Thus it is with religion. People say, "there are many good lessons in the Bible, but I do not believe the world was created in a week, 6500 years ago". Then they go to church, their minds perfectly at ease with picking and choosing the parts of their religion they believe in. But that's not how it works. You either believe Jesus Christ walked on water and that he's coming back to end the world, and there is a hell and a heaven, pitchforks, angels, and all, or you are not a Christian. It's in the Bible, folks: you believe every word of it, or you go to hell for all eternity.

If we as a nation don't start showing the gumption to make hard decisions, we are lost. We choose little pieces of things we like, such as choosing a Toyota because it gets better gas mileage, but we do not make the real decisions, like to use public transportation because it is better for the ecosphere although it's a pain in the ass. We choose a brand of car, we don't decide to change the paradigm and give up cars altogether. We choose our favorite brand of religion like it was a cigarette, choosing to be Born Again or Mormon or Unitarian, but we don't decide that Abrahamaic religions have caused more misery than all the medieval plagues combined, with fewer tangible results, so it's time to give up Yaweh and go Hindu. Or give up religion entirely.

Life is not binary, I know. Some aspects of acupuncture do work, just as there are some comforts that arise from religiosity or being a Republican. There are shades of gray. But it is incumbent upon us all to start doing the cost/benefit analysis. If acupuncture doesn't cause any harm, and it does occasionally provide relief, go ahead and support the practice. Just understand that in so supporting, you are supporting the entire edifice of acupuncture, including all the 4,000-year-old pre-medicinal voodoo that comes with it. You don't get to choose what acupuncture includes, you only get to choose to participate in it or not. In that way, life is binary.

If you choose to be a Republican, do the math. Are the specific issues of concern to you more important than the impact that other aspects of the Republican faith has on the rest of the world? Is your boss's tax cut more important than your daughter's personal freedom? If you can honestly say that the benefits outweigh the costs, go ahead and be Republican. But do NOT imagine there's any shade of gray in it. You go Republican, you support the entire ball of whacks --a Christian government, secret torture prisons, racist policies, anti-environmental and pro-corporate agendas. Not just the narrow issue you choose is important.

So life isn't binary, sure. But human marketing systems always funnel life into a binary mode. Orange 1 or orange 2, if they're selling oranges. Look beyond the choices with which you are being presented, and make some decisions. Episcopalian or Seventh-Day Adventist? I decided religion was a disaster, so I chose to be ethical instead of religious. I could decide internal combustion is an insupportable option for transport and choose to ride a horse instead. Decisions make for better choices. So decide to become a decider, not just a chooser, and do it quickly, because the range of decisions we are empowered to make is getting narrower all the time. And the choices just keep getting worse.

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