Like a dog returning his own vomit, I can't seem to distance myself from this thread. One last contribution (hopefully). In one my circles of friends -- using the term somewhat loosely -- there is a cluster of Democrats and one lonely, besieged Republican. Naturally, the conversations between us have frequently devolved, using words like "stupid", and "DemoCRAP", and "ReFUCKINGPublican". After one particularly heated conversation where the lone Republican admitted, after incessant badgering from the rest of us (ok, from me), that he still *liked* Bush. I contemplated his admission for a day or two, and then responded with the following:
*I had a small epiphany Friday evening. There was a Los Alamos Hill Topper's home football game this last Friday, and the LA high school band was out of town at some kind of competition. Because of this, the high school had asked one of the bands that I'm in, the "HillStompers" to play at the game instead. We said, "Sure." So, at 6:30pm we ambled in, and took our seats in the Sullivan Field stadium where the HS band usually sits. Immediately, a Down's Syndrome boy came over and told us we had to leave, because that is where the high school band sat. Our band leader tried to explain that we were the substitute band for the evening. He remained unconvinced for the entire evening. The epiphany: Stupid people don't recognize that they are stupid. Seemingly, this applies to any level of stupidity. Bush's level, Palin's level, XXXXX's* level, Down's Syndrome, your level, my level -- it doesn't matter. Stupid people are convinced that no matter who says differently, they are right. You can waste your breath trying to convince them otherwise if you so choose, but you will have succeeded in exactly that: wasting your breath. Which in itself is a pretty stupid thing to do.* * XXXXX is, of course, the beseiged Republican --Doug On Fri, Oct 31, 2008 at 5:02 PM, Russ Abbott <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > This thread (and the reference to the column by George > Monbio<http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/oct/28/us-education-election-obama-bush-mccain>t, > prompted me to post the following on my blog<http://russabbott.blogspot.com/> > . > > *Is religion good or bad?* > > Obviously that's much too broad a question. And when it is asked, people > usually respond by pointing to the good and bad things people do in the name > of religion—e.g., like helping those in need (good) and the crusades (bad). > > But I think there is a real answer. A column by George Monbiot in The > Guardian<http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/oct/28/us-education-election-obama-bush-mccain>reminded > me why, in general, I think religion is bad: at > its core religion teaches people to favor faith over reason. > > One can probably stop there. Is it ever a good idea to encourage people not > to think for themselves? I doubt it. Even when people come to incorrect > conclusions by thinking for themselves, one at least has a chance with them > if they are open to the idea that one should think things through. Religion > closes that door by closing people's mind. It encourages a perspective in > which a given opinion is to be accepted no matter what—because it is God's > will or God's word, for example. The point is not whether some particular > position is or is not "God's will" or "God's word." The problem is with the > idea that one should decide something by asking whether it is "God's will" > or "God's word." That sort of thinking allows people to let themselves off > the hook of taking responsibility for their own actions and decisions. > > It's a lot easier simply to go along with the crowd or to do whatever one's > religious leader says. That's true whether one is religious or not. But the > problem with religion (and any cult) is that it encourages that sort of > behavior. By its very definition, one of the fundamental teachings of a > faith-based religion is mindless faith. > > I'm finding it difficult to express how deeply angry I feel about this. A > country whose citizens are trained to be meek (and sometimes not so meek) > followers of their religious leaders will inevitably become a backwater of > ignorance and stupidity. That's what religion is doing to this country, and > I hate it for that. > > -- Russ Abbott > _____________________________________________ > Professor, Computer Science > California State University, Los Angeles > o Check out my blog at http://russabbott.blogspot.com/ > > > > On Fri, Oct 31, 2008 at 2:31 PM, Steve Smith <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >> Doug >> >>> >>> */Well, that would depend on what the definition of the word "is" is, >>> wouldn't it?/* >>> >>> ;-} >>> >>> One of the more blatant Democratic lies ever uttered. Its echos are >>> still reverberating. >>> >> Nahhh... that wasn't a /Democratic lie, /that was a horn-dog lie, caught >> like a deer in the headlights. >> >> I didn't care much for Bill (but compared to George I and George II even >> more, he was a saint), but this question (never mind the stupid answer) was >> totally inappropriate (but hugely effective). >> >> >> >>
============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
