(i) People who respond to assertions with "Absolutely!" There are precious few things in this universe that are absolute - except perhaps death and taxes and statements such as "There are no absolutes!"

(ii) The mind-numbing programs of commercial television including Wrestling, Talk Shows, Soap Operas, Televangelists and programs promoting pseudo-science and the paranormal (The X - Files, Touched by an Angel and Roswell are particularly inane)

(iii) "Salvation plans" and facile solutions to complex world problems, the latest of which is unfettered global capitalism (will it replace God?)

(iv) the outrageous salaries of professional athletes and their hollow, frivolous and  mindless post game analysis and product endorsements (Wayne Gretzky's self-indulgence is especially pathetic!  - why do so many of our revered athletic heroes such unbearable bores?)

 (v) the prevalence of  silly "self-help" books such as  "Chicken Soup for the _______Soul" and self appointed gurus such as Deepak Chopra who cleverly repackage eastern mysticism in order to make it palatable to the yuppie mentality. See the page on my metaphysics for a philosophical foundation refuting this puerile moronic New Age pabulum.

(vi) Fads, catch phrases, panaceas and salvation plans in the realm of education, the latest of which is the "self-esteem" craze.

(vii) People, particularly professional athletes, who pray for and subsequently thank God for their victories and good fortune. Not a day goes by in the world of sports without some simpleton childishly invoking the name of the Lord in celebration of his victories. Similar sentiments are expressed by people such as those who survive calamities like the World Trade Center disaster. One such person, for example, claimed to have invoked the name of Jesus and subsequently thanked God (surely not Allah) for sparing him while thousands of others perished. I can only assume it was the same omnipotent caring God who was strangely ambivalent or absent with regard to the  demise of the others. But God works in mysterious ways! And of course there are those political demagogues, especially the American variety, who babble on about God incessantly. George W. Bush's first act after accepting office was to hold a prayer meeting. Was it not Ambrose Bierce who wrote that it was somewhat pretentious to petition a deity to alter the laws of physics and the Universe for one's  own benefit?  See my piece on Acts of God and for my compilation of H.L. Mencken's critical essays on religion click here     

(h) Rude insensitive jerks who destroy the serenity of public places such as bookstores and restaurants by bringing in their cell phones. They should have their cell phones rammed up their butts and then permanently welded to their ears. But more importantly, what do we do with these airheads who drive their automobiles with a cell phone in one hand and a coffee cup in the other?

(i) Mindless patriotism in the form of flag waving, "God Save the Queen", "God Bless America" and other self-serving jingoistic gibberish promoted by political leaders. Patriotism in the form of love of one's country and "my country right or wrong" is a primary factor contributing to War and consequently throughout history has been a major source of human suffering and deprivation. Machiavellian political leaders love to use this mechanism to deflect attention from serious domestic problems. Our war mongering neighbors to the south are especially adept at promoting this pernicious rubbish. Bertrand  Russell was right when he said "Patriotism is the willingness to be killed for trivial reasons" and Howard Zinn when he says "patriotism means being true and loyal -- not to the government, but to the principles which underlie democracy." In other words, to criticize the government when you think it is wrong is the essence of democracy and the true meaning of patriotism.  Zinn would argue this sometimes means fighting injustice by dissent which may even take the form of civil disobedience as was done during the Vietnam War. The United States is arguably the most notorious purveyor of patriotism in the world today. Howard Zinn recently stated, "The long-term interest of American governments, from the end of the Revolutionary War down to the present day, has been the expansion of national power, first on the continent, then into the Caribbean and the Pacific, and since the Second World War, everywhere on the globe. Each time there was a period of expansion, there was an explanation: "Manifest Destiny," the need to "save Spain," the need to "civilize" and bring Christianity to the Filipinos, to stop the Germans from sinking our merchant vessels, North Korea has invaded South Korea, we've been fired on in the Gulf of Tonkin, we need to stop the spread of evil Communism, we must liberate Kuwait for democracy, we must stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction, we must destroy the axis of evil. But behind all those lofty justifications and glorious rhetoric was the urge to expand American economic and military power. The "war on terrorism" is the latest opportunity to expand U.S. political, economic and military power into other parts of the world."

Throughout US history many citizens who even spoke out against patriotism and American foreign policy paid a dear price. Consider Zinn's account of socialist leader Eugene Debs:

"Debs was a leader in the protest against the First World War. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, a decision that was affirmed by a unanimous Supreme Court led by the presumed liberal jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes. Debs was sentenced because in a speech in Canton, Ohio, he said that the master classes made the wars, and the working classes fought in them.

He said: "Wars throughout history have been waged for conquest and plunder. In the Middle Ages, when the feudal lords who inhabited the castles whose towers may still be seen along the Rhine concluded to enlarge their domains, to increase their power, their prestige and their wealth, they declared war upon one another. But they themselves did not go to war, any more than the modern feudal lords, the barons of Wall Street, go to war.

"The feudal barons of the Middle Ages, the economic predecessors of the capitalists of our day, declared all wars. And their miserable serfs fought all the battles. The poor, ignorant serfs had been taught to revere their masters; to believe that when their masters declared war upon one another, it was their patriotic duty to fall upon one another and to cut one another's throats for the profit and glory of the lords and barons who held them in contempt.

"And that is war in a nutshell. The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and all to lose -- especially their lives."

Debs rightly saw war in class terms--as benefiting the rich, and killing the poor."

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