Affirmations

I believe that religion is a cultural system like any other, and that the first and most vital question is always whether Religion X is a cultural system in which I want to participate. Dogma and cosmology are a distant second.

I believe in forgiving those who have hurt me but cannot again.

I believe that anyone who wants me to forgive and forget their offenses is up to something.

I believe that every person is responsible for her failures, which means that it's ultimately my fault if I hurt someone no matter what they did to provoke me. But it's also someone else's fault if they hurt me no matter what I did.

I believe that gender is a toy that some people like to play with and some people don't. How we play and when is nobody's business but our own.

I believe that nobody's perfect. I also believe that--for the most part--people who invoke "nobody's perfect" are afraid of trying to be, or too lazy to care.

I believe that no one should listen to the Broadway recording of Les Miserables if the London cast recording is available.

I believe that if you can't prove something to me, you probably haven't proven it to yourself either.

I believe that if someone doesn't know what they want or what they need, I am not obligated to provide them with either.

I believe that boring people who read books with boring characters probably don't know what they're missing.

I believe that anyone who plays a musical instrument can sing if they try (though this is iffy with percussionists).

I believe that the end result of a decision is more important than the principle behind it, though both do matter.

I believe that relationships are like books: just because I start one doesn't mean I have to finish it no matter how miserable it makes me.

I believe that love marries people in the eyes of the gods, and that lack of love separates them. Everything else is a legal or cultural hoop to jump through so that other mortals can understand what the gods already know.

I believe that the narratives of a religion do not have to be historically truthful in order to teach something.

I believe that different branches of the US military tend to attract different kinds of people, ranging from brilliant engineers to thick-necked thugs. I believe all are necessary, but that some are easier to respect than others.

I believe that Americans dress in too much pastel or drab grey. More color, my countrymen, more color!

I believe that if you do not trust me with a choice, you cannot trust me with a child.

I believe that hospitality is important. If you have guests, take care of them as best you can with the means on hand. A good guest will not demand too much anyway.

I believe that we should offer to consenting humans every mercy we offer to housepets. We often adopt animals from shelters instead of breeding new ones to reduce the number of homeless pets, and consider putting down terminally ill pets to be an act of mercy. Do humans deserve less, if they want it?

I believe that the day you enter adulthood is the day you shout at someone to close the damned door because we're not heating the outside.

I believe lots of things. Some are more important than others, and some change. But these are fairly consistent. I was thinking about this earlier today, and thought I'd try and get down as many as I could. Maybe in a few years I'll make another such list and see what's changed.

And hell, why not turn this into a meme. What do you guys believe? Make your totally random list and post it up. I'm curious to see where we overlap and where we differ.