No one wants to hear this shit

A dear friend of mine posted his personal philosophy on his blog the other day; it occurred to me that I should post mine, if for no other reason than to annoy him - and try to restore some balance to the blogosphere.

Here is my Dianifesto.

(I'm sure, in my old age, this will look naive)

People are inherently good, and want to do good; Life's situations can make one damaged or desperate and create the need for bad acts. But I am not here to judge (unless I get chosen for jury duty); only the God of Your Heart can be your judge. I can, however, choose not to associate with you if I disagree with your choices or actions - or seek you out to bask in your glory. I will always treat you as I would like to be treated, unless you squander my goodwill.

For the most part I am against big government and in favor of community decision making. That said, I'm a "bleedin' heart liberal" and would rather pay more taxes to help my fellow man and my community thrive - we are all in this shit together.

I recognize that guns are tools for killing, they serve no other purpose, and should be at least as difficult to get (and keep) as a driver's license. Fuck the constitution, look what these advanced weapons are doing to our country - does no one see how far some of these weapons have strayed from the original intention of our Founding Fathers? Defend your home? Sure. Mow down the whole neighborhood from your porch? Nope. Our government should not make it easy for us to kill each other, humans are already entirely too good at it.

I am against the death penalty. How can we, as a society, say that killing is wrong - by killing? Lock the bastards up, make 'em work and contribute to society while removing them from its rewards. Yes, it's expensive to house prisoners - make them earn their keep, that is not cruel and unusual.

I believe in small business, local government, family, framily, and community. In any group where we can speak face to face humans do good work. Separate the beginning from the end and that gap in the middle is where Evil lurks. Everyone should be accountable for their public behavior.

I think that social welfare should be a temporary helping hand, to allow one to recover from bad circumstances - it should not be a way of life. I don't pay my taxes to support someone's drug habit, but I'll happily donate to their recovery.

I have trouble respecting those who do not participate - you can read what you want into that statement. Don't vote? Can't complain about your government. Don't give? You can't take.
Don't work? You can't spend. Don't listen? You can't speak.
I think that everyone should be accountable for their actions, or lack thereof. I don't see this as judgmental - I see it as natural law. How can one eat what one hasn't planted?

I'm not saying that there is a darn thing wrong with asking for help - there is honor in recognizing your own needs and shortfalls. There is also honor in helping.

I am pretty happy with my religion, I have myriad reasons why I've chosen the path that I did. I'm sure that you are pretty happy with yours too. I would never belittle your heartfelt beliefs, or try to change them; please respect mine. I do not believe in Hell, nor do I believe in Heaven - I believe that those concepts co-exist in reality here on Earth. Heck, I've worked retail.

Hey, get the hell out of my bedroom! Unless you are invited in, what goes on behind my closed doors is none of your damn business (Unless I post the photos on the internet).

Gay or straight doesn't matter to me. Love is Love. Commitment is Commitment. You choose your framily and you live your life. Adopt, have babies, live in a commune, live like a hermit - whatever floats your boat as long as it don't hurt anyone; if you are joyous while you do it, all the better.

My body is my own, period. Your body is your own, period. Starting a family is a big decision, a personal decision, and one that you cannot participate in - unless you are the lucky fellow who impregnated me. No man in Washington, in the pulpit, or on the boob-tube is going to tell me when I'm ready for motherhood.

I am a Feminist - which just means I want to be judged on my skills, abilities and personality and not by my gender. I recognize, hell - I embrace, the differences between men & women. But don't write me off because I don't have brute strength; I bleed for six days every month and I ain't dead yet. Also, don't hire me to reach some obligatory Bitch Quota - hire me because I'm damn good. Oh, and my paycheck had better look the same no matter if my name begins with Mr., Mrs. or Ms.

I am not a vegetarian or a vegan, though I respect those who are; it's hard work. I have trouble with aspects of the cattle and poultry industries and therefore try to eat as little products of that process as possible. If I could kill my own steer and eat it I would, that is real. Also, after looking into those big brown eyes one would be less likely to waste any part of the animal. Buying a Cryovac package of grey meat in a fluorescent lit mega-mart seems to me to be against nature. If you have to be so far removed from your lunch/critter, perhaps you haven't the stomach for it. Again, small is better - if you don't know where it has been, why would you put it in your mouth. (Heck, that applies to a lot of things)

Here I have to share the Rule of Three, as interpreted by me. Anything one does ripples outward; do good and you'll spread good, do bad and you bring bad to you. I try (and it's hard) to envision each of the things I do coming back to me three times - if I can handle those waves then I'm OK with myself.

That's enough of my bull-shit for one day.

Word of the day:
Manifesto n.
a public declaration of intentions, opinions or purposes.