I am glad I live in Australia rather than America.
Many of us here have cancelled plans to emigrate to New Zealand or Nepal since our erstwhile reactionary Prime Minister John Howard lost his seat at the recent election.
But even more happily invigorating is the latest HarrisInteractive poll on American beliefs, giving us the opportunity to compare the intellectual climate and health of the two countries.
82% of Americans believe in God, a statistic that makes me think of black overcast skies and Cromwell’s dreary England. Compare Australians. It is a statistical fact that “more Australians believe in space aliens than believe in God, despite the fact that more Australians have been to church than have been abducted by UFOs.” (Dale, 100 Things Everyone Needs to Know about Australia.) To be fair, space aliens in the original source refers strictly to the possibility of intelligent life out there and not necessarily to those little green creatures that abduct people in their sleep. But who’s splitting hairs?
See, Australians have checked out church and found it only has a ceiling or arch or stained glass up top. But no-one can justly accuse them of being incorrigible sceptics simply for the sake of scepticism. Australian’s can’t deny space aliens.
And the best part is that space aliens don’t make any claims on how people should vote or run the country or what films should be censored or what sexual leanings should be the basis of legal rights.
And they make much more interesting discussion topics than God when there are a few beers to get things going. I’m also sure they can offer much more fertile material for pick-up lines than God. One only has to compare “Have you had a close encounter lately?” with “Have you prayed today?”
And space aliens are much sexier than God. God positively frowns on sex. He will only reproduce by remote control through genetic-spirit implant into a virgin, — and he only ever went that far once in all eternity! Space aliens do much more interesting things while still working in mysterious ways with their abductees, as we all know.
Why Space Aliens are a more positive Belief Object than God
- Space Aliens don’t divide people morally over whether people believe in them or not
- Space Aliens don’t threaten to send you to hell if you don’t believe in them
- Space Aliens do not justify any wars
- Space Aliens do not make rules that mess up people’s sexual health
- Space Aliens expect you to believe in advanced technology but not in miracles
- Space Aliens do not command earthlings to keep impossible or silly rules
- Space Aliens do not censor the arts or any creative activity of earthlings
- Space Aliens do not want your money or your soul. (Some do want your body but only for a moment of experimentation after which it is returned without discernible after-effects.)
- When earthling attempts to communicate with Space Aliens are reciprocated it will be a scientifically verifiable event
- Space Aliens do not make any promises they can be accused of failing to keep
- Space Aliens do not take offence or get angry, — ever (even if you make graven images of them or have a laugh at their expense)
- Having a personal relationship with a Space Alien is entirely optional
- If you do decide to have a personal relationship with a Space Alien you are not required to go from door-to-door telling others about it.