The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

As long-time readers should know by now, while I don't fully align myself with any political party, I definitely tend to be progressive/liberal on a large majority of issues. In saying that, however, I have to say I'm fascinated by the Republican primaries this election season. I've watched each and every one of the ten GOP debates thus far and plan on watching #11 tonight. I regularly tune in to cable news channels on election days to see updated results, hear talking heads from both sides of the political spectrum try to play fortune tellers, and listen to politicians from both sides of the aisle play the spin-game. Yes, while there's a greater chance of me transforming into a hybrid of Bill Gates and Shaquille O'Neal at midnight tonight than there is of me voting for the Republican nominee this coming November, my attention's glued to the race for the party's nomination, and this will continue through the convention in July. One reason for my high level...

Many Christian conservatives and even atheist liberals complain that progressives like myself are inconsistent when it comes to our views and defenses of religion. They often times say, "You guys have a double-standard, where you openly mock and criticize Christianity, but oddly defend Islam. Look at how Muslim countries treat women!" I, for one, am not a big fan of organized religion. I was raised in a Christian household, regularly attended a nondenominational church with my mother and brother growing up, yet reached a point in my teenage years where I could no longer espouse myself to the typically sexist, anti-LGBT, anti-progressive rhetoric. The pastor's sermons started sounding progressively more like a Rush Limbaugh rant and it turned me off from the Christian faith, and honestly, organized religion altogether. Through my high school years, college, and even after, I found myself still oddly fascinated by the concept of religion. I read books about: Christianity...

I may be way off with these numbers, but it's my approximation that at least 75% of individuals whom are involved in a serious relationship feel it's perfectly acceptable to "check out" members of the opposite sex they're not involved with. Meanwhile, approximately 25% either don't feel this is acceptable or aren't sure about the matter. I hadn't thought about this matter for a while, but since I've been dating a woman for about 8 months, the topic has been pondered about some. When reading or hearing others discuss this very issue, I often times hear comments similar to the following: "It's human nature to look." "There's nothing wrong with checking others out. I'm sure he/she does it too!" "It's fine to do it. Just don't tell your boyfriend/girlfriend about it or do it in front of them!" "It's natural to find people attractive." When observing the array of comments, I i...