For the last week or two I have literally spent the whole day – from when I wake up in the morning to when I go to bed in the evening – indulging myself in all the debates, documentaries, articles, books, interviews, etc I can find on this issue of ‘stopping religion’, or ‘trying to wake people up’.
As you know I am a professional musician and I write and perform my songs to people while travelling with my guitar and a sack of clothes (and my 30gigabyte ipod). As much as I love my lifestyle and music, all of that stuff has gradually become somewhat of a secondary priority in my life ever since I read Richard Dawkins’ “The God Delusion” almost a year ago. This book opened the doors for me. I seperated myself from the Christian church and started to learn more about the issues discussed in the book. My need to be apart of this community (if there even is or need be one) of spreading the ‘word’ on these important matters and the need to somehow help out is starting to overwhelm me.
I have recently tried to raise people’s awareness by taking advantage of the power I have when performing with ideas such as: “religion is slavery”, “god is made by man”, “the dangers of a moderate religious person”, “the unnecessariness of the term atheism”, etc and of course trying to invoke the idea of a world where there is no religion. A world where science and humanity thrive and become one and where all our efforts, our love, our satisfaction, our goodness becomes a collective effort to build a truly beautiful world. Can we even speak of ‘a’ world? We are so divided by our borders, our lifestyles and our beliefs that truly becoming a whole seems so far away. Hence the need for finding alternative spiritualities and travelling around the world which has become so important for young adults such as myself. The truth is, no matter how much we try to get away and see something new and maybe find a better place or some kind of answer, it IS just one big world! The trees might look different and the animal species might vary but the sky is always blue and most of it is really not that different. We should be able to find that inspiration/amazement (or whatever you want to call it) anywhere you go whether it’s in a dessert in Saudi Arabia or on top of a mountain in the Rockies.
The people around me are too busy with their own problems, relationships, jobs that watching a debate on the existence/importance of god between author Sam Harris and Rabbi David Wolpe just becomes – at best – entertainmet (which I do admit it also very much is) and nothing more than an episode of e.g. Lost. These issues are too far from the everyday person’s reality (in the western world) that they just don’t care enough. Even 9/11 has become a thing of the past for most people. They only start caring when that bomb explodes on the bus and their friend or relative gets hurt/killed.
I feel utterly alone in my concerns and hopes and I’m tired of feeling alone. I want to help. We need to start doing something. I mean ‘we’ as the everyday people and not the intellectually superior Sam Harris’, Richard Dawkins’, Christopher Hitchens’, etc.
I want to truly make this world a better place and I think this has become my main purpose in my life which I must admit is a realization that comforts me. What worries me the most is that as individuals we are quite powerless and since not everybody even has time to think about these issues because they have more ‘important’ things to do, it’s somewhat of a problem.
What I hope is that I can use my music (through future songs, albums, performances) as a vehicle for bringing these issues to the surface of people’s awareness. I have believed that if I am the best person I can be or can become, I have done my part. But although I will continue doing that, it is not enough. Not in this world. Not for me.
We have enough material for pointing out the facts. I now hope for some kind of guide that is not just about how to NOT live. The best guide for now is myself and others like me who I certainly hope to come across more than I have. I would choose this over some false god or biblical nonsense anyday.If you are happily religious or are simply unaware of anything I have written about here, I hope I have at least aroused your curiosity on the subject because it is something that really concerns everybody. If you are American, you should be especially concerned about the fact that being religious (and particularily christian) is a necessity if you want to become a candidate for presidency. I think this is a deeply unsatisfying fact – even for non Americans, considering the immense power of your nation. Not believing in god in America (in political circles especially) is worse than being a homosexual (not that there is anything wrong with that). You call that a free country? I do know that there is also a growing awareness and interest on these issues in America (maybe more so then europe which may be why I feel so alone with my concerns) and this can only be a good thing.
Well, at least I got that out of my system.
