The following story is part a new feature, a fictional work by our columnist Wayne Weedon. Wayne is a brilliant writer whose style consists of simple declarative statements that stick in your mind as he leads you through an intricate web of circumstances to reach the lesson he set out to teach.
By Wayne Weedon
Note: The contents of this story deals with religion and may offend some people. You may wish to avoid reading it.
Pregnant and deserted by her lover, a young girl moves in with her grandfather. When the baby boy is born, the grandfather agrees to look after him so his granddaughter may go to work. Despite the age difference, the relationship between the boy and his great-grandfather was more like two siblings than that of an adult and child. As this boy grew into a young man, he loved to look back and tell stories about his great-grandfather, whom he always called “Pops”.
“Any person who reads the Bible from cover to cover, if they were not already, they will be an atheist by the time they come to the end of this book.”
When Hannah made this statement, she was not referring to the dozens of abbreviated and watered-down versions of the Bible which may be found in bookstores and theology classes, she was referring to the unabridged authorized edition of the King James Bible which gives two versions of The Creation, several contradictory versions of the life of Jesus, miracles which defy laws of Nature, and mentions Lilith, Adam’s first wife.
Hannah had learned, because of Academic Freedom laws, university professors are allowed to defy certain Canadian laws. They and their students have been allowed to question the veracity of the Bible without having to worry about going to prison for blasphemy. For Hannah, her very first lecture at university was like a breath of fresh air. She had found a place where she could freely voice her beliefs in a safe environment.
Pops told me, it wasn’t a mystery that Hannah was an atheist. She described her mother as a Secular Jew, and her father as a Secular Mennonite. She explained, there is an age-old question, is Judaism a religion or a race, is Mennonite a religion or a race? Hannah explained to Pops that her parents do not believe in the idea of race, they believe all people are of the same species, and race is a human fabrication. Because of Canadian blasphemy laws, her parents stated they were secular and not atheist to avoid being arrested like Jacob Penner who openly admitted he was a communist and an atheist. This public declaration landed Penner in prison for two years, with no formal charges ever being laid. This injustice infuriated Hannah. Her friends told her to calm down, stating, she could not fight the government. They suggested she go to Toronto where she would be able to meet people who had similar beliefs and, if she was enrolled in university, she would be able to come out of the closet as an atheist without any worries about being arrested.
Hannah had no trouble finding work when she arrived in Toronto. She had already settled into a bachelor suite close to campus when she started classes in September. Besides religion, Hannah studied everything which aroused her curiosity. This included history, biology, archeology, philosophy, psychology, mathematics, and physics.
Every summer, when Hannah came back to Manitoba for her vacation, she brought back some of her textbooks, many of which were banned books. Pops enjoyed reading Thomas Paine, Robert Green Ingersoll, Sinclair Lewis, Charles Darwin, and other authors. Pops gave me a book written in 1895 by Samuel Porter Putnam, who, Pops told me, was assassinated because of his atheist writings. Putnam predicted, through authors such as Ibsen, Zola and Balzac, literature would move from fantasy, myth, and romance to realism, which is scientific, rational, and realistic.
Pops told me Hannah never forgot about her friend Joe. She soon learned that Joe’s story is not unusual. Pops did his own research and he showed me some recent stories. He showed me a copy of a Pennsylvania Grand Jury report which stated, ‘A boy who told his father about the abuse his younger brother was suffering was beaten to the point of unconsciousness. “Priests don’t do that,” said the father as he punished his son for what he thought was a vicious lie against the clergy.’ Pops explained that this report is wrong. This man did not think his son was telling a lie. The problem was this man knew his son was telling the truth, but this man was terrified of going to Hell if he went against the Church and the priest. He desperately wanted to believe his son was not telling the truth. People who are confronted with a truth they do not want to face will often react like a cornered rat. They will viciously attack the messenger.
Explaining there were thousands of similar cases, Pops showed me a transcript from a Canadian court, ‘LKC says that she told her mother about what had happened. Her mother became very angry. Her mother told her that priests are gods. They were healers. They wouldn’t do things like that. LKC relates that she was beaten for telling a lie. LKC says that she grew to hate her mother for not believing her.’
Like Robert Owen, Hannah believed the solution to this child abuse is education. Owen, working his way up from an impoverished childhood in Wales, became independently wealthy. He built the first “Free for All” library. Owen’s good friend, Andrew Carnegie, continued with Owen’s idea by building thousands more “Free for All” libraries throughout the world. These men realised, if people could be educated enough to become independent citizens running their own lives, most of the world’s problems would disappear. This is why Hannah became a schoolteacher. She wanted to help children learn how to control their own lives and become better citizens who could enjoy a satisfying life.
Hannah told Pops, there are two kinds of people, the ones who run their own lives and the ones who run away from their own lives. The ones who run away from their lives will often become fanatics who join a flock and allow someone else to run their lives for them.
Hannah gave Pops copies of Earl Nightingale’s books and audio recordings which reveal how anyone can live a full, happy, and successful life. Nightingale referred to this blueprint for achieving a happy and prosperous life as “The Strangest Secret” because it is not a secret; philosophers and historians have been revealing this secret for thousands of years. Anyone may find this secret hidden in plain sight if they are looking for it. Nightingale puts this secret in a clearly understandable manner, “We become what we think about”.
Nightingale explains, what a person needs to think about is what they wish to become and where they want to go. Most people do not do this. They are looking for someone else to tell them what to do. Simply put, one must decide who they want to be and what they want to do. They must set their own goals. George Bernard Shaw, in his play Pygmalion, which was made into a musical, My Fair Lady, demonstrates how any person, through education, can become who they wish to be and obtain what they want out of life.
Pops told me about one of his friends who had been working in the railroad shops. After listening to some of Nightingale’s recordings, and thinking about, The Strangest Secret, this man quit going to the beer parlour and football games with his friends and, taking Nightingale’s advice, began attending university classes in his spare time. It took several years but he got a degree in engineering and began working his way up the corporate ladder, eventually becoming the president of the railway.
On a visit back to his old shops in Winnipeg, one of this man’s former co-workers asked him if he could use his influence to get him promoted to foreman. He looked his former co-worker straight in the eye and asked him if he had taken his advice and enrolled in evening classes. When the man said no, Pops friend simply told him there was nothing he could do for him. This man told Pops, “I am willing to help people who first try to help themselves, I don’t believe in giving someone a free ride.”
People become fanatics because they are afraid of taking charge of their own lives. These people concentrate on what they have no control over, and they become fanatical over such things as hockey, religion, and saving the world, while ignoring their own life. If they began setting and working towards their own goals, they would start getting some satisfaction and contentment in life.
Pops gave me an example by asking me, “If a hockey fanatic’s favourite team wins the Stanley Cup, how will this affect this fanatic’s life? Will he be happier and more prosperous? Will he have a better relationship with his spouse and his children? Will he make more money? Will he get a better job? The answer of course is no, his team’s win would not have any effect on his life. Why then is he a fanatic? Would setting goals and working towards them have a better effect on his life? The answer is, of course, it will.”
No wonder Pops is always telling me to think about what I want out of life and telling me to not let anyone interfere with my goals and aspirations. As usual, I find it hard to argue with Pops.
Next month: Doctor M
Wayne Douglas Weedon is a Manitoba author who writes a combination of fictional and factual stories, essays, and novels.
