Besides being the subject of my blog post, they all exist
and command powerful recognition throughout society and time simply because
people believe in them. Whether you choose to believe in Jesus Christ, the
Easter Bunny or Adolf Hitler is not the point of this blog post, so let’s not
get into a philosophical debate about these three entities. I am merely using
these three examples of influential figures to
demonstrate the power of belief.
Mental Preparation:
As with many of my creative ideas, the concept for this article
actually came to me after two glasses of Riesling, a conversation with a
co-worker and a bit of research. That’s right, I was
using the quiet time to let my mind roam freely from idea to idea without
paying any particular attention to the creative thought process. I find that quite often my best ideas
drift into my mind from the ether most easily when I am not thinking of
anything in particular, and for some reason I do my best writing after a glass or
two of wine. I suppose that not
thinking of anything in particular creates some sort of a vacuum.
Is Jesus
Christ Real?
If you believe in Jesus Christ, then he is real; if you do not
believe that Jesus Christ is real, then he is not real, it’s actually as simple
as that. The reality is that if
you believe strongly one way or the other, no amount of indisputable proof is
going to change your opinion because in a sense your very existence depends on
which way you believe… just ask a born again Christian if you don’t believe me. But according to a recent Rasmussen
Report, 88% of adults nationwide believe that Jesus Christ walked the earth a
little more than two thousand years ago.
And 79% of adults nationwide believe that Jesus Christ rose
from the dead. Interestingly
enough, it is likely that approximately 90% of children believe in the
existence of the Easter Bunny because according to the National Confectioners
Association, that is the number of parents who indicated that their children
received candy-filled baskets as part of the Easter Day Celebration.
Many of those children also believe in Jesus Christ because
their parents have taught them to do so.
I wonder whether people in general would believe in either Jesus Christ
or the Easter Bunny if their parents did not encourage them to do so. And on that note, take a moment to
think about some of the things which you believe which might affect how you
live your life on a daily basis… How many of those beliefs are ones which you created
based upon your own personal experience and how many belong to your parents,
grandparents and other adults who influenced your belief structure during your
formative years.
Do You Eat
the Ears or the Tail of the Easter Bunny first?
If you happen to be one of the 90% of parents who will either present
your children with a candy filled Easter basket and/or allow other people to
present your children with one … how will you teach your children to eat the
chocolate covered Easter Bunny?
According to the National Confectioners Association, 76% of adults
polled indicated that they start eating a chocolate Easter Bunny by chomping
down on the ears first; five percent indicated that they would start with the
feet and only four percent indicated that they would start at the tail.
By the way, if you want to deny your children the experience of
believing in the Easter Bunny and don’t know what to do with all of the
chocolate covered Easter Bunnies which find their way to your house on Easter
weekend, you can send them to me and I’ll be happy to set them out on Christmas
Eve for Santa Claus, in lieu of cookies.
I
almost forgot about Hitler and the Holocaust
It’s actually a crime to deny the existence of the Holocaust in
several countries including Israel and 12 European nations, but here in the
United States approximately 25% of college students are unable to identify
Adolf Hitler according to CollegeStats.org and it stands to reason that you
can’t have one without the other.
I watched a video on YouTube awhile back where a guy was
walking around showing a picture of Adolf Hitler to college students and asking
them if they knew who he was and it seemed like the majority of them thought
that they recognized him from a rock band. Well, at least they recognized him as some sort of icon, but
you can bet for damn sure that every one of them would have been able to
identify a picture of an Easter Bunny chocolate bunny.
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