Balancing the extremes...or living the life of a true moderate

Once up on a time, I had a youtube account.  And on that youtube account were videos where I responded with the religious perspective to an atheist who was sincerely asking questions.  He and I had a respectful dialog.

Interestingly the comments on both of our blogs were less than appreciative of the respectful way in which we conversed, and in the end, both of us couldn't take the vitriol and we deleted our video blogs completely.

That was 8 years ago.  Q was still a baby and B wasn't even a thought.

What is sad to me is that in that 8 years, it seems almost like the vitriolic comments, anger, hatred and separateness has only gotten louder. 

The American government appears to be completely unable to come to any agreement.  It feels like it has stopped being a discussion about what is best for the country and is more a way of ensuring that "they" don't get anything "they" want.

It breaks my heart.

Bullying has gotten so bad that there are national stands and campaigns aimed at prevention of bullying.

How is this possible?

The issue of environmental protection has gotten so political and emotional that science is forgotten and divisiveness on the issue has made it impossible for any of us to make positive strides toward healing a damaged planet and humanity.

I want to cry.

Religious divisiveness in the stance on morality is so extreme that churches are failing, religious communities are dying or are becoming less community and more watered down in order to "draw" people back into the fold.  Religion has started to become so full of defensiveness that the power of God in all His/Her forms is starting to lose appeal to the masses.

I want to scream.

Several years ago the neo-atheist movement was hot to trot.  I read the books.  I listened to the discussions.  I took in the evidence.  None of it convinced me that there was no God.  What it did convince me of, was that there were a lot of very angry people out there who had been damaged by intolerant religion.

I personally had hoped that as the neo-atheist movement seemed to fall out of the headlines and into the background, that was a sign that humanity was taking a step toward understanding and respectful dialog.  I am sad to say that doesn't seem to be the case.  The focus just stopped being on religion itself, and started being about the finer points of religious belief.  Though there is still plenty of anger on all sides of the religious discussion.

Sam Harris, one of the neo-atheists, was very quick to blame the moderate for the divisiveness.  Harris says that he feels that the moderate's tolerance and respect for individual belief is what lets the negative aspect of harmful religious practice continue (It is also what allows him to be comfortable saying some particularly malicious and hurtful things on a national scale, but he seems to ignore that).  He says that until the moderates take a side (preferably his), there is no chance at ending the divisiveness.

I agree with Harris to the extent that the moderate is willing to tolerate what are perceived to be harmful practices, but I disagree that having the moderate take a stand is going to end the divisiveness.  For one, it isn't as though all the moderates are going to fall on the side of being opposed to religion.  And two, having them take a stand they don't fully back is, well, only going to cause divisiveness in the ranks.

I personally think that the moderate is the one who can save humanity.  I think the moderate is the majority.  They are just quiet.

The moderate is the one who isn't bound to some moral law blindly.  The moderate has thought about it.  And believes in what they are standing for, but they don't feel the need to force their morality on someone else. 

Don't get me wrong there are some moral stances that must be universal.  And that is where it starts to get complicated.  But that complication isn't about religion or God for that matter.  That complication is human.

The moderate does have very strong moral beliefs.  My morality falls pretty heavily on the side of the liberal.  But I understand the perspective of the conservative.

I believe that a good deal of society would actually gain benefit from listening to the moderates.  If people would drop their defenses long enough to be reasonable, I think understanding could be gained.  I think agreements could be reached.  I think discussion could be open and honest.  I think we could see humanity recover.

And I believe it is the moderate that will get us there. 

Much like the Occupy Wall Street movement, the moderates can't band together behind a mission statement.  They can't stand up and ask for concessions or make a list of demands.  The moderates can bridge the gap and offer understanding.  The moderates can be a vehicle for communication, IF (and this is a big IF) both sides really want to find a way to work together.

But being a moderate doesn't sell books or headlines.  Being a moderate doesn't get you followers or campaign money.

Being a moderate more often than not gets you attacked from every angle because the 'greasy wheels' don't want to understand, they want their way.

I believe that utopia is possible.  I believe that we can reach Nirvana.  I believe that humanity has the capacity for living together in peace.

I believe it will take the voice of the moderate to do that.  I believe it will take someone willing to face the assault of many dissenting voices to start that process.

I believe those people are out there and I believe that if you listen closely you can hear them speaking.

I hope for a humanity that wants to move towards peace.

I am afraid that we are just seeing the beginning of the war.