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Le_Raconteur530
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Name: Ryan
Country: United States
State: Missouri
Metro: St. Louis
Birthday: 5/30/1989
Gender: Male
Interests: Running, Speech and Debate (Storytelling!), Language (French), History, Music (I like everything from Mozart to Beatles to Geto Boys, almost everything),
Chess, Dominating, Philosophy, Hanging out, Cross Country Running,
Expertise: Storytelling
Occupation: Student
Industry: Other
Message: message meEmail: email me
Website: visit my website
AIM:  Le_Raconteur530
Member Since:
3/20/2005
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| At this point in my life, I feel as though I've seen the majority of the many ridiculous products of faith. But every now and then, I meet someone or witness something that still manages to shock me. Such a thing happened today: I talked with a Christian Scientist. The girl is perfectly moderate in every other belief that she mentioned to me: she is a political moderate, she votes on the candidate not the issue, she uses good evidence in her political science papers, and she has a profound interest in language, politics, and the environment. The theme that continually shocks me the most is how people who are so smart, driven, rational, and skeptical in every other aspect of their lives manage to believe the absurdities of their faith.
The first doctrine of Christian Science that shocks me is the deinal of evil. To them, evil simply doesn't exist, rather, any pain or death that we might perceive is simply the abscence of good. Only religous faith could make one not only belief, but act on such an absurdity. And how does she act upon it: by abstaining from medecine. Now what defines medecine varies from Christian Scientist to Christian Scientist to be fair. Even this girl's liberal definition however excluded any sort of medication of any kind. Despite the fact that she insisted that the abstention from medecine was a personnal choice made by all adherents to her faith and that she was conciously making the choice not to, all I could was shake my head. If the girl can't see that she is being so blindsided by her faith as to ignore the medical progress of thousands of cultures over thousands of years, than I thought there is little more I could tell her. Can there be any doubt? Her faith is forbidding her from accessing undoubtedly the most important tool to a long, painless and healthy life. Who would have thought that faith could have such power over reason??
After a while, I realized that there was very, very little chance I could persuade her to change her ways. Even if I did my best with books, arguements etc... she had been engrained in this faith since her birth and it most will most likely remain with her till she dies. But of course, to her this will never happens, as, according to her, death does not exist.
What is even more amazing is how much tolerance such beliefs still get despite their utter absurdity. Just read this article if you're not convinced:
http://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/11/us/court-decides-christian-scientist-can-be-tried-in-her-child-s-death.html
The article states that, "The laws of most states say that a parent's choice of spiritual healing rather than medical treatment is not itself enough ground for prosecution for child abuse or neglect."
This goes to show that even neglect to the point of death is exusable as long as it is under religoius or spiritual grounds. Who would have thought our society would have succumbed to this level of irrationality?
I should make a special note here: I believe that religous faith is the direct culprit here. Not the sect, not the adherent, and not the church leader. If religous faith did not exist, than there would be no Christian Science as there would be no Christianity.
Because really, there is little difference in levels of absurtidy in believing that prayer will heal your every wound and believing that eating wine blessed by a Priest is the equivilant of drinking the blood of Christ. Now the consequences of the two are very different, but the level of faith in a completely absurd notion is exactly the same.
I look forward to the day, as Sam Harris, would put it, when we can celebrat the end of faith.
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| I've come to the conclusion that even now, when "going green" is at its apex of popularity and more concern is given to the environment in the history of the world, most people still just don't give a shit. I say this in a frustrated mood because I just a chip on my shoulder from some asshole.
I was at the Truman soccer field watching a match, when I passed by the trashcans. Now, these are large trashcans and they were mostly filled with plastic bottles from fans. Already pissed, I began to rummage through the trash to try and salvage the bottles for recycling. As I was collecting a huge armload of the bottles, a man walked past, (there's no way he could have missed me collecting the bottles) and proceeded to through his half-empty aquafina bottle into the trash can. I almost lost it. I wanted to drop the bottles, and yell, "You fucking apathetic prick! Have you been around for the last quarter century?!?! Have you not heard of the words 'non-biodegradable' or 'non-renewable resource'?! It's people like you that are causing this planet to go to hell! How much damn effort does it take to hold on to your bottle until you get home and recycle it there? Or do you not have recycling at home?!' But I just sighed, shook my head, and put his bottle with the others.
After I cooled down some, I reflected on apathy. Can there be a cause for a lack of concern for something? I think there can be. Were this man more exposed to the world, and could he see the consequences of his action, perhaps he would have done differently. Most people don't see the results of their consequences, like a gigantic landfill getting consumed by products that could be recycled. He can't see the rainforest being cut down for plastic for his next aquafina, that could have instead been contained in a reusable water bottle. As long as he doesn't see the consequences of his actions, he can't grasp the enormous peril our planet is in. Or maybe, he does understand it, but he thinks that he simply won't make a difference. While the first scenario is sad, the second is pure tradgedy.
I hope I don't come off as a self righteous prick myself. I am and have been guilty of using styrofoam, eating fast food, and pouring pounds of carbon dioxide in the air myself. But I feel that at this point, recycling has been around so long that it should come as an automatic action, especially from a middle aged man. I look forward to the day when the planet gets the respect it deserves.
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| Wow, time has certainly flown by... It seems like yesterday I was just getting home for three months of summer. Now, approximately a week from tomorrow, I'll be back at Truman. Which is a very good thing.
How do I cram three months of summer into one blogpost? Well, I'll do my best.
I spent most of my summer at home with mom, working thirty five hours a week at J.C. Penney. I don't need to explain how I hate it there. In my spare time, I hung out with Emily, went to some ballgames, Shakespeare in the park, and see Incubus, and best of all Coldplay.
I had three mini-vacations (they were all fairly local, and less than four days each, so I don't count them as whole vacations). In late July, my dad and I took our annual fishing trip and had a great time. In early August, Emily and I went up to Chicago for a few days and really enjoyed it. Finally, I just got back from Cedar Point in Sandusky Ohio with three other guys, and it was good overall.
Hands down the best movies I've seen this year, and on relationships in general, was "500 Days of Summer." I've never seen any movie that so well depicts a relationship. It ranks high on my list.
Anyway, I'm more than ready to get back to Kirksville. I have a house with four great guys and I can't wait to live in it with them. Until then, time is going to go by verrry slowly.
Oh, and Regina Spektor is awesome.
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| This is the removed title to the sixth movement of Mahler's Third Symphony. The movement, though quite long, is easily one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard. The Third movement features only an orchestra; no lyrics, no chorus or any vocalists of any kind. For so long, I yearned to know of what love told Mahler through words, through a written-out statement that clearly explained what love told him so that I might grasp it. I did everything I could to try and get inside his head and find out what love told him. I read biographies of Mahler and poured through analyses of the Third Symphony to find some written explanation that made sense. Despite the extent of my research, I found myself unsatisfied. It took me so long to realize that trying to find meaning for this music through words, even if they came from Mahler, is not only impossible, it is inappropriate as well. Mahler could have easily added a chorus to sing lyrics if he wished to express what love told him in that medium. But he didn't. He expressed what love told him in the best way he could, perhaps the only way he could: through orchestrated music. Now, I am finally listening to what he said through the music instead of trying to understand him through a more distorted medium of communication such as writing.
I suppose what I learned through this whole ordeal is something that is glaringly apparent to others already: sometimes, words simply can't express what we feel inside. Music is one of the greatest mediums to use when words simply fail.
"What love is to the heart, music is to the soul."
--Rossini
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| Life isn't bad right now. I'm out of school and I have the whole summer ahead of me. I have a steady job, I get plenty of hours, and it's air conditioned and not greasy. I'm in good health and I have plenty of people for good support. Still, why I am sick of this place? I'm sick of West County. I'm sick of the overpowering wealth, the sprawl, and the traffic. I'm sick of the complete disregard for the environment and the apathy of the majority of the people here. I'm sick of the big houses, the SUVs, the monoculture. It sickens me to my stomache.
If there's one good thing about Kirksville, it's the contrast it provides to the West County ritzy monoculture. I've met farmers, environmentalists, francophones, hippies, ultraconservatives, and a plethora of people who you could never find in West County. I miss them all direly.
I can't wait to study in Angers next spring. I have high expectations for it and I hope beyond hope I'm not let down. It feels like it's been a lifetime since I've been in France.
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