My mom gave me her philosphy the other day, and she told me this story:
One of her friends, (I'll call him John), met another old friend, Tom, who had been a Christian for many years. As they were conversing, Tom started talking about his religion saying how great it was and that John should join him too or else he would go to Hell. "You want to go to Heaven right? All your friends are going to be there!" Tom says. John thinks about this for a moment and asks, "So you're saying that if I don't become a Christian, I won't go to Heaven?"
"Yes. Or else you'll go to hell and I wouldn't want that..."
John nods and replies, "But what about my family? My ancestors? They weren't Christian or Catholic or anything. I would rather join my family in Hell than be alone in Heaven."
----

To get one thing straight, I have nothing against any religion. I know their intentions are good and that (most of them, hopefully) are good people. However, sometimes there are just some ideas that arn't very logical... and ideas are very ond-sided and kept in closed-minds.
I know that people have their own beliefs and they support their own beliefs-- sometimes just a bit too... strongly? What ever happened to "keeping an open mind"? I'm not saying that people should agree with everything in some way, but just to take it into consideration and looking at an idea from different views. Arguing is a good thing, but bashing is a completely different thing. Arguing requires a sense of logic. Bashing just comes from one-sided beliefs that are usually not really thought-out.
I'm not against religion. But I'm not against the devil either.
I'm not against goths or emos; I may not agree with their ideals but their fashion sense is pretty cool.
I'm not against jrockers even though I'm not into that kind of stuff or like it much, but I see why people like it and why it's so popular; I just don't involve myself in it.
I'm not against homosexuality or anything. I agree though that it doesn't seem natural. It doesn't seem natural that same-gendered human beings are trying "to make the peices fit", as some may say. But the peices don't matter. It's the "trying", the effort, the feeling, the emotion of it. Not so much the physical action.
I'm not against furries or fursuits or anything related to that. I remember when anthro was a popular art style and right now, I still really like its style. I might not agree with the "sexual" side of it, but it isn't "wrong".

You're probably wondering now (if you've read this far?), "Is there anything this person  actually *not* like?" And yeah, there are a lot of things I don't like or am against. I don't like bashers for one, but without them I suppose the world would be pretty boring.
I don't really like anime (GASP.), very rarely do I watch anime; I usually just stay out of it unless my friends force me to watch or read anything. Why? Because there's just too much of it and I, myself, don't find it unique anymore. (I don't like my anime-like style, but hey, it's fun to draw and it's not like im not trying other stuff.)

I like to see people's reactions and like to hear their opinions. I'm not a good person and I'm not a bad person. I do bad things; I've pissed off a lot of people before and I know I have. They can look at me any way they want to. I've done good things for people and I know I have, but there are some things you do that people just forget about a few days later until they see you again. At least it leaves you with a good feeling and reputation. But I've also done good things for bad people who scammed me for money afterward. Course I was mad and cursed them, but they *did* help me to learn and face reality.


People are just different with different opinions. Don't try to change others' views, but suggest them. Put out your opinions and ideas and leave an open mind. Take things into consideration even for a few minutes.
I'm not forcing myself to think this way and forcing ideas from or into my mind. But try to understand both sides before making judgement. There are good people who have good intentions, but sometimes do bad things. There are bad people who probably know they're doing wrong and we see them as bad people, but if it weren't for them, we can't have something to compare the "good" ideals to. (Take Kira in Death Note, for example. His intentions were good, but others saw him as evil. I agree, or believe that what he did wasn't really something to look up to, but he did put it out there and changed some views.)

So just say it. Put it out there. People shouldn't hide their beliefs because they think that others will see them as "not-normal" or "weird". People shouldnn't hide their opinions in fear of being bashed or looked down upon. If you're going to be looked down upon by your friends, then what kind of friends are they? An idea is an idea. A belief is a belief.

Think, believe, and say what you want.
If people don't agree with you, find out why and take it into consideration before you argue back.
Set off a ripple effect that changes the world and keeps it going.

As cheesy as it sounds, at least I'm putting it out there.

-MLE


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Definate Watch List o_o


[ Gone to AX for the weekend! Be back on Tuesday with more pictures, possibly! ]