God Hates Us All

1. The Morning Commute

    Precious is a word that is used way too often, abused to the point where some believe it has lost all meaning. The world has become too materialistic for it's own good to the point where trifle things like jewelry, clothing or even a new pair of shoes are stealing what was a great word away from thing that truly deserve to be blessed with such a label. Sharing a sunset with the one you love or looking into the newly opened eyes of a child that just came into the world are things that truly deserve to be called precious, not a coupon for our next over produced and grossly under nourished happy meal. The world had become to materialistic and had been brainwashed by the well paid public relations people to the point where no one could tell what was up or down, good or bad and even true and false. The world was one messed up place, and it was no wonder people were taking swan dives off buildings every day in the big cities. If it were not for his fear of heights, Devon himself might have taking the plunge, just to avoid the next mess of horrid film adaptations due to hit the silver screen.

    Yet there Devon stood, in defiance of all that was natural and good. He preached a good game, but was a hypocrite when it came to doing anything about it. Packed into the morning subway like a sardine, he kept hold of is few inches of the rail and hung on for life to make sure that he didn't bump into anyone and ruin their day before it even begun. Just when the slender train started to thin down and become somewhat breathable, it filled right back up with more people who wanted to get from one busy spot to another. This was his usual commute, but all other forms of transport in this city are a royal pain, so this was the certainly the lesser of a half a dozen evils. Devon continued to stand there and slowly began to dread the trip towards his place of work. It was usually around the halfway point where this sense came upon him as each stop closer passed by. As he was waiting, Devon muttered something with little or no regard to anyone who might be listening. He assumed no one would hear him since most people don't care enough to pay attention but one this particular day he would be mistaken. 

    "I'm sorry, who hates us?"

   Devon looked up to notice that one of the young ladies that was standing on the other side of the train, holding onto the opposite rail and waiting for her own stop had asked the question. She was a nice looking young woman, someone that he wouldn't hesitate to give the time of day to so he paused for a moment, took a deep breath and then gave her the answer.

    "God does."

    "God hates?" she repeated, trying to grasp the concept.

    "Of course He can. If an almighty being is capable of creation, love and even forgiveness, then hatred would just as possible." Devon didn't always want to spring into this particular conversation, but she clearly asking for it.

    "So what does God hate again?" she asked, obviously trying to undercut him with misleading questions.

    Devon smiled and then repeated his answer. "Isn't it evident? He hates us all."

    "What makes you think God's a He?" she quickly asked, trying to deflect the debate.

    Devon stifled a cough, "A woman wouldn't leave the planet this messed up. This is clearly the work of a disorganized and cluttered guy who can't be bothered to hire a maid to clean up after him." 

    "You make a good point, but why the accusation of hatred. Didn't win the lottery again last night?" she clearly was still trying to yank his chain but it didn't seem to have the effect she was hoping for. 

    For the first time that day, Devon cracked a smile as he began to enjoy this intellectual jousting. "No, but everyday when we turn on the news there's a lot of evidence that good people aren't getting a fair shake. To make things worse, a lot of corrupt and evil people are getting away with enormous crimes against humanity and are getting richer by the minute because of it."

    "Can I have an example please?" she asked, eager to keep going.

    "Try the fool who just left 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and the hell he put is all through for the last eight years, all in the name of God. Two of the biggest crooks live there. If God gave a rat's ass about cleaning up, he would have started there a long time ago."

    "What do you expect? Are you not going to be satisfied until lightning comes down from the heavens and strikes down the sinners?"

    "Hey, it worked for Zeus." Devon could see the look on her face that his response generated and decided to elaborate, "Hey, I know he was a crappy husband but man was he a pretty decent deity. You pissed that guy off; he did not hesitate to let you know about it. What would you prefer to have, a God that gets in your face and tells you to behave or an absentee landlord who lets the place fall apart?" 

    "That's an awfully harsh thing to say about the almighty." she quibbled, again poking fun at his logic.

    "Well, when the cat is away the mouse will come out to play. In this case, the house is being run by the mice because the bloody cat hasn't been seen or heard from for at least two thousand years." 

    "Touché." she quickly conceded, not willing to stick to that point. Devon said nothing after that, trying to be gracious in victory. There was a whole moment of silence between them after that before she made the next comment, saying the last word Devon ever expected to hear: "Coffee?"

    "I'm sorry?" Devon responded, trying to process the suggestion as if it was something foreign to him.

    "Well, you do consume hot liquids to get you through the day like the rest of the peons here, don't you?" she was again using that playful tone, which suggested to Devon that she wanted to try again, this time over coffee apparently. 

    "Of course." Devon answered, trying to compose himself. "Are you aware of any places around here that serves a decent cup and doesn't use its name to jack up their already criminal prices?" 

    "As a matter of fact, I do." she said as she extended a hand for him to shake, "My name is Helen."

    "The name that started a war." Devon said as he shook her hand. "I'm Devon." 

    "That's good because if you said Paris I would have had to retract my offer for the sake of humanity." Helen giggled and then pointed to the doors. "This is my stop."

    "I guess this is my stop too, especially since we're going for coffee." Devon followed her out the doors once the sub came to a stop and up the stairs to the main lobby. Part of him wanted to stay on the train and continue on to work, but another part of him liked Helen and wanted to see where this was going to go. Most of the time when he got on his atheist wannabe rants people would run for the hills. Helen didn't this time and that alone seemed worthy of a little looking into. It wasn't everyday someone this nice invited Devon out for anything, so he didn't think twice about skipping out on work that day. It was a risk he was willing to take to spend a few more minutes with this interesting person. Devon may still have been sure that God hated everyone, but at that one particular moment, he sensed a little bit of that love and forgiveness as he stepped of the subway and followed her up for coffee.

2. Breakfast with Helen

    Devon followed Helen through the busy terminal and out to the street, which was even busier and congested. Since it was a little before nine in the morning, people were on their way to work and doing so in massive flocks. To go against the flow would feel like trying to swim upstream in a raging river of skin, but sometimes you had to do that to get to wherever you wanted to go. This time out Devon followed Helen as she went with the crowd until she slowed down, grabbed his arm and dragged him into a small shop that didn't look like much. He was expecting a cafe like environment but it was actually more of a breakfast diner, serving many things besides coffee. She led him to the back corner of the place and took a booth, casually tossing her bag on the side where she was sitting. He could tell by how she settled down that she had parked herself here many days, but was unsure how often she had company. It was a nice place to seek comfort to avoid the grueling avalanche of people outside, so he could understand why she enjoyed dropping in every morning.

    A nice, middle aged woman with a cliché apron came over to their table to quickly offer them something to drink. "Coffee?" she quickly asked.

    "Please." Devon said with a smile. "And I'd also like a menu."

    "All righty." the lady responded as she left to get the coffee for the both of them. Devon noted that she didn't even need a response from Helen to know what she wanted. Chances are she only came over to the table to even ask because he was there with her. It was a sure sign that Helen was a regular and likely a very loyal customer. She could probably park herself here for hours and not hear a peek from anyone because on the time and money she dumps into this place everyday. It only took a few moments, for the lady to come back with their coffee and she left cream and sugar beside his, but hers was already made up and ready to drink, "I'll be back in a moment to take your order." and before Devon had a chance to respond she had bolted to another table.

    Devon quickly scanned over the menu and then looked back up at Helen who was already two sips into her java. "Not getting anything to eat?" he quietly asked.

    "Nope. Just here for the fuel."

    "I see." Devon said as he continued to scan over the menu a few times. "You're one of those people."

    "What kind of person would that be?" she asked, eager to find out what other class she fell into on this particular day.

    "Coffee addicts." Devon answered as he put the menu down and started to pour the sugar into his own brew. "Don't get me wrong, I like a good java in the morning but the world as I know it isn't going to fall apart without it. I have the feeling that if you went without any kind of bean like brew in the morning, you would be a very grumpy ogre."

    "Possibly," Helen playfully agreed, "But for the sake of mankind, I've never tested that hypothesis." she took another sip and then counter attacked. "You seem like the kind of person who enjoys something to eat before the day starts."

    "A well fed worker is a productive worker." Devon said as he took a sip of his own cup of caffeine spiced fuel.

    "You look like a three squares a day kind of guy too." she said with a smile. He was sure she wasn't making fun of his weight, just the way he seemed dedicated to starting off with food rather than java. "But I guess we are entitled to our own beliefs, whatever they may be."

    "People are entitled to a belief, but I don't think one is necessary to be a decent, law bidding member of society."

    Devon was ready to get into another philosophical debate, but the start of round two was interrupted by the waitress who returned to take his order, "I'm in a hurry, I hope you made up your mind."

    Amused by the beside manner of the staff, he let is pass and made his order. "I'll have the mushroom-Swiss omelet with sausages, whole wheat toast and a glass of orange juice please."

    "All righty," the lady said as she wrote down his order. "I'll be back with that in about twenty minutes."

    After she left, Helen didn't hesitate to lobby over the next barrage his way, "So I guess you're a tad annoyed when someone tries to preach that this country was founded on Christian values."

    "Very annoyed," Devon quickly replied, but it was the understatement of the millennium. "There's evidence that suggest that at least a quarter of the founding fathers were agnostic at least, if not full blown atheists. It would explain how something like the 'separation of church and state' managed to make its way into the constitution. Many people fled Europe to get away from religious persecution, so to suggest religion was the founding force behind this nation is absurd. They all came here to get away from religion, not give it a new territory to pillage."

    "So what about the freedom of religion?" Helen chipped in, not ready to fully retort just yet.

    "Well, that was to respect the religious feelings of the masses. People are free to practice religion, they're just not allowed to use their religion to push around others and force them to take part. And because there's more than one religion, and many different fractions within each religion, the separation was made so the government would be neutral and able to help everyone, not just the majority."

    "So I guess you would also be against the posting of the ten commandments in public places such as schools and courthouses?"

    "Well, I doubt anyone would like it if it was a quote from the Torah or the Koran. People want to be treated equally by the law, and you can't claim to be unbiased if you have one religion's law planted on the lawn or in the lobby. The issue isn't censorship of religion, but an attempt to prevent legal favoritism. Asking the government to make a special place for your faith is an act of asking for special treatment that no sect is entitled to."

    "So you would be for the bulldozing of all these monuments?"

    "Well, the practice does seem a little hypocritical." Devon said as he was beginning to hope his food would come sooner than later.

    "Hypocritical?" Helen repeated as she seemed a tad offended by the idea. "I really hope you got a good reason to justify that statement." 

    Devon could sense her offense and tried to be gentle with his response. "Well, this part of the world belonged to someone else four hundred years ago. It would seem awfully hypocritical to have a sign that says 'thou shall not steal' nailed to a piece of land that was clearly stolen from the Native American."

    Helen was going to respond to the statement, but the lady returned to refill their cups and then wander off for another table to do the same there. Helen started to sugar her new cup when she continued. "Are there any other commandments you have a problem with?"

    "Well that adultery one is a tad outdated. I mean it wouldn't it be more beneficial to society if it said something like thou shall not rape or molest? Intercourse conducted by two consensual adults doesn't even deserve to be on the list." Devon paused for a moment as he stole the sugar to sweeten his own topped cup. "You're also not allowed to covet my female slaves or my ox."

    "Yeah, I'll give you that one. Female slaves are a tad outdated." she was about to say something else, but Devon's breakfast arrived. It was a well made omelet made with at least three eggs along with a side of toast that wasn't burnt but crispy. The potatoes on the side also looked under seasoned, but reasonably edible. Helen took one look at his plate, and seemed to crack, "Can I steal a piece of toast?"

3. Taking The Day Off

    What started off as one piece of toast turned out to be two pieces, one sausage and a few bites from his omelet. Devon really didn't mind because he was from a big family and was used to the idea of sharing everything. Hungry siblings are what helped him keep trim all this time, so it wasn't a big deal. Besides, he enjoyed the company of Helen much more than he did the food, and he didn't want this to end. Not this quickly at least. While Helen was in the little girl's room, he made the call he made often but not too recently. He spoke to his team leader and let him know that he wasn't going to be in for work that day. When asked why he said for personal reasons and that he'd explain when he came in tomorrow. That gave him 24 hours to come up with some reasonable story that will fly with them and management. Plenty of time, Devon thought to himself as he waited for Helen to come back to the table.

    "So should we change gears a bit?" Helen asked as she returned to the table with a muffin from the counter.

    "I'm game, what would you like to know?" Devon asked, eager to do anything to keep the conversation going.

    "Parents still alive?"

    "Yes and at a safe distance too."

    "You prefer them at a distance?"

    "Well, I moved to this state to attend college. I picked this school specifically because it was thousands of miles away. Distance is the best thing I ever did for our relationship." Devon cracked a cute smile, "We used to fight and clash all the time. Now that we don't see each other as often, we get along much better than we used to and cherish our time a little more."

    "That's sweet. Siblings?"

    "Three, all sisters."

    "Ouch, that has to suck."

    "Not really, no one stole my toys."

    "But that had to be lonely."

    "It can be, but sometimes space is nice too."

    "Do you prefer some space now?"

    "No, I'm having a good time. Are you?"

    "Yeah," Helen said as she polished off yet another cup of coffee and looked around for the waitress for a refill.

    As she waited, it was Devon's turn to seek information, "So what about you? How many siblings do you have?"

    "None."

    "Now that must be lonely."

    "It was, especially since my parents both worked like dogs and therefore absent most of the time. My grandma and I spent a lot of more together than I ever did with either of my parents."

    "What did they do for a living?"

    "I'm not mad at them or anything, they were hard workers and did a lot so that I could live reasonably well. Dad was in construction and Mom's a nurse." at that moment, Helen checked her watch and realized that there was somewhere she had to be, "Well, it's been fun but I really should get going."

    "Does it really have to end?" Devon quickly asked.

    "Are you asking me out?" Helen retorted with a question of her own likely to avoid answering his.

    "You could say that." Devon conceded, "Come on, right now: call in sick. It's a great day outside, let's go out and so something and enjoy it." Based on her posture and deep thought, Devon could tell she was seriously considering her offer.

    Helen paused for a moment and Devon could clearly tell she was tempted by his offer, "I don't know if I can afford to skip a day." she replied, "My bosses don't like it when people skip out."

    "I'm only asking for one day, promise." Devon hoped that she was feeling the same we he had about their day so far, "We're downtown and there are zillions of things we could check out. It's not like there's nothing for us to do. This is one of the busiest cities on the planet!"

    Helen paused for a moment, and Devon could tell she was seriously considering it, "All right, but when this day is over we go our separate ways like we do at the end of any other average workday."

    Devon paused for a moment and the nodded, "All right, sounds okay to me."

He then tossed a twenty on the table, more then enough to cover both of them with a little extra on the side. As they were grabbing their coats, he was the first to speak.

"So, what would you like to do first?" He asked her.

4. The Museum

         As they strolled into the massive building, Devon couldn't help but feel like he was walking into an ancient palace. As he and Helen walked up the massive staircase, there was one massive pillar after another, holding up the tall ceiling which made the entrance of the museum itself look like a magnificent work of modern art. If he was in awe just the building, he most certainly wasn't prepared for what was waiting for him inside. Thousands of pieces of history, art and documents that have been kept archived for hundreds and possibly thousands of years were on display for people to look at and examine with their own eyes. Devon and Helen spent the a good chunk of the first part of their day strolling through the museum looking at priceless works of impressionism, plates of armor from the middle-ages, parchments from ancient china, gold from the Inca tribes and other really cool stuff. It was a intellectual overdose, looking at all this historical and articulate stuff, and around eleven o'clock which was a close to ninety minutes after they had entered the building... they strolled out feeling like their brains couldn't handle any more information for the day. They were full and were ready to just walk around, and relax after all that mental stimulation.

         A block or two from the museum, they strolled into a park and began to enjoy the nice weather and calm demeanor since everyone was still at work. As they were strolling down the side way, Helen was the first to speak, "I have a question; while we were looking at all that stuff at the museum, did feel any inspiration?

         "You mean like 'divine' inspiration?" Devon said, seeming to understand where this question was going.

         "Something like that." She confirmed.

         "Well, I was amazed by what I saw but I was not inspired. I'm not going to go home tonight and break out the finger paints just because one was in awe of Jackson Pollack nor shall I unleash the paint brushes because I gazed at the majesty of Claude Monet." Devon broke off the path and jumped over to a park bench and took a seat, "Why does someone have to be inspired? Can't we just enjoy something and leave it at that? Do people to into the movies and feel inspired to make their own? No, they just enjoy the film, either love it or hate it and then go home and go to bed."

         "So you took nothing from that building we just visited?" she said, feeling rather hurt from the idea.

         "I didn't say that, but the building didn't convert me into anything. I didn't walk out a changed man. I gained an appreciation for someone else's work, but I didn't' walk out wanting to invade their line of work. And if by some chance that I did, what makes you think that it should be labeled a 'divine' inspiration?

         "I don't grasp what you're getting at." Helen replied.

         "I mean if something in there did move me to change or do something shouldn't the artist or the historical figures take the credit, not some divine figure that was never there? For example, if I go on to become a great impressionist painter, then that inspired day should be known as a 'Monet' moment, not a divine one."

         "So the point you're trying to make is?" Helen asked, and he could tell by her tone that she was curious to see where he was trying to go with this.

         "Well I just find it curious that God is always around to take the credit, but is never around to take the blame when things to don't go as planned. Whenever someone wins an Oscar or the Superbowl, they're always the first to say praise Jesus or I'd like to thank God for giving me the ability to kick ass. Yet for some odd reason, we never see the loser blame God for not letting them win. Why is that?" Devon seemed to be on a roll and continued with his spiel, "And when things do go horribly wrong, not only do people not blame God, they let him off the hook completely by saying that it's his will. It's like the planet earth is suffering from universal case of battered wife syndrome."

         "What kind of things do you think he should take the blame for?" Helen asked. He could tell she was bothered by idea, but she wanted examples before firing back.

         Devon paused for a moment to collect himself "Maybe blame is too harsh a word; maybe neglect would be a better one to work with. The sins of the Bible are paltry to the atrocities that are being committed in our lifetime and even in the generations before our own that have been allowed to go on without any reprisal."

         "What do you mean by reprisals?"

         "I mean wrath of God reprisals: fires, floods destroying the earth or turning everyone into salt kind of wrath to punish the sinners who badly need it. We have wars being waged for oil, famine, state sanctioned torture, ethnic cleansing and then we have the horrid genocide and atrocities going on in Africa. There are girls as young as six years old in some parts of Africa who are being gang raped because they are considered lesser people in the eyes of their attackers. They are brutalized so much that they need surgery to recover from their attacks. These kinds of attacks go on daily because it's being used as a weapon to assail the moral of the enemy and break them down on a mental level. Even an atrocity that sick isn't being answered by God. No fires, no floods to destroy the earth or turning people into salt. He doesn't even appear to anyone in a burning bush."

         "Well, do you expect everyone to take every part of the bible that literally." Helen asked with some hint of modesty.

         Devon seemed to notice the chink in her armor and jumped right in, "Are you telling me that you don't believe in the story of Moses and the plight if the Egyptian slaves or the numerous plagues to free them from the bonds of the Ferial and deliver them the Israel and freedom via the huge parting of the red seas?"

         "Well, of course I believe in that but not everyone takes every piece of the bible literally. There are some parts that are out of touch with today's standards." Helen said as she seemed willing to make some concessions, "Such as the clause that says a woman is only worth half a man."

         Devon saw his moment and jumped in, "Or the part that says adultery is a sin that is punishable by death. Or that homosexuality is a sin as well or that witches should be burned at the stake. Please tell me you don't buy into the story of talking snakes that says the first woman came from the ribs of the first man. Come on, we are actually going to have a discussion about a talking snakes?"

         "No, that won't be necessary." Helen said with a smirk on her face, "That one is up there with seven dwarves, one ring to rule them all and a galaxy far, far away."

         Devon smiled. "Well, there's one thing we can agree on."

5. Am I Wrong?

       "What if you're wrong?" she asked with what he could tell was a legitimate look on her face.

         Devon could also sense that another serious debate was brewing and thought it was best to not mock her question, "It's possible. Anything is."

         "That's a major concession, especially since it's coming from you." she took this answer a little more tact. He appreciated the fact that she resisted the urge to do a touchdown like celebration in the middle of the restaurant they had chosen to eat their lunch at.

         Devon could also tell that it took considerable restraint, but wasn't going to let her go one forever "It's not as major as you think or hope it is." he countered, "When I said anything is possible, I literally meant anything. Do you realize how many organized religions are out there claiming to be the one true sect? If there is one God up there, then someone down here is wrong and has got some explaining do to when it's all said and done. For example, what if Amon Ra the true deity? Or what if Jesus didn't actually resurrect but beamed up to his space ship and went home?"

         "You mean like Elvis?"

         "Exactly."

         "I see where you're going with this," Helen said as she continued to slowly gnaw on her bread stick, "but when I originally asked if you're wrong I was also asking you what if I was also hypothetically right?"

         "Keep going." Devon invited as he wanted to give Helen a chance to finish her thought and get all the details of what she was trying to say before retorting. He could tell she had something big on her mind and wanted to give her a moment to spit it out. She seemed very passionate about this answer and wanted to give her time to have her moment and give her the floor for as long as she needed it.

         "What I'm trying to ask is what are you going to say, or for the sake of debate what would you say when you kick the bucket and find yourself stand at the Pearly Gates. I mean wouldn't you be shitting bricks if you found yourself standing at the gates of a place you denied existed your entire life?"

         "I'm not sure, do souls actually shit?" Devon had a coy smile on his face as he couldn't help it.

         "I'm serious," Helen snapped back as she seemed frustrated by Devon's joke. She emphasized her annoyance by quickly punching Devon on the shoulder to punish him for trying to disturb their conversation with a smart ass joke. Devon should have known better but rather than apologize, he simply gestured for her to resume as she again had control of the floor, "I merely want to know how you intend to explain yourself if you where presented with such a circumstance?" she stopped there, and grabbed a new bread stick, eager to hear what his comeback would be.

         Devon paused for a moment, "Let me start off by stating this is a very good question but should anything like should every happen really don't think any explanation would be necessary."

         "You don't plan to say anything in your defense?" Helen repeated, slightly shocked by his answer.

         "I won't have to." Devon said as he started to explain, "Rather than attempt to talk my way out of anything, I would prefer my actions do the talking for me. How I have conducted myself as a member of the human race will speak volumes for me whenever I have to face any such situation. I chose to reject every organized religion because there are too many of them and each one has the same amount of evidence to back up there claim: zero, ziltch, nadda, absolutely nothing. Based on that lacking of credibility, I choose to life this life to the fullest without the burden of religion or the assumption that I can pass the buck onto an afterlife that may or may not exist. This life might be all we get, so I prefer to life it like it's all I got rather than assume we get a mulligan on the other side I have no proof exists. And all my moral decisions or actions are based on a legitimate neutral code, not on how many brownie points I can I can score with any particular almighty being. I live to be right, wrong and fair and not because someone told me to be for no reasonable cause."

         "So you won't apologize for being wrong if you appear before the Pearly Gates?" she repeated, obviously trying to pry a straight answer out of him.

         "I don't see why I would need to." Devon quickly retorted, "I don't know what exactly I would be apologizing for; using my brain too well? If there really is an intelligent designer as the book suggests, wouldn't he or she be proud of the people who choose to use all their parts of their creations and not waste something as magnificent and complex as the human brain? If I just followed the first person who tried to dupe me and didn't use my noodle to its full potential and question it, then that would be something I should apologize to God for."

         "You seem to raise a valid point." Helen said as it was now her turn to make a concession, but Devon took it just as sportsmanlike as she did, not gloating in any way.

         "What you have to realize." Devon said after he polished off his glass of water, "is that I'm more of a hands on kind of person. I'm not interested in dealing with issues unless they are real problems with real solutions. If anything really exists, I'll deal with them when they really present themselves. Until then, they are no more an issue to me as ogres, trolls, dragons, fairies or flying spaghetti monsters."

         "Speak of the devil." Helen said with an innocent smile. They both couldn't help but chuckle as their lunch finally arrived after a small wait, and Devon had forgotten that Helen had ordered the red sauce pasta so while it didn't fly in it landed on their table and looked rather monster like based on the way it was cooked, "Would you care to explain yourself to this monster?"

         "Not really." Devon said with a smile, "This one doesn't fly. He's unworthy." They both giggled again and let the subject go as they both dug into their respective meals and changed the subject to something lighter as they began to eat.

6. Weight Watching

         Their meal was quite delicious, almost enjoyable as the company Devon thought as the waiter came to their table to take away their empty dishes. Helen had again recommended another winner for lunch. The only way Devon could have cleaned his plate further would have been to lick it, which meant he made note to remember this establishment for future reference if he ever came back to this part of town.

         Before the waiter left their table, he remained there long enough to make one more plug for whatever was left in their wallets, "Would you like to look at the dessert menu."

         Devon could tell by the look on Helen's face that she didn't seem too eager about the idea, but he took the menu anyway. "We'll have a look, thanks."

         Helen gave him a hard stare. "I don't think we should have dessert."

         "Why not?" Devon asked, "Dinner wasn't that filling, and I happen think today is special enough to order something sweet to finish lunch."

         "I'm just trying to watch my weight." Devon could tell that Helen was a little nervous about talking about this subject.

         Devon seemed to be taken back by this statement and showed a look of genuine shock on his face. "Are you kidding me?"

         "No."

         "You can't be serious!"

         "I am. I need to lose a few pounds."

         "I can't believe I'm really hearing this!"

         "Why not?"

         Devon threw up his hands in clear frustration, "There is no way you are any bigger than size eight, ten tops. How is this messed up world is that considered too much?"

         "I'm a size 8." Helen confirmed, "but I could be smaller."

         "Why?" Devon desperately asked, "So you can look like a starving skeleton like the rest of the models? Do you think they look pretty? They're disgusting! I'm afraid to shake their bridle hand because their arms are so thin that they might break."

         "What are you trying to say?" Helen asked.

         "I'm trying to say judge your size based on your own standards," Devon replied, "Not someone else's and especially society's because they're watching the world through rose colored glasses and that taints everything. Things are messed up to the point where people are not analyzing things properly, especially in terms of weight. They need to realize there is such a thing as too small. It's just as gross as too big, if not more."

         "You really think so?" Helen asked, he could tell she was amazed someone would think like this concerning the subject.

         "I know so." Devon said as he sipped his Iced Tea, "Have you ever seen a model up close? I've had the dishonor to do so, and it left an impression. I bumped into one at the mall when I was shopping with my mother and two of my sisters and she looked like she was a size one. She looked atrocious. Her arms were barely bigger than the bone that kept it together, and her rib cage looked like it was about to bust out of her skin. If you didn't know better, you could have sworn she was recently rescued from a nation that was stricken with poverty and starvation or something. She looked that horrible. She was in the kind of state where you wanted to take her away and mend her to good health. Feed her on a regular basis and try to make her look normal again."

         "That sounds horrible."

         "It was, but that's the look everyone wants to be! Little girls see her on television and don't realize that behind to designer dresses is nothing but skin and bones, and a woman that has likely been starving herself and barfing her food into the toilet to the point where she might die. It's not right, and society is to blame for pressuring people to want to look like that. Fifty years ago, Marilyn Monroe was the hottest woman alive and by today's standards she would be considered fat. That's how obsessed with weight we have become and it upsets me to no end."

         "I can see that." Helen said as she seemed to regret bringing up the subject but the genie was out of the bottle.

         Devon didn't want to make her feel bad about it so he decided to aim for those who are really responsible, "It's not your fault. You're responding to a great deal of pressure, from your home, school, work, television and friends on how one is supposed to act, live and even look. It's a lot of pressure. I just don't know how you guys take it without going completely mental." 

         "Well the pressure is on everyone isn't it?" Helen quickly retorted.

         "It's different for me because I'm a guy." Devon quickly answered.

         "How so?"

         "Well, if I refuse to five into peer pressure Gap shareholders don't lose money. Guys are not targeted for fashion, accessories or other stuff as much as women are because we're not where the money is. I think the only real companies that pitch to us at all aggressively are Nike and the motor industry. Women on the other hand are bombarded on a daily basis as airwaves are carpet bombed with everything from clothing, jewelry, phone your friend plans and all other kinds of other wacky stuff. It literally disgusts me that little girls are being shelled with videos of Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and all those hussy little tramps and assume that's how they are supposed to act when in fact they're the butt of society's joke. We don't admire women like that, we feel sorry for them. Real men don't want to bang these women... we want to hold interventions for them! We also hold a lot of contempt for their parents for not letting these kids live a normal childhood. Many of these child actors and singers grow up to be really dysfunctional people because they never had a real childhood, and that's the fault of their parents for being greedy, superficial, materialistic bastards."

         "Wow, you do take this personally." Helen said as she realized it was a very touchy subject, "Why all the passion concerning this subject?"

         "Well, I truly believe forcing a child to pursue any kind of entertainment career is abuse. You're stripping a child of their chance for a normal life and forcing them to do what is basically labor at a very early age to line your pocket. The last time I checked that would classify under child exploitation."

         "That understandable, but does that mean we can't have babies and kids in movies or television shows? Would like tad unrealistic if all shows only had kids above a certain age, wouldn't it?"

         "It would, but we've got to draw a line somewhere for the sake of the kids. I doubt it will ever happen anytime soon, but it's something to think about."

         "Just like the unfair pressures on women from society?"

         "Yes, exactly. Can we discuss it further over dessert?"

         "Only if you share one with me, I'm not hungry enough to want a full one myself. Okay?"

         Devon thought that was the best reason to give and cracked a smile.

"Sounds great to me. Is there anything here that catches your eye?" He passed the menu to her and they talked about it for few minutes before the waiter returned to take their order for dessert.

7. Extra Education

         The sun had come out to play, as if it had advance knowledge that Helen and Devon were going to take the day off. There wasn't a single cloud in the sky and they had decided to return to the park that afternoon, since window shopping got a little too boring. Devon was more of an in and out kind of shopper, where as Helen only liked to shop if she had a reasonable amount of cash on hand, or else looking around was just one big tease. They decided to get away from the shops and take a stroll around one of the downtown residential areas where a lot of tall apartment buildings and even a large school resided. As they approached the school, it was obvious that the school in question was still at lunch hour but the bell was just ringing to call them back into class. They both watched from the fences as the kids lined up and slowly filed back into the building to fill their heads with information they may or may not use in the not so far off distant future. Once the kids were all packed back into their sardine like classrooms, Helen slipped onto the playground and took to one of the swing sets and started to swing around and enjoy herself. Devon didn't feel like doing any kind of swing motion so he sat down on a bench and relaxed and looked around the playground.

         "This is a pretty fancy school." Helen said as she kept swinging.

         "Looks nice, but I likely won't be sending any kids here anytime soon. This place probably costs an arm and a leg to send just one kid to." Devon replied.

         "Would you send them here if you could afford it?"

         "I'm not sure, it depends on the kid. Some of them might thrive in a setting like this, some might find it suffocating. I don't know if I would have done that well here, I seemed to do all right where I was raised. I was a product of a public school, and I turned out all right."

         "Not everyone does."

         "Not everyone tries."

         "So you're saying the student is responsible for their own grades, that no one else is to blame for their failure? Not the teacher, parent or the schools?"

         "Everyone has a job and a responsibility to live up to, I understand, but none of it will make a lick of difference if the kid doesn't want to try." Devon sat up and he could sense another great debate flowing up, "It's like sending someone off to therapy. Unless they want to be treated, no treatment will ever work without the co-operation of the subject. They have to want the help in order for it to be successful. Education is very similar. Unless the student wants to be educated, there is little else anyone can do. You can try to convince them, but you can't force them."

         "So is this the reason our education system is one of the worst when it comes to modern, industrialized nations?"

         "Not really, there's a whole whack of reasons why we fall behind. Some of it has to do with a lack of effort on our part, while some of it even has to do with a lot of effort on everyone else's part."

         Helen had stopped swinging at this point and was just sitting and listening. "I don't understand."

         "Well, when I first graduated from university..."

         "Wait a second, you have a university degree?"

         "Yes, but we can get back to that later."

         "Wow, I didn't realize you were that educated."

         "Well, I am. One of the first things I did right after I got my degree was travel. I took a job overseas to teach English. Seemed like a perfectly logical thing to do. Make some money, get some interesting job experience and see the world."

         "Where did you teach?"

         "I was in Asia for almost two years." Devon said as he recalled the time back, "I worked at a private after school program. You see kids would go to a normal school just like this one, but once they finished their normal six hour school days they didn't go home and do homework and play with their friends. They would come straight to our school for an additional four hours of after hour private school. We were like professional tutors, teaching the same subjects but all in English to advance their knowledge in the subject. Some students didn't leave our school until eight at night. Then they would proceed to go home and do hours of homework before going to bed around midnight. And that is the normal school day for a kid in my class and they ranged from eight to thirteen years of age. Could you imagine a kid of ten years old being forced to go to school for ten hours a day and then have to do homework until near exhaustion, and then six hours later he would start it all over again."

         "My goodness." Helen said with a sense of disgust, "That's obscene."

         "The worst part is parents approve and encourage this. Competition to get kids into college in these nations is nothing short of psychotic and because of that kids are pretty much forced to take this brutal schedule to stay ahead." Devon seemed a little more disgusted, because he actually took part in the act himself, "I remember nine year old kids falling asleep in my class because they were exhausted and they couldn't stay awake if they tried."

         "That's awful! What did you do?"

         "I felt for the kid so I let him sleep. I could have gotten in trouble for it but I really didn't approve of his exhaustion and chances are if he was that tired, he wouldn't remember anything I taught in class anyway."

         "What else did you see over there?"

         "I saw a lot of things that these schools would never consider doing in order to instill higher learning." Devon answered, "Over there kids are slapped on the hands with open hands or even rulers when they do things that are deemed inappropriate. I once saw one teacher use a meter stick on someone wrists just for getting wrong answers on a test. Then if a student was ever really bad to the point where they had to be disciplined, they were told to go out into the hall and stand with their face to the wall and their hands up in the air. The school I worked at had one man walking the halls with a big stick, and any kid he came across that was standing face to the wall in his halls got some big time smacks from him for being out of the classroom. Do you think any of this abuse would be tolerated in a school here in this nation?"

         "Never, people would be charged with assault. Schools would be sued."

         "Exactly, but over there it's common. Slap them for being bad or for getting too many incorrect answers on your tests long enough and sooner or later the kids learn from their beatings. They stop doing what is considered bad and get the good grades. This kind of physical, emotional and systematic abuse is very common over there in Asia, and the parents not only make their kids take it... but they encourage and partake in it as well."

         "I had no idea it was that bad."

         "By our standards, these teachers and schools would be charged with a crime. Over there it's called discipline. So when you see those international test scores, you have to take all of them with a grain of salt because all it might mean is the nations with the best test scores might be crossing a lot of lines to make their kids excel that high to begin with. I'm not sure that's a price I want our nation children to pay in order to excel."

         "No... never!" Helen said, obviously upset but what she had heard. "While an education is important, so is the ability to have a healthy childhood. I mean what good is an education if you don't have the appropriate social skills to apply it?"

         "You hit the nail right on the head." Devon said as he stood up from his bench, "The lack of social interaction and endless studying made most of these students the kind of people you wouldn't want to associate with. They had the social ability of a fruit fly, and all the adults do whenever they're not working is drink, drink and drink. It's like driving a car. Sure anyone can get a license, but that doesn't automatically make you a good driver. Anyone can give into road rage, be neglectful with their turn signal or ignore it all together."

         "What point are you trying to make?" Helen quickly asked.

         "What I'm saying is proper social interaction is just as important to a child as education is. A lack of social ability to apply to that education just cheapens the value of that education. If that was applied to the tests the UN and all these other agencies use to grade nations, I guarantee you a lot of nations that usually finish first would drop from the top and fall way down the charts. It takes more than just paper smarts to make it in life: it takes common sense and wisdom to apply it. That's what needs to be taught along with math and the sciences in order for any child to evolve into a productive citizen of this planet."

8. All About Bill

         "What about Bill?"

         Devon opened his eyes from and looked over at Helen who was sitting up against a tree. He had been lying on the park grass for about ten minutes, enjoying the silence but wasn't expecting such a general question. "You're going to have to be a bit more specific. I know a few Bills. Are you referring to the Bill I know in accounting or the Bill that tried to take out the Bride in that Tarantino movie? That was a very cool movie by the way..."

         She huffed and then gave a cute smile. "I mean Bill Clinton."

         "Oh, that Bill."

         "What did you think of him as a President and a person?"

         "I don't know what to think of him as a person, I've never met the man." Devon answered honestly, "I would never judge people by what others say of them nor would I judge from what I see on television. You have to shake their hand and speak to them in the flesh to judge them as a person. Now if you want me to evaluate him as a commander, I think he did all right."

         "Despite the scandals?" Helen asked with an apparent frustration in her tone.

         "None of the scandals had anything to do with his job. As a President, the man did a pretty decent job. The economy was strong, people were making more income and jobs were up. The budget had a surplus when he left office, what more do you want from the man?"

         "How about a little honesty?"

         "That's impossible. Presidents lie all the time for the sake of national security and to conceal classified information. It happens all the time."

         "But he cheated on his wife..."

      "And that takes us back to the talk we had about Zeus. Just because someone is a bad husband doesn't mean they are bad at what they do. If I get into a car accident and get rushed into the O.R. for a life saving operation, do you think I'm going to ask the hospital if their best surgeon is a faithful man who doesn't screw the nurses behind his wife's back? As long as his hand is steady and he doesn't sever any nerves or arteries, I could care less what or who he does in his spare time. Would you?" He sat up and looked at her eager to hear what her answer would be.

        "I guess not." She answered, "Doesn't make what they did right."

        "I never said it did. What someone may or may not have done in their spare time doesn't dictate what kind of job they do when they're at work. People are capable of keeping their personal lives at home and doing their absolute best at work, whether they be burger flippers at Rotten Ronnie's or living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. I realize that character might mean something to many people, but when I look back at the job Bill did, it was leaps and bounds better than a lot of other men did in the same position, especially when you look at the dork who took over after him."

         "Spoken like a true democrat." Helen sniped.

         "Hey, if I wasn't a democrat before Bush the sequel took over... I would be one now thanks to close to eight years of abuse and neglect from one of the most corrupt administrations this nation has ever seen. I have no doubt our grandchildren will be paying off the mistakes these people made for their own selfish agendas for many years to come."

          "I suppose you want an investigation into what Bush has been doing for the past eight years when the next guy or gal takes over?"

         "Forget that." Devon said with disdain, "I want special prosecutor with subpoena power. A democratic version of Kenneth Star, anything less would be unfair since that was good enough for Bill in the 90's and his charges were much milder."

         "A tad bitter, are we?"

         "Try a tad upset. I think a lot of mistakes were made, and I for one want him to answer for them. Starting with 9/11..."

         "Oh you're not one of those conspiracy theory dudes who think 9/11 was all an inside job?" Helen said as it was her turn to show a face of disdain, "because I don't think I could handle that right about now."

         "I've talked to a lot of people who are like that, and to be honest... the evidence is compelling. But I'm not talking about that. I'm referring to a memo that was on someone's desk over a month before the attacks titled 'Bin Laden determined to attack America' that went unread by the President despite being asked to take the threat seriously."

         "So you think the disaster could have been avoided?"

         "If it went down the way they said it did, yes. I think it could have been avoided." Devon sat up and used his arms to prop himself. "Let's go back to Bill for a good example of the kind of Prez he was. Back in 99, a man named Rickard Clarke who was an anti-terrorism czar for the three previous Republican Presidents was in his face with what he felt was a real threat of an attack. It was suspected that Al Queda was going to strike the homeland during the Millennium celebrations and it was recommended to Bill that they act now rather than wait for the attack to respond."

         "So what was Bill's response?"

         "He acted. Border security was doubled, people were sent out to knock on doors and follow every possible lead. No request was denied to prevent this attack from occurring. Funny thing was it was one sharp Canuck on the other side of the border who made the bust, catching someone trying to cross from Vancouver into the US with bomb making supplies. Turns out he was on his way to bomb Seattle during their Millennium celebration. The attack was prevented."

         "So this didn't happen when the warning was given to Bush?"

         "The exact opposite happened in '01. Bush not only didn't want to talk about terrorism, he refused to even speak to the same person who warned Bill about the 99 attack who wanted to again ring the alarm bell. They were sure, as it was written in the unread report that an attack was imminent and could occur with in the next month or so. Truth is Bush didn't care. He was on vacation and couldn't care less about what was going on. Had Bill or someone with half a heart been in office that day security would have been tightened like it was in '99, people would have been on the look out for specific people and arrests would have been made. Some of not all of those planes could have been stopped from being used as missiles had someone put the airports on alert and stamped a few faces on the billboard. Bush was given plenty of warning of pending disaster, but he never cared. He was given reports of terrorist activity and did nothing. His people were given request for years to repair levees that were on the verge of breaking down, and they were ignored. So when Katrina hit and the Levees protecting New Orleans broke, no one can saw this was never seen coming. People died because the President was asleep at the wheel for the majority of his two terms, and that's why I don't hesitate to go easy on Bill. Regardless of what he did with his private life, he did his job and he did it well. When things went wrong, he was there taking care of the country, and when a warning came to his desk asking for action, he was the first one to take that action because when you're the President even a moment's pause could cost hundreds, possibly thousands of people their lives."

         "Wow, that's why you're so pissed off!" Helen said with a grin. "Don't hold back here bud, tell me how you really feel."

         "A good prosecutor could even work a case for negligent homicide." Devon said, "Knowing that something could kill someone and do nothing about it. The levees in New Orleans are a good example. There were countless reports that said they were weak and would break if a Hurricane stronger that category two hit them. They had the data there that said a whole city could be flooded unless they took action and spent a few bucks on the engineers needed to repair the levees, but they didn't want to. They didn't think it was necessary. They were basically playing Russian Roulette with over four hundred thousand lives and that didn't bother them one bit. I'm hoping it bothered them a bit when a category three storm wandered into the gulf that fateful week. They should feel guilty of contributing to the death of all those people who drowned in the city, and the chaos that ensued from it, all because they couldn't be bothered to fix the levees. The funny part is not all of them are even fully repaired and are even leaking. If they get hit with a category four or five, they could easily break again."

         "Man, are they not capable from learning from their mistakes?"

         "You'd think they would be, but they aren't. A city is destroyed and still the levees are leaking. Thousands of troops are dead post-war and you're not willing to admit you're in the middle of a guerilla war in an occupied nation. You swear they'll be no draft but soldiers are being kept in the force through a back door draft known as stop loss. Soldiers who are already suffering from trauma are being forced to do second, third and even forth tours in Iraq because of this. But at least the guy didn't get it on with his intern so he's not that bad, right?" 

         "I see your point." Helen conceded. "People seem to have really messed up priorities."

         "You think?"

9. The Ice Cream Man

    She was about to say something witty, but was interrupted when Devon raised his hand. "Do you hear that?" he asked.
   "What? I don't hear anything." Helen replied, trying to listen harder and see if she could pick up what Devon thought he was hearing. It took a few moments, but she finally found out what he was hearing.

    It was a soft and very distinctive melody of chimes that was coming from the road that was only a few dozen yards away from where they were sitting. Devon sat there and listened to the chimes, trying to analyze what it could have been coming from, and then it came to him when he realized that the sound was moving, which to him could only mean one thing. "It's an ice cream truck!" he said as big smile suddenly appeared on his face. The young man bolted to his feet and began to sprint in the direction of the chimes.

    Helen didn't take Devon for much of an athletic person but the idea of getting something from the truck seemed to motivate him as he hurdled over a park bench that was in his way like he was on an Olympic track field. Since she knew Devon to be a bit of a browser, Helen knew she had time to walk over and didn't feel the need to sprint for her snack.

    This time however, he was already making his purchase when she arrived. As she approached, Devon greeted her with a smile. "Would you like something?"

    "No, thank you." Helen answered. "I'm still full from lunch."

    "Alright." Devon said as he grabbed his ice cream snack and started to walk back to where they were sitting before. "Sorry about that, I hate to miss the ice cream truck."

    "Brings back memories?" Helen asked.

    "Good ones actually." Devon replied, "Which is why I like to show my appreciation by giving my business to them whenever a truck comes into sight."

    "What exactly does the truck represent?" Helen asked as she witnessed her friend devour the ice cold treat.

    "It represents a lot." Devon replied as he took a break for air. "I remember the effort my mom used to make to find change for me so that I wouldn't go without a treat on a very hot summer day. I remember a day when the world wasn't too dangerous to run out and play on the streets without being supervised. Today parents are too scared to let their kid walk down the street alone, let alone out on their own to chase down the ice cream truck. That has to be hard on their bottom line."

    "It has to be hard on everyone." Helen said as she agreed with him. "Is life really that dangerous or are we just scaring a lot easier than we used to?"

    "We didn't use to scare that easily." Devon confessed. "The media makes us believe that there's a armed robber or a pedophile in every ally. It's no wonder we lock our kids up in their homes as if we were guarding Fort Knox."

    "The internet and other sources of communication are being abused everyday by someone who thinks they can get away with anything they want." Helen replied. "I don't blame people for being paranoid. I wouldn't want anyone to come near my child too. Wouldn't you feel the same way?"

   "Of course I would." Devon confessed. "It's just a shame that we have to."

   "The world is becoming more close-knit and with that comes fear of the unknown." Helen said as she looked up. "People can get a little Claustrophobic as it gets that crowded."

    "With those new powers often come new responsibilities." Devon said as he resumed eating his impromptu snack.

    "Okay there, Uncle Ben."

    "I mean it." Devon said as he tossed the stick from his treat into the trash. "Everyone enjoys the new toys and things that make life more fun, but no one wants to take responsibility for it when bad people use it to do bad things. We can't trust everyone to be honest and pay whatever it takes to police them, but we are too cheap and as a result people are getting away with almost murder online."

    "I see your point." Helen said. "If we are not willing to protect the vaults, we can't be the first to cry when someone breaks in and steals everything."

   "It's not all going to be bad." Devon said as he stood back up. "With those holes will be the venues people will use to fight oppressive governments. The next revolution will not be televised, it will be online."

    "We've already seen that in some nations." Helen confirmed.

   "The more people try to control it, the more out of control it's going to get." Devon said as he started to walk back towards the other side of the park. "When someone tries to control it, that's when it will all hit the fan."

    "Do you really think so?" Helen asked.

    "I am." Devon replied without hesitation. "Hackers around the world will one day unite and bring the whole thing crashing down. Some governments are going to try but no will ever succeed. Even China is starting to realize this and adapt rather than try to control the global superhighway that is virtually uncontrollable. That alone is a telling sign."

    "So the future is in cyberspace?" Helen inquired.

   "Possibly." Devon said as he looked back. "One day we'll build places free of technology to get away from it. For now we'll just take a walk." As he said that, Devon extended his hand to Helen.

    She smiled, walked up and took his hand in hers. "I agree."

  They walked off back to the park to lie down and leave the vast, infinite world of technology behind... at least for the day.

10. The Value Of Choice


    "I have a question." Helen said as she settled back down in the shade under their tree. "What have you got against the church?"

    "A simpler question could be what does the church have against everyone else?" Devon retorted with a question of his own.

    "Can you be serious for just a moment?" Helen asked.

    "I am being serious." Devon replied with a look that confirmed how serious he really was. "When was the last time someone was stoned to death by an Atheist?"

    "I suppose that would be never." Helen guessed.

    "That would be correct." Devon answered, "Also... when was the last time you heard about Atheists putting a three million dollar bounty on someone's head for simply writing a fictional book they found offensive?"

    "Never." Helen answered, "I get your point. It does appear that religion seems to have a serious problem with a lot of people here."

    "Religions." Devon corrected, "They all have a problem with a lot of people just for being different. Do you think homosexuals are evil?"

    "Of course not." Helen immediately replied.

    "There are people out there fighting over land." Devon continued, "Not because it's good soil to feed people but because the land is alleged to be holy. More than one religion lays claim to the same part of the world and have been fighting for over half a century, with no end to the bloodshed in sight. It's downright revolting and yet they only reason why people are dying is because someone told them what they were fighting for was holy."

    "Is that why you hate religion?" Helen asked, "because of the things it makes people do?"

    "It's not that." Devon replied, trying not to sound offended. "It's the people who take something that can be good and use it to serve their own purposes. That is where religion goes wrong. It's not the book that projects evil; it's the people who use it to project evil. Some people look at the very same book and instead choose to be good. It's fair to say there was evil and good in that person long before the book came into their lives. It just gave them the excuse they were looking for to do what they'd been dying to do."

    "So the Bible doesn't kill people, people kill people." Helen said as she couldn't believe the point he was trying to make. "Seriously?"

    "Alright, I guess that sounded better in my head." Devon admitted.

    "So what is the solution?" Helen then asked. "Banning religion?"

    "Not really." Devon replied, "How well is that working in China?"

    "Fair enough." Helen conceded.

    "Banning anything isn't the answer." Devon continued, "Banning books only makes people want to read it. Banning television shows or records only makes people want to download them to see what the fuss was all about. If you tell someone not to do something, they'll look into it more than if you never said a thing about it in the first place. Humans are a curious species and very much like the cat, it gets us into a lot of trouble."

    "So you don't want to do away with religion at all?" Helen asked.

    "I know a lot of atheists who want that. To outlaw religion, but that's counter productive in my opinion." Devon said as he sat up. "Religion doesn't need to be banned. Many people who are religious are not evil doers using the book to hate and discriminate against who they think are sinners. They mind their pees and cues and don't harm anyone. Why should we punish them just because a handful of nuts can't control themselves?"

    "Not the response I expected." Helen admitted.

    "Also, it cheapens my Atheism." Devon added.

    "Excuse me?" Helen asked. "How so?"

    "I choose to be an Atheist, it's not sanctioned by government." Devon tried to explain. "What gives my choice meaning are the options that are available to me. The more options I have, the more value my choice has. I can convert tomorrow but I choose not to. That is my value."

    "I think I get it." Helen replied.

    "It's the same for whatever your choice is." Devon continued, "If you choose to be religious, regardless of what creed that is, the fact that you have the freedom to depart and convert to something else or drop it all and go Atheist adds value to your choice. We choose to be who we are and that is what makes up who we are as individuals. If the government forced us all to convert to one creed or banned a specific religion, taking away that choice cheapens the path we've chosen to take. More freedom, not less is what adds value to the choices we make."

    "Wow," Helen said as she thought about it. "That is pretty interesting."

    "Mind blowing, I know." Devon responded, "I cringe every time I hear a prominent atheist talk about outlawing all creeds. It's a fight no one will ever win because as long as people have free will, they will have the option to be religious and some will choose that path. We have to respect that decision, even if we don't agree with it. That is the only way we'll be able to all live in peace."

    "It's a very nice thought." Helen admitted, "But what about your kids. Will they get that same choice?"

    "They will." Devon answered, "But I prefer they learn how to think, how to question things and how to make decisions for themselves before having religion shoved into their faces. If a five year old came to me and declared themselves to a specific religion, I'd say he, or she, was too young to understand what he's getting himself into and disregard it. Now if that same kid came to me and said the same thing when he or she was eighteen or twenty something, then I would respect that choice a bit more knowing the decision was made on their own without any interference from the outside world. If it's their decision, and theirs alone, then I would respect it even if I disagreed with it."

    Helen paused for a second. "Isn't it a tad early in the conversation to talk about how to raise children?"

    Devon smiled back at her. "Who said we're having any kids?"

    Surprised by his bashfulness, Helen chuckled. "Well, thank you for helping me avoid what might have been a very awkward conversation."

    "Not a problem."

11. When Life Begins

    "Where does it all start?" she asked him.

    "Where does what start?" Devon countered.

    "Life," Helen specified, "When does life begin?"

    "Oh, we're discussing abortion now?" Devon asked.

    "We're talking about life," Helen corrected, "I'm just curious to see where you stand on the issue."

    "I'm not sure," Devon honestly answered. "I've heard all the theories, from conception all the way to only when the child is born. It's a fine line to cross, when one life's rights begin to overrule another's. That's a real ethical minefield, are you sure you want to take a stroll in this area?"

    "Yes," Helen confirmed, "I'd like to take that stroll because I'd like to know where you stand on that issue."

    "Is this one a deal breaker?" Devon asked.

    "No," Helen replied, "But it will tell me a lot about you."

    "Well, I am pro choice," Devon started, "but only because I'm not qualified to make these decisions."

    "Why not?" Helen asked, curious to why he said that.

    "Because I'm a guy," Devon told her, "I'm never going to have to experience that procedure. Wouldn't that mean I'm not qualified to make a decision about the policy of said operation?"

    "I wish many politicians felt that was in Washington DC," Helen replied, "They don't seem to have a problem putting their two cents in regardless of how unqualified they are to make it."

    "They're driven by faith and fear of it," Devon explained, "Not facts."

    "But that doesn't answer my question," Helen reminded him, "When does life begin?"

    "That answer varies depending on who you ask," Devon replied.

    "But I'm asking you," Helen said, "What do you think?"

    "I didn't answer it," Devon reminded her, "I'm not sure."

    "Let's approach this from a different angle them," Helen continued, "Where does life end?"

    "When we die," Devon answered.

    "But when are we declared dead?" Helen asked.

    "Whenever the doctor calls it," Devon replied.

    "But how does a doctor do that?" Helen asked, continuing to push.

    "When the heart stops?" Devon asked.

    "Nope, we have machines that can keep people alive in the absence of that." Helen countered, "When is the one time we call someone dead no matter what happens and no one questions it?"

    "Hmmm," Devon said, trying to think through it. Then a moment later the answer came to him. "The brain: someone is declared dead when the brain stops functioning!"

    "Exactly," Helen agreed, "When someone's brain stops function, that is the undisputed definition of death. That is where life ends."

    "Okay," Devon said, "So how does that fit here?"

    "Apply the same to life," Helen challenged him, "If loss of brain function is how we define death, then we should define life when..."

    Devon's eyes lit up, "When the brain begins to function!"

    "Precisely," Helen said, "In my opinion, that is where life begins based on how we define where life ends."

    "That makes so much sense!" Devon said, very impressed. "So when does the brain activate? Isn't that around eight or nine weeks?"

    "Somewhere around there," Helen agreed, "Which is late in the first trimester."

    "So you're against any abortions after eight weeks," Devon paused for a moment, "That's pretty deep, and not one I've heard before."

    "Yes, I think anything after eight weeks is murder," Helen confirmed, "If we define life by brain function, then anything after the brain starts working is killing a living organism."

    "What if they can't feel pain?" Devon asked.

    "What do you mean?" Helen countered with her own question.

    "I read somewhere online that a fetus cannot feel pain until deep into the second trimester," Devon explained, "If the child has no nerves and cannot feel pain, wouldn't the abortion be painless?"

    "A painless death is still death," Helen retorted, "Just because you put a victim under sedation before hacking them into pieces doesn't make it less of a homicide than before!"

    "That's a good point," Devon concurred, "No, that wouldn't be cool."

    "So you agree?" Helen asked, "Abortion after 8 weeks is murder?"

    "The issue is a lot more complicated than that," Devon said, "Because what about all the kids out there who no one wants? Who's going to pay for their food, their childcare, their dental plans? You?"

    "Why should I?" Helen asked.

    "Cause you want them to live!" Devon called out, "You and all the other pro-lifers want them to survive, and once they're out no one wants to lift a damn finger to help them out. If you see how many of them end up living, many in absolute poverty, then you might consider abortion being an act of mercy."

    "That's a terrible thing to say," Helen chided at him.

    "That doesn't make it any less true," Devon replied, "If you want to see a decrease in abortions, there are better methods than just banning the practice. Social programs such as subsidized child care so single moms don't lose their jobs trying to raise the kid, and even greater enforcement of child support payments would do a lot more to prevent abortions than any ban would. Women don't want to have abortions, many of them do because they feel they have no other choice. Offering more choice, and more support would lower abortions a lot more than anything we've heard from politicians thus far. Yet the hypocrisy of the right to life morons is that once the kid is born, they're on their own. If the community wants that kid to live, they're going to have to chip in and do their part."

    "What about their partner?" Helen countered, "Shouldn't pay his part?"

    "What if the partner isn't a partner?" Devon asked, "What if they person in question dragged you into an alley and forced himself on you. Do you honestly want to speak to your rapist to ask for child support?"

    "I guess not," Helen conceded. "Then again can't he pay from prison?"

    "I'd be all for that. Restitution while behind bars." Devon replied, "Like I said, not a black and white issue. This is has infinite layers of gray."

    "Point taken," Helen said.

    "But that doesn't mean you're wrong," Devon then said, "I like your idea of defining life based on how we define death. It's so simple I'm surprised someone hasn't brought that up before."

    "You see," Helen said, smiling, "I have my moments."

    "You have more than a few," Devon disagreed.