Intra-Planetary Identity Crisis

632 A.D. marks the death of Muhammad and the historical reference point for the beginning of 1,385 years since of a succession of 'Holy Wars' between the faithful of Islam and Christianity. For nearly fourteen centuries intolerances have spawned antagonisms, oppressions and aggressions that have perpetuated the zero-sum inter-relationship between the followers of these religious traditions through innumerable Jihads and Crusades. Millions of Muslim, European, African and Asian peoples have gone to early graves, and millions of Judaism's faithful have been exterminated as well, all in the pious service of 'God'. 

The quest for 'supremacy' motivates the ardent adherents of ancient teachings century upon century to claim the moral high ground; employing it to legitimize the vilest of atrocities and most inhumane of deeds, indiscriminately carried out against believers and non-believers alike. Piety is propelled through the Ages on a thick current of humanity's blood and portaged over mountains of corpses. Through the annals of this ancient obduracy the ultimate aim of supremacy for any religion has remained elusive. Were it ever actually attained it is left only to wonder, what will actually have been gained? 

The reason for being of every religion in the annals of humanity, whether long since abandoned or still proscribed to in the Common Era, is rooted in the fallibility of the mortal mind. In infancy, childhood, adolescents, young adulthood, middle age and geriatrics in the lifespans of our kind the innate quest of identity compels immeasurable crises of conscience. Religions are elixirs invented to counter the internal storm by providing communal norms. They generate parameters to narrow the psyche's myriad of choices in the expression of self and temper its inclinations toward primal instincts in the interests of communal harmony. The Ten Commandments offer an example through "Thou Shalt Not..." admonishments that serve ambitions toward temperance of individual egos in the interests of the Common Good. Parables are employed as a means to educate ignorance with lessons from precedents that impart the wisdom gleaned through the school of hard knocks. Should the day arrive that one religion attains supremacy over all others, so what? It's very existence will ultimately achieve no grander purpose than any of its predecessors or rival constructs. Millions of souls have perished in loyalty to divergent paths that in actuality are all intended to lead to the same destination.

Religions need to be abandoned on mass and be replaced with one entity that serves the universal destiny quested by all of their divergent paths. In proselytizing this course it is not lost on me that the views herein expressed are antithetical to religiosity and would result in excommunication as a Heretic or execution as an Infidel in any earlier period of history, and could well achieve such a response in many parts of the world today. Fortunately for me, and for their articulation, I live in one of the few nations on the planet, if not the only nation, that separates church and state through secular governance and enshrines a citizen's right to freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression in the highest law of the land. Without that liberty such candour would have significantly graver potential consequences. 

In reality no freedoms are absolute, even in the Great White North. It has been said that a pen is mightier than a sword, but I am also cognizant of the fact that holds true only until such time as a wielder of iron catches up with the author of the ink. There is always a measure of risk to longevity when choosing to challenge the deeply held religious beliefs of others. History is replete with accounts of bodies and books burned, but as these religious traditions and their histories attest to, there is some solace in knowing that ideas are not so easily quelled. I am not so naive as to think this discourse will stimulate an end to the absurdity I see as inherent in the religious distinctions and divisions existing intra and inter-societally on this third rock from the Sun within my lifetime. The best I can hope is for them to be a seed for more rational thought and a more peaceful world in years, centuries and millenniums to come.

What I advocate is humanity's collective membership in a 'Human Interest Club.' Eligibility is inclusive of all Homo-Sapiens born into life on planet Earth. Its Vision is a world in which there is acknowledged value in, and absolute commitment from all hearts and minds for everyone on the Planet to co-exist lovingly and respectfully in our shared humanity and experience of life together on Earth. Its Mission is to tenaciously purse the day when violence and aggression are extinguished as legitimate and accepted human inter-actions in the addressing of interests and grievances.

To achieve these ambitions I propose enshrining the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights as the paramount legislative instrument, applicable and enforceable in all regions of the Earth. It already serves as a foundation for defining the rights of individuals within our shared humanity on the globe. The Club's Creed would champion the following tenets: 

'Good Governance', achieved through Secular laws and institutions; 

'The Rule of Law', administered through a Restorative Justice legal philosophy, framework and system;

The responsibility to protect the Earth and its environment for future generations;

The elimination of all forms of discrimination, inequality, and injustice;

Freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, tempered with respect for the rights and interests of the ''Greater Good";

Free health care, child care, optical, dental and burial/cremation services;

The right to work and to earn a fair living wage, with equal pay for equal work;

The eradication of homelessness, along with free support services for the physically and/or mentally disadvantaged or addicted;

The right to healthy food and clean drinking water, along with safe and secure shelter, inclusive of electrical, mechanical, recycling, sanitation, sewage and waste disposal services;

The right to freedom of mobility and public transportation services;

The right to free education, public Libraries and Internet services;

The right, when exercised while of sound mind, to all decisions over one's own body, or bodies living within one's body; and,

The right to choose to die with dignity.

It is not a comprehensive list of tenets and will undoubtedly require refinement, but it is a good starting point toward the ambition of universal respect within humanity and the ultimate aim of genuine and lasting peace on Earth. It would certainly get us all a long way down the path of harmony and bring an end to millenniums of killing fields perpetuated by our intra-planetary identity crisis.