
I can hear the “Oh boy”s already. But don’t leave just yet! This isn’t going to be a post of complaints. Well…it is, but they’re complaints about complaints, and as any algebra student will tell you, a negative times a negative is a positive. This isn’t a list of things that bother me; it’s a list of things that don’t bother me, and the reasons they don’t. I should warn you: from this point on (and I mean the blog, not just this post) I’m not going to hide my opinions. Because I shouldn’t have to. Which brings me to item number one.
1) Opinions
I don’t get why people are so upset by people holding different opinions. I mean, isn’t that kind of the point of opinions? Aren’t they supposed to be personal? The way I see it, we don’t all have to agree with each other. In fact, I’m glad we all have different points of view. Things would be so boring otherwise. And I’ve never once been offended by having someone disagree with me. In fact, some of my closest friends have opinions and views I don’t necessarily agree with. And that’s okay. I don’t hate them. I don’t glare at them every time I see them. I still like them, and, to be honest, I respect them more for disagreeing with me. It shows they’ve got some resolution.
2) Holiday Greetings
Look, I was raised in a Christian household. I’m a Christian. I celebrate Christmas. And I’ve never once felt angry or threatened by someone wishing me “Happy Holidays,” “Happy Chanukah (Hanukkah),” or “Happy Kwanzaa.” They’re just trying to spread a bit of holiday cheer the way they know how, same as me. They’re not preaching to me, they’re not trying to convert me. Actually, I really appreciate them taking time out of their day to wish me cheer. I mean, that’s nice! Why do people freak out about that? Speaking of which…
3) The War on Christmas
Why doesn’t this bother me? Simple – it doesn’t exist! I’m not denying that some people/organizations are vehemently opposed to Christmas. Some people are just jerks. We can’t control that. What we can control is our reactions. We shouldn’t get all defensive just because a few people don’t like our holiday. News flash: not everyone celebrates Christmas anyway! (See item 2.) And we shouldn’t attack corporations just because they’re trying to be politically correct (a phrase I’m not even going to touch). In fact, they should try to be impartial, unless they’re expressly a “Christian Company,” “Jewish Company,” or a “Hindu Company.” For example: all Hell should not break loose just because Starbucks takes the snowflakes off their cups. Last I checked, snowflakes were a winter thing, not just a Christmas thing. If you find that offensive, maybe you should move to Alaska. Then you can have all the snowflakes you want.
4) Guns
Oohh…now we’re getting touchy. I did warn you (kinda). I think I’ve actually touched on this topic before. Guns don’t bother me. Stupid people with guns bother me. You can’t blame a gun for what’s done with it. Okay, so, if I’m being totally honest, I don’t like guns. But I don’t mean that like most people: I think they’re a dishonorable, impersonal way of killing. (Don’t you dare suggest I’m disrespecting our soldiers when I say that; our soldiers are the embodiment of honor and sacrifice, and not a day goes by that I’m not thankful for what they do.) I wish guns hadn’t been invented. But they were. That’s not their fault either. You don’t blame a spoon for making you fat. You don’t blame the lightsaber for killing the Younglings. You don’t blame the Death Star for destroying Alderaan.
5) Gay People
“WHOA!! HOLD UP! You just said you’re a Christian! That means you have to be against gay relationships, doesn’t it?”
Not in the slightest. At least, not the way I see it.
Let me explain my theology. Christians are meant to follow Christ’s commandments (it’s right there in the name). Christ gave two commandments: love God (Matthew 22:37) and love each other (Matthew 22:39). That’s it. In verse 40 of that chapter, he says all the Law hinges on those commandments. End of story.
I’ve got more for ya: “By calling this covenant ‘new,’ he has made the first one obsolete” (Hebrews 8:13, NIV Version). The only time God says being gay is bad is in the Old Testament, which is also where He said eating bacon was an abomination. I actually think that was for our own protection: pork, if not properly prepared, can be incredibly dangerous. I’m not going to go into details, especially since a lot of us will be eating ham on Christmas. But it’s a known fact that, up to a few years ago, same-sex relationships were more dangerous than heterosexual ones. I won’t pretend to know the mind of God, but it makes sense to me.
You may disagree with me on some of this stuff. That’s okay. I’m not gonna shove it down anyone’s throat. I’m not gonna block you from my website. As I said before, I can respect people for disagreeing with me. And you don’t have to have a problem with me if you see things differently. If we would all just relax a bit, I think a lot of current “issues” would resolve themselves.
But that’s just my opinion.