In the wake of Sandy Hook, and the gun violence epidemic that has become so pervasive in our society, the true nature of America, and our “American Dream” has once again been exposed. We have stories and songs that tell of how free and true our country is, yet few can reconcile their misguided patriotism with Americas bloody and hypocritical past. As we find our country in the throes of Republican, and namely Tea Party obstructionism, I often find myself wondering what it is about them, as people and as Americans, that make them so afraid? Afraid of change, afraid of loss, and namely fear of outside influences. They want everything, and they want it cheap, free even. They want to shop at Walmart, but they also want to create jobs. They want to curb gun violence, but they don’t want to strengthen fire arms regulation. They want all the best until it they see the cost, namely the cost to them. The American tradition is gluttonous, violent and self centered, and like all too many traditions, it has been passed down and diluted to the point where we don’t know how to contextualize it any longer. If we think of tradition as an education, we realize how important it is to be objective about the kinds of lessons we will impart on the next generation. I would argue there are only two types of traditions, constructive traditions, and obstructive traditions. In the 21st century, as the ozone layers fades away, our job market crumbles, and our food and water turn to sand, there is no place at the American legislative table for idealogical tradition.

There have been, and perhaps always will be push-back to new ways of thinking, and in hindsight, many of us wonder how there could have been such staunch opposition to the ideas and liberties we take for granted in the first place. I believe this resistance to social progress is the manifestation of people’s fear of change, combined with xenophobia, and a lack of empathy towards people who are not in their immediate social sphere. While it is easy to pin these trends on certain southern states over the course of fairly recent history, some might say our society itself imposes those fears on us by rewarding negative personality traits. Jon Ronson recently discussed how capitalism and corporatism reward psychopathic traits in people like narcissism (looking out for “#1”), manipulative behavior (“leadership”), and a lack of empathy (Not letting your emotions “get in the way”). These are the qualities of the mega rich and powerful in our country, who use our own social institutions to further their own goals while suppressing the voice of the majority. While their veil of legitimacy is thin at best, I would argue however that it in America, it is our interpretation of Christianity, as well as capitalism and corporatism that not only breeds textbook psychopaths, but obstructs the progress of society as a whole. We have come to a point where some of the largest things that stand in the way of social progress are archaic moral codes and xenophobia perpetrated by rich white men as well as their media and political lap dogs. We see elements of these traditions in politics, religion, and in our own insecurities all of which succumb to these obstructive traditions.

During my thought process, I’ve come to realize that religion is the culmination of many traditions rather than an individual tradition of its own. Music, spoken word, written word and visual art are some of the more prevelent traditions that most religions are founded upon, all of which I might add, can be found outside the confines of a church. Religion has its place in communities, and I don’t imply we should shut down the churches, but I do propose that no politicians, or educational bodies should be expected to celebrate or even acknowledge religious values, outside of basic human decency. If someone walked up to you on the street and said I spoke to God and he said… well anything at all, hopefully your parents raised you somewhat properly and you’ve already begun to run away. So why is it when politicians say these types of things, we don’t treat them the same way we would treat any other crazy person? Why is it that the religious can pick and choose their heretical behaviors like homosexual love above the interweaving of different fabrics? Or defending the sanctity of marriage while in the midst of a brutal divorce? Much like the geo-centric model of our solar system, Christianity, and in my opinion most monotheistic religions, are simply too self-fulfilling to be taken seriously. We see our own, very human, psychopathic traits in our religious text. God making man in his own image, God giving man dominion of the Earth. God finding everything slightly un-conventional heretical. Much like the lies of a nervous child, it is too convenient, and poorly fabricated to be given any serious consideration. Perhaps the idea of an ever expanding universe is what scares them, or maybe they just can’t cope with being wrong. However much blind faith may bother me, it truly seems that if Christianity were more flexible, and inclusive of scientific fact, it might actually play a more conducive role in securing our future as a species.

Take the Carpenter. The Carpenter may work his whole life perfecting his craft. Not only for the sake of making money and providing for his family, but in the pursuit of knowledge, and the karmic sensation of being skilled in his trade. Eventually the carpenter will die, and his son will take up the mantle. However the carpenters son won’t be starting from square one the way his father did. Because of the wealth of knowledge passed on to him, he has an elevated understanding of the trade, and therefore more time to reach new heights. Just as he surpassed his father, his son will surpass him, and so on. Constructive traditions like carpentry are the pillars of society. In this we understand how tradition is one of, if not our greatest asset as human beings. The pursuit and retention of knowledge is the only reason we have survived on this planet as long as we have. These traditions take many forms, math, science, and art, schools of thought that are for better or worse, constantly being developed and improved upon.

The world is not an evil place, and I truly do try to live my life with faith in humanity, and faith in the universe. But between the media, religion, and political forces, it is very hard to remain faithful, and not succumb to the fears that they push through their networks. After the Sandy Hook massacre, gun ownership took a noticeable spike, and I was torn between my fear of guns and the psychological weight that they carry, and my desire to protect my family. However while watching Bill Maher, he explained that despite Sandy Hook and the brief spike, gun ownership on the whole is down in America, and that this misinformation was part of the fear mongering. I decided shortly after that I would not be a statistic to inspire fear. The mantra behind gun ownership is no different, and no less self-centered than the religious ideals that hold our society back. Instead, I will culminate the skills and experiences I’ve had throughout my life not only to make the world a better place by living as minimally and sufficiently as possible, but so that my children, and their children after them might strike a balance between progress and tradition.