Why Are Some People Such Bastards? Part One: Holier Than Thou

I'm a firm believer in a little philosophy I call being human. I'm not perfect, nor do I expect others to be. I have my views, and likewise you have yours. I respect that. If we have some things in common, great, if not that's okay. Maybe we completely disagree, that too is okay.

But there are some things that are just not okay. And I'm going to talk about some of them in a continuing series named "Why are some people such bastards?"

It takes a lot to make me angry or upset me. I'm a really low key person. I don't excite easily and I dislike confrontation. Well, the kind of confrontation that isn't civil, anyway. But sometimes things happen that really disturb me, and one of them happened today.

I have a deep respect for religions and churches. I don't necessarily agree with them, but I respect them all, mostly. One such "church" is the Westboro Baptist Church  In case you didn't click on that link, their web address is GodHatesFags.com. Yes, the way they decide to represent themselves, their storefront on the world wide web is to proclaim that God, apparently, hates homosexuals.

I'm a big proponent of the freedom of speech. I don't think anyone should be censored, or made unable to speak. But, I think that people, before speaking, need to be a human being. I don't often remember many quotes from famous people, but one I often think about is by Evelyn Beatrice Hall:

I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it

Most people assume Voltaire said it (I seem to recall being told it was Voltaire in school, actually). But it was actually Evelyn Beatrice Hall (writing under a pseudonym) about how she felt Voltaire felt. And I like it. I think the moment we restrict people's speech is the moment a people fail, so what I'm going to say, I say with much trepidation.

Maybe some people just shouldn't speak. It's the only way I can reconcile my beliefs. I can't and won't tell people what to say, or censor what they say so no one sees it. So maybe they just should say nothing. Maybe they should keep quiet. Maybe things like this should stay hidden away and never see the light of day:

Now, I'm no expert, and I don't know if there is a hell, but I think if there is a heaven, Ms. Edwards will likely make the cut. I don't know much about her, but what little I know is rather admirable. To condemn her for having children after one passed is just stupid. And to be so joyous over a woman's death is just cold. If you aren't familiar with this group, they've made a habit of picketing funerals, particularly those of dead soldiers, students, church leaders, plane crash victims, celebrities, and now Elizabeth Edwards, among others.

I may be wrong, but I don't think the God I've learned about my whole life in Catholic schools would approve of signs reading: "Thank God For Breast Cancer." Even if she were Adolf Hitler, to thank God for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of good, honest people to rid the world of one horrible one is not an even trade. But of course, Elizabeth Edwards wasn't anywhere near that; she was a good woman.  For all I know she was a good mother, and a good wife. I cant imagine how she could have been a more patient wife.

Perhaps (at least to my knowledge), her biggest fight was healthcare and the fact that no one should be without it (I agree). She argued that not everyone could afford good, high-quality healthcare like she could, but that everyone ought to be entitled to it, and I agree. Health care is exorbitantly expensive; operations shouldn't cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and especially not if you have insurance.

I didn't know her, or anything much about her really. Though, I do approve of her sentiment on gay marriage:

I don't know why someone else’s marriage has anything to do with me. I'm completely comfortable with gay marriage.

but I do know that I was sad to hear of her death. I'm always sad to hear of death though. I don't like it, especially when people die before they should.

So are these the kinds of people God wants representing him? Maybe God really is against murder, homosexuality, adultery, and lying; but I'm fairly certain he's never been for hate. The Golden Rule is oft quoted, but I believe any God would approve of my statement to be a human. Treat people the way you want to be treated? Sure. Treat people fairly. What is worse, anguish and the reaction over a God taking your sixteen year old son or the anguish people cause to the family by picketing that funeral.

What does it accomplish even? They can hate Elizabeth Edwards and people like her, but their protests aren't going to stop people from having more children after losing one. They can do everything in their power to protest that there are, in fact, gay people; but it's not going to change anything. They can spread all the hate they want, and the only place it's going to get them is, I'm afraid, the same place they condemn all their enemies to.

In the end, it won't matter, anyway. No one cares now about the day-to-day of people hundreds or thousands of years ago. And years from now what these people do won't matter either. But what does matter to us is today and for our sake we should all just be human; not for history's sake, but for our own. Just be fair, it's the least we could do.