Dentists and Evangelists

Went into town to pay someone to inflict pain on me. Yep, the Hygienist visit had come around again. This is the pointy water-jet cleaner specifically made for jabbing into gums. This is Heather's gums. Say hi and spend a good fifteen minutes with each other. You're paying for the privilege here.

On the way there, came across the Evangelists preaching in Broad Street. I couldn't help it. I heckled. "And God's message is pure and true -"
"Except where the Bible contradicts itself."
:senses heckler: "Where?"
"Kings and the New Testament. Oh, and Samuel."
"...Okay, you're correct there. But actually, God is against religion."
"Do tell."
"Isaiah. And Jesus."
"Are we talking the Pharisees here?"
"Talk to my friend here."
Got into reasoned discussion. Nice people, just couldn't comprehend the whole atheist thing. Or evolution. Or the fact that if you want things to believe in, life is quite enough. There's no reason to bring gods into it.

:sigh: Should've brought up Kevin Smith's Dogma. And Lot. And Jericho.

Election Blues

zarah5 explains a lot of what us non-US'ers are feeling about America.

In the UK, Blair goes along with whatever Bush wants, no matter what we, the people he's supposed to be concerned about, are screaming at him.

Large swathes of Europe are edging towards domestic partnership, and pension and inheritance rights for gay couples. Marriage is hoped to follow behind. We dislike the concept of religion and state mixing. And that's even in one of the few countries where the Head of State is also the Head of the Church. Something like banning it outright, like 11 states did, is inconceivable. We don't even have a constitution that declares equal rights for all men, no matter what their status.

At this moment I've got a paper poppy sitting in front of me, the symbol our nation took to describe the futility of war and the need to support soldiers and their families. It's not a declaration of our support for war. It's the declaration of our pledge to help those who took part in it. I just wish the people commanding troops into this bloody futile mess that's going on in the Middle East could understand that. The Americans appealed for British help recently, to help mop up the mess they'd left behind. We desperately tried to change Blair's mind to send them, but even then we hoped like hell that if they did get sent, they'd help change the situation from attack to rehab. It's what we're hoping now.

We don't want to display hate and contempt for America as a nation. We used to like it. But we've seen the bully and bigot too much.

In two nights time - and it's already going on - we celebrate the catching of a set of men who were trying to blow up Parliament and the King, centuries ago. If Bush goes on the way he is, alienating so many and creating even more suicide bombers, I just hope those who voted for him won't have to celebrate one of their own in the centuries to come.