Who are these people? The individuals at left and far right share some common characteristics. Both are obese for instance. Both wear beanies on their heads. All three are men.
Below we have some other men.
They are not obese. The one whose face is visible is also, objectively and in my subjective opinion, more attractive than the two fat men and the cadaver. The two men above also seem to be happy, or at least enjoying themselves. The two fat men and the cadaver do not appear to be happy or enjoying themselves.
The fat man in the black beanie is a holy man of the Jewish faith, a "Rabbi" they call him. The fat man in the purple beanie is a holy man of the Catholic faith, a "Priest," the equivalent to a "Rabbi." The cadaver, appropriately sandwiched in between the two holy men, is an American politician. All three hate the two guys enjoying themselves. There is no rational reason for this.
There is no rational reason for this hate but then religion is not rational. Religion asks followers to take a "leap of faith" (the phrase is Soren Kierkegaard's) away from rationality, to ignore the evidence before "your lyin' eyes," (the phrase is the Eagles'), to believe that it's (Judaism's, Catholicism's, etc.) way is the true way, that it's holy men are the real holy men.
There is nothing evil about leaping without looking if you just do it yourself and don't take anybody else with you, but religion is not like that. It commands followers to...follow. And so 900 followers of Jim Jones, a "Reverend," drank the purple Kool-Aid and followed him to wherever he went. All holy men promise the mostest and the bestest life in the wherever but they can't all be right and it says here none of them are right. Whatever: at least the followers make the decision, rationally or not, to follow.
The real problem with religion is its exclusivity: If you don't do it my way you're doomed. We are saved, those other people are doomed. And not just in doomed in the wherever, doomed in the here and now. The two guys enjoying themselves are doomed because they're not doing it the right way (it's a "sin"). The way you're supposed to do it is with a woman, not a man (unless you're a woman and then you have to do it with a man). So the two fat holy men in the beanies hate the two guys enjoying themselves (but each fat man still thinks the other is doomed).
The cadaverous politician has taken the leap of faith with the fat man in the purple beanie. He is pictured below leaping into Purple's embrace (it's okay to do it this way).
But the cadaver wants followers (called "voters") too and since he hates the guys enjoying themselves and the fat man in the black beanie hates the guys enjoying themselves he, the cadaver, lept into bed with Black.
The cadaver, Carl Paladino, who it should be said is a "Republican" politician, gave a speech at the the "synagogue" (house of worship) of Black Beanie, Rabbi Yehuda Levin. In fact the speech was co-written by Levin and it represented the combined hatred of Levin, Paladino, and Purple Beanie (Timothy Dolan) toward the guys enjoying themselves (homosexuals/gays). The next day Paladino went on the TV and explained how, "disgusting" the behavior of the two guys enjoying themselves was. Paladino experienced this upset in Toronto, Canada at a "Gay Pride" parade, which is in fact where the photo of the two guys enjoying themselves, or "grinding," was taken.
Paladino's speech and TV appearance alienated rather than won him followers and so the next day (this all happened this week) Paladino lept out of bed with Levin, who received this unhappy news while--I am not making this up--eating a salami (kosher) sandwich. In fact Levin reported that he was so upset he almost choked on the salami (I did not make that up either).
America is the most religious country on earth. One of the principles the country was founded upon was religious tolerance. Thus Levin and Dolan get to worship and preach what they want. America is also a democracy, thus people like Paladino can run for any political office they want. America has produced its share of Babbitts, like Paladino, and its share (more than its share) of religious bigots like Levin and Dolan. The issue becomes what the tolerant should do in the face of this intolerance. I am intolerant of intolerance, I am very intolerant of intolerance (I have an anger management problem). In the movie Manhattan, Woody Allen suggests the right approach: bricks and baseball bats work best with Nazis.
The fat man in the black beanie is a holy man of the Jewish faith, a "Rabbi" they call him. The fat man in the purple beanie is a holy man of the Catholic faith, a "Priest," the equivalent to a "Rabbi." The cadaver, appropriately sandwiched in between the two holy men, is an American politician. All three hate the two guys enjoying themselves. There is no rational reason for this.
There is no rational reason for this hate but then religion is not rational. Religion asks followers to take a "leap of faith" (the phrase is Soren Kierkegaard's) away from rationality, to ignore the evidence before "your lyin' eyes," (the phrase is the Eagles'), to believe that it's (Judaism's, Catholicism's, etc.) way is the true way, that it's holy men are the real holy men.
There is nothing evil about leaping without looking if you just do it yourself and don't take anybody else with you, but religion is not like that. It commands followers to...follow. And so 900 followers of Jim Jones, a "Reverend," drank the purple Kool-Aid and followed him to wherever he went. All holy men promise the mostest and the bestest life in the wherever but they can't all be right and it says here none of them are right. Whatever: at least the followers make the decision, rationally or not, to follow.
The real problem with religion is its exclusivity: If you don't do it my way you're doomed. We are saved, those other people are doomed. And not just in doomed in the wherever, doomed in the here and now. The two guys enjoying themselves are doomed because they're not doing it the right way (it's a "sin"). The way you're supposed to do it is with a woman, not a man (unless you're a woman and then you have to do it with a man). So the two fat holy men in the beanies hate the two guys enjoying themselves (but each fat man still thinks the other is doomed).
The cadaverous politician has taken the leap of faith with the fat man in the purple beanie. He is pictured below leaping into Purple's embrace (it's okay to do it this way).
But the cadaver wants followers (called "voters") too and since he hates the guys enjoying themselves and the fat man in the black beanie hates the guys enjoying themselves he, the cadaver, lept into bed with Black.
The cadaver, Carl Paladino, who it should be said is a "Republican" politician, gave a speech at the the "synagogue" (house of worship) of Black Beanie, Rabbi Yehuda Levin. In fact the speech was co-written by Levin and it represented the combined hatred of Levin, Paladino, and Purple Beanie (Timothy Dolan) toward the guys enjoying themselves (homosexuals/gays). The next day Paladino went on the TV and explained how, "disgusting" the behavior of the two guys enjoying themselves was. Paladino experienced this upset in Toronto, Canada at a "Gay Pride" parade, which is in fact where the photo of the two guys enjoying themselves, or "grinding," was taken.
Paladino's speech and TV appearance alienated rather than won him followers and so the next day (this all happened this week) Paladino lept out of bed with Levin, who received this unhappy news while--I am not making this up--eating a salami (kosher) sandwich. In fact Levin reported that he was so upset he almost choked on the salami (I did not make that up either).
America is the most religious country on earth. One of the principles the country was founded upon was religious tolerance. Thus Levin and Dolan get to worship and preach what they want. America is also a democracy, thus people like Paladino can run for any political office they want. America has produced its share of Babbitts, like Paladino, and its share (more than its share) of religious bigots like Levin and Dolan. The issue becomes what the tolerant should do in the face of this intolerance. I am intolerant of intolerance, I am very intolerant of intolerance (I have an anger management problem). In the movie Manhattan, Woody Allen suggests the right approach: bricks and baseball bats work best with Nazis.
