Censorship and the Wonders of Timitarianism

I'm sure you are all just dying to know what I think about the Janet Jackson's boob-brouhaha. Well, maybe you aren't but I'm going to give you my opinion anyway. Firstly, I didn't see it live. I was watching the game at the bar, but I didn't really pay attention to the commercials or the halftime show, except to notice that Puffy (or P-Diddy or whatever the fuck his stupid name is) brought new levels of suckiness to a suck-filled event. God, that was a bunch of crap. I think the FCC should hold an inquiry into who let P-Diddily on stage. Nobody should have to sit through that. It was probably 90 seconds but it felt like being in purgatory for eons. I had to stare at my beer and pretend I was watching George F. Will adjusting his bowtie while talking about fiscal responsibility - that would've been more entertaining! Boo-yah! Man, political humor mixed with pop culture references?! No wonder dozens of people mistakenly visit this weblog every month!

Anyway, as implied above, I thought P-Diddily-dumb was much more atrocious than Janet Jackson's boobie. I have long wondered just where exactly America gets its priorities. Apparently it's fine for prime time TV to have grisly murders and autopsies and all the crap you see on the news and on the crime-dramas, but nudity is completely unacceptable. I found it disturbing that everyone disavowed the whole stunt as if it was the worst thing ever. It's not just the FCC; movies are the same way. The Star Wars movies, long regarded as children's movies, are full of decapitations, dismemberments, death, and even torture. And they are all rated PG. Of course, if Princess Leia had whipped out a tit and yelled, "Hey Han, get a load of this!" the movie would've been rated R. Why is this? Well, it probably has something to do the fact that the MPAA is composed of a bunch of self-hating religious nutballs. No doubt the effects of the Production Code are still being felt on the industry. Religious folk have serious issues with nudity, but with their long history of slaughtering each other they could hardly object to violent imagery, I guess.

In keeping with our ridiculous tradition of hardcore puritanism, the nation objected to a person showing her God-given body parts on TV. Apparently, God gave us these parts so we could feel ashamed of them. This is because God hates us, his chosen people. God also gave us free will so that he could also give us a big list of things not to do. Um, yeah. I try to respect people and their beliefs, but really, most religious beliefs are just stupid. Can't we just say at, "Do unto others..." and leave it at that? Do we really need elaborate dress codes (like the Mormons and their special underwear) and all these goofy rules that don't do anything but make religious people look really dumb to the rest of us? And don't get me wrong, I think God is totally rad (and really in need of money if the televangelists are to be believed), and each person should connect with Him/Her in their own way, but religious people tend to be a conformist lot. Even if they join some crazy-ass cult and walk around with a freshly-disembowled cat corpse on their head at all times (in keeping with the Word of the Prophet Mucho-Stupido, may he rest in peace), they sure as hell don't do this alone! There's always a support network of fellow morons, with whom they can share their struggles and their faith that God wants them to act like an idiot. Oh, and they're ever-so-sure that God smiles upon them, and that everyone else is misguided! This is the kicker - these people think they have somehow managed to figure out God's Divine Will when they can't even figure out that they're being swindled by a charismatic conman. The cult-leaders, of course, don't believe in this shit one bit. They just believe God is helping them con innocent morons out of their money and their self-respect.

Oh man, I could go on and on about the follies of religion for hours. But why bother? Nobody listens to anyone else anyway. We've all got our own ideas about spirituality, and some people are just fucking retarded about it and there's nothing I can do. Hmmm... well I guess I could rally the troops and slaughter the unbelievers, but I think that's been done... far too often.

Or maybe I could start my own religion, more as a joke than anything since I despise organized religion. Mine will be disorganized. Actually, I have thought about this a bit, and I've decided to call it Timitarianism. The first rule of Timitarianism is that you do not talk about Timitarianism. The second rule of Timitarianism is that you sure as hell do not mention Timianity. What is Timianity, you ask? Well, Timianity is not to be mentioned!!! So ha! Actually, Timianity is a rival sect of Timitarianism. They didn't agree with us on the subject of Tim's divinity so we had to slaughter them. And their pets. And their plants and various shrubberies. Plus, we defaced their furniture and pissed in their wells, but that was after we had killed them, so it was really more of a "fuck you!" thing. Anyway, Timitarianism is a religion based around Tim (that's me) and consisting of only one member: Tim (that's me). I've decided that the big problem with religion isn't the founders, like Jesus & Buddha, who were basically good guys. It's the followers who are a bunch of numb-nut dumb-fucks. As such, Timitarianism will die with me.

What is the point of a religion that doesn't have any followers you ask? Well, you're a moron, and you haven't been paying attention. First of all, it does have a follower: me. But since I'm also the Founder, I do a lot more foundering (er, I mean, "leading") than following. Second, it's not really a religion, it's more of a declaration of faith in myself and a method for seeking the Truth. God, of course, is not a Timitarian because he knows the Truth. Once we know the Truth we will no longer need religion (and some of us don't need it anyway - but I contend that everybody needs spirituality). So really, Timitarianism is more of a belief system, a way to interpret and understand the world, than a religion. Everybody needs some basic beliefs to base their life upon. I'm talking about really basic shit, like believing that the world is real and that the sky is up and that gravity keeps you down (and The Man!). We all build upon the basics, and everything is colored by our impressions and our unique perspective. The advantage (and disadvantage) of Timitarianism is that I am ultimately responsible. I can't blame my beliefs on anyone else (i.e. "...but Prophet Mojo-Jimbo told me that Jesus would come back in the form of a large porcupine named Brenda, whom I must immediately eat in order to be Saved!"). I don't know everything, but I know this probably confusing to many of my non-existant readers. Like the previous statement. But don't blame me; religion pretty much invented the tactic of cognitive dissonance. I'm just following their lead! :-)

All joking aside, I think everybody should have their own belief system. Oh wait, you already do. In fact, one of the biggest fallacies of religion is the idea that the followers might actually agree with each other on the majority of theological topics. Tell that to the pro-choice Catholics out there. So if they don't even agree on the basic tenants of their religion, you have to wonder why they are a part of it. Maybe because the world is lonely and religion offers oneness with your fellow followers. But there has got to be a better way. What kind of community attacks its own members for not following arbitrary and stupid rules? Don't even get me started on gay marriage. These religious nuts are the most hate-filled people on earth. You're going to tell me about God when you haven't even learned his most important lessons? As soon as Christians & other religious folk start practicing forgiveness and tolerance I might retract some of these statements. I think it's more likely that they will grow wings out their asses and set up a nudist resort on the moon. Until then, don't follow anyone. Be kind, and make your own path. You can't be a Timitarian, but if you start your own internal faith you can be cool like me. Of course, you'd also be a conformist. Oh well.