"Truth"

The politifact.com truth-o-meter recently ruled FALSE on a quote by a religious right extremist organization called Focus on the Family Action, which read, "[Barack Obama] supports hate-crimes expansion ... potentially putting churches at risk if they preach the truth about homosexuality."

What interests me about this is that word truth. It brings up an important point about the arrogant self-righteousness of the religious right.

Everyone has seen the chrome painted plastic symbols attached to the backs of cars, which are shaped like a fish (as a symbol of Jesus). Some of them say Jesus. Some have feet and say Darwin. My wife once had one that was designed to look like a UFO and it said Alien. And then there is the one that has a little fish that says Darwin getting swallowed by a big fish that says Truth.

There’s that word again. Truth is a very powerful word that says a lot about someone who chooses to use it in reference to their opinion about something. The truth about the word truth is that it suggests rather strongly that the opposing opinion is not just inaccurate but actually a lie. By categorizing your belief as “the truth” you are claiming that those who openly oppose your belief actually share your belief but are attempting to mislead people about something which they know to be fact.

I just couldn’t imagine taking a position like that. I’m clearly an opinionated person. But the idea of actually branding my opinion as “the truth” and there by branding opposing opinions as lies…
It just strikes me as an exclusive characteristic of tragically closed minded self-righteous extremists. I mean, wow. It must be nice to be so right. At least it seems to be pretty convenient.

The truth about this matter is that it is just another frightening similarity between Christian extremists and Muslim extremists.

8 girls, 1 cup

By now, if you have a computer and or a television, you’ve seen something about the 8 high school girls who trapped and brutally assaulted one of their classmates in Florida, while videotaping the event for the purpose of Myspace and YouTube broadcasts.

I actually hesitated to post comments about this because I don’t want to add to their glory. Whatever their punishment winds up being; it will inevitably vanish in the shadow of the fame which they’re enjoying. As a much lesser level of exposure/fame was the clear objective of this video – despite the trouble that they’re in, they have got to be feeling like they’ve hit the jack pot. The girl throwing most of the punches probably thinks that she has now become some sort of Squeaky Fromme version of Paris Hilton. Ok… assuming that she’s heard of the Manson family. I know it’s a stretch.

Anyhow, a lot of people are wondering what would cause such horrific behavior. Allow me to be the first to blame it on Florida. I’m not kidding. I believe that the society of that state impresses its children with a lower standard of human conduct. Florida is most widely known for its popularity as a destination for spring break kids and retiring adults. But it is also known for its distinctive popularity among those who are simply trying to escape from the burden of society’s expectations of ethical behavior.

Florida has long since been America’s favorite destination for those seeking amnesty from accountability for their actions. The Florida board of tourism might as well advertise that it’s the place to go if all the damn little people are still failing to realize that the rules just don’t apply to you.

If you have trouble finding the right loophole for your tax, criminal or political problem, Florida seems to be the place to go. It’s the place where you go to comfortably live out your life after being acquitted of a double murder that everyone on Earth knows that you’re guilty of. And it’s where a well connected incompetent narcissist can go to be handed the Presidency of the United States.

Now, I am not by any means saying that the behavior of those girls can be wholly attributed to any single factor. This sort of thing can be categorized by a number of factors which are common enough to have their own clichés:
Kids are cruel
Girls are mean
Violence in movies, TV, video games and the internet has desensitized this generation to violent behavior.
And the timeless classic… People in Florida are fucked up.