#PagMayTime ~ The thing about beliefs is that no one can fault nor assail anyone else for having such beliefs ~ beliefs are personal and, more often than not, beyond the power of reason (particularly from anyone else) to dislodge or shake from the individual's grasp and dedication. Religion, politics, economic (business) practices, social norms and values, etc. ~ these are the stuff that beliefs are made of, and these beliefs form the framework and operate the interstitial elements that inform and compose an individual's character and behavior in life.
A person without beliefs is a non-person ~ in the sense that the person is essentially free from any hold that this worldly existence of ours have on us, its mortal denizens. There is no purely rational person alive, just as there is no purely emotional or purely spiritual person, either ~ simply because all of us, while still alive, are prisoners of our physical selves. And the controlling factor of our physical selves is our mind ~ the intellect and will. Our souls or spirit ~ supposedly within all of us ~ enable us to aspire to a higher plane of existence or unfettered consciousness, but only accessible within the largely still mysterious workings of our mind, with its power of imagination and cogency.
If they believe that the dead-and-gone had (while still alive) done so-and-so things that are worthy of their praise and remembrance ~ those are their perspectives (which others may call illusions or make-believe) and opinions that their belief validate and legitimize (as far they are concerned, anyway) to be true. But if you look at the verb B-E-L-I-E-V-E, you will notice that the central letter is I ~ which is why beliefs are individual and personal, which though it may find commonality in being shared by some, only attains social currency through the sheer magnitude of numbers. The more people share or believe, the more the particular perspective or opinion gain strength and relevance. If the opposite, then it simply remains a minority.
We can let them be ~ nothing they can say or do can shake anyone else with different beliefs and perspectives to lend credence to what they hold to be true (opposite to what others hold to be contrary to their own beliefs). But because we also believe that death and the sense of personal (family) loss are a burden that is socially made more tenable (or acceptable) and equally (or mutually) sustainable, we respect the loss as personally significant ~ and may have an impact that goes beyond such personal/family significance.
But when the said impact beyond personal/family loss ~ as far as many other people are concerned ~ is negative or even held in contempt ~ that is the contrary belief of others, which also demands respect. The sense of any loss is not a license to demand of others any certitude or extent of respect and belief in what those who have that loss maintain for their own sense of being ~ because others have their own sense of being, that while sharing in the socially accepted practice of respecting the loss does not necessarily entail also believing in what the dead stood for (in life) which those that grieve such loss may have, but only for their own.
That's a long-winded way of saying, "To each his own." But we have to explain it longer, because people don't seem to really understand how it works. Or maybe just refuse to understand, period. They demand (while doing the opposite for others they don't like), they praise and elevate (even though many more others don't accept or believe), they make the event an occasion for trumpeting their "virtues" ~ which they had dragged through both the mud and the gutter in actual practice (when they were in power). People are now very much less subject to the guiles and falsehoods of mainstream mass media, even if reinforced from the pulpits with sanctimonious authority, or even if dramatically or emotionally projected by those who feel the loss most greatly or personally.
"Let the dead bury the dead." This Scriptural passage properly means to put your spiritual responsibilities to God before any other duties or concerns. But some people use it as a valid authority or even power to excuse and forget the past, what had been done. That is not right. True peace can only be had with real justice. The families of the SAF-44 never had real justice. And they are definitely more than just the particular family grieving the present "great loss" ~ and that is not to include the countless more families who suffered their own grievous losses, without even being known or remembered. Can one family ~ no matter how ultra-rich or powerful (by our own fucking standards) ~ be held above all others?
Our society is so fucked by our perverted beliefs that people don't or can't maintain any semblance of real balance in life. Our beliefs either fuck up our ability to think, or enable us to more clearly see and discern what is true, or noble, or worthy, or real. Which would you rather have? And that's the power of beliefs . . .
~ 'pag may time 
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