SimplyMaggies

Last night I watched an episode of “30 Days” entitled “Religious Perception”. I must say I do like this show because it touches upon sensitive issues most people would prefer not to discuss thus forcing the viewers to examine their beliefs. Moreover, it challenges the stereotypes surrounding a specific issue and it enables the viewers to see both ends of the spectrum and allows them to come to their own conclusions.

As for “Religious Perception”, it left me quite stunned, although I really shouldn’t be, knowing what I know about Christians in general. I even considered myself a Christian once but I don’t believe in labels anymore…

Watching that show last night, I’ve come to a realization that (contrary to a popular belief) Christians are a very intolerant people. It is ‘my way or highway’ mentality and it strikes me as odd (to say the least). Didn’t Jesus teach love, acceptance, tolerance and equality for all people, no matter who they are, where they come from and what they do? And knowing that the God they so fervently believe in has a specific message, yet they somehow fail to implement that message in their lives, is a bit mind-boggling.

I’ve met Christians from various nations and I used to tend to think Catholics were the least tolerant of all. However, I’ve come to realize that American Christians (whatever their choice of religious denomination) are the most narrow-minded and the least tolerant. A scary thought when you consider the fact that a general belief is that USA is a country of freedom and tolerance. But is it really?

According to the American Constitution, the state and church are supposed to be separate. Yet every dollar bill boasts a phrase “In God We Trust”—a clear violation of that law. Furthermore, if an American citizen does not believe in any God and, say, wants to form a group or an organization for the purposes of gathering and discussing one’s beliefs (as if in a church), the said organization cannot get federal funding because one of the conditions is a belief in some supernatural entity.

To make things even worse, many American Christians believe evolution is not science but a theory (one of many) of the origins of life. Mind you, a theory means there is no scientific proof. However, scientists have proven this one years ago. The most disturbing thing is that in some states certain Christian groups want creatism (God created the universe and everything in it) to be taught at schools right along evolution since they believe these two views are philosophies.

I have never thought I would come to the conclusion that a country the rest of the world thinks of as a land of freedom is so behind the times. Luckily for me, I got my education in Europe and there is no doubt in both school system and church as to the scientific side of evolution. And surprisingly, the Church (Catholic, in the case of my country) managed to find a middle ground that supports both views without excluding one or the other.

It leaves me wondering why American Christians are so afraid of science or any free thinking, for that matter, and why are they so intolerant of everything non-Christian?

Finally, the show is here as well… I’m not sure if most of you are familiar with “Dexter” but it’s on its third season in the US. And because I happen to live in Italy, I finally get a chance to see its first season. And boy, isn’t that a treat!

The series could so easily be disturbing because the main character (Dexter) is a blood spatter analyst with a Miami Police Department during the day and at night he becomes a serial killer. Interesting… you say… However, Dexter only kills the bad people; the ones he deems are serious criminals, such as murderers. So in a way, his killings are justified and as much as you’d like to hate him, you find liking him instead.

The show is so much more than another criminal investigative TV series… The whole idea of the main character having this double identity gives it a different twist. Additionally, there is a level of psychological drama (or what have you) since Dexter is a very curious personality who is detached from both life and people in an unusual way… So while you’re watching the episodes you get glimpses of Dexter from his childhood, which may explain why he is the way he is (if you pay attention)…

I must admit I find the show extremely addictive. Mainly because it’s complex, challenging and intricate and portrays human nature from a totally different perspective than what we are used to in American TV (or TV in general, for that matter)… And as much as I’d like to dislike Dexter (because he is a killer, after all) I find myself having my fingers crossed for this oh-so-complicated man…

A few days a go I saw an episode of “Oprah”, in which she had various people telling their stories about how they managed to save money in the times when everything seems to be steadily going up. There were some amazing stories there, I must admit. But the one that really held my attention was about a woman that manages to cut her grocery bill by up to 70%!

Now, this is something worth looking into. So I looked her up on the internet and I found her tips on how to save on groceries. Her name is Stephanie Nelson and she is a founder of CouponMom.com and here are some of the tips she claims will save you a bunch:

• Take advantage of your local supermarkets featured sale items. And plan your weekly menus and shopping lists around those items. Moreover, planning ahead will keep you from impulse shopping.
• Learn about your store’s saving program and how it works, e.g. buy one, get one free deals, double coupons, store discount cards, which provide you with automatic discounts, special store coupons etc.
• Combine strategies and methods to purchase items at the lowest possible price, for example using coupons with a “buy one, get one free” offers. Furthermore, the best option is to use coupons when items ore on sale, which may result in getting some items free.
• Buy the Sunday paper, which carries 75% of grocery coupons. Stephanie advises to purchase two or three copies to save even more, since most coupons have a few-month expiration date. You can also get coupons online.
• Buy more of the popular items when they are on sale, e.g. if a boneless chicken is on sale every other week (as it is in case of Stephanie’s store), buy enough to last for two weeks until the item is on sale again and you can get it at a lower price. This way you never purchase the boneless chicken at its regular price.
• And lastly, be flexible about the brands you shop for and shop at the store that has the best price for the items in a particular week.

Stephanie sears by these simple rules and she showed Oprah’s viewers that it really is possible and how instead of paying nearly $200.00, she ended up paying only forty some… Now, that’s something I wouldn’t mind seeing happen to my grocery bill…