I cant go on posting today without first mentioning ....
A very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my boy P-Dub!!
Peter Dewolf is not only an awesome guy but a talented writer & blogger! He recently wrote a book and after finding the link to it and reading the preview I was hooked! I bought the book and I have to admit im somewhat in love with the main character Brandon... you will be too when you read his novella, so support this uber talented fellow blogger and buy his book here. If you simply cant wait to start reading (and this will happen after you read the preview) there is an option to buy the downloadable version for only $5.00! You cant go wrong here people trust me.. he had me laughing, in tears and now im just in love... *sigh*
THANKS Peter! :P
Anyway Happy Birthday Peter! I hope all your dreams and wishes come true ;)
Now onto the Blog Secret Exchange!
Objective
Write a blog post about something secret. Publish it anonymously on someone else's blog.
Ok so my "secret" is posted anonymously on someone elses blog (if I told you where id have to kill you) BUT this is the anon secret of a random Blog Secret participant that I was sent to post by the organizer Nilsa over SOMI .
Here's the anonymous secret please feel free to comment...
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Walking back home from work a few weeks ago, I catch a glimpse from the corner of my eye of two girls, most likely in their late teens, early twenties, walking in the opposite direction. One of the girls glances over at me and quickly runs my way stopping a little under a foot away from me and begins her "sales" pitch -
"Hi! My name is -"
Before she could continue I cut her off after I see her black name tag with LDS (Mormon Church) written on it.
"I'm not interested," I replied as I kept walking, my pace speeding up.
"Oh, well can I give you my card - " she persisted as she trotted next to me.
"NO. Not interested!"
And with that she gave up and returned to her friend. I didn't look back.
Guilt slowly made its way through me, crept onto my shoulders and sat there tapping away. I was terse and sharp with the girl who really meant no harm. My gut reaction had been to shove her aside as forcefully as possible and I succeeded. Had I taken a deep breath, I could have added a "no, thank you" followed by a smile.
But I've always had a deep sense of dislike for missionaries from any religion. Even my own. What I hate - yes, hate, not dislike - are those who insist on bleeding their beliefs onto others and even injecting it into politics, culture, and social issues. Faith to me is personal and shouldn't be advertised, so to speak, but respected.
I grew up in a place where my religion was prohibited from being practiced. My family even had to abide by some of the religious laws/beliefs of another religion. And I abhorred it. To force my religious beliefs onto others is inconceivable to me. Perhaps because I experienced it first hand, I could never think of doing it to others.
And here I am in 2008. Living in a so called liberal country. Yet all around me I witness a variety of instances where different religious beliefs are infused into politics, a place religion should ideally never be found, but in reality minimized as much as possible. Yes, there should be freedom of speech. If a person wants to stand on a box on the corner of Main Street preaching to the masses about Jesus, Mohammad, or Buddha, then of course so be it. But when a person or group of people persist on impregnating policies with their religious beliefs...well that's where the line needs to be drawn.
The Mormon girl who came up to me to discuss her religious beliefs with me was practicing freedom of speech and I should have realized that on the spot. Instead of being acrid, I could have turned her down politely. It's my freedom to do so.
When those in power, however, want to take away the right a woman has to do whatever she wants with her body or to exclusively define marriage as between man and woman solely based on their religious belief, that's when I get heated and angered.
If you don't already, learn to respect others' beliefs, no matter what they may be. And if you're having a hard time doing so, try role reversal. Imagine what it would be like to be in their shoes, forced to act as they have dictated based on their dogma. Trust me, it's not fun on any level.
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14 COMMENTS:
This kind of thing bothers me too. I probably would have responded the same way to the missionary if I'd been you.
i agree with your post and understand completely where you're coming from.
well done for standing up for your belief. the mormon girl had the right of freedom of expression, but only insofar as it didn't infringe on any of your rights and beliefs. so dont feel guilty.
I'm glad that you could see that she didn't mean any harm, even if it was after the fact.
You shouldn't feel guilty for the way you feel, though.
-I survived BlogSecret '08
Bravo! I have mixed feelings about missionaries ... they have every right to speak about what they believe. However, there is a fine line between that and pushing their beliefs on others, particularly groups who do not believe they have the right to walk away.
I grew up with lots of Mormon friends, for some reason, and I've always sort of understood the whole missionary thing even if I don't especially approve of it. They do mean well, but it can get frustrating.
so maybe some fo your readers didn't understand that the post was SOMEONE ELSE'S secret?
anyhoo... are you feeling better yet? (physically and in life?)
I too have a dislike for evangelism... regardless of faith. that's one of the things I could never reconcile when I was a Christian. My relationship with god is my business and my business only. I respect your faith, but please respect mine.
Hooray, Happy Birthday PDW!!! :D
(I did a b'day post for him too-- he's lucky to have such good PR girls!) ;)
Re: the secret:
Sometimes pushy people need to be pushed back.
I agree but it didn't really sound like a secret. I sounded like an opinion.
I worked for the church for 10 years as a youth director and always got bashed for not doing "Service work" with an evangelizing flair. I refused and when I explained my position - that my faith is not anyone else's and theirs is not mine the slow road to my resignation started. I'm so glad I'm not the only one.
I completely agree with you. Great post! It's fine if you believe in something, just don't try to force it on me if I don't feel the same.
I am glad you posted about this. It's something that bothers me, as well, but I have definitely felt that tug of guilt after rebuffing someone like that girl. Because I do respect her having the right to free speech, but I just wish they'd leave me alone, so I wouldn't get mad when they told me that basic human rights were wrong. Oops, I guess I'm still fired up about Prop 8.
And you're it.
I tagged you in a post. You're it:
check it out:
http://joannaduff.wordpress.com/2008/11/18/i-less-than-3-randomness/
You're not the only one. The same things get to me.
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