nuance? oh you fag.

the fabric of life is complexity. only fools regard anything in absolutes -- this or that, black or white, good or bad, with me or against me. in truth there is no black, there is no white. it's all grey, it's all relative, it's all subjective (and/or maybe objective).

people defending their beliefs about that which has no basis in fact probably do so out of hubris, a childish desire to always be right, financial gain or greed, a hyperactive id, the need to associate with some sort of vengeful dogma (kneejerk bloodlust), or just hatred directed at noone and everyone for no particular reason.

part of me thinks that some regressives (modern republicans) can't possibly believe in the same things that, for instance, the fox "news" pundits claim to believe in. but they go along in order to "win". they want to one-up the other side regardless of the societal implications. it's like sports.

i was thinking about all this in relation to the kansas school board's approval of "intelligent design" being taught as an alternative to evolution in schools. it's ree-god-damn-diculous.

first it shouldn't be referred to as "intelligent design". they should call it what it is -- creationism -- and jettison the paltry attempt at some sort of legitimizing codification. is "creationism" too religious-sounding a word?

(yessssss, let's teach children fairy tales in biology as long as their parents think it's science-based. let's call it intelligent design -- it sounds sophistimicated.)

i'm a member of the orthodox staypuffian faith (we worship the stay-puft marshmallow man). we believe that the world began when the fluffy giant crapped out the earth on top of a cosmic graham cracker and a hershey bar. can i get that taught in science class too?

all religion is theoretic. it's called "faith" for a reason; it's not something that is debatable in the believer's mind. for that person it's black or white, which is fine with me. i wrote earlier about how any person who can be 100 percent sure of something is a lucky individual and their beliefs should be respected, not attacked.

but when such an individual loses that same respect for me and feels that their belief should be forced on me or others i care about, then they will inevitably experience some serious foot-to-scrotum action from the likes of me.

if you don't believe in abortion and think it's murder then don't fucking have one. i don't agree with you, so show me factual evidence pertaining to when life starts and maybe we can reach some semblance of common ground. but until then, it's all speculation (or religion, faith, theory, call it what you will).

apply this to gay marriage, or censorship, or "spreading democracy". people feel the most passionate about social issues (as opposed to economical, which are more soundly based in fact) because many of them hinge on belief systems. this is why you hear terms like "social conservative" and "fiscal conservative".

you may believe in your heart of hearts that you are morally right about something (the origins of history, when life begins, biblical interpretations, whatever) but unless you have facts to support that belief then don't fucking try to convince me that the earth was made in six days.

incidentally, what the fuck is wrong with kansas? first the brown v. board of education thing and now this? we should let them know the earth is round, regardless of when and how it was made.