I live in the United States. Ohio, to be exact.
But I have to tell you. The good old U. S. of A. can be a little hard to believe at times.
All you have to do is look around a little. Or better yet, flip on the news on any given day.
“Hard to believe” abounds.
Take this, for instance.
New Hampshire doesn’t have a seat belt law for adults. I kid you not.
In the 1980s, many states began to enact laws requiring people in cars to wear seat belts. After all, the evidence is overwhelming. Seat belts save lives when a car crashes.
And although 49 states got on board and enacted seat belt laws, New Hampshire did not. You don’t have to click it shut in the Granite State.
To be fair, NH requires people under the age of 18 to buckle up. But adults are exempt. I don’t know why they don’t require it.
Hard to believe.
Here is another.
Bahá’í is the second most popular religion in South Carolina. I would have never guessed this when I lived there, or no time ever since.
Here is the thing. South Carolina is home to several Christian megachurches. A lot of people get gussied up and go to church on Sunday. A lot of Baptist churches on Sunday. But that doesn’t reflect the religious diversity of the state. So, it is hard to believe that South Carolinians’ second most commonly practiced faith is Bahá’í, a religion with roots in the 19th century Middle East.
Hard to believe.
Okay, switching coasts. Let’s talk about names for a minute.
This next one is interesting.
Portland, Oregon, is named after Portland, Maine. I didn’t know this.
But Portland, OR, almost had a different name.
When settlers founded the Oregon city, they couldn’t decide if they should name it Boston or Portland. So they let fate decide for them. In 1845, they decided to flip a coin, and Portland won. The so-called “Portland Penny” remains a cherished artifact of the city’s founding and is on display somewhere. Hmmm. Boston Baked Beans, Oregon.
Hard to believe.
Finally, let’s end on a sweet note.
More honey comes from North Dakota than any other state. That’s right. In fact, 20% of all American bee colonies are in North Dakota. They produced more than 38 million pounds of honey in 2020. I would have never guessed it.
You may be wondering why honey is so big in North Dakota. Its climate during the summer is conducive to flowers that attract bees.
Hard to believe.
Believing is really something, I’ll tell you.
It means that we accept something as true. We feel sure of the truth of something.
We, the people, believe in all sorts of things. Some believe the world is flat. Others believe there are two hydrogen molecules and one oxygen molecule in water. Some believe that Trump won the election in 2020. Others believe that gravity is responsible for our ability to keep our feet planted firmly on Earth.
But know this. Certain false beliefs can be significantly detrimental.
We believe what we believe. But we should use good diligence in this, I believe. We should try our best to know what is true and what is false. When we believe in something that does not exist, we believe in nothing at all.
But then there is this. Some false beliefs may have relatively benign consequences, while others can be significantly detrimental.
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“The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it.” – Flannery O’Connor
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“Honesty is more than not lying. It is truth-telling, truth-speaking, truth living, and truth-loving.” – James E. Faust
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“Your beliefs become your thoughts. Your thoughts become your words. Your words become your actions. Your actions become your habits. Your habits become your values. Your values become your destiny.” – Mahatma Gandhi
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I believe this is hard to believe
