Okay, this is something that has been something I've thought a lot about this year. Religion. I was born into a family of Catholics, was babtized (in my grandfather's gown that still exists), but did not regularily attend church. Both my parents had Catholic teaching forced down their throats by being dragged to church every Sunday, sent to one of the various Catholic schools in Chicago, and they individually decided that their children would be raised to discover religion on their own. (A strong point of contention by my Dad's family, but they eventually accepted it).

As a scientist, I tend to think of things as step by step. My biggest problem with religion is where did God come from? If he made this world, did he make other worlds too? (Astronomy is discovering more and more planets outside our system, and I believe that eventually there will be some form of life discovered on one of them.) Our religious teachings say that we are unique, and that God is watching over us. For a universe that is a big as we think that is, I find it very difficult to swallow. And I'm not even going to mention a virgin birth....perhaps later.

I strongly object to hardline values such as "gay marriage is wrong because God says it is." I read an article in the Arizona Republic this morning that reinforced this idea: Officer found support as a prision hostage, but not a gay person. I followed the prision hostage standoff like many people did, and this is the first time I read that she was gay. I still think she's a hero, and all the people who agreed wtih me then, but then changed their minds because she lives with a woman need to take a serious look at their beliefs. In some respects, it reminds me of the terrible story of Pat Tilman, and how we all believed he was a hero who died doing his best....only to find out weeks later that he was shot by his own men. I think we need to believe in heros, people who in a crisis situtation dig deeper than they thought they could do, and come out being a better person in the end. If the hero is flawed, then they quickly fade into the background. I don't think the fact that the prision guard is gay is a flaw - just how she is. With the growing momentum to ban gay marriage, and partner benefits in Arizona, I hope this one prision guard can find it in herself to become a hero again (for a different reason).