Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Pass The Fig Leaves And Hand Me A Blindfold

Mr. Moon claimed I cooked the best grouper he ever ate last night. I doubt this is true but it was good. I first coated the filets in flour with salt, then dipped them in a mixture of milk and buttermilk, and then dusted them quite generously with panko and pecan which I had run through the food processor. Not the panko, just the pecans. More panko than pecan.
Then I browned the filets lightly in a big old skillet with a tiny bit of olive oil and finished them off in the oven so they were mostly baked but with a little of the fried thing going on. A sort of mask of fried, not really, but with fish like that, you don't need grease in your crunch.
I also cut a bunch of fresh corn off the cob and cooked that with some milk and a little bit of butter.
And made a salad.
And that was all.
And it was mighty fine.

Of course what made it so good was that the fish was fresh, right out of the Gulf, cleaned and put on ice and only kept for two days.

You can't beat that unless you cook it the night you catch it and I wasn't on the island and Mr. Moon was gone the night before so this was almost the next best thing.

I read a thing on Huffpost yesterday which gave the results of a recent Gallop poll which showed that 46% of Americans now believe in Creationism. Meaning, they believe that "God created human beings pretty much in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years or so."


I have to tell you that this depressed me about as much as anything I've read recently. If you can convince 46% of a country's people that all of the fossil evidence and scientific thought is just plain old wrong and that an Imaginary Friend created man and woman (out of man's rib) in the last 10,000 years, then you've got a major problem. The study also showed a very, very strong correlation between regular church attendance and belief in Creationism. 
No big surprise.
But seriously- "Among those attend church weekly, two-thirds believe in creationism, 25 percent believe in theistic evolution and a mere 3 percent believe in evolution."

I know, I KNOW- not YOUR church.

See, it's fine to be religious if you need that belief that there is a god up there whom you can pray to, lean on, go to in times of trouble, look to for spiritual and moral direction. 
I wish that's all there was to it.

Sigh.

I don't even have the energy to light the match under the rant I could do here. 
I'm too depressed.

We're a bunch of lazy thinkers here in the USA. It's SO much easier to just believe that God said it, I believe it, and that's that then it is to, oh, I don't know. Invent the telescope and figure out that the earth revolves around the sun rather than vice versa. 

So much easier to believe that a loving/really angry god is in charge and that the people who are running for office can best be judged on whether or not they attend church regularly. 

That global climate change is a myth. That our seas will always be full of delicious fishes for us to eat. Hell, Jesus took a few fish and a few loaves of bread and miraculously fed hundreds and there you go! It could happen again! It will happen again! No worries!

And God created the whole dang shootin' match in six days and on the seventh he rested and it's all in the Bible, people! 

So are a lot of things that make no sense whatsoever and even the youngest child, reading the story of Creation in the Bible gets to the part about Cain going off and getting married in the Land of Nod after he slew his brother and says, "Whoa! Wait! Where did that wife come from?"
But honeychile, go google Cain's wives and you'll find out that Adam and Eve lived for 900 years and so they could have had a LOT of children and Cain obviously married a sister but God didn't make that a sin until much later. 

Right. Does any of this make sense from the beginning of Genesis to the end of Revelations? 

No. 

It does not.

So why in HELL do people believe these stories? Is it because they're afraid that if they don't, they're going to go to hell? 

I don't know. I do not have the religion gene. For which I am eternally grateful. The comfort of believing that there's a god who cares about my life would constantly be overshadowed by my doubting mind which would spend its every waking hour trying to reconcile the bullshit.

Which, admittedly, is sort of what I do anyway.

I'm going to go take a walk. 

And think about what I'll make for supper tonight because supper is something I can control, unlike the fact that 46% of Americans can't wrap their minds around the fact that yes, humans are indeed related to our distant cousins, the apes. 
Forget fossils, forget DNA, forget all that scientific CRAP and slap that bumper sticker on your car that says God said it..., etc. and let go and let god and hell, handle some snakes if you want to. Because the BIBLE says that if you have enough faith, you can handle serpents and drink damn poison and you will not be harmed.

And meanwhile, our country is going to go down the tubes because we can't teach science without worrying about offending our religious brethren and so kids are growing up thinking that evolution is a THEORY, y'all. 

I'm sorry. I guess I did get into another rant. Well, dammit, these Creationists get time in SCHOOL, so I guess I can get a little time right here on my own damn blog to give another side of the story.

Which you don't have to read if you don't want to but there's recipes here as well sometimes.

Love...Ms. Moon






20 comments:

  1. I think that more horrible things have been done in the name of religion than just about anything. I am not religious. Nothing added up when I was a kid. It just didn't make sense to me. That being said, I do believe that there is something greater than me--some cosmic energy, connectedness for us all. I believe in letting people be and not trying to bang my head against what they believe because it just gets me a sore head. I have faith in something that isn't traditional. Without some kind of faith, it would be difficult for most of us to get up in the morning. And I appreciate your stance on evolution and scientific evidence. I shake my head at the ignorance of omission among humans. But we are a mess in so many ways.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am not religious, either, but I do believe in Jesus--not the way a child believes in Santa Claus, but the way that I believe in story and metaphor. I believe in Jesus through story and through metaphor. He has given us the greatest rules and the greatest stories and metaphors for how to live our lives.

    I agree with Sid's first sentence and his last five sentences completely, and I agree with almost everything you wrote.

    You are so funny when you rant. And your writing, Mary Moon, is fine.

    And I am not a creationist, but I'm glad that something came from nothing. And I'm glad I understand the difference between metaphor and mumbo-jumbo, between right and rote.

    And please keep writing because I believe in you. And your recipes.

    Your family is a metaphor for me in so many ways.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Syd- I think that you and I are not that far apart on our beliefs. I, too, believe it (IT) is all connected. Every thing is, some deep particular way, connected and one.

    Pamela- My problem is this: Who, if you get into religion, is chosen and qualified to decide that this is true and this is a metaphor and this is false and this is cultural and this is mumbo jumbo...?

    And I think that Jesus, if he did indeed exist, was a fine teacher. I just do not happen to believe that he was the one and ONLY one who gave the rules for the first time or in the best way.
    But I have no NEED to believe that. I believe that teachers come and go and myths are made of some and some are ignored or disdained and that inside of most of us we know the things that are true and that science is all about figuring out the things we do not know yet (and perhaps never will!) such as how something came from nothing.
    I also know that I am grateful that people come here and read what I think and can disagree with me and we can discuss it and hopefully, in doing so, we can quite truthfully, love our neighbor as ourselves in respectful listening.
    Thank-you. With love and respect...Mary

    ReplyDelete
  4. I just wasted a bunch of time on a rant against religious platitudes then didn't post it.

    They are just so self-righteously arrogant and wrong and not one bit helpful.

    I do believe in God but not as presented by the modern Christian church - and that's what you are really being asked to believe in - is their interpretation. Or the interpretation of whatever other religion is presented.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Jeannie- Well, I think you give me too much credit. It is NOT just the modern Christian church I have a problem with. I don't believe in the old one either, whatever that may be. Or any interpretation. I don't want to need to believe in anything that requires interpretation except maybe something written or said in another language. Explanation- maybe. I am not smart enough to understand everything or even much. But interpretation is a different matter all together.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Dear Mary Moon,

    I should have said: He has given me the greatest rules. What I believe is my truth, and I work it out for myself. I believe in story. I don't believe in a committee of men deciding what is and isn't correct, and I don't believe in brainwashing, which seems to be the role of religious people. Anne Lamott's the only religious writer that I can read without wanting to roll my eyes.

    And I don't believe in proselytizing, or adding to the flock, unless it's your incubated eggs, so I hope what I said didn't come off as that.

    And I do love you and respect your opinions, and I wish you were my neighbor in more than Blogland. I would sure like to see Elvis and cook you some eggs Benedict.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Pamela- It's funny. I've often thought that if I DID have the religious gene, I'd make one hell of a preacher. In fact, I think I could be one without it, but that would be so WRONG!
    Ha!
    I love Anne Lamott (who doesn't?) but sometimes even she makes my eyes roll. Uncle Jesus? She, like so many others, gives so much credit to God when I think that the credit goes to their own damn selves. But...I could be wrong! I frequently am.
    I do know that if you made me Eggs Benedict I would eat them up and give you enough eggs so that you'd never have to buy them at the store. Except during molting season when the hens just don't lay much.

    ReplyDelete
  8. 46%? well, that's just sad.

    and what the hell is theistic evolution?

    and if Sunday is the day of rest, why is it the first day of the week instead of the last?

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ridiculous. All of it. But who are we kidding? Nothing is going to change!

    Yesterday, I was driving west and saw three things: a big giant billboard with the words JESUS SAVES and the Korean translation underneath. Then, a few blocks later, a giant Muslim mosque. Then a few blocks later, a giant store with a sign that said, WE BUY AND TRADE GUNS! GUNS FOR SALE!

    It's a big world.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I believe in something. I do believe that we are all here for a reason but I am not sure what it is. I am beginning to understand my own personal purpose but I don't know what it means in the big scheme of things. I used to believe in the creation that you spoke of but not now. I have no idea what I believe now. But you know what? It makes me sad not knowing what to believe. I feel like a dog that has escaped the close confines of her yard. She is scared and is running amok. She runs into traffic and is in grave danger. She just wants to go home and feel love from her Master but she is so far away from home and the world is so big and so scary and dangerous.
    I don't know Ms. Moon. I really don't. I wish whoever is out there controlling this place (and I do believe in something) would have given us something more concrete to follow.
    Good post by the way.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Ellen Abbott- Theistic evolution is believing that yes, there is evolution but a god began it.

    Elizabeth- Sigh...

    Birdie- Well, I would say that you AREN'T a dog. You don't NEED a master. That's another religious myth, used to keep people in line. And at the very end of the day, it doesn't matter squat what any of us believe. It is what it is. For some reason, all of this gives me great comfort. It is what we make of it. It is what we do with the way things happen. It is not a god's will or a test of faith or any of that crap. It just is. Some of it is wonderful and some of it is horrible.
    As for concrete- the sun comes up and the sun goes down and we are born and we will die. The laws of nature do not vary. Do we all have a purpose? Of course. To procreate. So what if we don't? Plenty more will. On a "higher" level- to take care of each other which makes sense- the better care we take of each other, the more babies survive and grow up to procreate.
    And I find all of this incredibly powerful- we ARE a part of it ALL. Not given "dominion" over it but a part of it and if we don't figure that out pretty soon, there is not going to be much to be part of. On this planet at least.
    It IS scary not to "know." But it's also wonderful to realize that our time here is just the smallest bit of it all and that what we do with it is up to us. Some people create other people and some create art and some create gardens and some create joy and some create horror and some create chaos and some create peace.
    Up to us.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thanks for the thought-full forum, Mary Moon.

    Dear Birdie - Your master is YOU. No use looking outside. And mastering your Self is a life long occupation that can keep you plenty occupied if you focus on it.

    The lack of intelligent thinking, especially in this country, makes me sad.

    I'm with you and Elizabeth: Big Long SIGH.

    Sending love into our Moon community. x0 N2

    ReplyDelete
  13. It is interesting to me that you seem to know quite a bit about religion and have such strong feelings about it. I'm curious if you've felt these things forever or they are a result of an experience/ experiences you've had.

    I never learned about religion despite my orthodox upbringing so I don't feel I have a right to say anything. I agree with you in some ways and yet in recent years I have come to believe as Syd does -- I do believe there is a higher something and I no longer look for scientific proof. I think when I look at the ocean or nature I am convinced of this. Having experienced that there seems to be some kind of design to life that requires action but that a belief in something higher than myself brings me some peace, I am kind of 'live and let live.'

    I used to believe that people who were religious were weak people that needed to be told what to do in order to live and that they couldn't or didn't want to think for themselves. I saw myself as superior. I DO have a problem with people who interpret anything literally as the one and only of anything and I DO have a problem with people who use religion for evil and to judge others for their lifestyle choices, etc. I don't like when someone tries to convert me and have been upfront about that. Yet, I don't get offended anymore because I've come to realize they are just trying to share what they consider to be good in their lives. And if they are living their lives in a way that brings them peace and happiness and it does not cause harm or evil, I couldn't care less what they believe in.

    Perhaps I just don't have the energy or have become apathetic about what others are doing/thinking. I have this very small minded approach to life which is trying to create harmony and peace in my own life as what I have direct control over in creating it in the world.

    So much for not feeling a real right to comment on this..

    ReplyDelete
  14. The reason people believe what they do, the reason people are afraid to change what they believe is that they were never given permission to have an original thought. "Believe this, believe that...it's the truth". How to you argue with that when you're a kid? Those things that you believe are engraved in stone and just must be true.

    Reading about that percentage of people who still believe in creationism just whacked me upside the head this morning. Really? The only thing that makes sense to me is that someone so attached to their religious beliefs must then in some way by necessity unconscious of their own spirit/soul (whatever you want to call it) because that is where the REAL truth of everything lives. Two contradictory truths just don't work together at the same time!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous Jo- I have always been curious about religion and have studied it on my own. I read the entire bible when I was in about the eighth grade. I've written a lot about this over the years. It never made any sense to me and the more I learned, the less sense it made.

    Radiance- I don't care what you were taught as a child. You grow up and you realize you have a brain of your own. I know that early teachings can certainly direct our beliefs but in the end, it's like you say- the real truths for our own selves reside within us.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thanks Ms. Moon. I could tell you are quite knowledgeable about this. I also agree with your comment to Radiance. Boy oh boy if I believed what I was taught as a child it would be scary. The things I've retained as part of my feeling body are bad enough.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Ms. Moon - I agree with you completely. I'd love to think that as we grow into adulthood we are able to toss all the crap we are fed. But a LOT of people don't ever realize they have that right or are afraid of the consequences. My husband was brought up catholic and even though he's had issues with doctrine for years he's still been a practicing catholic for 60 years. Just this last year, he FINALLY decided that he could give up all that guilt and shame and not go to hell in a handbasket. And this is a man who has spent his whole life on a spiritual journey. He is now a new person, free of all that dogma that was shoved down his throat as the truth, and can now believe what feels true to Him.

    ReplyDelete
  18. N2- As we say around here, I 'preciate you.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Thank you! I can't tell you how comforting it is to know that rational thought is not a myth and exists in wonderful people like you.

    ReplyDelete

Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.