Aielman’s Neighborhood

Reading the webpage of one of my local TV stations, I came upon a story about a man who had been arrested for bigamy.  He'd married his first wife in 2005, and had married a second woman this past October.

Neither wife had been the wiser until the first wife intercepted a text message for their husband from the second wife.  After texting back to the second wife and determining who she was, the first wife called the police to report him for bigamy.

After an investigation, police arrested him and charged him with bigamy.  The man is now out on bond awaiting trial.

Arresting someone for bigamy boggles my mind.  First of all, I don't think the government has any business meddling in the private relationships of consenting adults, except for cases of domestic violence.  If it were up to me, I'd abolish marriage as a legal category altogether.

Knowing that this isn't likely to happen any time soon, I think that as long as legal marriage exists, it should not be limited to monogamous couples.

That being said, with the law as it stands now, bigamy should not be a criminal offense.  At the most, it should be a civil matter.  In fact, I'd thought it was something that had been decriminalized -- that when discovered, the second marriage would merely be annulled and the offender given a fine.

The police have much more important things to do than being in the business of enforcing monogamy.  They should not be involved in the personal relationships of private citizens if there is an absence of domestic violence.  In my opinion, the first wife should have handled the situation herself, perhaps by contacting a divorce lawyer, rather than calling the police and keeping them from doing more important things.  Sue the guy for breach of contract or some such thing, but don't put him in jail.

Thoughts.

Picnic

Step from new from
picked peeled baked
from honeyed spiced
and half-swallowed
to paper-thin secrets.

I need to be
at that beyondish
tree you see tower
inside your mind
as a new poem
pulls your trigger.

Like going out
from cooped up
from steel light
to a hole in the head
from grape to wine
and back again.

Did what I was told
couldn't do it without
a mast of fascination
a hull full of hesitations
a cabin where eyelids
could not be sealed.

Falling into that place
where short-sighted
meets far-sighted
it went by before
many times actually
was that supposed to be?

Who is the fisher
of the bare-chested facts
the bottom-feeding hints
who is baiting the hook
that will pull me forward?

Far from death as possible
will you bet your life
bet on our mistake
too impractical to stay
going to take a break.

Miles between nostrils
a glancing blow
the mouthful of babes
hair all chopped off
between ears notes.

In quietude of picnic
I took all the clothes I ever wore
burned them in a dumpster
sacrificial mathematical
what's left is whistling.

The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there is no good evidence either way.
--Bertrand Russell

While trying to come up with something to write about today, I visited a quote site where I found the quote above.  The first thing that popped into my mind was that of religion.   Wars have been fought over differences of opinion about religion and evangelicals of different faiths, particularly Christianity, attempt to convert others to their faith, believing that uniformity of belief to be a worthy goal to strive for.  Not merely content to share their beliefs with those who ask, some attempt to enforce their beliefs by changing laws to conform to such beliefs, while more extreme members of various religions will use literal force to impose their beliefs on others in what they believe is service to their faith.

In contrast, I read an entry on Wilford Tibbetts' blog today about the Amish.  Unlike many religious people, whose faith is largely a matter of securing their ticket to heaven, for the Amish, their faith isn't merely a belief, it's a lifestyle.  The Amish do not proselytize or spend a lot of time talking about their faith; they quietly live it, while content to allow their neighbors to live according to whatever beliefs they have.  They are content to coexist peacefully with their neighbors with different beliefs and lifestyles and have no desire to impose their beliefs on others.

It's too bad that more religious people don't follow the example of the Amish.

Loadsa Money Needs Spending - eeeek!

I've often considered what attracts different people to religion and what purposes religion has served in society.  Recently, I've been thinking of the converse: what makes people reject religion and the different reasons why people are either atheists or agnostics.

I think there are several reasons, often depending on each particular person's personality and outlook on life.  A few types immediately came to mind:

First, are the scientific types, who reject religion because there is no proof as to its claims, because it defies reason and logic.

Second, are the "pull yourself up by your own boostraps" types, who view religion as a crutch and a haven for the weak who refuse to stand on their own two feet.

Third, are the hedonists and non-conformists who view religion as a series of lists with arbitrary and outmoded rules about moral behavior that are negative in nature.  To them, religion can be summed up as "Don't Do This" and see religion as a way to suck all the joy out of life.

These are the three types that most readily come to mind.  Personally, as an agnostic, I'm a mixture of reasons one and three.  I'm not so much the second reason, because I have no problem with whatever gets people through the night, as it doesn't affect my freedom to do differently.

Feel free to chime in with more types of skeptics and unbelievers.

Barnstorming
balance requiring lobed silence
taking off greed left apexless
between strings left echoing
my folly
waking and tossing out a dare
day's end before full rising
interestingly tugging at the ear
hysterically
like blossoms in the dark days
shortening and concentrating good
dried and potent in our centers
insensitivity
hymns too fast and too loudly
overwhelmed by piano and organ
amplified in frantic answers
assuredly
firm and artfully thoughtless
the beams in the walls and roof
of the day's sanctuary of conscience
commonly
standing in the doing of holding
heartful conquering of an angry
purpose dug into even hands
dug into even more even heels.

Can you imagine this bimbo explaining this one to her grandchildren forty years from now?  That is, if she can get laid to bear any children in the first place!

Another “classy” tattoo

Bible verses and tramp stamps — the perfect combo!

This last one isn’t a tramp stamp, but I’m guessing the owner of these tattoos has absolutely no desire to ever get laid again:

http://chandramoon.efx3.com/2009/11/20/first-birthday-and-vocalisation-course/

This day more than others tired
did not grasp the swinging door
entrance and exit nose to belly
tried as hard as a door can try.

Can't breathe for a moment floored
the cook sweeps the broken dish
I am the cashier forcing a smile
another bowl of pasta on a new tray.

Can a whole deck be lost in a card
a meatball lost in interest
can the actors act so silly
the play is done behind a curtain?

Our pot as yet unglazed unfired
will not be shaped by any past
pair of hands on any past wheel
but is a future form of learning clay.

20 November 2009
Hyannis