When I pray to him, I find I'm talking to myself.
Jack Arnold Alexander Tancred Gurney,
The 14th Earl of Gurney*
A woman in Ohio is beside herself for reading the side of a cup from Starbucks that is contrary to her religious beliefs.
"Why in moments of crisis do we ask God for strength and help? As cognitive beings, why would we ask something that may well be a figment of our imaginations for guidance? Why not search inside ourselves for the power to overcome? After all, we are strong enough to cause most of the catastrophes we need to endure."
Her exact words:
"As someone who loves God, I was so offended by that. I don't think there needs to be religious dialogue on it. I just want coffee," said Incanno, who is Catholic.
This is similar to the controversy when someone saw a quote by Armistead Maupin on a Starbucks' cup a couple of years ago. Here we go again!
Well, wouldn't she just p** herself if she saw this clip, where the initial quote of this post is heard.
The Ruling Class
Well, I got news for the lady in Ohio. I'm offended by the constant barrage of people like her who assault my right to be able to read what I want to read, believe what I want to believe, and say what I want to say without her and other small-minded, unaccepting people being affronted so that they don't want me to exercise the same rights that they have.
I could very easily scream every time I see something about god on the side of a Starbuck's cup, read a huge billboard on the side of the road with a message from their good book, or hear them constantly complain about how everyone is trying to take away their right to believe in what they want. I don't. The reason that I don't is because I very strongly believe and live my life as if they have the right to have what they consider their spiritual beliefs.
I have a caveat though. If I accept that they have the right to believe in what they believe, then they have to accept that I have the same right to subscribe to my own beliefs or lack there of. With one proviso: no one may be physically harmed.
Oh, and I'm not giving up my venti Americano with extra room for anyone, any thing, any belief, or any silliness. Period.
More on the movie The Ruling Class:
*The Ruling Class is one of my all time favorite movies starring Peter O'Toole as the 14th Earl of Gurney. It is a critically aclaimed movie that was nominated for a Palme d'Or at Cannes, Best Foreign Film Golden Globe, Best Actor nomination Oscar, & won best actor at the National Board of Review. It didn't do as well at the box office because of its dark content and the mood of the country with Vietnam.
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