Cognitive Dissonance: My Stressed-Out Sympathies for Israel

As is typical for Jews of my generation, since I was a child I have believed in and supported  Israel and  the ideals of Zionism.  At one time it made pragmatic sense to have a national haven for the Jewish people to return to in light of historical Antisemitism culminating in the Holocaust. Also, supporting Israel was an ace in the hole of sorts--a place of refuge if hatred of Jews were to become as rampant in the U.S as it had been in pre-war Europe.

Equally important, Israel was founded by secularists  not just as a Jewish state but a democratic one as well.. Also, at its inception, Israel's very existence was threatened by its hostile Arab neighbors, so it was truly an underdog state. But that was then, and this is now.  Times have changed, and I find myself questioning my position of  heretofore unwavering support for several reasons.

To begin with, in recent years  the country has fallen under the control of the right wing and Orthodox minority  who thanks in part to the parliamentary system of government holds a disproportionate amount of political power over the secular majority of Israeli citizens.  I find the intolerance and aggressive policies of the Orthodox and its other rightist allies in government abhorrent, in terms of its stranglehold in such matters of conversion to Judaism, marriage, and its refusal to recognize and share power with other branches of Judaism within Israel.  Equally obnoxious is the attitude of the Orthodox Jewish establishment in Israel towards non-Orthodox Jews in the Diaspora, which is "You must keep supporting us with your donations  and your political support ,  but don't expect acceptance or recognition from us; not now, not ever."

And in the topic of political support, I think that it's high time for Israel to shed its over-dependence on American aid on both  government level as well as from private sources such as AIPAC which as a lobbying organization has itself  become too big for its britches. As previously mentioned, Israel is no longer a 97 pound weakling among nations.  It is a first world country with a sound industrial base, a kick-ass military, and an eminent producer of software which is highly in demand worldwide as well.  So it  should not keep putting its hand out for financial assistance.

In addition Israel needs to quit searching for love in all the wrong places. For example there is the matter of the Israeli Government's and Orthodox Jews' climbing into bed with American Christian fundamentalists who support Israel's existence, yet are nevertheless anti-Semitic. If that sounds like a twisted doctrine (which of course it is),  here is the "reasoning" behind it:  Christianity, especially evangelicals, believe that the establishment of the State of Israel heralds second coming of Christ and of  God's Judgment Day.  At that time those who have not accepted  Jesus as their savior will be condemned to hell. This is especially so for the Jews who as a people who "betrayed Jesus".  They can only escape God's wrath  by seeing the error of their ways and converting to Christianity sooner rather than later.  In other words, these Christians refuse to recognize Judaism in its own right and consider Israel's existence only as as a means to an end (as in "End of Days").  How can the leaders of Israel and Orthodox Judaism be so shameless as to accept  these people as "allies"?  To add insult to inury, Israeli Orthodox Jewish leaders extend a recogniton to these Christian extremists that they refuse to grant to non-Orthodox Jewish movements  inside or outside of Israel.

Speaking of acceptance, there is a branch of Orthodox Jews in Israel, the haredim, who refuse to recognize the State of Israel's existence because according to their belief, Israel will not  become a nation until the messiah comes. Thus as a human created establishment, the country is an illegitimate state. Yet these people for the most part do not work for a living. Instead they spend their time in religious studies, are exempt from military service which is compulsory for most other Israeli citizens, and--get this--receive financial support in the form of welfare from the very government that they reject.

As an atheist, I have a hard time coping with all this religious craziness.  Yet, in spite of everything, I feel that  turning away from Israel--and from my relatives living there as well-- would be not just disloyal, but by  default would put me on the same street as anti-Zionists who claim only to oppose Israel's existence and want to drive the Jews into the sea.  Certainly, there are people who oppose Zionism and who do so without harboring a hatred for Jews and Israel.  But for the most part "Zionist"  is used pejoratively by Muslims and other anti-Semites as a  code word for "Jew".

Perhaps it was the Six Day War in 1967 that showed Israel was a powerhouse of military strength and not to be taken lightly, even by its enemies.  It also brought the Palestinian question issue into the world spotlight, although that issue had been festering in one form or another for years prior, and of course ever since. There is plenty of blame to go around.  Israel has been wrong and ham-handed in many ways that it has dealt this matter.  But a major source of the problem is the Arabs' decision to leave Palestinian refugees to rot in squalid camps and exploit them as pawns instead of absorbing them into the Arab nations as Israel did for Jewish refugees who were expelled from those same countries as soon as Israel achieved nationhood in 1948. 

It's one thing to criticize and second guess Israel from the outside (and by someone like myself who has never even been there). But its quite another from within. Please see "We Have Lost Our Way", a beautifully written essay by an Israeli about her country's wayward policies and culture . The sadness that the writer expresses over Israel's straying  from its compassionate Zionist roots is almost palpable.  On the other end of the spectrum is an equally moving  "Only Israel". This video rightly condemns the hypocrisy of those in the international community who criticize Israel for the very acts that they  themselves likewise commit.  Yet why does Israel frequently shoot itself in the foot and put itself in untenable positions in the first place?  In doing so it needlessly furnishes ideological ammunition to its enemies and even  alienates many Jews as well. (See "American JewsWho Reject Zionism Say Events Aid Cause".)  For Israel  to then say  that it is no less guilty of  international law violations than its detractors is a poor rationalization.  Two wrongs don't make a right. 

One noteworthy ideal of the aforementioned  early Zionist roots was the willingness of the pioneers in Israel in the late 19th century through the mid 20th century to tackle menial jobs and perform hard physical labor required to build the country.  In time as the country prospered, this scut work was handed off to Palestinians laborers.  After the Intifada when these workers became scarce, the country  began importing workers from other places such as those in Southeast Asia. Sad to say that these laborers often face such abuses as unsafe working conditions and unpaid wages. By turning a blind eye to the exploitation of these workers by ruthless employers.("Israel Grows Uneasy Over Reliance on Migrant  Labor"), that country is following the lead of its Arab neighbors who are infamous for their inhumane treatment of  migrant laborers.  I reside in the Philippines, and tales of horror abound in the local media  about Filipino overseas workers who have suffered at the hands of their Arab employers.  Is Israel on the slippery slope to that same kind of barbaric behavior?  And what are the all powerful Orthodox  Jewish leaders who are self-proclaimed experts on morality doing to stop these  violations of human dignity?  

In short, many of  Israel's missteps and inconsistent policies are the result of the delusions of  its religious establishment.  If  it could overthrow this pernicious influence, the Jewish state would very likely become a more humane, coherent, and progressive society. In turn it might regain the worldwide respect that it once enjoyed. 

Suggested reading: "What Is Israel Doing Wrong?" I happened to read this essay after I wrote this post and found that many of the views of the writer, David Solway, are identical to mine. However, many are diametrically opposed. (More cognitive dissonance!).

An Open Letter to The President of The Philippines, Benigno S. Aquino III

Dear President Aquino,

As an expatriate American residing in the Philippines, I followed the election here last month which you won handily.  I offer you my congratulations and best wishes on your victory.

I find interesting parallels and similarities between that contest and the 2008 Presidential race in the United States. When President Barack Obama was elected  by an overwhelming majority, the millions of Americans who had supported and voted for him, myself included, were elated. After the the long dark night of the repressive and dishonest Bush administration, we looked forward to a new day and the progressive agenda for our country that Obama had promised in his campaign.

I'm sure the millions of voters who elected you now hold a similar trust, in this case that you will lead the Philippines out of the wilderness of corruption and poverty; or based on the likelihood that such a change might take generations to accomplish, that you will at least make a strong impact against these twin evils and set the country on the road to brighter future.

I hope that  you do not sacrifice your goals in the name of unrequited bipartisanship and that you do not make unreciprocated concessions  to your opponents in order to needlessly placate them.

I hope that should an ecological disaster strike the country, whether natural or man made, you will exercise decisive leadership immediately.  If the calamity was the result of human error or negligence, I hope that you will immediately hold the perpetrator(s) accountable and not allow them to stall and make excuses while the situation worsens.  If the violators acted in collusion with the officials in government department that oversees and monitors their operations, I hope that you will pursue the latter as well.

I hope that you will order an investigation into the crimes such as treason and human rights violations  that were committed by your predecessor and  whoever else was involved in these abuses no matter how powerful or influential and that if they are convicted, you will use the power of your office to let the chips fall where they may.

I hope that you will reverse the population control policies of the last administration  and that you will not be intimidated by religious extremists who want to impose their will on those who want to make their own personal choices in such matters as family planning,contraception, and sexual identity.

I hope that you will change the economic policies of the previous president, specifically that you will back a policy requiring businesses and wealthy individuals to pay their fair share of income taxes, and that the resulting revenue will be used to rehabilitate and expand the country's infrastructure and improve the educational system. 

Remember, Mr. President, you were elected by a landslide. You have a mandate from the people to make significant changes in the political landscape and an opportunity to turn the Philippines around.

I hope that you will utilize it.

Very truly yours,
Rick Levy

The Church's Damnable Damage Control

As a rule, when I create a post  I don't knowingly duplicate a topic from another blog site, especially a recent one from the blog list in my sidebar, in this case "Atheist Revolution".  I  believe that doing so is intellectually lazy.   However, due to the gravity of the issue and the enormity of the report relating to that topic as related by that esteemable site, I'm making an exception. I  feel that it's imperative to bring this matter to those of you who may not have read this story.
 
So here's the deal.  Just when I thought that the Catholic Church pedophilia scandal couldn't get any uglier than what's already been revealed, I was proven wrong.  To see what I mean, you can either click on the above link to "Atheist Revolution", or click here to read the article that the post will refer you to.

But wait. There's more.  Just to show how depraved and cynical that the Church hierarchy, whom millions of people throughout the world place their trust, has become, please read this post from "Atheist Revolution". 

BTW now that I've introduced you to "Atheist Revolution",  I hope that you will join me as a regular reader of that site.  The author "Vjack",  is extremely prolific and comes up with at least one provocative new topic almost every day.

Not Even Dust In The Wind

According to scientific evidence, our existence as living beings requires the right mix of chemical ingredients and "Goldilocks" conditions inside and on the surface of our planet and  in the surrounding cosmos, e.g. "just right" surface temperature, atmospheric conditions, the distance of  Earth from the sun, etc. (And speaking of our sun,  there is really nothing special about it. It's just an ordinary star on the edge of the Milky Way and just another face in the crowd, indistinguishable from the billion or so other stars [some of which may also have inhabited planets] that populate our galaxy and from those in the billions of other galaxies  in the cosmos; so much for the notion of the world's and man's special place in creation).

Despite the staggering odds against the above mix of circumstances serendipitously coming together, this extraordinary convergence of events did happen. Thus life in its simplest form began on our world.  And, as a result of  the path that evolution happened to take once life did start, humankind is here to tell the tale.  All in all, the whole thing is pretty amazing.

Yet in a sense life is abstract and is not the same as being alive. Although humans are hardly even specks against the backdrop of the universe, as sentient beings we have to ask ourselves what it means to be alive and have awareness, i.e.  to look outward from the inside of our minds.  However, we have nothing against which we can compare existence. There's no evidence of life after death or for past lives through reincarnation prior to the time of our conception.  So when we say that it's wonderful to be alive and that we should be thankful for being born; well, being born  and alive versus--what?  Nothingness? If that's the case then had we not been born, then how would we know the difference? And when we die, we will return to oblivion, most of us to be eventually forgotten.

This is not to trivialize love of life or the survival instinct that drives it, just to put matters into perspective.  I believe that while we are here we should try to enjoy ourselves constructively, enrich our knowledge of the world around us, and seek an understanding of the human condition. I further believe that to achieve these ends,  we need to reject such shallow values as greed and materialism. After all, the thrill that many people derive from acquiring and possessing things won't add even an extra second to their lives.

Of course, theists, especially the fundamentalists, have solved this the issue of man's insignificance by inventing  a god  who they insist brought the universe into existence, created man in his image, gave us life through reproduction, and a soul which will be taken to an eternal afterlife when we die. They will not listen to evidence to the contrary perhaps because they cannot handle the concept of a world without a supreme being pulling the strings.  It would be tantamount to jumping into an abyss.

Despite its limitations, the great thing about  our existence is that no two humans are identical.   We are of course individuals.  As such I believe that it is incumbent upon us as a society to ensure that people's basic needs are addressed so that each of us can flourish and be productive.  By doing so we can celebrate life even as we acknowledge and accept our role as bit players in the eternally unfolding pageantry of the universe.

It's All About Fairness

It's really too bad that the State of Arizona had to pass such a stringent law as the one that was recently enacted in dealing with illegal immigrants. Whether this legislation passes judicial muster remains to be seen.    However, the Federal government has abdicated its responsibility  in this matter, and just by the sheer number, the situation at the border and beyond has obviously gotten out of hand.

One aspect of the illegals problem that is not often discussed is that their very presence in the U.S. and their insistence on recognition is a slap in the face of foreigners  who have gone to the trouble of properly legalizing their status as aliens in a rather straightforward manner: by complying with immigration and naturalization requirements.  For example, when my wife and some of her family members immigrated to America, they, like other law-abiding foreigners, neither expected nor received special treatment or shortcuts.  They are now either now American citizens or permanent residents, even thought it took years to complete the process. Yet, there are millions of undocumented aliens in America, especially from Mexico, who when faced with deportation, whine that their "rights" are being violated. What is so hard to understand that if you did not enter the U.S. legitimately, the only right that you have is a one-way ticket back to your country of origin.

For those who sympathize with the illegals, imagine that you are in a long line at the supermarket,  maybe at or near the back of the queue which is just inching along.  All of a sudden you notice that some people have cut to the front of the line. When challenged,  they say it's their right to do so, because they don't give a damn about rules or discipline. And not only that, they want free groceries as well. This is exactly what illegal immigrants are doing to aliens who are in America legally and to those would-be immigrants who are waiting in their respective homelands for their visas to be approved before leaving for the U.S.  By entering the country illegally, undocumented aliens are refusing to wait their turn in line, which their counterparts who are playing by the rules are doing   And as if that were not enough, the illegals  want to be rewarded for their narcissism with amnesty (again as in 1986) What chutzpah.

And by the way, I know what it's like to be an alien. As my blog site profile indicates, I'm a natural born American citizen living in the Philippines as a permanent resident. Yes it's true that my wife's status as a former Filipino citizen enabled both of us to relocate and reside here. But the point is we  did it legally.  We would never think to do otherwise.  Yet, this country also has a problem with illegal aliens, mainly people who overstay their visas, rather than sneak into the country taking jobs from the natives.  These people are not likely looking for work anyway as foreigners are effectively barred from employment, as they well should be. There is an insufficient number of job for the people here as it is.
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Such is not the case in the U.S. Part of the problem there of course  is that the government has never properly dealt with employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens. If there had been a consistently enforced program all along of meaningful sanctions against companies that fall into this category, the problem might have been solved long ago. But instead, certain businesses such as the meat-packing industry for example not only hire illegals, they recruit them.  As a result wages in  that occupation have dropped and working conditions have deteriorated to near those depicted in Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle".  Employers know that their illegal and therefore docile workers don't dare complain. In turn, this has had a ripple effect that negatively affects the wages and working conditions of all (non-union) workers including those of American citizens.  

What's particularly galling is that not only do illegals refuse to play by the rules to enter America, many of them refuse to acculturate and /or obeys the laws of the land once they get here.  This is especially the case with  undocumented aliens from south of the border. I know this from  personal experience of seeing the neighborhood where I once lived decline to almost unlivability as these people took over the area bringing peace disturbances, vandalism and gang activity with them..   Yet, a recent article, "Arizona May Prods Feds to Finally Act", described illegals in America as "mostly good people supporting their families." This begs the question as to why do they have families in the first place--often large ones at that-- knowing that they can't support them. Moreover, it's not America's job to do what the Mexican government refuses to do: address its own economic and demographic problems by means other than dumping their surplus population on the U.S. And as for "good people", it can't be overemphasized. that those aliens who follow the rules before and while they're in America are a lot better people.

In that same article, another writer implies that we should bring the illegals "above ground" (read amnesty) because there are 11 million of them and thus too many to deport. So what happens if America does that?. Doesn't that send an invitation for another 11 million or however many more to sneak into the country?  Where and when does it end?

The step that the State of Arizona took to stem the tide was a drastic one, but the present situation there vis-à-vis the overwhelming multitude of undocumented aliens is untenable.  And unless the federal government acts resolutely to solve this problem in a manner that is equitable for American citizens and legal immigrants, isn't it just a matter of time before the entire country is  likewise overwhelmed by illegals whose selfishness and disregard for the law of the land gives them the mindset that what they want for themselves is the only thing that matters?

Earth Day: Just A Token Ritual?

Are occasions such as Earth Day really necessary for people to show support for the environment? . After all, what good is it for the world to give lip service respect to nature one day out of the year and then trash it the rest of the time?

To be sure, the intent that led to the beginning of this celebration as an annual affair was honorable, even noble.  But as I look around and read about the ongoing degradation of our planet on both an individual and institutional basis, I feel that this day has become meaningless. 

For the same reason, last month my wife and I did not bother to shut off our electrical usage in observance of Earth Hour (Come to think of it, the only "light" that was on anyway was our television). Why should we?  When it comes to conservation, we walk the talk daily. So for those who like us live a modest life style there's no need to guild the lily with a symbolic gesture. 

If advocates of Earth Day really care about nature and the environment there are so many ways to express this concern, and to rehash them here item by item is unnecessary.  Suffice to say that using common sense and prudence in daily living and refraining from materialistic overindulgence are a start. (As for the various festivals that will mark Earth Day, I wonder how many people will drive to these events in  SUV's and leave a mountain of litter behind when they depart.)

The key to making a better world of course is action.   Those individuals who are self- motivated to make an effort to improve their surroundings know in their hearts why doing so is vital, and not just once a year at that.. It is people such as these who are likely already making a contribution to the world  and who make everyday "Earth Day".

I suppose that the argument can be made that Earth Day as a consciousness raising occasion can inculcate these very values in others, especially the uncommitted.  However, it seems to me that unless a sense of concern about the planet is already a part of one's character,  then special days that focus on the future of our planet won't begin to make a bit of difference to people whose world begins and ends only with themselves.

To Life

Yesterday, my friend, Alan Perlman and I discussed on line a post "The Day The Philippines Stands Still" which I had written last year for my other blog site, "Your Guide to Living In The Philippines". Briefly, that post discusses the Philippine culture's fixation on death, an example of which is the observance of Good Friday and Easter in which the Filipino focus is on the crucifixion story of the former rather than on resurrection as represented by the latter.

After reading the post, Alan posited a fascinating question: Why haven't  Jews who are better acquainted with death than Filipinos made it a dominant theme in Jewish culture? Indeed, the destruction of the Temple centuries ago should have been the end of us as a people. But like the Energizer Bunny, we've kept on going and going in the face of incredible adversity and hostility.

My semi-educated guess which I hope doesn't beg the question is that since for the Jews the long awaited messiah who God promised did not arrive in the early days of the diaspora, it was hope and the resulting optimism that he would do so sooner than later. An example of this thinking is Maimonides' Principle of Faith: "I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah, and though he tarry, I will wait for him." In turn this kind of confidence sustained the Jews and made life bearable even under miserable circumstances.

Progressive Jewish movements have of course long since abandoned the notion of an anointed savior who will redeem the Jewish people. How did this happen? The Enlightenment promised a new day for mankind. It infused many Jews with its ideals and gave them an awareness that each of us is his or her own messiah and is responsible for our own personal deliverance from centuries of persecution and humiliation endured by the Jewish people. It was this bold departure from traditional Jewish theology by Enlightenment-influenced thinkers such as Theodore Herzl, a founder of modern Zionism, that brought about the State of Israel, not the Orthodox and other theistic Jews who still wanted to continue waiting for the Messiah to appear and lead us to back to the promised land.

In the Philippines, on the other hand, perhaps the self-hatred and necrophilia that had been inculcated in the people here as the result of three hundred years of oppressive Spanish and Church rule ran too deep even for such brilliant Enlightenment thinkers as Jose Rizal to successfully remove in all but the handful of people who led the revolution against Spain, and who themselves were usurped by the Americans. Maybe Jewish determination like that of the majority of Filipinos would likewise have been pounded into submission if we too had been confined to one geographical location for the many centuries that we were persecuted. Could it be that despite the confines of the ghetto on one hand , the diversity that we encountered and experienced as "wandering Jews" on the other actually worked to our genealogical and cultural benefit? In this regard, Filipinos likewise make significant contributions to the countries to which they immigrate or serve as "OFW's" (Overseas Filipino Workers) as they are referred to in the local idiom.

Once again I want to emphasize that I'm not an academic expert in Jewish or Philippine history. My knowledge is relatively fragmentary at best in both fields. I leave it to professionals to decide whether or not the above observations have merit and look forward to feedback on them.

Straight From The Heart

I think that I might be more tolerant towards and even respect theists who oppose atheism if I were convinced that the motivation for their beliefs was a sincere love for the supreme beings who are the center of their respective religions. However, most believers seem to connect with their deities out of fear, guilt, a sense of duty, habit, appearance, or a combination of these forces. Few believers who I meet really seem to be inspired soley out of a truly heartfelt reverence.

I know few fellow Jews, for example--even those who are Orthodox--who can truthfully say that they genuinely love God, the Torah, Talmud and / or their derivative teachings. I have attended Shabbat (Sabbath) services at an Orthodox synagogue and observed the behavior of the congregants. Many of them engage in idle chatter during the services, pray mechanistically, and remove their tallises (prayer shawls) as though they can't wait to get out of them even before recitation of the final blessing (which is led by the rabbi but which they don't even bother joining in. It's as though by that point the congregants are already just too bored to bother. Yet if they were really committed, wouldn't they sit through the entire shebang and giving their wholehearted attention to boot? So Perhaps the real reason that most of the members join the synagogue and attend services is mainly to socialize (which along with sumptuous luncheon buffet would be my own reason for being there). If so, there's nothing wrong with that if they just would just be straightforward about it and dispense with the rituals and pretense in the process.

Among Roman Catholics, the reasons for church attendance appear to be identical. I've met very few Catholics who really love going to mass and taking communion for its own sake, and when offering confession are truly contrite and repentant for their sins, real or imagined. More often than not confession is perfunctory and is mainly a" get out of hell free" card which creates an endless cycle of recidivism and confession. Prayer to the Trinity and the saints as intercessors is usually in the form of asking for personal favors rather seeking guidance to become a better person.

Ultimately,when it comes to religion, whether or not people can reconcile their practices with genuine love for their faith and for that matter their fellow man is of course their own business, as long as they stay out of mine and don't try to infringe on my rights and those of other non-believers. Such is not the case with Christian evangelists who proselytize not from love for their fellow man but from an attitude of moral superiority. Christianity, after all, is rooted in the belief that humankind is basically wicked because of original sin and that we can only be saved from God's eternal punishment (actually for doing nothing more evil than being born--how's THAT for a loving God?) by turning to Jesus. But those who refuse to yield to the these fundamentalists are not only considered unworthy of God's grace but inferior as well. Perhaps that's why these zealots try to undermine the U.S. Constitution and want to impose a "my way or the highway" theocracy on American society. Too bad that they can't walk in the storied humble ways of their savior.

Whether theists can square their shallow approach to religion with a true love of God and humankind is between them and their consciences. But if they can't act in good faith (pun intended) and walk the talk, then isn't it to time that they question their values and ask themselves what is really worth believing?

Riddles About the Universe

In an attempt to explain the origin of the universe, astronomers once held that the cosmos had always existed and that matter was constantly coming into being. This was known as the Steady State Theory. Eventually, this principle was refuted and replaced by the "Big Bang" Theory, which based on strong evidence, shows that that the universe has not existed eternally after all and in fact was "born" about 13.5 billion years ago.

If you think about it, Steady State harmonizes with the concept of a God--a universe as timeless as the eternal supreme being who created it. Such is not the case with the Big Bang. If a beginning point in time has been established, the very existence of this point of origin for physical matter and energy means that there was nothing--not even space or time (an almost unimaginable concept) before the instant that the first particle flared into existence.

Obviously time is a measurable dimension and began at the instant that the universe popped into existence. One question that comes to mind (well mine anyway) is why did this event happen at the particular moment that it did, i. e. why 13 billion years ago? Why not 20 billion or 11 billion? In other words, why did God pick that particular time to start the ball rolling? What was he doing before then?

In addition there are so many contingencies after the birth of the universe that had to happen for physical matter to evolve and coalesce into galaxies which in turn are composed of stars one of which had the right characteristics to allow the formation of our planet. In turn, our world had to have just the right balance of chemical elements--and even a moon of the right size and distance for life as we know it to begin here. Then over eons, that life evolved from primordial soup to humans--and everything in between.

The intricacy of all these events is so staggering that (as Richard Dawkins points out in The God Delusion) for all this to have happened as the result of creation by a god who would have had to be even more complex than the universe and its laws does not make sense. One reason is the "first cause" conundrum. If God created the universe, who created God? It's not satisfactory to say that "he" has always been "there." Where was "there" if nothing existed prior Big Bang?

But back to the question as to why Big Bang occurred 13 billion years ago, for that matter why did it happen at all? Science has offered various conjectures. One of these is that Big Bang and the resulting formation of our universe was the result of a disturbance in a larger metaverse, and there may be an infinite number of other universes in other dimensions that were born in a similar manner.

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In the distant future Earth will eventually become uninhabitable as the sun follows the typical life cycle of other stars. The sun's heat and size will grow to the point that Earth will be obliterated. By that time, humankind (assuming that we have not annihilated ourselves in the meantime)--or whatever we will have evolved into-- will have likely colonized other star systems. But the problem is nothing lasts forever, and that includes the cosmos. According to cosmological predictions, eventually, the universe itself will also come to an end in one of two ways.

Since the time of the Big Bang, the universe has been expanding. Eventually, this expansion may reverse itself, and the universe will collapse in on itself in the "Big Crunch". There is even speculation that the Big Bang, expansion, and Big Crunch have happened in the distant past and will repeat themselves in a never ending cycle.

The other possible finale will be an endless expansion and dissolution of the cosmos into infinity as every galaxy pulls further apart from each other, unravels, and every star eventually dies out. So just as it had a beginning, the universe will at some point have an end. Thus the cosmos carries within it the seeds of its own destruction, either with a bang or a whimper. This leads to the question why would God create the universe only to ultimately destroy it?

Through experiments that simulate the Big Bang, cosmology is bringing us closer to understanding the details of how universe began. But will it ever be able to explain the reason that out of what had been eternal nothingness, in a split second came the the beginning of everything that ever has been or ever will exist?

For a more expansive and articulate discussion than I could ever present on the questions raised in this post, I recommend the book Fabric of the Cosmos by Brian Greene.

Talkin' 'bout My Generation

On Tuesday I turned 65. To me this is a significant milestone. For one thing I am now a full-fledged senior citizen. Too bad there's no Denny's here in the Philippines where I can go and celebrate.

As far as life expectancy, I'm now more or less at the" top of the eighth inning" (to quote my friend Alan Perlman). But even if I were to live a great deal longer such as into my 80's or beyond, obviously this does not guarantee doing so in good health. I would much rather have quality than quantity and would not want to become one of the frail elderly especially by experiencing a loss of mental faculties. So while I still have my marbles, now and then I reflect on where my life has taken me (and vice versa) and where to go from here.

Consider the decisions that we make and the paths that we choose in our early adulthood. This is a time when we are inexperienced in life; yet those choices are, for better or for worse, the ones that often wind up to be the most binding of all on the rest of our lives. Sometimes, I think back and muse about how differently my life would have turned out if, say, I hadn't left home and moved to California (which I decided upon when I was nineteen). For one thing, I wouldn't have met the best thing that ever happened to me: my wife Lydia. So that's one decision that worked out for the best.

My biggest regrets, however, are falling into the line of work in which I spent my career and not finishing my college education. (Of course the two are related). I need two more years for a BA degree. That is something I would like to complete as a lifetime achievement.

Other matters that I occasionally contemplate:

—I am glad that I was not born in the last thirty years. I think that on the whole young people coming up now face a much tougher economic future and have fewer opportunities than members of my generation did in our youth. I also think that the quality of education in America has decreased, due to the mean-spirited slashes in school budgets beginning in the Reagan era, continuing into the the politically correct "multicultural" 1990's, and through the first decade of the 2000's thanks to "Dubya" whose "no child left behind" policies left every child behind instead.

—On a related note, I hope never to become intolerant of younger people and their culture as were my parent's generation of their children's ideas and ideals.

—Senior discounts are nice but should be considered a privilege, not a right. Why should older people feel that they are entitled to them? The world doesn't owe us anything beyond our social security/ medicare, and pensions (if the latter were in fact part of an employment package). Unfortunately, here in the Philippines, the pendulum has swung too far in favor of the elderly. A 20% Senior discount on food, medicine, and even luxuries is mandated by law. A few years ago a 12% VAT (value added tax) was levied on all residents of the Philippines for just about all goods and services, thereby effectively reducing the senior discount to 8%. A law is in the works that would totally exempt senior citizens from having to pay this tax thus restoring the senior disount to 20%. However, I think that giving any group of citizens a free pass from VAT is going too far. This exemption will negatively affect tax revenue from which everyone regardless of age benefits one way or another. It's true that if all the corruption here were eliminated, there wouldn't be a need for a VAT in the first place. But two wrongs don't make a right. However, perhaps in the spirit of compromise, it would have been more equitable to split the difference and make the senior citizens exemption 6%.

—For access to health care to be depend on one's financial resources is obscene. No one should be for denied decent medical care or face financial ruin due to lack of funds to cover treatment. Will true health care reform ever see the light of day in the U.S.? Probably not in my lifetime.

—As there is no evidence of an afterlife, the only immortality there is in my opinion is to leave behind a good name. To die and be immediately forgotten or ill-remembered is sad beyond words.

—Finally, as previously mentioned, old age is a time of increased risk to our mental acuity. So there's no excuse for seniors to waste their lives by becoming intellectually idle. To the extent that we can do so I believe that it's incumbent on us to keep active by utilizing various such as books, computers, and personal interaction, especially with younger people in order to keep our minds active. To do so won't guarantee retention of our brain power. But to cave in to laziness will almost surely lead to deterioration. Offsetting our tendency towards age-related health issues, for those of us seniors who are able to retire, is the fact that we probably have more autonomy and independence than at any other time in our lives. Lets make the most of it.

Extraterrestrial Life: The Final Blow against Theism.

I recently came across an article on the Internet about a search that is underway by cosmologists for Earth-like planets outside our solar system. Actually, the existence of extrasolar worlds themselves was predicted decades ago and was finally confirmed in the 1990's. Since then, hundreds of such celestial objects have been found, but none with characteristics need to support life, at least as we know it (nor for that matter has SETI [Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence project]).

Yet life is amazingly adaptable. Living creatures have been found here on Earth existing in conditions that were once thought impossible to support any life at all such as at the bottom of the ocean where the atmospheric pressure is so intense that it would crush humans in an instant, and in volcanic settings with temperatures as high as 400 degrees centigrade. And given the unimaginably large number of stars in the universe (more than all the grains of sand on all the beaches in the world), the odds are that some do have life on them, maybe even civilizations superior to ours. Even within our own solar systems, there are potential sites besides Earth that have conditions conducive to life, e.g. Titan (one of the moons of Saturn) and Mars. So it may be just a matter of time before we find extraterrestrial life in one form or another.

If and when in fact life is found on other worlds, how will theistic Earth-centered anthropomorphic religions handle such a discovery? Strangely, even the Catholic Church is taking an interest in this search (Why? Are they looking for new worlds to screw up?)

At this point it would be fair to ask that if there are other civilizations "out there", why have they not contacted us? A recurring theme in science fiction literature is that humankind is not yet ready for such communication as we are still too primitive and violent to interact with more intelligent species. Given man's track record, especially in the matter of religious conflicts, that may not be too far fetched. Who knows how believers will react when their geocentric god-rug is pulled out from under them? So maybe our planet is under some kind of "quarantine".

On the other hand, could the discovery of extraterrestrial life instead finally liberate humanity from the chains of religious fantasy and magical thinking that have plagued us for thousands of years? In turn could this break one of the greatest barriers that has separated humankind? Equally important, finding life on other planets may well give a renewed hope and meaning to life on our own.

Word of Mouth

I don't recall what led to our discussion, but the other day at breakfast my wife Lydia mentioned in passing how her almost life-long freedom from belief in a supernatural being had always given her a sense of freedom. But instead of using the term "supernatural", she accidentally said "unnatural". We both laughed at this linguistic lapse. However, we got to thinking that perhaps when it comes to religious faith there's not that much of a distinction between those two words after all.

For what could be more unnatural than belief in a supernatural entity for which there is no proof of existence, or in an imaginary spirit world and the return of the dead to life? What could be more unnatural than perpetuating these superstitions and myths from generation to generation and by doing so hinder the progress of humankind's enlightenment and development? What could be more unnatural than killing and maiming and destroying property and resources in the name and at the behest of a fabled supreme being?

In short, isn't atheism then the most natural and rational mindset? Isn't accepting the universe on its own terms more realistic than trying to change it by fruitlessly praying for miracles? Isn't attempting to achieve a deeper understanding of nature through scientific inquiry more natural for adults than childishly making up stories to explain what we don't understand?

I hope that Lydia (or I) will make more slips of the tongue like the above. In doing so, who knows what other connections we'll uncover in the pursuit of knowledge and awareness?

Decmber Reflections

It's just amazing that in this day and age anybody with at least half a brain can still believe the Christmas story. Yet obviously millions still do despite the advances of science over the centuries and the resulting rational explanation of religious "miracles". That in itself is enough to make Christmas a day of mourning for free- thinkers and progressives everywhere.

Nowhere perhaps is this more evident than here in the Philippines, a predominantly Roman Catholic country. I admit that some of the festivities surrounding this holiday here can be very enjoyable, especially the special foods that are prepared especially for this season. But it's astonishing how most people here regardless of advanced educational status wholeheartedly accept the story of the birth of Jesus as an historical event in all its literal detail. However, I will say that most Christians in the Philippines do not try to force their beliefs on others. So life for me as a Jewish nontheist is relatively uncomplicated in that regard.

Unfortunately, such is not the case in the U.S. where every year, Christian fundamentalists complain about the non-existent "war on Christmas". Predictably, they rail at restrictions on religious displays in government offices and become confrontational with merchants who, in terms of interaction with customers, don't share the extremists' perspective on observing this holiday and have little regard for non-Christians and less for atheists' refusal to celebrate Christmas.

What can free-thinkers and non-Christians do about this? Just hold the line and keep on pushing for our rights as Americans. The last time that I looked there is still a Constitutional guarantee of separation of church and state and an establishment clause to back it up. It may be a protracted struggle to make our presence known and respected especially in the month of December , but it's a fight that we must never give up.

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Religious Extremism: Israel's and America's Threat from Within

If ever a prize for and chutzpah and religious hypocrisy were ever awarded, a top contender for first place would be a fanatical Orthodox Jewish extremist group in Israel, the haredim. Members of this sect do not work for a living and instead spend their time in prayer and Torah study. On one hand this fringe group have no problem accepting welfare and financial support from the Israeli government. Yet on the other, they do not recognize the state of Israel because according to their belief, it is only upon the arrival of the Messiah that Israel will become a nation.

In their anti-Zionist zeal, haredim were apparently the ones who went so far last week as to rip out pages from prayer books at the Western Wall that bless the State of Israel and members of the Israeli military--from which by the way haredim are draft-exempt. I'm certainly no fan of prayer, but I find such rudeness detestable. Can you imagine the outrage that would ensue if a secular or atheist Jewish group did such a thing? If such incivility weren't enough, the haredim also have rioted and stoned those outsiders who enter or pass through their neighborhoods on Saturdays and who do not follow haredim rules for observing Shabbat. Also just a few weeks ago, they rallied on Shabbat against the opening of a parking lot in Jerusalem that took place on a Saturday. In other words, these fundamentalist desecrate prayer books in the name of Torah and violate the Sabbath in order to save it.

Women in the Orthodox Jewish world are at best second class citizens. In Israel, on special public transportation bus lines set aside for haredim, women must sit in the back. On Nov. 29, a woman who dared to assert the notion of women's religious equality by donning a tallit (prayer shawl), wearing a kippah (skull cap) and carrying a torah scroll at the Western Wall. According to strict tradition, only men are permitted to perform these rituals. So she was arrested by the police for her act of defiance. These are perfect examples of the disproportionate power being held by the Orthodox minority in Israel.

It's just mind-boggling that the Israeli taxpayers have been putting up with and supporting these radicals, so it's good to see that more rational people there are at the end of their patience and are beginning to push back by staging protests against Orthodox repression. May the day soon come that they take back the legislative power to reign in extremists.

***

Israel's problems furnish a lesson for Americans: This is what happens when religious fundamentalists are granted special privilege or take power. We had a taste of this scenario under the Bush Administration. For example, during that era, because of Bush's religious beliefs and those of his hack political appointees, life saving stem cell research was almost completely shut down. Significantly, Bush and his Defense Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, justified the war in Iraq as a "holy Christian crusade". The Bush regime also saw an intensification of hostility in the U.S. against teaching the theory of evolution in public schools.

Currently, right wing Christian extremist and far right political groups such as "teabaggers" and "birthers" along with their radio commentator allies are manufacturing outlandish myths about President Obama, and some members of these groups are even praying for his death.

Then there is the prospect of Republican Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee running for president in the 2012 elections. Gov. Huckabee is an unapologetic Christian theocrat who believes that America should be governed according to biblical commandments. And don't even get me started on Sarah Palin, another possible 2012 contender.

In short, at the end of the day, when religious interests take control of a country's government no matter what religion or country, its citizens can kiss freedom good bye.

Addendum: Dec. 14. It turns out that the situation in Israel is even worse than I indicated above. A friend of mine sent me article today that reports Justice Minister is proposing the imposition of Torah "as the binding law of the nation" Click here for the story.

Good Morning

Even though my wife and are retired and don't have to follow a schedule, I like to arise every morning around 5am, and spend much of the next hour in contemplative activities such as reading philosophy or watching the dawn light up the sky just before the sun finally appears on the horizon, and enjoying the relative calm and quiet before the daily distractions of life in begin full force.

As it is for most people this is the time of the day when my mind is freest. Awareness, thoughts and emotion are most intense. So another kind of meditation that I often practice during these fleeting minutes is reflecting on such wonders of nature as the infinite vastness of the universe and the complexity of the web of life that has evolved on our humble planet which itself is less than a speck in the grandeur of the cosmos. And given the staggering odds against the likelihood of humankind's existing in the first place, does life have—can it have—any meaning? There is no evidence of a divine force who will furnish the answer for us. Personally, I agree with the humanistic psychoanalyst Erich Fromm who said that there is no meaning to life other than what we give it. But whether this is a viable conclusion is something that each of us must decide for him or herself.

I urge those of you who are not already doing so to set aside a few moments out of your day at whatever time is best for you, preferably in solitude and in as quiet an environment as you can find to explore your mind and see where your innermost thoughts take you. By doing so you may well gain a new and enriched perspective on the world around you that you never thought possible.

Repair Job

On Saturday I attended Shabbat services at the synagogue here in Metro-Manila. It so happened that there was a guest speaker who spoke about tikkun olam. This is an ancient Hebrew phrase referring to the Torah and Talmudic teachings which acknowledge that the world is imperfect, and so it is the duty of each Jew to try to repair it. (Side note: So if the world is imperfect, then that reflects on an imperfect and therefore non-existent God?).

Interestingly, the lecturer, a rather engaging speaker, was an Orthodox rabbi. Yet in the course of his address, I don't recall that he mentioned God even once. But even if he had, it wouldn't have made a difference in light of the subject matter. For historically, not only traditional Jews, but progressive and radical Jews as well have identified with or may well have been influenced by the creed of tikkun olam. This can be seen in the works of such great Jewish historical figures and thinkers such as Spinoza, Marx, and Freud, (none of whom were theists). In American history many Jews were active in the U.S. labor, civil rights, the anti-Vietnam war, and feminist movements. They likewise personified this precept and and although their respective paths were controversial to many people, they did try to make America and the world a better place.

As an atheistic Jew, tikkun olam is a principle in which I too have long been interested, and I believe that it is something that all of us, Jewish or not, can practice. It doesn't necessarily require a great personal sacrifice or struggle. It can simply entail such actions as living decent, humane lives, and respecting the environment, or as in the words of the Jewish sage Hillel "That which is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor".

If nothing else, it's in our own self-interest to to try to improve society and in turn benefit from these efforts. Moreover, through such responsible living perhaps people will mature ethically and will outgrow the need to look to an imaginary supreme being for guidance. Under these circumstances, "God" will wither away, and civilization can then advance, liberated at last from the constraints of theism.

The world will never be perfect. But what is there to lose by striving to leave it a better place than we found it?

Atheism: The Essence of Morality

On Sept. 17, the Philippine Daily Inquirer ran a story about a rookie cop in Manila who found and returned to its rightful owner a lost wallet containing a large amount of cash despite, as the police officer acknowledged, the temptation to keep it for himself. Given the usually deserved reputation for corruption which police and other officials are known for and with the overall high crime rate here in the Philippines, it was refreshing to hear about this display of honesty.

Despite the high crime rate in this country, the influence of the Roman Catholic Church is extremely influential (which is not as paradoxical is it may seem at first glance*). So it was not surprising that the reason stated by the officer for his good deed was fear of God's punishment if he kept the money. So as honorable as his actions were, they truly driven by morality? In the conventional sense of the word, most people would say yes.

As an atheist, I would disagree. The reason is that in my opinion true morality has no intrinsic tie with religion and exists independently from it. Good behavior that is based on the fear of or the desire to score points with God or even on a belief in karma is a really a shallow, self-serving ulterior motive for acting decently. Without fear as a motivating factor, theists would have no reason to inhibit the beast within.

This turns on its head the concept of atheists as being more likely to indulge in criminal behavior than theists. I would like to think that I too would have returned the wallet but for an entirely different reason from that of the police officer. I believe that virtue is its own reward. Performing such a deed is simply the ethical thing to do for its own sake and in the interest of a just and progressive society.

(*See myFeb.28, 2009 post,Corruption And Religion: Not Such Strange Bedfellows)

A Disgrace for Yale University

Yale University Press recently compiled a publication called "The Cartoons That Shook the World" but in doing so, decided to exclude caricatures that offended Muslim sensibilities. This omission was done under the threat of violence by Islamic extremists (is that a redundancy?) if the cartoons in question were published. By caving in to such extortion and then censoring its publications accordingly , Yale has jettisoned the concept of a university as a haven for inquiry and exploration of ideas.

But here is the bigger issue: What gives any individual or group, especially religious organizations, regardless of what they consider provocation, the right to dictate to others what they may say or write? However, it takes two to tango: It's a slap in the face of intellectual integrity for this institution to kowtow to these fanatics, who having now seen what they can get away with, most likely won't stop with an act of intimidation against just one American school.

Shame on Yale for setting such a disgraceful precedent against academic freedom in this country.

President Obama: In the Shadow of a Prairie Giant

As the country prepares to observe Labor Day which was created to honor the American working people and their contribution to society, some questions need to asked regarding a basic entitlement of workers and for that matter of all Americans: universal health care.

First of all, it’s disgraceful how the campaign to reform the health care system has turned into a 3-ring circus. Why on Earth has President Obama allowed the Republicans to hijack and sully the debate on this issue and the drag the of concept nationalized health care through the mud, especially in view of the fact that the Democrats control both the Senate and the House?

But the bigger question is why has the U.S. , despite the negative experiences of so many people here under the present system historically refused to face up to the need for access to affordable health care for all its citizens as the rest of the industrialized nations have done? Indeed, why have Americans failed to recognize that such access to health care is a human right, not a privilege and that the insurance industry has made total hash of the providing such coverage thanks to its greed for profits at the expense of the insured and uninsured alike?

President Obama, of course, ostensibly favors health care reform. But if he truly believes that Americans deserve a better deal in this matter than what we’ve been getting, he should take out a few hours and see the movie “Prairie Giant: The Tommy Douglas Story”. Douglas, as depicted in this production and in real life, came from an ordinary background but almost single-handedly brought nationalized health care to Canada first on the provincial and eventually the federal level in the face of entrenched special interest groups including those in the U.S. who fought tooth and nail against this his program. He succeeded by sticking to his guns and refusing to give up in the face of this powerful opposition. Douglas eventually came to be hailed as that nation's "Greatest Canadian."

As a leader, rather than trying to please all sides in this cause, Obama needs to emulate Douglas' determination by getting a pair of balls and putting the necessary pressure on Congress to get the job of overhauling health care done, once and for all. Failure to do so which was a blemish on the Clinton Administration is not an option this time—not just for the sake of Obama’s standing and reputation as President but in the interest of the American people.

Toxic Traditions

I recently read two news items that were published on the same day and which appeared to be unrelated to each other. But the more I thought about it, the more I noticed a similarity in their content.

In India there is a custom—probably a symbolic child sacrifice ritual—practiced by both Muslim and Hindu parents, in which they throw their babies off temple towers into makeshift nets (actually taut bedsheets) near the ground. The purpose of this act is that according to local beliefs it will assure the health and good fortune of these infants. And supposedly, since these babies are caught before they hit the ground, none have suffered any physical harm. But even if such a"perfect" record were true (which is extremely doubtful), who knows what psychic damage they may suffer. According to my wife who is a child psychologist, such trauma can be profound. Falling—especially from a great height—is one of the most traumatic events that the mind can register, no matter how young the victim. So it's no surprise that according to the article the infants were said to be screaming during their plunge.

In the other news story, a father in Wisconsin was convicted in the death of his seriously ill daughter. He withheld medical attention from her in favor of faith healing as a cure, which of course failed to save her. The victim's mother was also convicted a few months earlier on the same charge. Incidentally, have you noticed that it's almost always children and never adults who die as a result of being "prayed" to death instead of receiving medical care. If there are any adults who have died as a result of withholding medical care from themselves and opting for faith healing instead (and I haven't heard of any), it's their own choice, and not forced on them by other adults.

That is the point of this post. Regardless of culture or society, children are powerless and must rely on their parents or guardians to look after their welfare. When those in control use religion as an excuse to inflict harm on their children, whether actively as in the form of physical and emotional violence or passively by refusal to provide medical care for illness or injury, this is out and out child abuse. And it's no less the case than if committed in an alcoholic or other drug induced rage, or because of the sadistic character of the perpetrator.

What would the world be like if children were spared their elders' superstitious ignorance and brainwashing done in the name of a supernatural being or beings? Yet how can such relief ever happen when in most countries it's unlikely that there will ever be a generation of parents (and perhaps one is all that it would take) who are willing to break the chain and not hand down or inflict such warped nonsense on their offspring in the name of religious tradition? In this regard there's not much that America can do about the rest of the world, but in the U.S. , a small step in that direction would be publicizing and confronting faith-based child abuse wherever or whenever it's known to occur and never allowing religion to be used as a legal justification for such behavior, especially by parents or other guardians.

But do atheists have a better track record in raising and disciplining their children because they don't resort to punishments and fear-mongering in the name of a likely non-existent supreme being? If so they need to become more vocal and present these child-rearing methods as superior to that of traditional theist parental practices of control via threats of divine retribution. In fact, there should also be extensive scientific studies as to which group has a better success rate in bringing up their children to become socially responsible and emotionally healthy adults.

However, the results or at least strong indications may already be in on this one: Supposedly atheists make up only a small percentage of the U.S. prison population. And as indicated in my Feb. 28, 2009 post in this blog site, Corruption And Religion: Not Such Strange Bedfellows, enlightenment and good conduct by their citizens are salient features of secular cultures such as Finland, Denmark, and New Zealand. As might be expected, such countries also have strong social safety nets and public programs that benefit their children, who as a result grow up to be productive citizens of those societies. It is this virtuous cycle as practiced by these countries in nurturing children and directly or indirectly minimizing their exposure to religious abuse that may serve as a beacon to the rest of the world.

But as so many other countries throughout the world are still shackled by the interrelated evils of governmental corruption, private greed, and religious zealotry, most children face a lifetime not just of material deprivation but of irrationalism as well.