Covered

Believe in God and everything will be okay; He's got you covered. Does he really though? If people have free will, is God really the one in control? What about, by your free will, trying not to do stupid things, thereby putting yourself in danger?*

The recent attempt on Donald Trump's life is a case in point. Not only was Trump almost killed but innocent bystanders were also injured and even killed in the encounter. Where was God? Did He have them covered? Look at martyrs as another example. They believed in God and paid the ultimate price because the free-will of the Roman Empire (to name one) chose to persecute Christians.

God didn't say: "believe in me and nothing 'bad' will happen to you." He said: "believe in me and I will save your soul." Just like an earthly father, he may try to protect you from the evil world, but he is not always successful. Sometimes, he has to fall back on the consolation prize -- a free, all expenses paid trip to heaven. Whether that is 'good' or 'bad' I guess is a matter of personal preference.

Is religion just man's response to the over-powering and potentially paralyzing reality that life is nasty, brutish, and short? In the animal kingdom, life can be, and frequently is, ended in a second; one wrong move, one bad decision, and it's all over. Humans are set apart from this carnage by participating in a civilized society, the morality of which is mostly founded on religious principles. However, religious morals backed by marshal low can't always guarantee a positive outcome and bad things still happen.

*"You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test." (Mathew 4:7) or the more secular version, "don't tempt fate."

An Ideal Husband

I think fundamentally, women want a man to take care of them. However, it must be the right man. They want someone in whom they can put their undying confidence that he will always be astoundingly successful at everything he does. Above all else, he must be a good provider for the needs of his family to the point of sacrificing his own life for their well-being. (Think male lion on the African savannah who fights to the death to protect his pride.)

Unfortunately, the world is full of weak men who do not meet this impossible standard and monogamous marriage does not help the situation as many women complain that all the good men are 'taken'. Hence, the rise of feminism, allowing women to take care of themselves instead of compromising on a lesser male. Unfortunately, this tends to perpetuate the problem of weak men as the central dogma of feminism is to emasculate men and make them irrelevant.

Live Aid

1 billion... that's the number of dollars Taylor Swift is worth. How many starving children in Africa could have been fed for that much money?

My Live Aid line-up:

Taylor Swift
Katy Perry
Josh Turner
Billy Currington
Shania Twain
Carrie Underwood
Crowded House
Smash Mouth
Six Pence None the Richer
The Proclaimers
Celine Dion
Reba McEntire
Brooks & Dunn
Zac Brown Band

Five for Fighting

The Eagles

I am probably dating myself somewhat with this list. Please post your own favorite artists and/or songs in the comments below.

Gender

Why is everyone so fixated on gender? In this modern age of equality, the emphasis on gender should be decreasing. But instead, everyone is increasingly concerned with what it means to be a man or a woman. Why not ask instead what it means to be a person? just a good person who respects their fellow persons whether men or women.