Can You Believe That?

"What is truth?" Pilate asked, but would not stay for an answer.
People today accept some strange things these things, that's for sure! Heard today about an incident in a town near here with a man holding a big sign: "IF YOU WANT TO IMPEACH OBAMA, JOIN US!" There was, reportedly a crowd of people (although whether they were sympathizers, curiosity-seekers or protestors, I can't say.) The point here is not meant to be political (I'm inclined to think everyone has enough responsibility to go around, thank you very much!) Nor do I mean to be some sort of unthinking iconoclast, as though no one should believe in anything! (Some particular sets of doctrines, on the other hand, have to go! Where'd I put my hammer?)
No, the subject for today is belief. Ranging from those deep-set beliefs that give meaning to our lives and direction to our days to the passing trivia that we use as much for entertainment as for guidance, we all have things we hold fast to, things we take so for granted that we never have put them into words until someone confronts us with a contrary. We reach such beliefs from many stances: we are raised that way so we either go that way instinctively or we reject it out of our need for individual autonomy. Or we believe because the people (or one significant person) who matter to us believe that way. Or everyone around us follows a particular path, and we would rather not travel against traffic.Oh, we could go on and on: when the media around us consistently beat a particular drum, when our personal safety and comfort is challenged, when we are forced by our employer or community or authority figures to accept one set of beliefs, we make a decision (conscious or otherwise) to shift our perspective.
The interesting thing is this: the more recent the conversion, the more radical the way that belief is expressed. So many new citizens have a more rabid and rigid attitude toward the USA than many of us who kinda take it all for granted. Maybe it is the New-Love feeling; you know, that combination of euphoria and need to have everyone feel what you feel when you first find love.
But beyond that there is a new attitude about belief: our belief is right, yours is wrong. Which means your belief must be obliterated, and any suggestion that my belief is not perfect is evil! This is especially true regarding religious doctrines, but it shows up of late in politics, in personal relationships, even in such otherwise innocuous areas as baseball teams ('nother subject, 'nother time).
Because you do not believe what I believe, so what? So long as you have something to believe in, isn't that good enough? (And so long as your beliefs don't get in the way of my beliefs, uv cuss.)