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I'm offended. In general. About a lot of things. I'm offended by the fact that our "leaders" are all too willing to ignore the wishes of the American people by ending this fucking debacle of a war by whatever means necessary. I'm offended that idiots like Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, and the rest of their ilk can slander us en masse and feel completely comfortable doing it. Sure, they have to the right to free speech, but we also have the right to scream "shut the fuck up!"
I'm offended that teachers think they have the right to preach to their classes and the "larger community" seems to support this mental and emotional abuse of those who may not believe as they do. I'm offended by the fact that too many people feel like religious belief should be beyond criticism, or analysis. I'm offended that they can attack science and silence researchers who may learn something that goes against their assumptions.
I'm sick and tired of having to bend my neck for believers in absolutes--as if just by saying it, by believing it, it makes it true. There are VERY few things that are absolutely true, with no caveats. And nearly all of them have been quantified not by religion, but by science.
I have not made a habit of referring to belief in God as belief in fairy tales, nor have I referred to God as an "imaginary friend," though I myself can sympathize with this point of view. It seems ridiculous to me that someone can point at a book and say "here's your proof." That's not proof, and I can't believe anyone seriously takes it as such. I simply cannot comprehend this point of view. And am not sure why I should.
Religious sentiment SHOULD be between a believer and his/her deity of choice. The louder people are as they try to get others to respect their beliefs, the less I'm inclined to accept their belief itself. If religion can be said to be a personal connection between human and deity, why are the beliefs or non-beliefs of others in any way germaine to the question?
Why should anyone care what I do or do not believe, or even be offended when I say I don't really need to hear about Jesus anymore?
I'll let everyone in on a little secret. If by the age of forty I haven't found any reason to believe that one religion is any more accurate than another, I most likely never will.
And I'm offended that others are offended by that.
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