Avian Flu or Religion...

Although a small victory has been won in Dover, PA for the side of enlightenment and intelligence, the battles are long from over.

There exists an innate desire for humans to play with notions of all kinds, from math to word games, from existentialism to Santa Claus, etc., etc.

Some ideas present more difficult challenges for the human brain. Whereas we find it relatively easy to drop our belief in Santa Claus (much to the chagrin of our materialistic child-nature), our ability to come to terms with the fiction of Jesus, God, whatever, is almost impossible for many in our species.

Any time we couch thoughts or choices in terms of either death or so-and-so, or either eternal damnation or so-and-so, we are trapped in a very vulnerable part of our thought process. Suddenly we have choices to make which have a potentially BAD outcome, death or eternal hell-fire. When we hear of the potential death toll of pandemic avian flu, just around the corner, we tend to over react. Our fear compels us to act. Too late to buy face-mask stocks. The same holds true for religion. In our natural attempt to ward off the bad stuff, we over react. Fear of an INFINITE time of INFINITE pain is debilitating for some. We believe things that, outside of a thorough brainwashing from birth, we would find obviously fictional.

Which is worse for the species, Avian Flu or Religion? Avian Flu culls out the weak and vulnerable. The species grows stronger. Religion empowers the weak and uneducated. The species suffers from under-use of their only natural advantage over other species: the brain. Something under-worked is something headed for shrinkage. Smaller brains are good for religion, no extra room for that 'ability to think' thing. Wouldn't want that now would we?