The Butterface Effect

The other day, a friend and I were discussing the meaning of life. I know, what a heady topic, but it did get me thinking about the way religion influences what people put emphasis on in their day to day lives. For instance, a Christian (like the aforementioned friend) believes that this world is only temporary. That is why they could care less about the environment. It's like the rest of us are homeowners and they're the renters on the corner who never mow their lawn. Maybe if they cared a little more about the appearance of Earth, market value wouldn't plummet and God would think twice about the whole Armageddon thing. Just a thought.

On the other hand, Agnostics like myself don't believe in divine judgement. That's why I'm such a prick. I can say whatever I want to whomever I want and I'll never have to deal with the repercussions. Unless, of course, you have muscular friends. In that case, I take it all back. But what about atheists? When someone believes that their is nothing to believe in, what do they believe the meaning of life to be? Self-fulfillment? Helping others? Getting the chance to watch another season of Jersey Shore? Surely Snookie and the Situation are offshoots from some golden deity. Just look at their tan and sculpted bodies.

About this time in the conversation, my friend asked that if I had no written moral code how was I supposed to live a just life? I quickly thought back to one of the greatest cinematic masterpieces of the last 50 years, The Butterfly Effect starring Ashton Kutcher (yes, even greater than Dude, Where's My Car?). It's simple, everything you do effects everything else. If a butterfly flaps his wings in America, some little Asian kid gets brain damage. I don't know how exactly, but that's what I've been told. Look at Jessica Simpson. If her father Joe would have never made all those inappropriate comments about his daughters breasts, she would have never grown up with daddy issues and built such a sexually suggestive image to seek male approval. Joe, from all of Jessica's ex-boyfriends, thank you.