Has the United States crossed the Rubicon?

One game that I used to play as a kid was to try to turn things around and see the world from the opposite view.  At the time, the most memorable was the conflict with Iran and their attack on the US embassy.  I couldn't understand why they hated us.  We were good people but they took our people hostage and I hated them with the passion of the teenaged boy I was at the time.  I couldn't understand why President Carter just didn't bomb them as they were obviously evil.

I think I was typical of most 6th graders especially in a world where the information you are being fed is limited.  What I didn't know was in 1954 the CIA raised a coup against the democratically elected government of Iran.  The US Embassy was used as the base of operations for the coup and they reinstalled the Shah which led Iran to another 25 years of oppression and autocracy.  When the Shah got sick, the radicals took control and the result was the Hostage Crisis.

The ironic thing was this put Ronald Reagan in office and I think the nation has been thinking like my simpler 6th grade self ever since.  As a country, we've historically put our head in the sand and counted on American 'exceptionalism' to keep us world leaders but the Reagan years put that on overdrive.  One of the biggest advantages we have as a society is the freedoms our system of government gives to us.  The Constitution was the result of a lot of thinking by the founders who looked to the Roman Republic as a guide and tried to put together a document to avoid its fate.

For those that don't know, the Roman government was a marvel of its day and while it wasn't democratic like the Athenians their republic gave them great advantages as it allowed great men to rise and run its affairs while avoiding anarchy.  There are many reasons the Roman Republic fell but the primary reason was simple.  By the middle of the 1st century BC, the Senate was gridlocked and nothing could get done so army under leaders like Marius/Caeser/Octavian stepped in.  The leaders of the city objected but when Octavian ran better than the Senate, the people of the city accepted the idea.  By the time Octavian died, the idea of a Roman Republic was a forgotten memory of a simpler time.

Political theorist like John Locke used the Roman Republic as one of his guides when putting together his thoughts for a perfect society.  The founders knew when they put together the US Constitution the greatest historical threat to a free society was the military which is why they insisted they could not allow the army to ever have enough power to ever have a repeat of the Roman Empire on American shores.

The 6th grader in me has always wondered  - Is it possible that the United States could face a change in our government like happened to the Romans?

Things didn't happen overnight there as it took decades/centuries before the Republic ceased to function.  As a kid I thought the British parliamentary system was a better form of government but as I've grown older I've grown to like the US Constitution.  The framers were insistent on a separation of powers and created a strong tradition of separation between the military and government for them to ever be much of a viable threat to our freedoms.

I don't see a day when a general could conceivable take power like a Caesar but are there other threats?

This is the question I've always wondered.  Movies like the 'Manchurian Candidate' or 'Red Dawn' pose ideas of a future where the freedoms we take for granted are stripping and we are pawns to foreign power but neither are realistic.  Is there another way that we might end up pawns like the citizens of ancient Rome?

In recent years I have seen a disturbing trend.  The founders could have never seen just how small the world would become.  In their time no European had traveled crossed the continent but now we can do it in less than 4 hours in a plane.  Information flow is even quicker, zipping all over the world at the speed of light. Vast warehouses of information have been gathered by private companies in an effort to sell us their wares.  Public agencies with agendas we think we understand listen to phone conversations and track information on the internet.  We are told to give Google access to our emails and we do it because they give us good products.  We are told that it is ok for the government to track its citizens because they need these abilities to protect us.

This strikes me as something right out of the book '1984'.  We seem glad to give up our 1st and 4th amendment rights without a fight and the trend of increased scrutiny of United States citizens scares me like nothing I've ever experienced in my life (sidenote - previously the worst was probably sitting under my desk as my 2nd grade class had an atomic bomb drill - it made me fear Russians well into adulthood).  Add to this media that is consolidating so that 6 companies control most of how we get our information.  The governmet is increasingly controlled by lobbyists who pay politicians to make sure their interests are inacted and some even create public policy.

It is a wonder that anything gets done by the United States government.  Will a time occur when we are asking for a different type of leadership to get us out of this gridlock and if so, who will step in to save us?

Near Rome there is a river called the Rubicon that marked the boundary of Rome and its province to the north, Cisalpine Gaul.  Armies weren't supposed to cross this river which was a way to keep its generals from interfering with the affairs of the city.  Julius Caesar allegedly made the statement 'The die is cast' as he crossed the river on his way to take control of affairs in Rome.  He knew the Rubicon was the point of no return.

Has the United States crossed the Rubicon in terms of the freedoms and liberties that were given to us in the Constitution?  Did we cross a Rubicon on 9/11?  Is it only a matter of time before we need a Caesar to save us?  Does a Caesar actually exist?

We continue to trade our freedoms for the feeling of safety and an easier life.  I'm sure the Romans felt the same way until the 'barbarians' showed up but I don't have an answer.  I don't know if one exists and we may just have to get used to a world in which our every movement/action is monitored and politicians who no longer act with the will of the people as they obey their lobbyist masters and are re-elected with information fed to us from corporate media.

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Christian Religion – Can you believe what you can’t see?

My mom and I have a constant argument about religion.  She wants me to start going to church and relays to me the wonderful stories from her pastor during Bible study.  She’s encouraged me to go with her to these sessions but I have always refused as I know it would turn out badly. 

How do I know this?  Because I’ve tried to go to church many times and every time I get angry but I’ll get into the whys of that la ex ter.  When I was a child I went to church every week and loved it and especially the stories. 

Going to church is a rite of passage for most children and even many adults that don’t believe attend while their kids are small because they feel they need to.  I’ve heard it said many times something to the effect, “I need to expose them to this and when they are old enough, it is their choice.”

There is merit in this statement as many of my fondest memories as a child happened in church camp, at sunday school, or a church related activity.  After my parent’s divorce, my parents stopped going as the town was very judgmental of divorcee’s but I attended for a few more years with my brother and sister in what I recognize now as a desperate attempt to hang on to normalcy.

Things changed for me when I got junior high school.  Teachers started explaining concepts like the scientific method and evolution though they took pains to avoid the subject of religion.  It was at this time that my thirst for history knowledge grew and as I looked into religious history, many things didn’t make sense.  This was a frustrating time as I had many questions but it seemed like everyone seemed blind to obvious truths.

I recognize in hindsight that people feel uncomfortable talking in public about religion as most religions require blind obedience and arguing with the faithful is most times a pointless exercise.

That’s because religion is so intertwined into our culture and as I found myself in a church many times over the next decade I really tried to go in with an open mind.  About half way through every sermon, I got mad at what the preacher/priest/pastor was saying and my mind closed.  Every sermon follows the same routine that the Christian Church has used for almost 2000 years. 

“You are a sinner, Jesus died for your sins, drink his blood/eat his flesh and your sins will be forgiven.”

This is a great message to kids who are used to always being in trouble and like the idea of forgiveness.  Adults need more than that and I rebelled against the negative nature of the message as I always felt these guys didn’t know me and had no right to judge me.  As I’ve grown older I’ve modified my position somewhat as I do realize that everyone has flaws and inside the church’s message of blame is the hope that despite our flaws, we can be better people.  In fact the church can be something very useful as it binds communities and is a cheap form of seeing a therapist.  If that is all the church did, I would probably still belong to one.

The devil in the details.  As I’ve read over the years this is what I know to be true about the Bible:

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- The Old Testament is based on the Jewish Torah and the story of the prophets which are a a story of journey of the people of Israel from their enslavement in Egypt to their peak under King David and eventual defeat and re-enslavement in Babylon. 

- Much of the Old Testament was compiled after the were able to gain their freedom from Babylon and returned to Jerusalem. 

- Many Jewish scholars agree that the intent was to give the people a book that bound the spread out people once they won their freedom from Babylon. 

- Many of the stories found in the Old Testament are also found in many other local religions of that time but the story of Israel and Judaism thrived and grew throughout the area.

- The New Testament is the Christian part of the Bible.

- The New Testament is based on the story of Jesus Christ and his teachings

- There is no proof that a man named Jesus Christ ever lived.

- The gospels are the first four books of the Bible and written by men that were told the story by the apostles of Jesus.  None of these original manuscripts survive and changes occurred as scribes often make mistakes.

- The stories of the Jesus were spread by a man named Paul, who never met Jesus when he lived, but he wrote many of the other books of the New Testament based on their words.

- The gospels were finished between 80-100 AD but none of these texts survive.

- A good example of what happened during the next few years is at the end of Mark. It originally stopped after a boy next to the alter told Mary Magdelene and Mary Mother of James Jesus had risen,

“⁸ And they went out, and fled from the tomb; for trembling and astonishment had come upon them: and they said nothing to any one; for they were afraid.”

Here is the revision (sorry it is long):

“And they went out, and fled from the tomb; for trembling and astonishment had come upon them: and they said nothing to any one; for they were afraid. ⁹ Now when he was risen early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. ¹⁰ She went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. ¹¹ And they, when they heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, disbelieved. ¹² And after these things he was manifested in another form unto two of them, as they walked, on their way into the country. ¹³ And they went away and told it unto the rest: neither believed they them. ¹⁴ And afterward he was manifested unto the eleven themselves as they sat at meat; and he upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them that had seen him after he was risen. ¹⁵ And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation. ¹⁶ He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned. ¹⁷ And these signs shall accompany them that believe: in my name shall they cast out demons; they shall speak with new tongues; ¹⁸ they shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall in no wise hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. ¹⁹ So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken unto them, was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. ²⁰ And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word by the signs that followed. Amen.”

This was added by someone about a hundred years after Jesus died and fifty after it was written. Why is it important? Well ignoring the fact that even through this is provable and many people proclaim that the Bible is word-for-word the voice of God look at the highlighted text. This text is the basis for faith healing, speaking in tongues, and snake handling in some religious faiths. All based on a lie by a 2nd century scribe that wanted a better ending to Mark’s tale.

- Another story that was adjusted was the story in the Book of John about the woman caught in adultery.  He choose not to judge her and said instead to the mob, “He that is without sin, cast the first stone”.  When the crowd dispersed he told the woman, “Go and sin no more.”  Great story but it wasn’t written by John.

- Over the next hundred years, other stories were added as there were competing messages of what the gospels meant.  A good example is the book of Revelation.  A man calling himself John said he heard a great voice instructing him to write the book in around 95AD.  He had nothing to do with Jesus or the apostles and drew inspiration from the Old Testament.  His writings form the basis of the idea of heaven and hell in the Bible.  Most other areas don’t mention it at all.  The apocalypse and the return of Jesus is described in this section which isn’t spoken about  by any other writer the Bible.  All written by a man that had a vision.

- As the new Christian religion’s message of hope and redemption got popular, Emperor Constantine of Rome adopted it as the new state religion after 300AD.

- The competing messages were causing distractions so Constantine called on the priests to resolve their differences.  In 325 AD they met in Nicea (about 280 years after Jesus’ death) and decided many things. One example is the Holy Trinity – this explanation is overly simplistic but it resolved whether Jesus that was equal to his father – the addition of the Holy Spirit that resided in Jesus meant he was both human and god

- Soon after this meeting, the new religion decided which books that had been written in the last 280 years were to be consider canon and part of the Bible.

- Many things we think we know today are interpretations of popes, priests, and other high ranking religious officials of what the Bible means.  Over time many people that haven’t read the entire book (like 95% of Christians) actually believe things that are really an opinion of what the men who wrote the meant.  This is understandable when you realize how haphazard the Bible was put together along with the fragmentary nature of the scribes writing these texts thousands of times so the apostles could spread the word.

- There is one thing I can state with 100% assurance.  The Bible was written by men and even if the original was divinely written, what we have today isn’t the same thing.

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I sure some could quibble with some of my assertions as it would take books to fully explore but I feel the above is close to the truth.  How can any reasonable person read those facts and come out with the belief that the Bible is 100% factual?  Yet many people believe that very thing.

Gallup has done a poll periodically since 1982 asking Americans a question of which statement is true.

A.  Humans developed over millions of years from less advanced forms but God guided the process

B.  Humans developed over millions of years from less advanced forms and God played no part

C.  God created human beings pretty much in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years

You probably can guess the winner or I wouldn’t bring it up.  Answer C has won this in every poll with anywhere from 40-47% of the population.  Answer A is anywhere from 32-38%. 

Answer B is the correct answer and it hit a high in the last two polls of 15-16%.

This question isn’t  picking the wrong country on a map.  This is totally a question of belief as everyone has an opinion on Evolution.  From these numbers it appears that 85% of Americans believe that God is guiding us.  I could buy into that if by God they meant

Some higher power that created the universe and set in motion the laws of nature that led to the universe, the laws of nature, our solar system, the earth, and evolution.

They don’t.

They mean it in the sense that there’s an omnipresent being in the sky that is looking over every one of us.  Why do they believe it?  Because of a book written in the desert two thousand years ago by carpenters/fishermen, rewritten by scribes, modified by priests, and combined into a book by Romans with none of our current understanding.

The kicker to this whole thing is I’d bet Christians quality of life is better than most.  I know I’ve tried to believe in the fairytales in the Bible but can’t do it.  I envy those that can as I’m sure they live a happier existence.  They live each day in the bliss that someday they will be in heaven despite all evidence and it really doesn’t matter if it isn’t true. 

I can’t make my mind do that.

Even sadder is the fact that most Americans believe this, which means that everything has to cater to them.  Every president and every social leader has to bow down to the religious because no one can afford to lose 50% of the voters.  That’s a good way to lose.

I used to think I was alone in my knowledge and grew jaded at the world thinking that so many people were ignorant.  In recent years I’ve softened my position as I really do think a large majority question the existence of an intrusive god but in polite society we don’t discuss such things.  We don’t want to offend and it is sad because I believe a religion that mixed science with philosophy and psychology would be an amazing force for good.  It would be like town hall meetings that people actually cared about each other.  Instead we cling to ideas that were outdated 500 years ago.

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