I'm starting to understand why it's difficult to keep a blog secret. If I spend an hour writing it, I have to account for that to my girlfriend. And once she knows it's there, it's hard to explain not sharing it with her. I want to comment on cousin A's blog, but if I sign my comment "unquestioned" then that means he might read my blog and tell other family members where to find it. Many of my friends have blogs, so my secrecy is a missed opportunity to share and grow closer to them. And frankly, I'm constantly tempted to brag to people about finally entering the 21st century.

Yesterday I read and critiqued a somewhat confusing sf story from my friend M, about a race of intelligent bird-like creatures. She was concerned about what she called the "religious slant" of the story, but it wasn't what I would call religious story. It didn't take a moral stand or offer wisdom, enlightenment, or comfort. The religion in the story was presented as a means for the males (who were apparently all priests) to control and exploit the females.

I'm not a religious person myself, but I'm discouraged by the perception (apparently common among secular folks in America) that religion is nothing more than an opiate and a tool for controlling masses of people. Every successful religion encourages its practitioners to improve themselves in some way--submitting to Allah's will, seeking enlightenment, resisting or confessing sin--and offers some kind of reassurance or comfort. But when sf writers portray religious adherants, they often remove all vestiges of intelligence, humility, and common sense, and the invented religions of sf seem to lack any positive qualities that would make them inspiring or appealing.

Organized religion has a bad name in America. Fundamentalism is seen as a political threat to secular society, religion is blamed for oppression, violence, and wars throughout history, and anything outside the mainstream is suspect as a cult intent (for no clear reason) on stealing our children and convincing us to surrender our possessions. Sure there are some bad eggs out there, people whose faith motivates them to bomb mosques or clinics. Meanwhile, millions of deeply religious people live decent lives and do enormous good. Of course, decent people seldom make the news, let alone history.

I bet it hurts to be marginalized like that, especially after centuries in which religious attitudes were considered normal. Move aside Native Americans, people of color, immigrants, homeless people, motorcyclists, and smokers--and make room for the Christians and Muslims.