I don't have an opinion....however, if I did have an opinion I would encourage you to follow [Natives Rising on Facebook.]
Belief is an interesting concept. We believe things because its easier than doing the time consuming work of testing every idea that comes along to find out if its true. Some beliefs can not be tested anyway. And yet they have tremendous influence on how we think about everything else.
There is a story among my people of a group of teenagers who were abducted by an enemy. They could have saved themselves through humiliating requests for mercy but chose instead to face death proudly and silently. They never said a word to their captors or even paid them any attention. My ancestors believed no one ever really dies but we come back to this world again and again in new bodies each lifetime.
A person who believes that will risk death more often than others and consider doing so to be very admirable. A person who thinks he only lives once and then nothing will find the idea of death appalling and might even act in ways the other person would think of as cowardly.
Which one is right? Depends on what you believe. What you believe has more influence over what you will do than is commonly realized.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Ravenspeaker
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More thoughts on Belief~ We have mentioned the term "stable datum" before. Stable data are ideas we come up with to answer confusions. It does not have to be correct it only has to provide an answer and help a person make decisions about what to do, who to be or how to vote. An example might be: "I can't trust anyone who is not family".
If it is correct the data can be used in other circumstances that are different than the situation which caused the confusion and everything will be fine. Sometimes Stable Data are incorrect however and we will make bad decisions we are certain are right because there is a stable datum somewhere in the calculation that isn't true.
We will still go to our death beds believing we were right. Why do two intelligent people with excellent reasoning skills not agree on some 'obvious' issue? They have different Stable Data and have never bothered to ask how they were led to their separate beliefs. Its always good to examine our selves and look for truths we cling to which might not be true.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Ravenspeaker
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