Eureka Springs

A few evenings ago I went into Eureka Springs proper to get to know it a bit better. It is less than ten miles away, but since the road is a winding one, it takes a while to get there. No matter -- it is a beautiful drive. ES is built on the side of a mountain, where the ridge we are on splits into two. It has some very steep streets. One might consider Eureka Springs the Lausanne of the Ozarks (or maybe not). Many of the late 19th century buildings remain. The small downtown is quite charming; the surrounding residential area sports many Victorian homes, some in better repair than others. The populace is a mix of New Age neo-hippie types, artists, tourists and Bible-thumping Christians. It seems that they all get along.

BTW, I find it telling that Christians, when they refer to atheists on the internet, invariably use the term 'militant atheists'. In their eyes anyone who dares to raise his voice, however meekly, in opposition to the Christian monolith is deemed a militant. Call me a militant, then. They do not care to be reminded that for millennia anyone who dared question the tyrannical authority of the Church faced persecution, torture and murder. Many suffered unspeakably horrible fates at the hands of 'christians' for challenging the official view that the earth was flat, that the earth was the center of the solar system, etc. One could be cast out of a community for not attending endless hours of church services on Sunday. (Oh, the boredom one had to endure!). The elderly (especially women) were burned at the stake by the hundreds of thousands as witches because they exhibited signs of senility. One senses that the Christians are reacting out of desperation. They had their chance and they lost the game. Science has conquered ignorance, superstition and religion. Misfortune pisses on all alike, the just and the unjust. There will be no Second Coming, no Rapture. The universe will go on its merry way according to its inscrutable laws. Someday people will mature enough to see that religion has nothing to offer but empty promises and illusions.