This is going to a very personal entry, which I may actually cry during. But at this very moment I am on a train traveling from Pittsburgh to DC. There is a man about my age entertaining a couple of old ladies. He is a soldier recently returned from Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia. One of these crazy old bats asked, “if it was like the news told us it was.” My fine little patriot responded “oh no, the news talks about woman and children being killed, but what they don’t tell you is an eight year old girl and a soldier have something in common: they can both pull a trigger.”
*Gasp* I am freaking, I refuse to look them in the eye. Enter the quieter old lady. “They’d just as shoot you as look at you.” All of them seem to agree on this observation. I actually think I am going to vomit. Now that they have all proved their masculinity (so so odd) and patriotism, soldier boy is trying to impress these grandmother figures with his exploits from around the world: drinking, partying, and traveling. The conversation has turned mundane and he is impressing all of them with his stories about jumping out of airplanes.
It is too late for me to really challenge the guy on the notion that murdering a child is acceptable. I truly wonder if the ladies agree with him, or are they just entertaining is naïve patriotic enthusiasm. I am sure it would not have mattered if I would have challenged him on his comment,
This sort of thing must happen a lot and not just on the topic of Iraq. I hear homophobic comments from people at nearby tables in restaurants. There’s a radically religious guy who comes into Eat ‘n Park and sits and talks religion with his friends. He frequently launches into a prayer, with no concern that he might be disturbing people nearby, and I’ve heard him pray for homosexual sinners. I’ve seen him “bless” total strangers by praying for them aloud in public. It looks more like a curse than a blessing to me.
So should I challenge this wacko about his homophobic religious views the next time I hear him praying for homosexuals? I don’t think so. It certainly wouldn’t do any good. He’s totally brainwashed in his religious views and not capable of a meaningful rational discussion with an atheist.
I’m not talking about whether he could be persuaded that his religious beliefs are pure mythology. I’m just talking about whether he could be persuaded to pray quietly, rather than aloud, and respect those around him who might like to eat dinner in peace, without having to listen to his impromptu sermons to whomever happens to be sitting with him. He firmly believes it is his duty to preach the gospel wherever he goes. And he firmly believes that “faith”, not reason or rationality, will get one to heaven.
There are no doubt hundreds of millions of people in the U.S. with whom I have serious disagreements on a variety of topics and I overhear bits and pieces of their ignorant and immoral views all the time. If I felt the need to always interject myself into their conversations, I would have no time left for things that are more interesting to me, like reading a good book, browsing the web, and commenting on Josh’s latest post.
😉