NPR is hosting a new show called 'This I Believe.'
The show is a remake, if you will, of Edward R. Murrow's version of the show from the 1950s. The show will be hosted by Jay Allison. Big names such as Colin Powell, Newt Gingrich, movie stars, and regular Joe Schmoes will all be invited to read their own 'This I Believe' essays.
So, in honor of the new show, I thought I'd post my own, brief manifesto.
I believe that we will soon hit world peak oil production, and apparently so does Venezuela's Oil Minister.
I believe that alternative fuels will never provide the kind of ridiculous energy output we've enjoyed from the last century or so of cheap oil, and I believe that may not be such a bad thing.
I believe that peace can only be achieved through peaceful means. Peace cannot be forced upon people, and it especially cannot be brought about through violence.
I believe that the names "War Crime" and "Hate Crime" are needless double-names. When you commit an act of war, you've already committed a crime. When you commit a crime against your fellow man, you become the very embodiment of hate.
I believe that 'god' is not an old man with a beard, up in the sky, who makes rules that human beings cannot possibly follow only to punish them in a fiery pit of sulfur when they inevitably do break those rules. 'God' is simply consciousness itself. Perhaps shared, perhaps unique to each individual, but simply the personification of that which our brains cannot possibly comprehend but our souls can somehow feel.
I believe that all life is sacred. A life is a life is a life, whether it's a plant or a single-cell organism or a dog or a human being. No one life is more important than another except in the mind of a conscious entity that has fooled itself into thinking it's somehow special.
Finally, I believe that we each should always ask ourselves what we believe and admit it to ourselves and anyone who asks. Lying to others is pretty loathsome, but lying to yourself is no less than completely awful.
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