Billosophy

How many drug commercials do you see a day?  One of the drawbacks I face due to working at home is I either have to sit at my dining room table (or office as I call it) in silence and work, or have the TV on as back ground noise.  When did the networks start selling every second of daytime advertising to the drug companies?  I can not turn around without hearing how horrible my life is and how much better it would be if I just took their pill.  I often find myself wishing I could sit in lawn chairs with my buddies and watch a football game on a small TV plugged into an extension cord on my front lawn!  MAN – how HAPPY would I be?  Oh, and who doesn’t wish they could kayak with their dog … seriously, there are three people making BANK off of this movement.  The networks that are charging the drug companies, the agencies the drug companies hire to make those horrible and painful commercials and THE DRUG COMPANIES!  Lets not forget folks, drug companies are not in the business of helping people or healing people – they are in the business of making shareholders richer.

Did you know … Bristol-Myers Squibb (one of the top ten largest pharmaceutical companies) reported 2008 revenues of $20.8 Billion and 81% of that is net sales from pharmaceuticals!

My buddy Eric at SpaghettiOh.com wrote a post about antidepressants and how its easier to take one than actually deal with life issues.  The story from Reuters talks about how antidepressant usage has doubled between 1996 and 2005 – NINE years friends!  How on earth does a product that can not be purchased without the consent of a 12 year trained professional we call “Doctor” happen?  Maybe this quote will shed some light:

“Although there was little change in total promotional spending for antidepressants between 1999 ($0.98 billion) and 2005 ($1.02 billion), there was a marked increase in the percentage of this spending that was devoted to direct-to consumer advertising, from 3.3 percent ($32 million) to 12 percent ($122.00 million)”

Lets do the math … that is a 381% increase between ’96 and ’05 … drug companies increased spending NOT in Research and Development … not in Studies to further advance the medical field in cures to cancer, aids, *insert whatever disease here* … they increased spending 381% in “direct-to consumer advertising” … $122 Million dollars was spent by a company that can not sell their product to you … on advertising their product to you!

But wait … in case you thought they cared … their products are known to cause – Aggression, Agitation, Anxiety, Confusion, Depression, Hallucinations, Hostile, Hyperactive, Impulsive, Irritable, Panicky, Personality disorder, Overly excited, Severely restless, Sleeplessness, Suicide, Weakness, Abdominal pain, Bone pain, Breast pain, Chest pain, Headache, Heartburn, Joint pain, Leg cramps, Painful menstruation, Diabetes mellitus, Hair loss, Frequent urination, Hyperglycemia, Ketoacidosis, Loss of appetite, Pancreatitis, Urinary tract infection, Weight gain, Weight loss, Amnesia, Dizziness, Seizures, Speech disorder, Stroke, Transient ischemic atychosis, Worsening of epilepsy …

… but seriously, ask your doctor if you want to ride a bicycle through your neighborhood and laugh at the kid jumping through the sprinkler while your wife chuckles quietly at you because you can now hold your pee.

I watched a movie the other day with Tyler and was surprised at the end to be thrown into such a deep self discussion about life (both in general and my own personal journey).  The movie was The Book Of Eli … if you have not seen it – I highly recommend it.  In this movie Denzel Washington is walking around a post apocalyptic world.  I wont spoil the movie, but he walks around reading a book, a big book.  As the movie progresses you see the importance of this book.  At some point, Denzel (and the movie goers) come to a realization that he has only been ingesting what was written in the book and not sharing what he knows.

I was then skimming around my Facebook news feed and one of my friends (Dan Tocchini) posted a quote by Kierkegaard.  The quote spoke about the difference between a spiritual man and a religious man … here is the quote:

The spiritual man differs from us men in being able to endure isolation, His rank as a spiritual man is proportionate to his strength for enduring isolation, whereas we men are constantly in need of “the others,” the herd. We die, or despair, if we are not reassured by being in the herd, of the same opinion as the herd.

Christianity of the Spiritual Man – Soren Kierkegaard. (page 163)

From this quote I find myself looking back into my life and finding examples of those afraid to be alone … me at many times, insecure in my own thought, afraid of my “lack of friends” and having an attitude of “screw every one, I only have ME to protect me.”  I remember pastors in the church I was raised who would demand their “flock” to do and obey.  Pastors who would constantly need the “you are good, you are ok” affirmation from the flock of the church.  I hold those memories close as to keep a very clear understanding of what a “Spiritual” person is not and how a religious person carries a very different viewpoint.  Dan Tocchini, to me, is a very spiritual person – and I do not thank him enough for his Facebook status updates that challenge my thinking and keep me focused on what I despise and how to avoid the trap.

Another friend of mine, John Terry, commented on an earlier post of mine “Religiosity – The Quality of Being Religious” and asked me in his comment “But where do you stand spiritually?”  I gave some thought into my response and posted those … but felt like my underlying message was not really being explained well.  You know when you have that “Ah-Ha” moment … I had it when I read the quote Dan posted and watched The Book of Eli at the movies.  There is a huge difference between a religious man and a spiritual man … which are you?

This past week I read an article that at first shocked me … then humored me. Patty Jo Marsh and Jacob Bartels are boyfriend/girlfriend. Each has a set of kids from a previous marriage/relationship … a total of 7. The kids age range from 17 to 7. Nothing wrong with this right? Well flash back to a couple days after Thanksgiving and somehow, the topic came up regarding the parents love of tattoos. The kids “decided” they wanted to be like their folks and get tattoos also.

Far be it from Patty Jo and Jacob to sit the kids down and discuss how tattoos are permanent and how they should not be taken lightly. This decision for life is something one should think about before putting needle to skin. Unfortunately – this did not happen. 6 of the 7 kids received small cross type tattoos on the web of their hand. When asked why she tattooed her kids … Patty Jo replied “They asked us to!” – so here is what she and Jacob gave them!

Now – are you ready for what they used to tattoo the kids?

Evidently what Patty Jo and Jacob did not realize is Tattooing your kid is illegal … also, tattooing in the state of Georgia without a license is also illegal.  So, off to jail they went and the kids were temporarily removed from the house but returned when Patty Jo and Jacob posted bail.  This all came to light when one of the 11 year old kids was visiting their biological mom.  The mom asked about the mark and the kid said it was temporary – after not being able to wash it off the bio-mom called the cops to file a complaint.

Like I said at the beginning … at first I was shocked!  How could anyone in their right mind think they were doing something that was OK?  (then I watched the video interview with Patty Jo and I answered my own question).  After the shock of “How could a parent do that” … I realized they were just trying to bond the family.  In their mind they were  bringing the family closer while sharing with their kids what they love – Tattoo’s.  Then I started thinking about other things parents do to their children … I have seen new born girls with pierced ears, did the kid even show an appreciation in ear rings?  What about circumcision for boys – body mutilation at the request of the parents protected by religious beliefs.

I think what Patty Jo and Jacob did was irresponsible and there are consequences to breaking the law (and there is no such thing as the “I didn’t know” defense in my book).  The machine they used looks crazy and unsafe and they will be punished for that too … but for us to judge them on their parenting skills – lets try not to throw those stones too far!

I am not sure this is a real word – however, it is “REAL” in my world … and since you have entered into my world to learn more about me, welcome to my vocabulary.  Allow me to explain!  The suffix “osity” is defined as “The quality of being” … therefore when I append Religious to the front of it I create this new word.

Now for my definition -

The quality of being religious is a power thing … Religiosity allows people to judge others by hiding behind their Bible, Torah or Qur’an.  Instead of living life as an example and being the spiritual leader they were “called” to become, they assume a self appointed position of authority.  Interpreting what they read and instructing people (or their flock, congregation, followers, etc) on how they expect them to behave, what to believe and how to think.  So, the quick and dirty definition of Religiosity would be – The self assumed position of authority where one dictates the thoughts and actions of others without actually being the example.

This is where I find my biggest objection to “organized religion” – the lack of actual leadership in those who are leading.

Three days and counting – Starting Jan 1, 2010 I will be embarking on a journey into who I am and why I believe what I do.  I will be talking about my observations and opinions on anything that happens during this year.  So far I have had to bite my tongue (well, more like hold back posting) … with Tiger Woods topic and the recent attempt at bombing an airplane – I find it interesting how “News” is reported and also, how people will attach themselves emotionally to a cause that has zero effect on them or their lives.

I am also going to be slowly unwrapping this onion I call Religiosity – what I think about it, what my opinion is about it and why I am so vehemently against the Church and “Organized Religion.”

I am dubbing 2010 – the year of enlightenment and I look forward to everyone’s take on my thoughts and opinions.