What is at the root of our societal ills?
is it religion? with it's antiquated dogma and decrees
packaged neatly in the form of a pill
militant atheists call for it's eradication, but that
*would only cure a symptom, and not the disease
This poem was inspired by long held beliefs that religion is not the disease, but merely a symptom of a greater problem; human suffering. Also partially from the article below.
All people operate from the same two motivations: to fulfill their desires and to escape their suffering.
Learning this allowed me to finally make sense of how people can hurt each other so badly. The best explanation I had before this was that some people are just bad. What a cop-out. No matter what kind of behavior other people exhibit, they are acting in the most effective way they are capable of (at that moment) to fulfill a desire or to relieve their suffering. These are motives we can all understand; we only vary in method, and the methods each of us has at our disposal depend on our upbringing and our experiences in life, as well as our state of consciousness. Some methods are skillful and helpful to others, others are unskillful and destructive, and almost all destructive behavior is unconscious. So there is no good and evil, only smart and dumb (or wise and foolish.) Understanding this completely shook my long-held notions of morality and justice.
I encourage you to read the full article here: http://www.raptitude.com/2010/10/9-mind-bending-epiphanies-that-turned-my-world-upside-down/