Throughout my life, I've become estranged from a lot of people over where I stand on life issues. When I left my WCG allegiances behind, the bulk of my former associates took off for the hills. When I left behind agnosticism and became a devout atheist, even more made themselves scarce.
A great many of those who saw through Herbert W. Armstrong's overall cultism, still hang with his ultra fundamentalist approach in other areas. He, like the Rethugs, hated labor unions, looked down on the average person as inferior and not worthy of a decent lifestyle and had a British-style class outlook.
Some (indeed many) former worldwiders are staunch creationists and rabid pro-life fanatics. One angrily told me that a woman does not have control over her own body and he's absolutely vehement about evolution. Humanism is a dirty word in his dictionary. He buys anything pseudo-scientists put out in their cross-fertilized, literarily-incestuous books, blogs and articles, pooh-poohing what real scientists with real credentials and years of painstaking research publish and state. We no longer communicate by his demand, and his pompous daughter consigned me to hell.
By getting involved in politics and fearlessly stating my flamingly liberal atheist/humanist outlook and opinions, I've lost even more former "friends." Somehow, they can't take that extra logical step and cast aside that ultra conservative mindset we all bought way back there. I'm a heretic in their eyes because I won't goose step to their theocratic fascist outlook.
That's OK. There's too much McCoy in my ancestry for me to compromise with what I see and not speak out. (Yes, my paternal great grandmother was Isabelle McCoy, straight from Virginia, and a more outspoken, activist personality would be hard to find.) I'm deeply grateful to have this blog and other avenues open to say what wells up from deep within and strains to be heard.
Our nation was not founded by shrinking violets who cowered in fear. They were willing to risk everything for the ideals they held dear. I'm at least not risking execution as a traitor to my king like they did. For now, anyway, no one can bring me up on charges for blasphemy or character defamation if I tell the truth as I see it. How long that will continue is something I really worry about if the Rethug cabal manages to pull this coup off.
I must say what I say because it's the reality I see. To do less would be a betrayal to myself and those who come after me.
To those who would angrily tell me to "shut up," I reply, "Never!"
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Right on, fellow humanist! Never submit to ignorance and tyranny. We are aiding coming generations to rise above the foolishness that was foisted upon us.
ReplyDeleteIt's fortunate that at least a few of us "angry old white men" are on the right side of history as the nation grows and improves.