OUT OF LEFT FIELD: The column no one wants to read
By Kyra Hoggan
I believe that true faith, no matter the stripe, is the most beautiful, miraculous thing a person can be given. And I believe it comes through questioning and soul-searching and observation.
I believe that the ugliest thing ever visited upon humanity is blind faith. No questioning, no use of our God-given gift of discernment, common sense or choice – it’s belief without intelligence. It’s what animals do. It defies every gift God/Allah/Yahweh/Buddha ever offered.
Blind faith brought us the Crusades, the Dark Ages, the Apocalypse.
I would never equate what is happening in Castlegar to those terrible things – except there is a correlation, no matter how small.
“I will blindly support city council because I like the councillors. I will blindly support the union because I support unions. I don’t want to think, or learn or decide … I’m too lazy for that. Real issues and real people aren’t relevant, I just stand for something, no matter if it’s right or wrong. I care about allegiance, not morality.”
People in Castlegar are actually ARGUING that perspective, on both sides of the picket line.
What a totally irresponsible, venal standpoint.
Know the facts and support the people behind them because they are right. Need I remind you, Christians and Muslims alike still stone women to death around the world. Right and wrong, for them, is situational, and allegiance-based, not honourable or truthful or faithful. They don’t get that being a good person means respecting the latter, not the former.
Castlegar should be above this.
Blind faith isn’t enough. In fact, engaging in it makes you a bad person, in my opinion.
It’s abusing a gift most of the people in the world have never been given. It’s an affront to true faith.
Stand for what you believe in, to be sure – but be sure the people you are standing for believe in what YOU believe in – and if you’re too lazy to find out whether or not they do, sit down and shut up, would you please.
The world has had quite enough of you, thanks.
Righteousness without any effort to be right has no place here.
