#TheMajorsCorner “Inhumanity.”

Some of my readers will recall that I have always been interested in man’s inhumanity to man, especially when it comes to religion. For eons after having a chat with the fashionable “God” of the moment, some man with a beard waves a finger at a group of people and says: “They are all to be killed.”The really strange thing about this is that they are killed. How did this come about?
We can all say it was a time of horrible ignorance and savagery, so what would you expect? Well, yes, but it is still going on with a vengeance.
Every morning numbers of people all over the world get up with only one thing in mind, and I don’t mean eggs and bacon, but rather the deaths of fellow humans, because a respected leader in their religion told them to do it.
Why is that? I don’t think there is an easy answer, but we must get to the children in this world and encourage a cult of reason rather than revenge for disagreeing over dogma. If only the world could civilize the small ones’ minds before they are taught to hate their neighbours. After all, as travel and communication improve, we are all neighbours now.
Can one imagine being a North Korean today, where a family dictatorship flourishes? Those poor people are brainwashed from birth to feel nothing but love and obedience for Kim Jong-un. It is a place where every person is a spy looking for disloyalty amongst their own families. Where the president fed his uncle to starving dogs and used an anti-aircraft cannon to blow apart the Minister of Defence. All because Kim Jong-un said so, because a cult of personality has a stranglehold in that wretched country.
We had someone like that at our club for a while. A dreadful man somehow joined our home of homes, we were never sure how, perhaps money changed hands but not certain about that. However, once in, it is damned hard to throw a chap out.
He was rude to everyone, especially the staff, who, of course, are unarmed in any battle with a mem. He leered at women, especially Mrs. Hynde-Quarters, and splashed coffee on our daily papers.
I am not equating the behaviour of our Mr. Squatter, for that was his name, with feeding his uncle to dogs or the use of high-powered weaponry, just that he changed the face of the club and intimidated everyone through dint of personality. Thankfully he dropped dead shouting at one of the club flunkies over soggy horseradish, allowing the club to return to normal.
Sir Thomas More, the principal civil servant and great friend of Henry VIII, had his own torture chamber in the back garden in spite of the fact he wrote that wonderful book Utopia in 1516. He claimed the torture was for their own good, “they” being anyone who did not believe in his form of Catholicism.
Old Tommy was such a religious nut he wore a hair shirt and often prayed for five hours but still found the time to sleep, run the country and torture passing infidels. If the torture routine did not get the chap or chapess to recant, he would have them lowered into boiling oil. Interesting fellow, eh? He, as we know, lost his head for not approving of Henry’s stand on the new Anglican church, which, surprise, made Henry the chief. Sir Thomas refused to make fun of the Pope’s funny hat and so went to his death still wearing the hair thingee.
It appears to me that if one wants to start a religion today one does what has always been done: Design strange clothes, enslave women, hurt others and do a great deal of shouting and finger- waving. Oh, and don’t forget to make the executives vastly rich. That always helps, and besides, that is what God wants, because they just had a word with him while you were out. And you need a miracle. No problem. It is a miracle that anyone believes this stuff.
The world lumbers on, with thousands every day suffering because some bearded old man deems it necessary, and then someone carries it out. It is a sad mystery to me and many others the way religious zeal stops all reason. It is as if we all took a “stupid” pill and lost our minds.
How else does one explain Abraham nearly killing his son because the nutty father heard God’s voice telling him to kill Isaac? And as far as burning bushes go, I avoid them like the plague, especially if some fiery branch says hello.
Any religion that is orthodox or fundamental appears to do only harm. As far as religion and I go, if anyone cares, I believe in the Golden Rule, which to me sums it up pretty much: Do to others what you would have others do unto you.
That has always appeared to be existentialism to me. But more Camus than Sartre, I would hope.
In short: Be nice and leave the hair shirt in the top drawer.
Copyright Christopher Dalton