Sunday, August 29, 2010

Blood is the most powerful substance in the practice of magic.

Rational Thinking is voluntary and directed thinking. The scientific method is a rigorous application of rational thinking, which in its basic form is the ability to examine one’s own thoughts for correlation with real situations. The process involves gathering relevant information (facts, opinions), organizing the information, and then analyzing the information in order to devise a solution or explanation that works. Results are the test of an idea.

Magical thinking jumps to conclusions based on incorrect assumptions: superstition is the result. Superstition does not provide solutions that work, but which instead delay problem-solving, and often create more suffering for those involved.

Blood has always been a source of power and magical qualities. Many people believe that “the blood” of certain people is “good” whereas other people carry “bad blood" and that this quality persists in families or ethnic groups. They speak of the blood of their ancestors as having provided them with superior characteristics or personality traits. This has been discredited by the discovery of DNA and the genetic inheritability of traits, a product of rational thinking that required dedicated research over many decades, and is now well-established as the program that has created the evolution of life forms. And yet people still refer to the “magic” in blood as the source of pollution, inferiority, personal character, and social status. Many people don't "get" DNA as a code, but merely attribute magic power to DNA as a successor to blood.

This belief in the magical power of blood is obvious in the popular “one drop” rule by which some Native Americans and African Americans define themselves. The idea that one African or native tribal ancestor “erases” the contribution of all other ancestors is a ridiculous superstition, and it is in direct opposition to the goals of human equality, cooperation, and fair treatment for all people, regardless of superficial differences. The political and social idea of equality is supported by the evidence provided in human DNA, which demonstrates that all human beings are members of the same species and that racial characteristics are minor adaptations to specific environments. Race as a valid description of variety in human beings has been debunked by science, and yet the idea persists, and is used without question by Americans, including those who desire to leave inaccurate and ignorant ideas behind us.

An actual Native American woman (Yuman) and a New Age religious fantasy inspired by the magical "one drop" rule.