Letters to the Editor
edziu's muse
Published Letters: 517 Editor's Choice: 21
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nothing to lose
[Read the article: Is atheism dead?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Philosophy profs, where are you when we need you? I know you probably gave me a C, but Dr. So and So, now I don't care about a grade, now I am thinking about death and infinite possibilities.
It sounds as if you want to engage in some daily practice and as Cary mentioned using Pascal's Wager, you've lost nothing. If you are loving and kind and you treat others that way, what can be wrong with that?
If no to a traditional Christian version of God, then how about Buddhism? Perhaps you can check out the writings of someone like Pema Chodron as a jumping off point. Or choose your own guru, the world is rich. If some literature or lectures on loving kindness or peace don't resonate, you can move into other things.
Being in a country where we can be free to discuss this complex issue and remain open about it, that is freedom! I imagine the Islamist extremists would want to blow us all to the hell we so clearly deserve now. Maybe some other fundamentalist types as well? In many religions there is often an undercurrent of fear.
You mention death, the great equalizer. My friend always says about our existence here, "No one gets out alive!" She volunteers for hospice so that people don't have to die alone. This makes my friend not just beautiful, but amazing and enlightened. In fact I know lots of people who give, often under the "umbrella" of religion or faith and they help people who are really hurting, they help them often and without expectation. So that is something that is a positive outcome of faith. I also have friends who would be catagorized as agnostic or atheist and most of them are kind, helpful and generous without a faith-based practice.
The thing that is compelling is that there is no answer. The idea or connection to the divine escapes words and explanation. It's all interpretation. Like death, we have no idea.
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You get the chance
[Read the article: My Southern grandmother is dying, and I don't want to go back]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Dear LW,
I've lost people. I've lost people I didn't have the opportunity to say goodbye to and your letter made me very upset.
Many people are pissed about their upbringing, c'mon, that is not what this is about! We all "escaped" something, someone! This is it, you don't get to do this again. Unless (or even because) you were beaten or molested or otherwise violated in some unspeakable way by that woman, you should contact her soon. It doesn't sound like she was bad to you anyway. People do terrible things to each other, don't join them. Pretend if you must. You will always regret your decision not to call, not to reach out at least.
About a funeral: that has nothing to do with you in the bigger picture, lay down your armor if you are able.
Just for a moment, you put yourself in her place. Can you do this? Feel her pain somehow, even for a few seconds. You are about to die and you want to feel loved, your wish is to be surrounded or at least in contact with people who mean something to you.
Very upsetting to read about how much you don't feel. Your righteousness. You poor thing!
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picking up on a trend
[Read the article: My Southern grandmother is dying, and I don't want to go back]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]watneyjinx writes:
"It's never okay to call someone that you don't even know a heartless bitch, unless it's Anne Coulter or someone like that. ;) This is a real person, not a celebrity. Email stings and I am not sure you mean what you say."
Man, it does get nasty. Cary gets a lot of hate thrown his way too. Have you been reading Salon for a while? Have you seen some of the mean-spirited, woman hating, everyone hating( not just women!), cruel, petty remarks? The above is nothing in comparison. I agree with you, sometimes it gets a little personal and the posts come off caustic, bitter, angry. I wonder what someone's life is like if they are spewing this crap here.
Remember a poster calling himself "shamscamsam" or some such thing? He must be going by a new name or something but that guy, he was mean. There are posters who say stuff here all the time just to rile people. Devil's advocate? Perhaps boredom. One person wrote me saying they come here to " watch train wrecks". If that's your entertainment, good for you!
Here posters are sometimes direct or resort to just calling each other names. I must ask.... is this indicitive of our modern society? Hiding behind the anonymous mask while unleashing on a stranger? Is it a trend and why?
Just a thought.