Here’s a few major taboo topics and how I feel about them. I think we should all be willing to talk about things like this in a civil manner. Feel free to disagree and state your own opinion. I’d love to hear it and I promise I won’t bite your head off for giving it.

1: God.
After many years of learning about the different religions and versions of them, I have come to a conclusion (this coming from a man who was music director at a Baptist church for 7 years from the age of 14): I believe in faith. But I believe that everyone has a different way of connecting to their faith. Wiccans believe in nature, and they have faith. Christians believe in Jesus, and they have faith. Scientists and logical thinkers connect through the senses, but they also have faith, as they have theories without all of the facts, but they still believe in something. I connect to my faith through Christianity because it was how I was raised and it makes the most sense to me because of that. If I was raised Wiccan or by a scientific minded family, I probably would connect to my faith in a much different way.

2: Organized Religion.
Organized religion is not truly the problem. Sure, I’ve seen my share of people in large groups being stupid. I’ve watched a church vote out a pastor who was a good man only to turn around and leave the church because it was without pastor. I’ve seen friends of mine burn thousands of dollars worth of Magic the Gathering and Dungeons and Dragons cards and books because Pat Robertson told them they represented the devil. I’ve read about the Crusades. But the people getting the “air time” are a minority among the groups. They are the fanatics and the hypocrites. They are the men who praise God, condemn homosexuals, and then come out of the closet. They are the men and women who preach “mercy” and “love” but put a small town bar out of business by building a church within 50 yards.

I’m all for getting together and praising my faith. I’m all for enjoying the brotherhood and sisterhood of my fellow human beings. I’m all for loving one another. I’m not for killing someone over their faith. I’m not for being hypocritical. I’m not for fanaticism. I’m for an open mind and an open heart.

3: Evolution.
These days, every generation is physically and mentally better than the last. I know I’m going to get reamed about saying that, but it’s true. I could go on all day about showing the proof, but I’m not. The problem is everything moves so fast that wisdom is playing a much smaller role in the hearts and minds of the generations. So do we evolve as a race? Most certainly. Could we have evolved from apes? Definitely. Could we have evolved from bacteria? There is nothing to say that it didn’t happen. There is nothing to say that it did. It’s conjecture, and it always will be. And before you start throwing Genesis in my face, remember that the Bible is not meant to be taken literally. It is a teaching tool for morals. God did not create the earth and the heavens in seven of our days. This is conjecture also, but when a being exists eternally, a day to him could be millions of years to us, plenty of time to go swimming in the evolutionary pool.

4: Abortion.
Abortion sucks. No one is gonna say different. But the legalization of it is a necessary evil. Weigh the pros and cons. Seriously. Write a list of all of the pros of keeping abortion legal and all of the cons of doing so. Next to each item, put a number from 1 to 10, 10 being really important to you and 1 being much less important but a pro or con nonetheless. Add up the numbers. Which side wins? That is your moral view of abortion. Now, imagine walking to your car. You’re fumbling with your keys at the lock and drop them. You reach down to pick them up and a large hand presses on your back, locking you in place. Imagine the next week you find yourself pregnant with a baby that you can’t love, or a baby with genetic defects that will kill it by the age of 5, or a baby that is killing you. Would you bring it to term? Make your list again. Make sure to include the rusty scalpels, smell of alcoholic beverages, and the lack of being able to ever have another child again.

5: Flag Burning
We have the right to burn the flag, but that does not necessarily mean it’s the right thing to do. Heck, you have the right to snort talcum powder and pepper flakes up your nose. Doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do either.

6: Capitol punishment.
I am a God-loving Christian. “Turn the other cheek” works in most situations. Heck, one of the best working responses I had for insults thrown in my direction was “Thank you.” It always shut them up. But if I find out you raped or killed my daughter… Well, that leads me to my next topic:

7: Gun Control
Whether it’s by gun, knife, or fist, if a person wants to kill another person, he’s darn well gonna try. The weapon is not the problem. The morals of the people holding them is. But morality cannot be legislated. It, however, can be taught… by the parents.