We've come a long way.

So.. Someone linked to this horribly racist commercial from the 50s ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCKxWQCs3f0 ) and it really bothered me. Perhaps in part because they labeled it 'possibly racist'. "POSSIBLY"!?!?! How about OVERTLY?

But then I stopped and thought about it. This person is an idiot. Lots of youtube commenters are idiots... BUT this commercial was on prime-time TV in the 60's. That's within the lifetime of many of my friends and definitely during the lifetime of most of our parents. A black man or woman would have had an impossible time trying to get into a good university in that same time frame. A major political party choosing between a woman or a black man as their candidate for president would have been nearly inconceivable.

So... I think, rather than holding on to the anger and disgust, I should focus on the positive. Yeah, there are still a lot of ignorant cretins in the world but ... we've come a long way.

Heaven?

You know. Just thinking about the whole religion thing some more and it occurred to me... All these people who are trying to get into heaven... What are they going to do when they get there? I've never heard a single religious person mention their post-heaven-arrival plans. You're going to be happy for all eternity? How, exactly? Eating from the tree of knowledge is a sin, so you probably won't get to catch up on your reading. Likewise, adultery, sloth, gluttony, etc... So.. How exactly are you going to be 'happy'?