.”

                       --Buddha

 

                  

                      “What luck for rulers that men do not think”.

                      --Adolf Hitler