September 11

Today, yet again, the internet is full of people saying "I remember". They are pushing the idea that remembering the attacks on September 11th 2001 is enough. They are dead wrong.

Here are my questions for those of you who are remembering:

• What actions have you personally taken to prevent such attacks from happening again? 
• What have you done to improve the world? 
• What have you done to stop religious hate? 

If you have no answer for those questions, you may as well forget what happened all those years ago. You clearly didn't learn anything.

For those of you who are sitting in church today, I have two more questions.

• How many people have been murdered in the name of the religion you follow? 
• Are you really okay with being a part of that history? 

You can claim all you want that it's zealots who push religion too far. That they are responsible for the deaths in the name of your faith. You can claim that you are representing what your religion really means. You can claim that you are far more open to other faiths than (insert alternate faith here).

We all know the truth though. Those are the exact same words any and every zealot has used to justify the atrocities they have committed. If you are religious, you are carrying along with you all of the sins, all of the horrors, all of the blood of those who have been unjustly murdered because they believed something different.

We will never have the peace your religion promises to provide, until religion no longer exists. If there are sides to choose between, someone will always think theirs is the best and be willing to do anything to prove it. Sadly, that is the human condition.