Morals, and 'Morals'

One of my friends believes that religion, ALL religion, is pointless superstition. He has taken the stance, more or less, that most religious conflicts come down to ‘who has the best imaginary friend.‘ I don’t know that I completely disagree - many laws and rules come off as archaic and discriminatory in modern society (rules preventing women from being as ‘free’ as men in society, or rules against homosexuality for example) and it can be difficult to pin point which laws were formed with the goal of making a peaceful society or just giving religious significance to things already in place. If you’re interested in reading more on that, take a moment to google “why are there religious laws against pork.‘

What exactly is this kid supposed to honor here?

Other things, like the Judeo-Christian commandment “Thou shalt not commit Murder” or the Buddhist precept against killing other living beings are pretty intuitive - killing people is terrible in that it causes pain, loss, etc. Others, like “Honor they mother and father” can be a little trickier. What if your parents don’t care about you, abuse you, make poor decisions and put you in danger constantly? Are you still required to honor them?

I think there’s a difference between ‘religious’ morals and just plain morals. ‘Religious’ morals dictate doing or not doing something “Because you should/n’t,” and if you do, some great, invisible being in the sky will punish you at some point. Just plain old morals are personal and constantly developing, and drive you to do what you consider right or wrong based on your beliefs. There’s a lot more wiggle room, and - I believe - actions driven by one’s own experience-based morals tend to more sincere and thought out.

Surviving Dreams

Dreams, in the sense of goals, fantasies, desires and wishes for the future, play such a big role in western culture. So much of what we do is about plotting and planning for the future.

We save, we scrimp, we sacrifice and fight to achieve things later - and once they’ve passed, we’re still looking forward. Consumerism in our daily lives provides lots of examples in the ads we see everywhere: buy this insurance so if something happens later you’re prepared. Buy this gum so that if a kiss comes your way your breath doesn’t stink. Buy these clothes so your children will make friends at school. Buy this car to impress a possible date.

Buy these so that you don’t spend thousands on clothes/food/healthcare/college!

Certainly, I’m not saying it’s unwise to plan for the future. We know that an event in the past has direct effect on the future, and we like to be prepared for things. But we focus so much on what’s coming. I’ve been told in the past that we don’t move forward without cause - the only reason we hunt is because we’re hungry for something. We shoot for dreams: once we’ve captured them, we settle in, satisfied - or complacent. It’s either that or find something more to hunt down.

What about me? Do I have dreams?