In the summer of 1997, a film was released to mixed reviews. This film starred a top-of-her-game Jodie Foster and future-stripper Matthew McConaughey both playing complete polar opposites on the topic of faith vs. science. Ms. Foster plays Dr. Eleanor "Ellie" Arroway, a woman who studies radio transmissions from space in the hopes of listening to extraterrestrial life and McConaughey does fine work as a spiritual philosopher who happens to be of the christian faith. The film's catalyst is when Ms. Arroway begins to recieve strange noises coming from a distant little star called 'Vega'. This begins a large race to discover the origins of these foreign noises. Where does it come from? Do they come in peace? A dozen or so profound questions arise but still no answer.
This sounds very familiar.
For years, humanity has done everything within it's power to understand why we are here. We have created beautiful works of art, great marvels of science, and established thousands of religions, all with the purpose to answer this one question. We have also harmed and killed billions in that same pursuit. What does that say in our pursuit for the ultimate truth? Are we worthy of an answer? Everyone has an opinion, but as I've heard so many times before: opinions are like assholes, everyone has one.
There's an interesting principle that is mentioned in this film, 'Occam's razor'. It basically surmises that the simplest answer is the correct one. Let's rewind back a couple millenia ago, when all that was on this planet was nature, vast and pure without idealogy, and a few troglodytes. To them, it didn't matter where they 'came' from. What mattered was that they were hungry, they needed water, and a place to sleep. Fast-forward a few more years to a small region in the planet, barren and coated with sand. The desire to create became more prominent. It's at this point in the story that I'd like to remind the audience of an adage I hold to be self-evident: Ignorance is bliss. Somewhere in this desert some human being felt something different, a desire to explain the phenomena of pain, of attraction, of everything. He had to find an answer and he did. There had to be some entity in the clouds making it rain, causing the heat, providing the food. And our little desert man wasn't the only one. Thousands of people throughout time, created their version of god. There's an interesting fact in the development of story telling. Did you ever wonder why animals talk and have human features in our films and myths? Because humans have an inadvertent desire to put a face on concepts they don't understand. Humans needed a human face to place on this metaphysical calamity in order to make the concept of the unknown easier to understand. At the time, this was only logical. We needed this answer to move on any further from our cavemen-dwellings. This one philosophy created a domino-effect throughout time that made it possible for all humans on Earth to live the way they do now, regardless of whether it was christianity or islam. It didn't matter, there had to be a reason why we were here on this Earth.
And is that wrong? Is that so much of a problem? Why do you believe this?
The movie 'Contact' delivers a great amount of suspense, of reasoning, why is it hard for some to believe and others so simple? Critics gave this film mixed-reviews. Uncalled for. They said the film didn't deliver and that the ending was a cheat. Ok, yeah the movie ends kind of sappy (it was the 90s!) but didn't deliver? It forces you to ask questions some may have never asked before.
Now before I drown you in anymore Carl Sagan/Terrence Malick-esque exposition, I'll unveil the reasoning behind this little philosophical ditty. I want to really ask you is why are you atheist? Why are you Christian or Buddhist or Muslim? Or simply why do you not care?
The uproar with Chick-Fil-A is basically our modern American version of a holy war. I hate to get all Westboro Baptist up in this place but it's true. Modern Americans don't fight in the streets like biblical times, we get angry on facebook over fast-food. Not exactly an Israeli-Palestinian conflict but our war gets a toy with every meal, so you know we're serious.
We know all about the far-right, who picket funerals and start fights with victims of a massacre. But what about the far-left, who yell at an employee of Chick-Fil-A over their organizations political leaning?
Former Lecturer/Corporate CFO Bullies Chick-fil-A Clerk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jg-jzlWcc0E&feature=player_embedded
Seriously...seriously!?
The reason why people do this is because this, to them represents their futile attempt at an answer. Fighting over a celebrity or fast-food employee is their attempt to answering a simple, stupid question: why are we here?
A lot is being determined by this simple question, our right to marry who we want, our right to say whatever we so desire, our right to do what we want with our bodies. This is clearly a mistake. The way we 'believe' in something shouldn't be indicitative of how we should conduct ourselves on Earth. Of course, I understand the irony of saying this considering the fabric of our moral culture is based on spirituality but understand that this was developed a long time ago...in huts...with camels. When we grew to be more intelligent and fully-realized, we were so busy trying to develop theories and predictions when the truth is, it was all for a waste of time. Trying to find an answer in this universe is a waste of time. This goes out to all believers of faith and also non-believers, who are almost as elitist as a lot of the religious extremists. There is no reason or logic for you to raise a flag and declare your opinion the right one because we simply don't know. I say that 'trying' to find an answer is ridiculous because the answers were in front of us all along.
Fact #1: You will die. It used to be that you would live until your 30s but that's not the case anymore so be grateful that one day you'll be depressed you turned 40.
Fact #2: You don't know if there's a God or not, so why bother? Dude/Dudette, you think you have the right answer? You don't. I will simply call bullshit on this 'belief'. To say there is a God is ridiculous, and to say there isn't...is ridiculous. All you know is that one day you came out of a vagina that resembled a butcher's shop and now you're parked in front of a computer/phone reading me write out my opinions. Depressing, isn't it?
Fact #3: The earth has been around for a long, long time ago. Like imagine a number, any number, and then multiply by a number you have never heard of, that's how old the universe is, and the earth? It was a long ass time ago. Don't worry about it! You'll be ok! I don't know about your great-great-great-great (you get the picture?) grand children, but I know if things are ok, you quit smoking, maybe take the stairs once in a while, you'll turn out ok...or not. Either way, your life should feel like a final exam. Your timed and you don't get a long with some of the people in your class.
Fact #4: Humans are stupid. Sure, there's the odd one guy or girl, but overall people are stupid. Deal with it. It's never going to change. Ever.
Fact #5: People will believe in something. They have to. Yeah, I know what I said before. Why bother, right? Well, people bother because they care...a lot. Sometimes they care so much, they forget why they bothered in the first place. But there are those who need this for their lives and who are you to deny them that right?! Faith is probably the only thing they have left, and why is it so harmful? It's helped people through wars, through famine, through times of distress. So you took a philosophy class in community college and now you're going to Africa to tell a 5 year old in a missionary school that God is not real? Who cares? Leave people alone about your stupid philosophy class! Nobody cares that you think your opinion smells like roses :b
Fact #6: Ok, you know that first time you went to the amusement park and there was a crap-load of things to do and not enough time to do it? Yeah, your life is the amusement park. And the truth is your never going to do all the things you really want. That's why it's important that you stop reading...and do what you want. Because you will die, it could be now!!! Did you die? Ok, you survived...good. Don't scare me like that. Now go and stop wasting your time with fast-food, if it's so important to you eat somewhere else and fight for whatever you want. You don't need the calories, trust me.**
**Also you should watch the movie 'Contact'
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