Proudly Presents
The 2005-2006 Second Place Essay

   The defining characteristic of mankind - that is, that which separates him from the rest of the animal kingdom- is his reasoning faculty. While all men have the potential to utilize it, tragically, only some of society achieve a state of uniquely human greatness by employing this invaluable asset. E.M. Forster' s proclamation, " I do not believe in belief," and Pete Hamill' s statement that belief is the "great killer" are as relevant to the present state of international affairs as they could ever have been. As these writers well knew, the suspension of reason for intuition or emotion is the single greatest hindrance to the advancement of the human race.

In order to illustrate this point most effectively, it is first necessary to explore the roles reason and emotion play in the development of a man' s perception of reality.

Reason is a tool of the individual. A man who accepts reason wholly and entirely does so because he is aware of its ability to arm him with the tools necessary to create order from chaos. A rational man realizes that, as Francis Bacon said, "Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed." Reason has brought man everything he has come to enjoy- it was neither faith nor emotion which brought about the wheel, writing, seafaring, the republic, astronomy, the scientific method, electricity, industrialization, skyscrapers, space flight, the superconductor and genetic engineering- nor shall supernatural forces furnish nuclear fission, the cure for cancer, global peace or interstellar colonization.

With these shortcomings in mind, one must wonder- what good, then, has become of belief? To say it has done nothing in the interest of humanity is inaccurate. From a structural-functional perspective, the religious tradition has served as a very useful method of social control throughout the course of recorded history - faith can deliver an individual a sort of ignorant bliss by providing a comforting sense of absolute conviction. However, history will readily show that religious passion can be, and has been, aggressive and destructive.

Religion\rquote s notorious role as the "great killer" is undisputed; while not all historical conflict can be attributed to religious causes, one must consider the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, the many violent schisms of the Christian faith, the "White Man' s Burden" approach to imperialism and slavery, the Holocaust and the countless infractions of natural rights by fundamentalist Muslims against people under the curse of Islam.

Amazingly, even now, this historical trend marches on. In every corner of the world, people are being persecuted, oppressed and denied their rights by religious zeal. Perhaps the most obvious example of this theme is observed in the Middle East, where fundamentalists continue to trample liberty and natural rights in the name of tradition and faith. Because of the regressive Islamic mindset, industrialization and commercialism are entirely unknown to this part of the world. Terrorist activity in nearly every part of this geographical region and in all parts of the Islamic world embody that primitive, anti-life monstrosity that seeks to extinguish all things Western and modern. Rigid and irrational social structures, derived from antiquated religious dogma, places women on the same level as possessions, denies children their right to a modern and rational education in favor of theological brainwashing, and most dangerously of all, limits and in some places altogether halts the free thought of millions.

Religious conflicts abroad are not, however, limited to this part of the world. The actions of Catholic terrorists in Northern Ireland have resulted in over 3,600 killings over a span of nearly thirty years. In Kashmir, claimed by both Pakistan and India, thirty to sixty thousand have died as a result of religious struggles since 1989, and the fear of nuclear warfare in that region has the entire world trembling. Palestinians and Israelis, both seeking to create non-secular, radical environments, have resulted in countless lives lost. Tibet, Uganda, Sri Lanka, Chechnya, West Bengal, the Ivory Coast and Bosnia - these locations all play host to horrifying religious struggles.

All of this should be more than enough to justify Hamill' s and Forster' s sentiment on religion, but there remains to be considered the domestic expression of religious absurdity. In the two-ring circus of American politics, there is a growing Christian fanaticism blocking liberty and progress in all levels of society. Stem-cell research- an exciting technology with the potential to treat debilitating diseases and ease human suffering- is prohibited because of the efforts of uninformed zealots heralding a reign of closed-mindedness and mob thought. The same majority refuses to accept the rational definition of life which justifies a woman' s right to abortion as well the right of any citizen to end his or her life peacefully at any time. The "culture of life" campaign - led by our very own president, no less - supposedly seeks to protect and prolong life in all possible ways. But how better may we all learn to value and promote life than by defending it with all the weapons at out disposal, stopping the unborn who cannot be financially supported by society from coming into existence, and ensuring that man has the right to choose the time and condition of his own death?

There is no doubt that religion is the "great killer" Pete Hamill sagely warns us about. It is a killer - not only of men, but also of minds. The theistic imperative handed down to my generation from generations of ages past is a relic of an era predating the realization of the potential of man's own mind - before the Age of Enlightenment, before the development of the scientific method and before Aristotle's teachings. Those who have fathered the lie have extinguished the minds of millions; those who have accepted it have doomed themselves to a life of pretense and self-delusion; those who have have rejected it have embraced the essence of mankind.