Is it better to be moral or healthy? This is not always a simple question to answer. It may seem so. That is to say, one can always paint their own version of the world, and, by doing so, it becomes simple to numb oneself to the pain of others. This numbness to human suffering is inherent in modern American culture. Think of it as a right of passage that, in order to be considered truly American, you must follow a certain code of conduct. Yet, the conduct that is required is one of passivity, docility and inaction. Only children, wishy-washy journalists and moderate politicians are cut out for such a lack of character. Forgive me if I have offended your moderate sensibilities, or your conservative inabilities for that matter.  Who cares? Isn't this America, the land where one is free to say whatever they like? Granted, that is an inaccurate interpretation of the founding documents, but this is the fantasy that moderates and conservatives have chosen, one where we are free not only to make complete fabrications, but that we should become so deluded by those fabrications that we should project them onto the world as our own reality, frolicking all the way to insanity. Moral triumphalism is the mental plague of which I speak. Whenever ideologues begin to boast about the virtues of their various cocktail party ideologies, you can almost sense that danger is coming your way. The reason for this, if you are a student of history, is that morality can very quickly get out of hand, particularly when it comes to matters of belief. The believer has their moral code and, to them, everything else is meaningless. There is one god, after all, and that one god cannot be wrong, not matter how things end up. You see, in the world of faith, all the bad things in your life that happen to you are your own damn fault. The forgiveness bit is cute in the beginning. But, after a time of suffering, you begin to think, "what the hell did I do that I need forgiveness in the first damn place?" Now, generally there's some religious person around with a bible and some baked goods to calm you down when you feel like this. I had a relative like that. She even gave me my first bible, which I still have to this day. At the time I remember thinking it odd, giving someone a bible. I mean, why force your religion on a person? I wouldn't learn for another twenty years or so, when I was well into the anti "New World Order" movement invented by Bill cooper, and refined by Alex Jones, that the bible actually says that good Christians should actively work to convert heathens. You will see Christians do this all the time, offering up false promises of wealth and success if only you covert to their truth. However, I have been down that road before, and it goes absolutely nowhere. The problem with good tidings from the Christian brethren is that their prophecies are always right, that is to say that they are correct no matter what. Science could run completely contrary to a Christian's or any other believer's faith, but the believer will always choose the faith over the science, no matter how educated they may be. It is this ruthless "rationale", that being that god is the inventor of all things, and therefore the inventor of suffering, that has so mangled any good intention of the faith based doctrine, it is no wonder that so many people spend their lives entrenched in a desperate search for meaning, often only resulting in humiliation and despair. It is all well and good to tout the benefits of this or that morality, whether it be secular or faith based, morality is only good if it maintains a sense of dignity for all parties involved, not only those who consider themselves to have the moral high ground. What good is the moral high ground if it is built upon a foundation of insidious lies? https://unsplash.com/photos/KTpSVEcU0XU?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditShareLink