Politics are more confusing than religion

To the editor:

Within a year or so, I hope to complete a narrative about my life that is worthy of publication. Hopefully, the narrative will explain how the tribulations of life require us to utilize our emotional strength and intelligence in a slow process of personal growth, which is an on-going function of human life. It may take years of mostly normal living to figure out our true place in the scheme of things — as well as to appreciate the cultural “blessings” that enable us to survive and prosper.

Religion became a problem for me after graduating from parochial school, when I was no longer surrounded by like-minded people. My religious doubts got worse during the next 20 years or so, but I got some relief when I decided to manage my own life, in accordance with my own common sense. After doing that, I gave up on religion, but I retained the social attitudes and the established principles of behavior I’d learned from my family, school, and the people I grew up with.

Later, I found that politics are more confusing than religion — but neither politics nor religion have a definite answer to anything, and in spite of doing some good, they also bring confusion and hardship into the lives of many people. Those people who accept the status quo without question seem to be quite satisfied, but they have much to learn. Skeptics and nonbelievers are in the process of learning, and they look more deeply into the depths of their self and their circumstances in order to find a personal worldview that makes sense. Doing so is a step in the right direction toward finding a measure of contentment, similar to what I found after my mid-life crisis years ago. Since then I’ve come to believe that even though we are a blank slate at birth, we are also endowed with certain inherent possibilities and qualities that can be developed during our lifetime. For the most part, everyone is exactly where they ought to be in this life, and even though we are totally ignorant at birth, we all have different advantages and opportunities all around us that we should utilize.

I’ve come to believe that intelligence and emotion are the essence of logic, whose intelligent nature is expressed through the laws of physics, and Logic’s emotional nature is expressed by the realm of life. Any definition of God is subject to our personal interpretation, because we all live in a “little world of our own,” and we are also subject to the laws of physics and the rules of life. At some point, we must accept responsibility for our “self” and our circumstances. Through self-honesty and introspection, thoughtful individuals can find a measure of personal peace and a better understanding of their place in the scheme of things.

Art Carney

Wasilla