What You Already Own

Organized religions offer a morality structure, a contact system for the Divine, and the architecture of an afterlife.

In return for one's soul.

Because all of them acknowledge that there is a soul, and that we have it no matter what religion you follow. It's the custody of that soul, now and forever after, that religions jockey for. By signing up with one or another, we transfer custody. From us, to them.

So they admit we own our own souls.

What we do, worshipping in some organized way, is sign up for the program as laid out in the brochures. By following their bylaws, using their communications equipment, we will arrive at our eventual destination, sort of a time-share where we get it all at once, at the end. Because they all say souls go somewhere. By signing up with one or the other, we are paying into their version. Which is always much more appealing than the other kind.

The part I've always disliked about time-shares, condominiums, and other shared ownership schemes, is that we really don't own it. We don't have the freedom to paint it anyway we like, or have parties after a certain time. We park where we are told and plant the flowers that are acceptable to all. So you are paying to own something that you don't really own.

They are selling the illusion of ownership. You are really renting with equity.

Religion takes it a step further. Follow their moral laws, use their communications equipment, and get their afterlife. What is kind of insidious about it is this: we already have, by virtue of being a human being, moral laws, a line of communication, and some kind of afterlife.

Anyone who thinks about morality can formulate their own moral laws, which can be more flexible, more understanding of changing circumstances, and more moral than a lot of the rules of organized religion. Why not eat ham, have a drink now and then, and live with a significant other instead of getting married? What is truly wrong with that?

And the communications hookup is all around us, if we simply pursue our own relationship with the Divine, whether nature, or kindness, or beauty, or all three? There's no reason why not. Spirituality is part of our nature, and it is our nature to contemplate it and find how to communicate with it.

And the afterlife... who can say? If it is truly a matter of belief, why not create one's own? Since there is not a lot of people coming back to say what's it's like, anyone's conception is as good as any other.

The only assurance organized religion offers is a safety in numbers. So many others think this way. Some find that soothing, even though huge groups of people can be wrong, even more easily than one person can. Huge groups of people can foster even greater delusions than a single person can, because the support of the group prevents dissension. We know that.

Some people are glad to pay rent with equity, even though they might live with a lot of rules and restrictions that make no sense, because they are paying for a lack of responsibility. What color, where to park, what flowers? It's out of their hands. And everyone else is doing the same thing. And we don't have to mow the lawn.

But it is an illusion of ownership. Be aware of what we are trading away.

Because religion gets you to buy something you already own.

And that's the greatest sell of all.

About Apple Pie

As American as apple pie.

For decades, apple was the top-selling pie. But then bakeries scaled down the size. They offered an 8" pie.

And apple was no longer the most popular pie.

It turns out apple is America's most popular compromise pie. When you had to buy a big pie, everyone could agree on apple. But when it was possible to buy two smaller pies, other flavors edged out apple.

And thus it always is. People want choices. The complacent conclusion, "Apple is America's favorite pie," is now open to consideration of other factors. Did apple reach the peak because apples keep much better than other fruits? Thus allowing them to be accessible pie material more months of the year? Or was it just the compromise factor?

Before Bill O'Reilly gets wind of this and starts with the "War on Apple Pie," I must say apple is a fine pie. It is simply not my favorite. All it means is, after years of compromising, people want to enjoy other pies.

When they have the means, people make choices.

What I'm getting at is a celebration of diversity. Freedom is the ability to make choices. Yet, sadly, there are always elements in society who fear and reject choices. It arises out of a reluctance to actually take the responsibility for one's choices. What if no one likes your choice? And, so what?

There's no comfort in the fact that we are pretending.

The recent mid-term elections were a clear indication of how people act when given the choice. For years we have been told that "All Americans agree" on recent policies, and those who do not are a small minority who shouldn't be listened to. And so some Democratic strategists fell for that, and encouraged candidates to be more like the majority party. Which is stupid.

It's like giving people a choice between apple, apple crumb, and apple raisin. In this election, it was candidates who were clearly different that had the competitive advantage. Because people wanted a change in policy. If it isn't offered to them, they cannot choose it.

Because when you offer apple, apple crumb, apple raisin, and strawberry rhubarb, all the people who are tired of apple go for the strawberry rhubarb.

So on this Thanksgiving, let's be thankful we have choices. As you choose turkey breast or the drumstick, mashed potato or yams, or all of the above, remember:

It's not a feast if there's no choices.