Controversy on paper

Have you ever wondered what exists beyond the beautiful blue sky in the day and its mysterious dark form at night? Astronauts say there exist stars, planets, and other galaxies out there. That we might not be alone in the universe, should we believe them? The same people who told us that they landed on the moon, a mission that has never been repeated. Their proof has been shrouded with unanswered questions. Should we just take their word for it? What do you think? If so, what evidence can you present to us, non-believers? Do you know they measure distance in light-years as they rocket away from the earth? I hear those distances are beyond our life expectancy on earth. Hard to believe, but I can’t argue otherwise. Can you? If they decide to travel beyond, will they reach the end? Or a dead end? What will they find at that point, I wonder? Have you ever thought about it as I do? Maybe they will find mysterious creatures, aliens — Hollywood characters. Maybe, they will find themselves back in time or into the future — my time travel fantasies. Or, maybe they will fade away into oblivion — a curious cat ending.

Science aside. As I gaze into the sky, my thoughts are running wild about this matter. Nothing comes to bear. If only the sky could speak? It has no mouth! Of course, it doesn’t. It doesn’t even exist. What we see is a space with clouds, air, and light. The sky is an illusion we created for ourselves. Hope you don’t think I am a mad man. How dare he think like this or that? You might ask. The world expects us to think in the confines of the limited knowledge it gives us. Imagine all that we know is within what the world gave us. NASA gave us photos and videos to support their claims. The same medium was used as proof of the controversial first moon landing. Should we just accept everything we are told as gospel truth? NASA lied. It lied to kids. We grew up singing MyVeryEducatedMotherJustShowedUsNinePlanets in science class. That’s the song we sang to remember the nine planets. Pluto was the ninth planet. Until 2006. NASA changed its mind. They now call it a dwarf planet made of ice and rock. In some cases, it’s referred to as an object within the solar system. It’s no longer a planet. The kids who counted Pluto as the ninth planet are older now. Most of them don’t even care about Pluto or the next time NASA changes its mind. The knowledge was as good as the grade it got them. I wonder what song the kids sing these days to remember the eight planets. Or, which other so-called planets will turn out to be something else?

Can you tell when a reputable organization tells the truth or lies? Can you? Reputable organizations such as your favorite banks, insurance firms, and political bodies. Do you even ask yourself these questions? Or, you just move along, accept what you are given, and let life be. I think you are afraid. Afraid of questioning everything. Maybe you are afraid you might be ostracized. Or, just afraid of going against the norm. But what is the norm? It changes so often, it’s had to keep up. What was once not accepted a few years ago is now accepted, and vice-versa. Where do our principles lie? Do we even have any? I get it. We are humans, we want to be loved and accepted. A fact psychologists have proven. But, will we trade our principles for love and acceptance? When your spiritual leader sins; when your boss goes against company code; when your political leader abuses power; when your friend commits adultery; when your lover lies; when your client commits a crime; when your mother admit to guilt; when your tribal leader sells out; when your camp is full of thieves; when you witness a murder; when society is losing its way; when the poor are exploited. Will you speak up? Does it help to turn the other cheek? or look away in disgrace and shame? Should we bend a knee to our oppressors? Should we keep it all in and let them take our integrity?

The Americans bombed the Japanese, now they are brothers. The Europeans stole from Africa, today we worship them. A government kills followers of its opponents, then they united in the name of peace. The true heroes of the struggle were murdered, the ones rewarded were collaborators. What if the father of the nation was a fraud? What if he didn’t fight to the end? The weight of the nation was too much for the old man’s tired shoulders. The torture and the wasted years in prison broke him. He signed the deal with his shaking 70-something-year-old fingers. He did that not because of duress but he wanted a way out. He was tired. He also signed because the deal was good. Not for his nation, but his legacy. Many years later, as his betrayal comes to light, even when still held by the world in high esteem, his legacy is in danger. You know who am talking about. He is quoted often, and his birthday is a bouquet for the rich and the famous. Think of a prisoner number.

Can’t you see how the world works? Political correctness. We are afraid of calling things as they are. We don’t want to hurt our racist colleagues. We don’t want to disagree with our tribal neighbor. We fear losing our hypocrite friend. The last time you stood up against euphoric ignorance, you were shouted down. You curled your tail between your legs and nursed your broken backbone. The memory of that day became a nightmare. Now you have joined everyone else. You feel safe in their stupidity. You would rather be part of them than alone and wise. We think in groups. You are only right or correct if you back your views with a specific group. These groups are our boxes. If you don’t fit in any that exists, you lose your self-esteem. We fear being left out.

We have been fooled. When you look at a building with a cross, you see a church, a heaven on earth. But the devil is in the detail. As you pray with them above ground, underneath they mock your ignorance and serve another god. A god that can be touched and loved. People kill for it, they find love from the lust they have for it. Brother betrays another for it. The place of worship has become like a Mexican cartel agency. A money-laundering enterprise, serving this god — money. While they preach to us the heavenly God, they oblige us to fill their pockets with their earthly deity. They have elevated money to a god-like status. Everything done behind the curtain it’s because of their self-created god. The men of the cloth. Men who are closer to God. Our intercessors. They prophesy and heal the sick. Holier than thou. Men with no sin. They are also men with blood on their hands. Blood of the Rwandan Genocide and Kenyan post-election violence. Secretly they have seduced and molested young boys in the name of the papacy. The scripture is their greatest tool of wickedness.

Then there is another man. We knew him as an activist in the 90s, fighting for the people’s rights. He said he will be effective when elected, so the people voted. The seats became comfortable, the chamber and the cars were glamorous and the deals became too good. He forgot his past. The stinging tear-gas days, the long matches, the widows and the orphans, the bloody campaigns, and the death sentences that were passed on the youths that matched beside him. “A traitor!” People whisper and murmur when his name is mentioned. They call it injustice, yet they haven’t heard his side of the story. Maybe he was forced into it. They might have put a gun on his head or his family. He might have been threatened with the worse evil. Now he understands why people change when they join that house. The house of expensive suits and treachery. He is no longer welcomed home. He is tied to the hip with his cronies. For political survival, he will need the colleague on the right and the other on the left. He will need their brutal way of crushing dissidents and winning at any cost. Blood of a recently slain activist covers his once clean hands. Power indeed corrupts.

The gods. I think that’s what scientists might find when they travel beyond. A scary voyage if you ask me. Imagine finding someone who doesn’t want to be found. A fatal ending for our intelligent brothers and sisters could bring. Sometimes I wonder what the gods think of us? Yes, I believe in one God. I just won’t call his name in vain. A creation that is defiant and always trying to compete with them. Maybe the gods watch us the way we look at babies with awe and innocence. Or, maybe to them we are like insects — such nuisance small creatures. Sometimes they send calamities on us for their leisure or they punish us out of anger. Or maybe, there are no gods or even a God. In that case, Darwin might have been right. We just evolved from primates and the world came to existence out of a big explosion. If you think about it, our behaviors are animal-like. The alpha dominance behavior is exhibited in most animals compared to our man-eat man society. The survival for the fittest contest in our capitalist environment in comparison to the jungle survival instincts.

I have often wondered, will our forefathers who died before the western religion, end up in hell? What about the toddler who passes on? If papacy is God’s kingdom on earth, how comes heresy was faced with brutality instead of love? Was religion a tool used to enslave Africans? Is religion a conspiracy? Why should God put humans on earth, judge them after death and burn the ones who are evil? If the holy books were never meant to be contradicted, then why give humans the intelligence to interpret them? If the holy books were inspired by God, then why are they political, gender-insensitive, and divisive? If God is love, why is fear used to get people to accept this love? If God gave humans free will, then why punish them for exercising that will?

I know I am not the first to ask these questions and I won’t be the last. To some, this is an eye-opener, while to others it’s a controversy. A controversy, as it questions faith. A controversy, as it questions the status quo and it’s uncomfortable. A controversy that is easy to put off, but it’s an idea that lingers in every mind. The same way it lingered into my own, that’s why I chose to put it on paper. Controversy on paper.