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People, both individually and collectively have their beliefs. Whether or not they will admit it, each of us have certain beliefs within our conscious minds, and some of them are somewhat far out, to use an apt expression.
Fairies are real. A belief in fairies is popular in many of the world's cultures, their existence being explained as the spirits of dead souls, fallen angels, or a separate race of tiny people.
A great many proponents of down-home religious sects, especially those who reside in Southern U.S. states, are convinced that those whose faith is strong enough can drink poison or get bitten by venomous snakes without being harmed.
The Church of Latter Day Saints
Mormons are taught that the Garden of Eden was in Missouri when Adam and Eve were kicked out. And the moon will literally turn to blood during second coming of Jesus Christ. Also, God the father is only one of millions or endless Gods who are all basically relatives, fathers, brothers, grand-gods and so forth to our own God.
H. L. Mencken is reported to have said, or written: "The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out... without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable."
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HISTORICAL CLIP
On this day, February 2m in 1887, Groundhog Day, featuring a rodent meteorologist, is celebrated for the first time at Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. According to tradition, if a groundhog comes out of its hole on this day and sees its shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter weather; no shadow means an early spring.
Groundhog Day has its roots in the ancient Christian 'tradition' of Candlemas Day, when clergy would bless and distribute candles needed for winter. The candles represented how long and cold the winter would be. Germans expanded on this concept by selecting an animal--the hedgehog--as a means of predicting weather. Once they came to America, German settlers in Pennsylvania continued the tradition, although they switched from hedgehogs to groundhogs, which were plentiful in the Keystone State.
Ah yes, 'tradition,' the customary process of perpetuating superstitions. I have some thoughts regarding tradition, but that is a subject for another day.
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WORD FOR TODAY
superstition
noun
1.
a belief or notion, not based on reason or knowledge.
2.
a system or collection of such beliefs.
3.
a custom or act based on such a belief.
4.
irrational fear of what is unknown or mysterious, especially in connection with religion.
5.
any blindly accepted belief or notion.
Superstition is a belief in supernatural causality: that one event leads to the cause of another without any physical process linking the two events, such as astrology, omens, witchcraft, etc., that contradicts natural science.
Opposition to superstition was a central concern of the intellectuals during the 18th century Age of Enlightenment. The philosophies at that time ridiculed any belief in miracles, revelation, magic, or the supernatural, as "superstition," and typically included as well much of Christian doctrine.
Clay hamsa on wall, believed to protect
the inhabitants of the house from harm:
the inhabitants of the house from harm:
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I have been told, more than once, "You seem to be skeptical of the things most people believe, and then immediately after that, I was asked, more than once, "What do you believe?"
It used to be that when asked that question I would turn my gaze down to where my toe was making small circles on the ground and I would hem and haw until my questioner grew disdainful and either walked away or changed the subject. Yep, that's what I used to do.
But now I simply point to a website that I find almost always provides facts I can (and do) believe in, The intelligent reader will, in my opinion, immediately click the following link and examine the site.
It is titled Big Think
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BORN ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
Born Feb. 2, 1949
Age: 63 years old
Brent Jay Spiner is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of the android Lieutenant Commander Data in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and four subsequent films. His portrayal of Data in Star Trek: First Contact and of Dr. Brackish Okun in Independence Day, both in 1996, earned him a Saturn Award and Saturn Award nomination respectively. He has also enjoyed a career in the theatre and as a musician.
Born: Feb. 2, 1947
Died June 25, 2009
Farrah Leni Fawcett was an American actress and artist. A multiple Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she first appeared as private investigator Jill Munroe in the first season of the television series Charlie's Angels in 1976. Fawcett later appeared off-Broadway to critical approval and in highly rated and critically acclaimed television movies, in roles often challenging (The Burning Bed; Nazi Hunter: The Beate Klarsfeld Story; Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story; Double Exposure: The Story of Margaret Bourke-White) and sometimes unsympathetic (Small Sacrifices). Fawcett was a sex symbol whose iconic poster, released the same year Charlie's Angels premiered, broke sales records, making her an international pop culture icon. Her hairstyle was emulated by young women in the 1970s and 1980s.
Born Feb 2, 1937
Age: 75 years old
Age: 75 years old
Tom Smothers (born Thomas Bolyn Smothers III) is an American comedian, composer and musician, best known as half of the musical comedy team The Smothers Brothers, alongside his younger brother Dick.
Born Feb 2, 1954
Age: 58 years old
Age: 58 years old
Christie Brinkley (born Christie Lee Hudson) is an American supermodel and actress. Brinkley gained worldwide fame beginning in the late 1970s with three consecutive Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue covers through 1981. She spent twenty five years as the face of CoverGirl (the longest running cosmetics contract of any model in history), has appeared on over 500 magazine covers, and has signed contracts with major brands—both fashion and non-fashion.
Brinkley appeared on three consecutive Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue Edition covers (1979, 1980 and 1981) – the first time that had happened — and appeared in the publication’s annual swimsuit issues and television specials for years to follow. Brinkley was featured exclusively in the first Sports Illustrated Calendar and also released two of her own exclusive calendars to unparalleled success. In 2005, Brinkley was featured in the special Sports Illustrated 40th Anniversary Issue’s Hall of Fame, celebrating the most revered figures in the magazine's history.
As an editorial model, Brinkley has appeared on over 500 magazine covers, including US, Vogue, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, Esquire, Harper's Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Glamour and the best-selling issue of LIFE ever (photo). She has held major contracts with Chanel No. 19, Prell, MasterCard, Breck, Diet Coke, Anheuser-Busch, Got Milk?, Healthy Choice, Max Factor, Nissan, Noxema, Revlon, Clairol, Borghese Cosmetics, Danskin, Nu Skin, Yardley of London, Halston, Vogue Patterns, Gottex and Black Velvet, among others. Brinkley has been photographed in 6 continents in more than 30 countries__________
The purpose of education is not to validate ignorance but to overcome it.
--Lawrence Krauss
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