Religion and Politics... but no Sports - Part One: Religion

I normally don't talk about the Big Three.  In fact, I avoid them at all cost.  My bartending background has given me special insight into the perils of broaching these subjects.  Nothing brews more passion than religion, politics, and sports mixed with a bit of liquor, NOTHING.  I have seen fists fly and friendships broken over baseball games, Santa Claus, and abortion.  I'm here to tell you it's not pretty.  It's also completely unnecessary. Let me break it down for you; Mrs. Monster's views on the Big Three:

Did this actually happen?  Does it really matter?

Religion

Religious exploration is a very personal journey.  If you happen to have support on your personal journey in the form of a loving congregation of like-minded individuals, good for you.  If you happen to have a handbook on how to live your life in the form of the Bible or the Torah or whatever, consider yourself lucky.  I, always the dissenter, do not have such a luxury.  Part of me wishes that I had been raised with a strong religious identity.  But, an even bigger part of me is happy to have been expressly given the freedom to explore.

Regardless of what I think or why I think it, the bigger point here is, who freaking cares???  Seriously.  Like I said, religious exploration is personal; just as personal as sex and bowel movements.  If I chose to discuss it with you, cool.  Otherwise, don't worry about it.  Remember when you were little and you ran to the teacher because so-and-so was doing such-and-such?  Remember the teacher's response?  "Don't worry about what they're doing, worry about yourself."  My soul is not anyone else's to save.  I think if people just lived and were nice to each other, none of this would be a problem.  That's not to say you should idly stand by while someone commits a "sin" (or as I say, acts like a total asshole/slob).  No, you absolutely have every right to disagree with someone's actions.  But, I challenge you to come up with something other than, "the Bible/God/Jesus/Allah says..." as your reasoning.  If anything, doing so could serve to strengthen your faith, because MOST religious conventions do have real world relevancy; ironically, (or not, depending on how you look at it) it's usually those conventions that span all humanity regardless of faith.

Pretty cool how when you boil it down, we're all just people, huh?

I have a Catholic friend who embodies this point very well.  She is nice, she is fun to be around, and she never overtly imposes religion into any topic we are discussing.  She doesn't hide her Catholicism by any stretch of the imagination, but she also does not flaunt it.  When asked why crazy-ass Catholics are opposed to birth control, she talks about studies and facts; she is logical and rational.  She does not ever say, "because the Bible/God says so".  That would piss me off.  It is for this very reason that she is the one I approach if I have questions about Catholicism.  Regardless of your spiritual leanings, if you are kind, non-judgmental, and non-preachy, you will, by default, win friends and from there be able to influence them.

To recap:  calm the fuck down, no one cares if you're right or wrong but you, and let's all just be friends okay?

Next, I will talk about Politics, but not Sports.  Aren't you excited?!