I guess Curtis Mayfield was right...

when he sang, "If there's a Hell below, then we're all gonna go!" Yet I cannot help but look at this obvious atrocity in the name of free speech as a bit disturbing in a murky sense. Reason I chose murky is that when I look at my fellow man and woman (only to whom I consider myself to be actual peers with) I can see instances when they would be punished simply because they were subject to their own human condition. It should go unsaid that rapists, child molesters, etc. have a place in the ever burning pit that is Hell (or Hades, if it even exists - more on this later). But Sports Fans? Pot Smokers? Even hypocrites???

Besides there being obvious flaws in the list, for instance Homosexuals and Lesbians are on the list. That is just a redundancy in my opinion. A woman who is a homosexual is a lesbian. Maybe they wanted the extra emphasis and shock value or something; possibly in hopes of sticking it to women even harder. Because we all know that most religions in this world are highly misogynistic but it'll be a snowball's chance in - well, you know where - that misogynists will ever make the list. That would really be hypocritical on their part. Which brings me back to hypocrites. WTF??? I mean hypocrites aren't nearly as prevalent as assholes but I think it's safe to say that everyone is at least related to one. Perhaps more if you really think hard on it. I know I am and that is not saying anything profound at all. But then, how do we judge someone a hypocrite? Isn't it wrong for us to judge lest we're to be judged ourselves? I don't think we can ever know for sure. Even to think that if we used the most rudimentary definition of the word as our basis the list of hypocrites would grow exponentially. I mean we could wipe out all the health care workers who smoke cigarettes out in one shot! Along with everyone else in the world for that matter.

I think the underlying theme of messages like these is that in order for religions to work they need to fill the minds of people. Let's face it, the fear of damnation and everlasting hell (or being forced to watch Lawrence Welk reruns for eternity) is a powerful control!

SYS