33. Cars and Religion

The philosopher-comedian George Carlin has quipped that there are really only three types of people who drive cars:

1. Maniacs.
2. Idiots.
3. You.

The maniacs are the people who drive faster than you. The idiots drive slower than you. And then there’s you. Of course, you are the only person driving at the right speed.

Similarly, my dear friend Richard — a fellow at The Claremont Institute — has organized those who practice religion into three categories:

1. Crazies.
2. Heretics.
3. The Chosen.

The Crazies are more extreme, observant, or devout than you. The Heretics are more liberal than you. The Chosen are those who practice like you.

Richard is more “traditionally” observant than I am. He does his Shabbat practice on Friday night and Saturday. I do the bulk of mine on Tuesday. As part of his Sabbath observance, he often goes to synagogue and prays in Hebrew. As part of my Sabbath observance, I create stained glass art.

In his eyes, am I a Heretic? Yes.

From my perspective, is he one of the Crazies? Yes.

But, broadening the focus we use to view the world around us changes a lot.

As long as we look at the intent — to connect to (the) God (of understanding) at it makes sense to us — we see each other as The Chosen. Richard and I both understand that it is the intent of the practice that is most important.

When you choose to look at intent — not at how or what others call their practice — you might find a commonality that you wouldn’t otherwise see.

Look to see if people are kind, seeking justice, loving mercy, doing good, etc. The lines dividing "you" from "them" will blur, and you’ll find that most people actually are your co-religionist, just like you, The Chosen.

With love,


And, if you care to, click here to see comments on the streetprophets site where the article went up last week.