Hannah McdermetDeviant Ink Slinger

“Thank God!”

This phrase has infused itself into our everyday language. “Thank God you’re here.” “Thank God he wasn’t hurt.” “Thank God she found her saucepan.” It seems like you cannot go a single day without hearing about all the amazing things God, or any other deity, accomplished that day.

It seems like this God fellow really has a lot on his plate. Either that or people give him way too much credit. Did God really help you read those incredibly confusing directions to your aunt’s house or make your favorite stuffed animal magically appear? I think not.

Now, before I get too ahead of myself, I need to explain something. I have nothing against God or any other deity and I believe that faith is a beautiful emotion to possess. However, it concerns me when people choose to put their faith in a God without putting any faith in their own capabilities. They would rather keep praying for something rather than asking for it from their fellow human beings.

Why is it that we thank God and not the health care providers who cured your uncle’s cancer? Why do we thank a god and not the firefighters who stopped your house from burning down?

A good friend once said to me, “God is inherently good and evil is man’s perversion of His goodness.” This makes me wonder why is it so hard for men and women to believe that people are capable of goodness. Why is God the only one who is looked at as inherently good?

Look at all the beautiful things human beings have accomplished. We have saved lives through a highly advanced medical system, helped the impoverished with organizations like the Peace Corps and Habitat for Humanity and improved communication worldwide through the Internet and telephones.

It is true that God may have helped humans in creating all of those wonderful things, but it was your fellow human beings who made it possible. Humans are the ones who are truly invested in making this world a better place for future generations. You would think that this investment would fuel humankind to believe in itself, but time and time again, they choose to place their faith elsewhere.

But why? As citizens of the western world, we are taught to fear the future. We are told from a very young age that in order to suppress this fear we need to put our faith in something larger than ourselves. For the vast majority of Americans, this higher power is the Christian God. We are taught to pray to God for forgiveness, protection, health, compassion and countless other reasons. All we have to do is pray and everything will be alright.

This passive way of solving our problems leads to nothing. We need to take a more active approach to our problems by seeking the help of others. Not only do we need to seek the help of others, but we need to place our faith in them. By placing our faith in each other, we can achieve more than we can imagine. Without faith and trust, we cannot evolve to make this world a better place.

On an ending note I want to thank each and every one of you for reading this. Whether or not you agree with it, I will continue to put my own faith in you and your abilities and I hope you will place the same faith in me.

Hannah McDermet is a senior journalism major at SDSU. Contact Hannah at [email protected].

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