Sometimes Greg doesn't have good ideas

Today I ran in Johnny's Irish Pub's "Run Like Hell" 5K race. It's a fundraiser for cystic fibrosis that they've done each of the past 10 years. They do it around Halloween and encourage people to run in costume. Prizes are given for individual costumes, as well as team costumes. Some of the winners this year were Hugh Hefner and his Playboy bunnies, a chain gang of five that actually ran the whole race tied together with their hands behind their backs, and a guy that ran the entire race in a Darth Vader mask (may the sweat be with you). Greg, Charity, and I ran together, and thought for a couple weeks about what our team costumes should be. Some of our ideas were Mario, Luigi, and Princess Toadstool; Castro, Ahmadinejad, and Kim Jong Il; and the Blue Man Group. I thought Blue Man Group would've worked well - basically black sweatsuits with blue face paint. But in the end Greg was deadset on running as the "office staff," with the three of us wearing suits to run. We went to Goodwill the night before to pick our suits. We all found gray suits, and I wore a pink shirt and tie under mine. I could sense the oncoming disaster as I paid $14 for my Johnny Carson special. I sweat a lot wearing shorts and no shirt. So you can imagine me wearing a tie around my neck and three layers, the top of which is entirely non-breathable. I felt some hope the morning of the race. It was overcast and in the low 50's, raining off and on. But sure enough, by race time, the sun came out and the temperature was in the 60's. Most other people were in costume, but wearing something reasonable for running. As we ran the 5K together, bystanders would see us and laugh at our costumes, like they did with everyone else. But there was always some comment following the laugh, remarking at how bad of an idea it must be to run 3.12 miles in a suit. I agree. By the end, I smelled like an awful combination of old, musty library books and a sweaty gym sock. Here are some before and after pictures.

The threat to secularism

I don't know if anyone even reads this anymore, but that's immaterial. As I wrote in one of my first posts on here, this is more for my own catharsis, and hopefully someone else will read it too and maybe get something out of it.

I find myself compelled to pass along something I've read recently, which hopefully helps to combat and shut up a sector of the population which I find it difficult to believe is growing larger, but perhaps only growing louder. It's not a new phenomenon, but likely a magnified one in this post-9/11 era. The Religious Right's hijacking of our government seems to me to be the end of a truly free society. While using propaganda to spread their message of hate, bigotry, misogyny, and racism (among other great ideas), they have infiltrated the ranks of government in the form of our illegitimate president. They continue to buy votes favorable to their twisted cause with huge campaign contributions, all the while guaranteed of preserving this buying power through (1) tax-exempt status as a charitable and not-for-profit organization and (2) "faith-based initiatives." Government handouts to rich white men, while their Republican delegation in government steadfastly oppose welfare and social programs to help those in actual need. Oral Roberts, televangelist, once proclaimed on air that God would kill him unless he raised $8 million. And the sheep fell for it and paid it to him. $8 million, tax-free.

And while we are legally a secular society, protected by the separation of church and state, the Religious Right claims that we are a Christian nation, founded by Christian men on Christian ideals. They use this to further push their agenda of xenophobia. This is the part I felt compelled to type out and pass on, several statements by our Founding Fathers (many believed to actually be deist, agnostic, or even atheist):

"Christianity is the most perverted system that ever shone on man" - Thomas Jefferson

"During almost fifteen centuries has the legal establishment of Christianity been on trial. What has been its fruits? More or less, in all places, pride and indolence in the clergy; ignorance and servility in the laity; in both, superstition, bigotry and persecution." - James Madison

"Lighthouses are more useful than churches." - Benjamin Franklin

"This would be the best of all possible worlds, if there were no religion in it." - John Adams

And in 1797, in Article 11 of our treaty with Tripoli, written under George Washington, signed by John Adams, and unanimously approved by Congress: "As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquillity, of Mussulmen; and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties, that no pretext arising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries."

And in conclusion, one of my favorite quotes of all time:

“If there is a God, atheism must seem to Him as less of an insult than religion.” ~Edmond de Goncourt, 19th century French writer