What do I believe?

It's a question that most Unitarians ask themselves at least a few times a year. Sometimes the questioning is a formal process, as in Coming of Age when you sit down and write a credo, a statement of beliefs. It can also be an informal process where in the course of your daily lives you come to the realization that what you believe has shifted, maybe for the present, maybe for good.

It's been a long time since I've self identified as a Unitarian, and even longer since I've sat down and really thought about what it is I believe. I find it hard to articulate what I believe, just as I've found it hard to find a political label, or a religious home.

I know I believe in self-reliance, I know I believe in taking care of your family, your wife, your home. I believe that if all else fails you should go down fighting, that if things truly fall apart around you that you should be able to say with a straight face, and no reservations that you tried everything, that you left no avenue unexplored and no fight un-fought.

I know I believe in fighting, in the simple uncomplicated honesty of exercise, and the value of discipline. I know I believe that you should not have children unless you plan to raise them, not the TV, not the schools, not a nanny, you as their parent should be charged first and foremost with the task of raising your children. I believe if you are unwilling to do this then you should not have children.

I believe that everyone should have access to medical care, especially contraception, and that everyone should have to work. I believe that there should be no such thing as a hand-out, only a hand-up and that the government exists only for it's own betterment.

I believe that religion is a sham, and that prayer never solved anything. I believe that work, no matter how humble, should be the ideal. I believe that every child should be raised with the belief that they should work to support themselves, and to help those who due to disability or age are no longer able to help themselves.

I believe that an armed society is a polite society, and that disciplining your kids is not only correct, but should be viewed as the good and proper action as a parent. I believe that boys should be told from a young age that there is nothing wrong with their anger, that they don't have to be in touch with their feminine side and that at the end of the day if someone is in their face they have every reason to fight. I also believe that with that right to fight should come the belief that loosing is not bad, that winning is not the ideal, and that not everybody gets a trophy.

I believe that there's nothing wrong with sex, that there's nothing taboo about a womans period, and that the only effective sex education is the one that leaves no mystery. I believe that every child should know how to put on a condom, and that every school nurse should be able and willing to dispense them.

I believe that every doctor has the right to refuse to perform an abortion, and I believe that no pharmacist should be able to refuse to fill a prescription, no matter their religious beliefs. I believe that no politician should be able to tel any professional how to do their job.

I believe that you should spend no more money then you make, that college should be affordable, but not required, and that anyone who wishes to learn, to better themselves, should be afforded that chance.

I believe that no man deserves a million dollar paycheck.

I believe that these may all change.

I believe.