About opinion

chest — and surrounding everything and everybody, filling the nothing we call “space,” and pervading all the something we call “matter.” I think of it as the life force, that it is sometimes helpful, and at worst, benign. But I can’t prove Something exists. Nor do I feel compelled to do so.

Don’t ask me what Something looks like, what it wants of us or how we can best appease it or appeal to it, because I have no clue. And, in my opinion, nobody else does either, as much as they might think they do.

Appeal as I might — and I confess that I have and will again — I am still unsure of what the results might be. Sometimes, I think I get answers, but Something only knows what the real answers are, or if there really are any. My opinion is that Something is fine with not being appeased or appealed to.

It is my further opinion that believing Something wants specific things from us personally is one of the greatest sources of not-so-great stuff in history. In the name of Krishna, God, Christ, Allah, Yahweh, Jehovah, Jove, Jupiter, the Great Spirit, Gitchi Manitou, Quetzalcoatl and many other names for Something, a huge amount of inhuman acts have been carried out. Arguments about which Something is best, right, real, most powerful and most sacred; and the proper methods by which Something is to be honored, worshiped, sacrificed to or even thought of has killed millions, approaching billions, not to mention tearing families, communities, countries and entire continents apart.

One example is the Salem witch trials, the 331st anniversary of which was recently not celebrated. This is ironic because the founders of Salem fled England to avoid religious persecution. A larger example is the forced replacement of indigenous belief with Judeo-Christian, Hindu and Islam dogma. This is ironic because all three faiths profess the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

The Holy Roman Empire was by no

Sudoku Solution STR8TS Solution

means holy, but mostly interested in how much real estate they could control. The Roman Catholic Inquisition is famous for torturing suspected non-believers and burning them at the stake whether they confessed or not (Not-so-fun fact: the Spanish Inquisition operated until 1834, 58 years after the American Revolution). Efforts are made by governments to quash religious belief of the “wrong” kind — or any kind — by similar means, and modern terrorism is often rooted in fanatical belief in unprovable deities.

What can we do about the human’s tendency to believe in something they can’t prove strongly enough to treat other humans in inhuman ways? I don’t know. But, if we are ever going to live peaceably on this planet, we need to figure that out.

If we stop fighting about religion, about what Something is and wants of us, that might be a first step to figuring out how to agree on many other issues. That’s my opinion.

Sandy Compton’s opinions are his own, but he’s not afraid to share them. Read more of his thoughts, beliefs and convictions at bluecreekpress.com/write-on.

Crossword Solution

Solution on page 22

Laughing Matter

By Bill Borders

bowdlerize /BOHD-luh-rahyz/

Word Week of the

[verb]

1. to amend a written work by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable.

“The recent attempt to bowdlerize Roald Dahl’s work was met with some resistence from his most fervant fans.”

Corrections: We’re in the clear (we hope).

Crossword

Solution on page 22