Ok so now I officially hate Twitter - except for the fact that my daughter uses it and has a considerable fan base - she is a comedian and writer and I love to read her stuff. But now I wonder if I need to poison myself with the effluence of various pompous archetypes.
Here's how one converstation has gone so far......
Twitterguy: You can believe in Ayn Rand or you can believe in Jesus but you don't ever, ever get to believe in both. (huh? Says who? And says who that we need to believe in either? OMG Rand and Jesus???)
Me: you say this as if there is no 3rd choice. But there is always another choice if we are brave enough (meaning that we can choose neither - there's a thought)
Twitterguy: I can't speak for ******** but I disagree that one can make the teachings of Ayn and Jesus congruous, courage or no. (huh what? Clearly he did not understand me - evident of his narrow perceptions)
Me: Congruity was the furthest thing from my mind. For my agnostic head they are equally unfulfilling. I dare to dismiss both. (meaning I don't wish to subscribe to either of those)
Twitter guy:
Ah, yes. Well there are many of that kind of 3rd ways. (can you hear the sarcasm ooozing from him? 'that kind'. What kind?) Agnosticism for
me was born of fear and weak self-centeredness, not bravery (just dripping with sarcastic self-righteousness is it not? Maybe someone should remind him that many people have also died because they never subscribed to either a religion or other position)
Me @ Twitterguy : wow, do you need a hug or what? (glib, I know) Whatever happened to discussion and debate. You threw yourself into that volcano tootsweet (I mean he jumped right on it like a rabid dog...geez)
That's it so far. I am almost scared to look again... maybe I won't. But knowing me, I will.
Ayn Rand? I mean come on! Although, one of my favourite Fantasy writers seems to be a disciple of Rand's I just can't subscribe to someone whose philosophy in life is so compasionless and so presumptious. I wonder how Ayn would have felt if she had had a child who was disabled or maimed in some way. Maybe she did - I should go back and re- read the biographical stuff on her, coz I just can't remember. I am a Darwinist in terms of natural selection and survival of the fittest - so I get where Ayn is coming from. But sentience is what makes us human, as does compassion, intelligence and empathy. Letting the weak perish in favour of the strong seems not only heartless but also stupid. Case in point - Stephen Hawking.
It's like any philosophical, religious or political discussion - there is always some element of merit on all sides. If only we could distill all the good stuff and dump the rest. And if only we could grow and evolve our beliefs as quickly and as easily as our lives. Then we wouldn't be labouring under antiquated constitutions and religions that discriminate against anything the original authors weren't able to anticipate (gay marriage, women's rights, equality, technology, IVF etc etc).
The problem with the world is not thought and argument. The problem is blinkered proselytisers who can see no shade in anything. The type of people who are so strident on everyone else, but whose own lives, I am absolutely certain, hold many imperfections.
We rail and and we rant against fanatics. But in the very act of that savage assessment we become ourselves fanatics. I am so sick of the holier-than-thou types. These are the most dangerous people in the world. And some of them live next door. And some of them are on Twitter. And some of them actually have power to do a lot of harm.
So I called myself an Agnostic! So what? I am of greek descent and I know what the word actually means. It comes from the word agnosto, which means 'unknown'. So to be an agnostic means that we simply acknowledge that we just don't know! That's all. In fact, since the age of 2, I was raised an atheist and, heaven forbid, a leftie. But I never was fanatical about any of it. I just want to be fair and receptive. Sometimes I may scoff internally. And sometimes I might debate the merits of religion in the world - but I debate, not argue. I discuss not attack. I walk away unconvinced but open minded. And, I respect other people's beliefs as long as they are not hurting me or anyone else. At my friend's funeral I lit 2 candles in the Church at the request of my kids. One for each of them and in honour of my departed friend. I did it. That does not compromise my own belief system. I just demonstrated that I can show respect.
This Twitter character basicly called me a coward. I think it is more cowardly to accept someone else's beliefs and tenents unquestioningly and then bully people who want to think it through for themselves.
I will even confess to you now that he is not a little bit scary to me. I made what I thought was a simple comment. He attacked. Why attack? How the hell are you going to make friends and supporters if you attack people? In some way it is reassuring because people like that will cluster together, but there will never be too many of them. At least I hope.
In this age of soundbites, and tweets are we losing the art of discussion? With so few characters in which to express ourselves are we going for the jugular in the first salvo? It sure feels that way to me. It feels like the lazy way to me. I grew up in a politicised household where discussions would go well into the night; where friends came to our house to talk; where the smoke filled the room and the coffee cups piled up on the tables with the ashtrays. I grew up in a house where political figures who played key roles in Australian politics where regulars. I loved, beyond description, the constructs of those discussions. I could almost see the physical manifestation of their rhythm. To this day I can debate a circle around you if you let me - even if I am not familiar with the subject matter. Ask my hubby - or my boss! It is not what you say but how you construct the trap! It is a thing of beauty. And even more so when you construct the trap and fall through your own trapdoor!! I love it when someone bests me in a debate. But it has to be a debate not a slanging match - that's no fun at all.
I find it offensive that a perfect stranger, who knows nothing about me (oh if only he did, coz I think he would need a change of undies right about now!) can label me a coward. He should be scared. He should be very scared. I could crochet him right into a corner if he doesn't watch out!! Maybe I will at that!
Am I crazy?
It used to look like this--->
It is a hot hot summer, temperature in the 40s celsius. All of the neighbourhood kids are running around outside on our front lawn cooling off under the sprinkler. The squeals as the icy water spray hits us are ear piercing. My parents and a neighbour are sitting on the back veranda. We had been playing on the back lawn until they got sick of us. Now we were out front. This was back in the days were the word drought was foreign to me. A time when garden hoses were on all night to water the lawn after the 3rd day of heat. A time when we washed the concrete paths for hours and skated along the puddles in our bare feet till they bled.
Back out in the yard I see the truck just a few houses away on the opposite side of the street. I run along the grass nature strip believing it would be easier on my feet and stomp on every prickle and thorny weed as I go. By brother is sniffing just behind and oblivious to the pain in his tiny little feet. We arrive level with the truck and now there is the hot, melting bitumen of the road to cross. I don't even stop. I leap out onto the road without even looking. In those days there were so few cars about. I land and feel the skin underfoot sizzle. I scamper and hop across the road and make it to the window just as the last kid is walking away. I have made it. I order my 3 icecreams and hand over my money.
