Friday, December 11, 2015

The un-American

So now some are calling Trump un-American.
Sounds very un-American to me to call a born and raised American un-American.
Everyone is supposed to think and act a certain way?
To be an American one must conform to a set of beliefs and ideas?
Next thing you know and people will be telling whites they are not white and blacks are not blacks because they don't conform to what others say blacks are or whites are.
And guess what? That happens too.
I am certain many Muslims find themselves in the same boat as Trump. They don't like being told they must act or think a certain way. I'm also certain there are many Muslims living in this country because they don't want to live in a Muslim country where they are told they must act and think in a certain way to be a real Muslim.
Maybe the real problem worldwide is people being sick and tired of religious leaders of any and all religions trying to force everyone to think and act the way they want them to think and act.
You know the deal. A Republican in name only. A Christian in name only. An American in name only.
Conform my precious sheep. Conform!  

Monday, December 7, 2015

The Problem with Religion

The problem with religion is people.
The problem with religion takes place when people try to make religious laws into secular laws.
There wouldn't be a problem with religion if people did not try to enforce their religious beliefs by converting their beliefs into secular laws that apply to everyone and not just themself.
If people were to just demand only of themselves that they follow the religious teachings they claim to believe in and never were to try to force their religious beliefs and laws onto anyone else, there would not be a problem.
This is what is meant by and is the foundation of the separation of church and state.
Secular laws should not have anything to do with eternal salvation. Secular laws should exist only so people do not do unto others as they wouldn't want others to do unto them.
No one wants to be murdered, raped or robbed. That is why secular laws against murder, rape and robbery exist and are endorsed even by people who do not have any religious beliefs.
But even within the United States which proclaims to keep separate religious laws from secular laws, we see where this separation is often lacking.
Simple examples include laws against abortion and most laws that have anything to do with consensual sex.
One can come up with many arguments as to why no one should become a prostitute but one can also come up with many arguments as to why becoming an undercover cop is not a great job choice. Both undercover cops and prostitutes face many on the job dangers.
If you want to see examples of how horrible it can be to live in a country where religious laws are enforced with secular laws, you only need to look at countries where Islam is the dominant religion.
Take Saudi Arabia as a prime example. Would the average American woman feel free to live her life as she wants if she were living in or even visiting Saudi Arabia? No! American men would also feel limited in Saudi Arabia.
Not picking on Islam because Christian laws gone secular can also be oppressive to people who don't subscribe to Christian teachings. Abortion, gay marriage, gay sex and prostitution are clear examples of things some Christians believe should be secular crimes.
What is it about sex that causes so many people to have problems with it? Why is human sexuality so feared?
My take on it is that sex forcefully reminds us we are human animals. Our feelings are more powerful than our intellects. Sex is the gateway to physical life and life is the gateway to a physical death. Clothing has practical purposes but clothing also hides our animal bodies. Sex reminds us of our animal bodies.
Religions have little interest in our bodies and create the idea of an immortal soul that can be corrupted by our animal bodies that will end up dead anyway. Better to die than to sin.
Religions create a war between our bodies and our intellects or what religions call our souls. This results in many mental problems and illnesses.
You want to know why there are people who can be called Islamic terrorists? Because every religion - Christian, Islam, Hindu, etc. - has religious terrorists and every religion has the power to drive its adherents crazy. Their brains are at war with their bodies. And here is the truly crazy part. Their brains are part of their bodies. Trying to divorce the two creates mental illnesses. The result can be horrible.      

Friday, December 4, 2015

The Dancing Valkyrie free Chapter 1

Below is the first Chapter of the novel - The Dancing Valkyrie.
To read more, go to Amazon where it is available in print for $13.55 or as an ebook for $2.99
Chapter 1

“If you like what you do, do it. There is absolutely no reason to change your life, Mary,” Joseph Gottsched was saying to Mary Hoffman in the great dining hall of his castle in the Adirondacks where he sat with his wife Elizabeth next to him on a leather sofa. Mary was sitting opposite of them on the raised hearth stone of the massive fireplace. The stone was almost cold to sit on, not having been warmed much by the sun that was now setting and casting the last of its rays into the castle.
Mary smiled and thought, “No reason to change my life?” But that thought was quickly replaced by thinking of how beautiful Joseph and Elizabeth Gottsched were, especially Elizabeth whom Mary had come to think of as Beth, her Beth.
Beth was sultry in a Mediterranean way with some Gypsy and Spanish blood in her. She was svelte in figure, had long black hair, yet exuded an aura of strength beyond the smallness of her frame. Joseph had about him a curious blend of European handsomeness and world weariness. Were it not for Mary’s experiences of the past few days, her eyes might have focused upon Joseph. She thought he was cute. But things had happened and those things tended to cause Mary to view Joseph as a rival.
Yes, there was about him a little boy’s innocence and youthfulness that floated on a nonchalant attitude most strikingly seen in the way his eyes twinkled and his lips seemed almost always ready to break his usual seriousness with a smile. He was neither short nor tall, neither fat nor thin, had black hair like his wife, though not as long, and in the proper lighting, he could almost be mistaken for being a brother rather than a husband to his wife. Beth and Joseph appeared to be in their late twenties or early thirties at most. But in their cases, in more ways than one, appearances could be very deceiving.
With glass of red wine in one hand and cigarette in the other, Beth said, “Show Joseph how well you dance, Mary. You know I won’t mind. You know how I love to watch you dance.”
Mary laughed, “Here?”
“Obviously,” Elizabeth said. “Oh! I suppose you would like some music, even though I know you don’t need it. I’ll put something on.”
Mary shrugged her shoulders and stood. Why not? Her world had gone totally crazy over the last few days and dancing might restore some degree of normalcy. She watched Elizabeth look through a pile of CDs next to the CD player on a nearby table and suggested, “Something moody but with a good beat. And not slow. Afro-pop or something like that. Rock is good too.”
“Yes,” Joseph agreed.
“And I give a rat’s ass?” Mary thought and started to dance, not waiting for the music to begin. She really didn’t need music to dance. It was in her head, even more so since meeting Beth on the trail. But it was difficult to understand the idea of since, the idea that she was no longer who she had thought she was and had become who she really was. Then again, maybe she was only dreaming the events of the past few days. Yes, no, maybe. “Screw it. I like this,” she told herself as she slipped into the mind set of an erotic dancer.
The black dress she was wearing -silky, clingy, showing all her curves -was a delightful dress for the type of dancing she did for a living. It was not her dress. Beth had given it to her to wear because all she had to wear were the hiking clothes she had packed for her hike in the northern wilds of New York on the Northville/Lake Placid trail. She had not planned on dancing. She had not planned on meeting Beth on the trail and then being invited to stay at a castle on a private lake deep within the forest. She had not planned for anything that had happened since meeting Beth.
Mary was already moving languidly, sensuously, when the New Age African beat reached her ears and where she quickly translated it into her flesh and blood. She closed her eyes and took herself to the erotic dance club where she worked in Schenectady. Sway and regain my balance, she thought. Be who I really am.
When she opened her eyes, she saw Beth and Joseph were sitting side by side again while watching her dance. She noticed but did not care that Joseph had one hand resting casually on one knee of Beth’s and had an arm draped over her shoulders. They did make a beautiful couple. So what? Fuck him!
But it was Beth’s eyes Mary’s eyes focused upon. It was Beth’s eyes that had first trapped her on the trail and were now trapping her again to dance her sexy best. Joseph did not really matter, she told herself, other than for the fact that he was proof Beth had good taste when it came to picking a man to marry. And how could she possibly blame Beth for picking a man who had given Beth so much more than the wealth this castle exemplified. Just look at them, she thought. Neither looked to be past their early thirties. How could she or anyone believe both were hundreds of years old? But Mary did believe and was now almost willing to believe she too could live a very long life without aging, maybe even live long enough to see the end of the United States if not the end of the world.
Mary smiled, undid the spaghetti straps holding up her dress, let the dress fall, let it slide down past her breasts, slip past her hips, let it fall to the floor and step out of it, kicking it out of the way and sending it sailing to land on Joseph’s lap. Yes! It was very definitely enjoyable to be feeling so very much alive!