Worth Dying For?

Warning--opinions that may offend some folks coming up. Read at your own risk!

This morning I saw  a bumper sticker on a car in my neighborhood and it got me to thinking. "No religion is worth dying for." Now those who know me well may be aware that I am very much set against organized religion--all kinds, colors, creeds and so on. It is my opinion that more atrocities have been committed in the name of religion than almost anything and nearly every faith is guilty here. The fault does not lie with God or gods or the beliefs themselves but with the tendency of people to get so wrapped up in their particular faith that it breeds bigotry, intolerance, narrow-mindedness, hatred and distrust of those with other beliefs and such a strong urge to proselytize that they may torture or kill to try to force their creed off on others. (Because of course it is the "one true way.") How can that be a good thing? I guess I kind of go along with one of the Beatles songs, Imagine, which .indicated a similar mindset to mine. Though I do not subscribe to there being nothing after this life and never have.

But beyond that, I also wondered: what truly is worth dying for? To save a loved one? To preserve and protect your country, your people, your home? And I decided I am not quite sure what, if anything, is. It often takes more courage to live for something or someone than to die for it. If we give our life to save a loved one then that person has to bear the guilt or grief of going on without us and maybe feeling they should have died instead of us. Many thousands, even millions, have lost their lives in wars which may or may not have been justified and fought in a good and honorable cause. My gut feeling is that most were not! And so it goes, perhaps the fate of us humans to make these choices, rightly or wrongly.

Would I go into something knowing I might die for a cause, a person or to prove a point? Yes, I probably would. Over the years I have looked death in the face a few times and did not turn tail--often there was no way I could. All I could do was pray and try to stand firm until the situation ran its course, whatever it was. Other times I was too late or unable for whatever reason to prevent a death close to me and I will bear pain and perhaps some guilt for those to the end of my days. You cannot live three score and more without experiencing such things, I guess. Life and death are inseparably interwoven, entwined, two sides of one coin perhaps..

Life is tough and living for anything demands courage, as I said. You are opening yourself to pain and struggle, to hard choices and the proverbial slings and arrows. Unrequited love, hard times, disappointment, and the loss of dear friends, both human and furred or feathered or even scaled whose thread is cut by fate what seems to be much too soon. So I guess mostly I choose to live for everything, as long as I am permitted to.  How about you? What do you feel is worth living--or dying--for? It is something to think about and reach your own decision and conclusions. I think it is important. Sometimes challenging your old beliefs and habits and taken-for-granted stands can be very valuable.