Jeffree Star represents a tired and embarassing image of what a lot of people think homosexuals look like. The same can be said for a burka. Not all homosexuals look like Jeffree Star and not all Muslims are terrorists; only those that allow personal traits such as sexuality and religion define who they are.

Q&A featuring Richard Dawkins (The God Delusion) & Steven Fielding (Family First) along with others. Topics including God, Philosophy & Asylum Seekers.

It is probably no secret amongst my friends that I think Justin Bieber is an insult to music and if I had my way, I would never have to hear his noise or see his stupid face ever again. Having said this though, I understand that while I think he is just awful, there are people in Australia that think he is fantastic. I would put this down to mental deficiency, but hey, that’s just me.

Given the facts above, even though I do not like him at all, I would never try to gain political power or give large sums of money to a political group for the sole purpose of having his music outlawed in Australia, nor would I hope a law be passed if the chance arose. Instead, I will just continue to not search his name on Google, not purchase his albums and will just look away or change the channel if he comes on TV.

So I therefore ask the question, why do Christians insist on influencing the legal systems in their respective countries to make them more godlike? Recent census’ have shown that in Australia, 64% of Australians identify themselves as either Christian or a derivative of Christianity, but only 7.5% of the total population regularly attend Church services. In the United States of America, just over 50% of the population identify themselves as Christian, and let’s not forget that the United States forbids the establishment of any religious governance.

Although both countries show a slim majority of the population identify themselves as Christian, we must not forget that there are many people that state they are Christian for the simple reason that they believe in God. As mentioned above, 7.5% of the total population of Australia regularly attend church services, a tradition that all Christians believe is fundamental to their beliefs.

So back to my original question. Why do Christians insist on taking the laws of a secular nation, (both Australia and the United States identify themselves with no state religion) and make them more godlike? Why should a country that has no set religion have a law prohibiting abortion? Why should a secular country uphold federal laws discriminating against homosexuals?

At this point in time, abortion is considered a state matter. If a bill was to be put before parliament making abortion legal on a Federal level, you can be sure Christian lobby groups would be up in arms about the subject, donating countless time, money and resources to ensuring this bill is not passed. But why? I understand that Christians are against abortion. I, personally, don’t like it myself, but for me to support a bill outlawing abortion, I would have to be sure that 100% of the population were in support of it, and it’s not like people are forced to get abortions. Doctors are not forcing them upon patients. It is just an option that is there.

The same goes for gay marriage. The Australian Prime Minister, a self-confessed Atheist, has given into the Christian agenda and stated that she supports the notion that the institution of marriage is between a man and a woman, but why is it such a big deal to Christians? I understand that marriage is a big thing, but so do gay people. Homosexuals would not be running out first chance they got to get married, they would take it seriously, just like the majority of the heterosexual world.

If abortion and gay marriage were legal on a federal level, Christians would NOT be forced to have abortions or to marry a member of the same sex, nor would they be forced to officiate any marriage they did not feel was in line with their beliefs. Yet so much time and money is spent trying to make these things illegal and make pro-abortion and pro-marriage equality activists feel as though they have done something wrong.

You may not like abortion or gay marriage, but you need to think about why. A country that legalizes them does not instantly crumble at it’s very core and begin performing satanic rituals and sacrificing it’s young to the mighty Egyptian god Ra. It just means that the option is there for those that want it. I would not try to force my hatred of Justin Bieber on you, so stop trying to force your homophobia on me.

On a side note, as I was writing this little rant, there was a young boy outside singing Justin Bieber’s song “Baby”, and while I don’t like the song, I am not going to walk outside with picket signs stating that “Justin Bieber Dooms Nations”, Westboro Baptist Church style. I will just sit here and continue typing.

So here’s the situation. Does everyone remember a few months ago, there was reports all over Australian national news about the state of affairs in the USA with regards to a new healthcare system? It would have been quite similar to ours. People that needed help would get it and wouldn’t need to worry about being insured or having enough insurance to get the help they needed. Great idea, right? Wrong, apparently.

In 2000, The World Health Organization produced a report on health care systems around the world with a ranking system to determine the best from the worst. Coming in at number one was France, a system that does not look at health care as a profitable commodity, but rather a necessary loss to ensure the health and wellbeing of it’s citizens. The list goes on to mention in it’s top 10 such countries as Italy, Singapore, Spain and Japan, but the United States is nowhere to be found. To find America, you must make your way down to number 37, just above Slovenia.

Now I don’t pretend to know everything about Healthcare or how these systems work. In fact, a lot of my information has come from documentaries, news reports and TWHO website where the rankings are listed. This blog is not about healthcare. This blog is about how the present Capitalist system in the United States of America has such a stranglehold over it’s people, that they actually believe that a private healthcare system is the best system to have. Millions are denied necessary healthcare every single year because of the hold this system has over people.

If you remember any of these pieces of news or if you actually went so far as to watch some of the TV commercials being produced in favour of the current system, you would notice that it followed a trend that Americans are fluent with. The scare tactic. They made up information, over-dramatised slight holes in the proposed system, basically did everything they could to avoid this change. But why, you may ask?

Because it means spending money.

Most people that are aware of the current state of the global financial market know that America is, for lack of a better term, up a certain creek without a certain instrument. Obama put forward an idea that Hillary Clinton once tried to put forward and was met with vilification because he wanted to spend money on something that apparently already worked.

But enough about the healthcare system. Has anyone ever seen American TV? Even a film from when the Cold War was raging. Americans HATE socialism. Americans MUST HAVE the latest in technology. The biggest TV. The newest model SUV. The biggest house, and for what? To show off to your neighbours? To show off to other countries all your stuff?

“Yes, we have more stuff, and our stuff is bigger than your stuff! Look at all our stuff!”.

Capitalism strives to make the rich richer and the poor poorer. America has a homeless population of verging epidemic proportions because of their failed welfare system, among these large populations of homeless are failed businessmen and Veterans. Yes that’s right, a country that is so proud of the flag, the nation that is “One nation under God with liberty and justice for all” is more than happy to throw it’s wounded soldiers out on the streets. They put everything on the line for “freedom”, only to be thrown out once their usefulness had run up.

Is this the system we should be striving towards? A system that has it’s population crippled with fear of it’s Government? A system that only helps those that can afford it?

I think not.

Peace,
Damo. 

Well, this is my first attempt at using “tumblr.” so I’ll make this short and sweet I guess. I am setting this page up because I feel like I am bombarding Facebook with so much personal opinion, I get the feeling it is starting to annoy people. A lot of people object to what I have to say because of their faith, “traditional upbringing”, insistance on adhering to stereotypes or just because they are downright stupid.

I hope through this blog that you will gain insight into the status of my mental state and my thoughts on a variety of different topics including, but not limited to, politics, religion, sex, current events and the state of the world in general. I know, it’s a pretty broad spectrum of topics, so I will keep it pretty short.

As you may have noticed, the title makes reference to the Green Day song “American Idiot”. I believe that as America influences Australian culture, we have become more like them than we care to admit. There are good people in both countries, but there are also the idiots. I do not want to be like that, and I certainly do not want to come across as one.

So if you don’t like what I write on here, don’t come back. It’s as simple as that.

Peace,
Damo.