Raging in Canada: What message does this send?
2/12/2009 -
Is this sort of thing happening in the States?
In the UK, apparently, a sign was posted on 800 buses by the British Humanist Association that said: *There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.* When I heard it might happen here in Vancouver, I was outraged.
I may be reading it wrong, but I feel insulted by such contempt being shown towards something as deeply personal as faith, especially at a time when people need all the hope they can get!
If there is no Higher Power, nothing beyond the grave; if there is absolutely no reason for being here; if we are just born, if we just live and die, case over, what's the point of it all? Why don't we run with the lemmings over the cliff edge right now?
The problem is that there are those who believe Man is the greatest thing ever created. They surely only have to look at the mess we're in to realize that we aren't? Sure, we've made great inventions and all that, but we can't seem to evolve beyond a certain point of understanding. And look at the mess we're in now; overpopulation, pollution, killing good Planet Earth with our exploitation! I've a friend who says on the whole, Man has only learned how to make bigger and better weapons and I believe she's right.
I also think that putting out such a message into a world that's filled with greed and selfishness, a lack of discipline and self-control--and with hardly any common sense--what exactly is it saying? Do exactly what you want because it really won't matter? You'll never be judged for it? There is no karma? Kick your fellow man while he's down, it really doesn't matter, there is no one to answer to?
I'm glad to say that the bus system in Vancouver decided against displaying it! But I find it distinctly disturbing that a great number of people phoned into a local radio station laughing about it and saying they found nothing wrong with it. After all, one out of four people in Canada have no faith or belief system.
Now those same god-less people want to take the *God* word out of our national anthem. We're surely living in dark days.
28 Comments From Other Members
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| 2/12/2009 |
Mary Allan Mill from St. Petersburg FL wrote:
Thank you for bringing this to our attention. By the way, my father was born in Rossland and my grandfather edited the Vancouver newspaper for many years (I'm a Mackintosh). In England they had signs on busses (I lived there) and I advertised our travel agency. Here, at least in our area, there are no such signs. I believe in freedom of speach, but this is blasphemy and whoever okayed the ad is blind to the consequences. I'd probably be hauled off to jail when I started to tear them off!!!!!
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| 2/12/2009 |
Suzanne Caplan from PA wrote:
Beliefs are personal and I am afraid of the slippery slope of censorship. I do not worry any longer about those whose soul is lost. In Pittsburgh, churches rent Billboards to welcome one to pray so I guess that the non believers have their rights. I am more concerned about my own faith and how I use it every day in how I treat others.
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| 2/12/2009 |
from wrote:
There are many things that lead to the slippery slope, and peoples' 'rights' will be one of them if we aren't careful. Rather than pulling us together, they are driving us apart.
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| 2/12/2009 |
Suzanne Caplan from PA wrote:
Celia, it feels quite different here at the moment. And here is in the Mid Atlantic region of the US. The recent election has humanized many people and they seem to care more about each other. We had a disinfranchised minority population that feels as if they have a voice so for the moment, there is hope. I did some training in Vancouver and it is a tough area....the cost of living is sky high and more people seem to be moving in to drive it up. You have a lot of drugs and I sensed some real alienation. The most beautiful place in the world, though.
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| 2/12/2009 |
from wrote:
Suzanne, yes, we dhave a LOT of drug problems, and now gang warfare in the streets. Also, one will have to be a millionaire soon just to live in BC. Taxes are too high. But there are problems no matter where you live, and as you said in your first post, you can pay most attention to your immediate life and surroundings and that's the best you can do. There is a belief that we are exactly where we should be on the earth at any given time. I guess we all have our challenges to face. My Quaker aunt used to say it isn't what faces you that matters, but the way you deal with it that counts.
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| 2/12/2009 |
Dorothy Sander from Durham NC wrote:
There is a strong tendency, in this country especially, to see and talk about only the negative. Consider the progress we have made in medicine - surgeons are able to do incredible microscopic surgery, many of which is now done on an outpatient basis; I had heart surgery when I was 7 for a problem that children are now given a pill to cure; consider the advancement in technology over the last 10 years; psychology- the average person is much more self-aware than the previous generation. Spirituality is an issue for sure - but I believe positive change is on the horizon for it as well.
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| 2/12/2009 |
from wrote:
It's good to read your positive comments, Dorothy. I apologise for being so negative today; sometimes I just can't fight it and should listen to my own advice about being grateful for the good things in ones own life and never mind the rest. I see the sun is shining, so I'm going out for a walk! I won't forget to smell the roses ;-)
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| 2/13/2009 |
DB Metzger from NY wrote:
rage is fine Celia, can even be cathartic, but today on Friday the 13th many years ago, Galileo went before a church inquistion for this beliefs. In this country every politician panders to some version of God. Some even wear magic underwear Even Abe Lincoln was a Godless Athiest at one point but had to show faith in order to enter politics. The myriad Crusades help to make the Mideast the mess it is today. In other words I like that sign, Imagine being a good person (humanist) for the sake of being good, not for 26 virgins, or a warm greeting from St. Peter at the pearly gates.
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| 2/13/2009 |
Mary Johnston from Solon IA wrote:
Celia, I can certainly understand why you are upset about these signs. I live near and work in a university town and see many signs, banners, t-shirt sayings, artwork,etc. that are offensive. Although I am outspoken about my feelings and beliefs, I'm hesitant to support bans on such things. Banning certain words, concepts, images can start with good intentions but eventually be controlled by people who are dictatorial. It sounds as though the bus system in Vancouver made a good decision for its community in this case but probably won't make a blanket decision for all future items?
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| 2/13/2009 |
from wrote:
I don't usually support bans--I believe in free speech and thought--goodness, I would have been (or would be) stoned for some of my thoughts and behavior--I might possibly be considered a Pagan by some (although I don't dance naked in the woods at the full moon)--I'm definitely not your run-of-the-mill Canadian, it's just that this one message got my goat. I felt they did it just for provocation, nothing else. I just didn't feel it would pull people together, and that's what we need right now.
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| 2/13/2009 |
from wrote:
PS I should have said I don't dance naked in the woods *yet*. Never say never (wink).
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| 2/13/2009 |
Dorothy Sander from Durham NC wrote:
Maybe we should all dance naked in the streets - could be that's what's missing in our lives! What bothers me most about today's tendency to denounce God is that it seems to becoming more and more mainstream - more PC - that frightens me. I can't imagine that Godless society can be good. The spiritual world is so large and powerful, how can the majority deny it?
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| 2/13/2009 |
from wrote:
Many futuristic movies exist in Godless societies and are dark and frightening. Is this really what awaits future generations? A fundamentalist would say that Satan is at work in the world and the theory is interesting if you compare it to what it says in the Bible. I deplore this PC trend. I think it's taking away all the fun and individuality out of our lives. People can't seem to laugh at themselves any more, they're so darned serious, and I see little humour in the 'comedy' movies. All people seem to want are the 'reality' shows, although I swear they are put-up jobs.
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| 2/14/2009 |
Suzanne Caplan from PA wrote:
First off, I will NOT dance naked in the woods out of respect to the woods. I can share some of what I have seen over the past few years. Only the most fundamentalists would make thier beliefs known as they told the rest of us that we were sinners. Now, virtually everyone I know (and most of them are professionals who strong in their worlds) now talk about faith as a necessary of their lives. It is far more spiritual and less dogmatic as the belief is there even if there is no denomination. I feel God's hand as I work on joining women for the greater good of us all.
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| 2/14/2009 |
Dorothy Sander from Durham NC wrote:
Incidentally the lemming story is not true - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemmings
But who cares, it makes a good point! I have a friend who was raised in the conservative Christian tradition and she tells me that all signs point to the "Rapture" and end times. She no longer buys into it, calling it a cult - but these are disturbing times. The outspoken conservative Christians have made reasonable people of faith to quit talking about their faith. If we quit talking about it, we're not passing it along. Our children are being handed secular religion by the media.
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| 2/14/2009 |
Suzanne Caplan from PA wrote:
Dorothy, I am seeing more not less people talk about their faith now emboldened by those who oppose the repression of the religious/political crowd. And watch out for the actions of Obama, he is as faith based a President as we have ever had. Sorry George, I saw your devotion as your drug of choice not you God of enlightenment.
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| 2/14/2009 |
CJ Golden from Newtown CT wrote:
How do I intelligently join in on this conversation? I do not favor censorship, yet would be disturbed if I saw that same sign posted in my area. I agree, Celia, that the wording feels like a slap by some disgruntled person or persons who have given up on the world. I have not given up. While not an avid synagogue attendee, I live by the principles of my faith and do believe there is a G-d - though I feel He is within us - He is that which causes the very best of each of us to come into the world. And, I must say, I would not dance naked in the woods (unless I had very large figleaves on)
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| 2/14/2009 |
Sarah Harkins from Portland Pa wrote:
In our small town, there are few who would act as disrespectfully as you have described. It would not be very well received if they did. I have a child who refused to go to church and was sure for a while that there was no God. I am not sure how he feels now, but it was never strong enough to make a sight of himself. I like the freedom we have but I was raised not to abuse the rights.
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| 2/14/2009 |
nancy lendved from winterville ga wrote:
I see how someone might be offended by a sign of that nature, but I must disagree with CJ. I don't see how an "invitation" to enjoy life constitutes disgruntlement and "giving up on the world."
I, for one, am deeply perplexed by the billboards I see on my way to Atlanta. There are messages like "Don't make me come down there," that portray man's relationship to G-d in a one-dimensional, immature and simplistic light. (Not to mention that the billboards are an ugly blight on an already challenged landscape....) And Suzanne, I too worry about the religious litmus test for our leaders.
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| 2/15/2009 |
Suzanne Caplan from PA wrote:
Tolerance begins with religion. We, as Americans must get over the view that Muslims are somehow dangerous people and then we wonder why there is a negative world view of us. Representatives of all organized and unorganized religions have create attrocities in the name of beliefs. Perhaps we should creat our own posters.....Love Exists in Abundance - Start Enjoying Your Life!
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| 2/15/2009 |
from wrote:
I like that poster better, Suzanne. I'm sure it would evoke a smile, not a scowl; a positive feeling rather than a negative one.
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| 2/15/2009 |
Suzanne Caplan from PA wrote:
This is a time to be humane and be loving. I was travelling this more and the man from TSA who is usually an annoyance had a nice thing to say for everyone. If only there was some way to encourage that.
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| 2/16/2009 |
from wrote:
I think a far nicer sign to put on buses would be: Smile, and the world smiles with you. Now, wouldn't that make you smile just to look at it? And if someone in the street saw you smiling, they might do it too. I see so many dour faces these days. My gran had a saying that went, "if she/he smiled, she (or he) would crack their face." I find myself repeating it quite often these days in the city, not so much on the island where I live and people are on 'island time.'
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| 2/17/2009 |
Eileen Hopkins from Calgary AB wrote:
News of this sign reached Alberta last month. Interestingly, right about then, I attended a World Religion "conference" put on by a Muslim group with a Christian, Seik and Jew on the panel speaking to the question "Do you believe in God". The subject of the billboard came up and each panel member addressed it differently - not one expressed a call to action but a few suggested an alternative campaign espousing that "there is a God so don't worry and live your life!" I find there is more anomosity towards a call to faith than towards one without faith. Secular = free speech; faith-calls = ?
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| 2/17/2009 |
from wrote:
Eileen, the 'conference' sure must have been interesting. Your observation is interesting, too. I find that on the whole my American friends are a lot more open and comfortable with talking about God than my Canadian friends, who seem to think they're going to insult someone by using the word. Are we more PC in this country do you think?
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| 2/17/2009 |
Sherry Cox from Coquitlam BC wrote:
Hi Celia, I'd like to add my comments to this discussion, as I have always felt that organized religion is not the only way for a person to be spiritual. I find any type of banners espousing a particular religious or non-religious belief to be an intrusion. I read a book in the 1970's which compared all the main religions of that time. Only the main characters and the restrictions placed on adherents seem to differ. My conclusion was that our spirituality is within us, and in all living things. I rejected religious dogma, but have embraced spirituality, which I think we all need.
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| 2/17/2009 |
Dorothy Sander from Durham NC wrote:
People used to fight over which religion was better - now, in this country, the fight seems to be whether or not there should be religion - perhaps that's a more basic question. I have always felt people who speak loudly about anything have doubt at the base. People who feel called upon to espouse atheism are the ones that will be the most outspoken believers should the time come.
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| 2/18/2009 |
Suzanne Caplan from PA wrote:
The only fight really worth having is WHO has the best football team and that makes a great poster. Anyone want a Steeler Poster, I really do have some.
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