Freethinker's corner

Cold Logic and Reason … August 2, 2015

2015/08/02

Would we want a society that was ruled by logic and reason alone? A number of people have suggested that it would be a better world than that ruled by religion. What if the world was ruled by such edicts as:

”The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or one”

What if everyone was guided by this rule to consider the welfare of the whole rather than any regard for themselves. Would this not lower the value of the individual? Does this not rail directly with one’s instinct for self preservation, one’s own welfare? Is this not inhuman?

Inhuman or not, it seems that such reasoning would be in line with the direction that evolution would have us proceed. After all, in the interests of natural selection, it is not the individual that matters, but the species as a whole. If by eliminating the weak and unfit the whole of the species can be strengthened then evolution seems served. Yet… when it comes to selection in the human species who decides who lives and who dies? Who decides who has the desirable traits for procreation and who must be sterilized? Is it a case of opportunity? If the individual falls into a situation where its continuance jeopardizes the whole should that individual be expected to draw a sword and fall upon it… or do what comes naturally… try to survive?

In human society the rich or powerful decide who must die and who receives special privileges. Without regard to intelligence, people of lower caste are selected for military duty and sent off to various conflicts. In fact, if anything, only those who possess fitness are chosen and sent, leaving those of less fit nature behind to procreate, creating even more of the unfit. The society, soon bled of its strongest members, eventually withers and begins a decline.

On the other hand, if one uses logic and reason to maximize only the future of oneself, then too we have a problem. How is that future determined? What if you decide that a future bereft of others is in your best interest? What if you decide that as long as your own life needs are met then the hell with anyone else? What is there to stop you from making calloused decisions simply to further your own life without regard to any other?

In the past reciprocity has served the function of developing a reliance upon others to help maintain the individual existence. A loose system of give and take. When one has plenty that individual shares in hopes that when it has little and the other has much that it too will share, providing a basis for continuance of both. This too has its flaws in that groups of people that are dependent upon one another can discriminate against those that are not part of that group. This causes conflict to develop between groups as well, as each seek limited resources. As resources decline aggression between groups increases.

Compassion and sympathy, possibly an outgrowth of reciprocity is a necessary requirement for survival… If not carried to extremes where the entirety of a population is disenfranchised simply to enfranchise a few. If the few disenfranchise the many, soon the many will grow to resent and perhaps hate the few. There are many instances in society of this now. Well-meaning busybodies utilizing draconian laws to disenfranchise many for the enfranchisement of a few. Name a few? No one dare name any lest one bring down the aggressive oppression likely to result from those that “know what is best for you”!
Cult of Fear … July 19, 2015

2015/07/31

Bears repeating…

Freethinker's corner

(Also titled: The Nonexistent Reward)

No one except the terminally ill, suffering great agony desires death. This nothing, this ending, is a primal fear in humans who have seen people just go away. If some way could be found to continue existence, most would desire it, especially if that extension promised paradise. Imagine regaining total youth and living forever young. This is the lure, the bait, offered by most major religions. They offer continuity, existence beyond this world… but more than that: peace and happiness among those lost relatives.

It is not so much that they offer this, but how they offer this miracle of miracles. You must believe in a certain deity over all others. You must serve that entity and adhere to the doctrine featuring that entity. If you want to obtain the reward you must follow the dictates of that cult… as well as the dictates of…

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Cult of Fear … July 19, 2015

2015/07/19

(Also titled: The Nonexistent Reward)

No one except the terminally ill, suffering great agony desires death. This nothing, this ending, is a primal fear in humans who have seen people just go away. If some way could be found to continue existence, most would desire it, especially if that extension promised paradise. Imagine regaining total youth and living forever young. This is the lure, the bait, offered by most major religions. They offer continuity, existence beyond this world… but more than that: peace and happiness among those lost relatives.

It is not so much that they offer this, but how they offer this miracle of miracles. You must believe in a certain deity over all others. You must serve that entity and adhere to the doctrine featuring that entity. If you want to obtain the reward you must follow the dictates of that cult… as well as the dictates of that cult’s apostle. Since the deity itself never speaks to the common cult member an apostle becomes necessary to relate the desires of the deity. Without so much as a glance of or a scrap of evidence, the individual member is asked to believe in the existence of this deity. This gives the apostle great power and influence on the members of this cult. By claiming the dictates he/she issues are from the god of interest itself the apostle is able to appear as a mere servant of the deity… when in reality that apostle has taken on the mantle of a god. The unscrupulous individual through interpretations of his/her faith can manipulate the flock, causing them to do things they would never consider on their own.

We are all aware of witch burnings, claims of heresy, and blasphemy. Much was done to get rid of opposition to healing by prayer (witches were sometimes offering natural medicines, herbs). Some claims were made to gain wealth and control. They were very eager to magnify the reverence to whatever deity they offered thereby gaining additional control.

Fear is the basis… fear of death, and then once baited, fear of not going to heaven… and for some faiths, fear of hell.
The Social Animal …. July 12, 2015

2015/07/12

It is clear that the need to socialize, the need to have a cohesive group of people to belong to, also renders people within the group susceptible to manipulation. It makes the individual gullible and accepting of errant ideology just for the sake of being part of the group.

Initially this desire to belong developed by way of evolution as it made it more likely that the species would survive. Each relied on the other for various needs. It helped the survival of the species. Once our intellect developed it became clear to many that this strength was also a weakness allowing the group to be manipulated and subjugated to the desires of a few.

It is this quality about humanity, the need to belong, to socialize, that makes atheists just as gullible to manipulators as theists when meeting in groups. To belong individual atheists will accept that some things that are clearly immoral are moral. That you must support certain groups despite the fact that doing so undermines civilization. It allows the acceptance of abnormal behavior as normal behavior. This is why many people label atheists as immoral… it is because they, many atheists, really have been morphed into an immoral mindset through manipulative forces.

It is only through constant vigilance that the individual atheist is able to remain aloof and wary of manipulators entering and attempting to undermine the group. Atheists+ was such an attempt by feminists to take over the atheist groups. It was successful in many groups including humanist groups which now are more or less controlled by feminist ideology.
The Atheist Religion … July 5, 2015

2015/07/05

Perhaps religion is too strong a word to describe groups of atheists when they come together. Perhaps ideology would be a better application.

Ideology: the set of ideas and beliefs of a group or political party

The singular atheist by himself has no religion and is only defined by his non-belief in a deity. Like all human groups, however, when atheists come together and form a group an ideology develops. To be a long-term member of that group you must adopt the ideology held by the majority of the group or at best leave, at worst, be expelled. Certain ideas and beliefs (yes, unfounded beliefs) must be adhered to, embraced, or you will be asked to depart.

Atheists claim to be open-minded, and perhaps that is the biggest problem… they are so afraid of being labeled closed-minded that they will embrace everything no matter how illogical or immoral as long as they can gain the approval of the group. They are adept at finding “logical reasons” for these illogical concepts. Just as fundamentalists have no tolerance for those who do not hold to the group ideology, neither do atheists and they will attempt to shame you, insult you, or threaten you in other ways, to make you conform.

There are a few atheists who have seen the hypocrisies of the group ideology and will converse with you with civility. They will not however confront the group they are in or attempt to make correctness for fear of losing the only thing offered by religion and these groups: socialization.

This is why I have resigned from all atheist groups and organizations of late. This, and the move of feminism into atheist groups has made such groups totally propagandistic. Just as many of the stances of atheist groups lack a foundation, feminism lacks any basis for existence whatsoever. I will not support any group or organization financially. I will not provide monies to ideological movements of this sort.
The Surrender … June 29, 2015

2015/06/29

An idealistic, optimistic, view of humanity is unwarranted. Humans will never, can never, change. An individual can occasionally awaken and see the course human endeavors take, but most will either say “who cares” or “nothing can be done”. To a great extent it is true, nothing can be done.

Species after species has bitten the dust. Many species are now on that same road as unchecked human population growth continues. Many groups that promote wildlife preservation take in millions in donations… yet each year you are told there are more and more creatures declining in numbers, headed towards an untimely end. They are just as helpless as the cognizant individual. They are a waste of time and money in this fight against the inevitable extinction of creatures… including humanity.

Perhaps it’s time for the shrug of the shoulder and the surrender in resignation. It’s time to admit the inevitability of it all and face the conclusion with poise and grace. Live your life and hope everything lasts long enough for your dignified departure. No reason for you to pull your hair out, develop worry lines, or spend your hard-earned cash in a futile attempt to delay the inevitable. Enjoy the time you have despite knowing that most of those born today will not see the years that you have experienced. It can’t be long now before it all comes crashing down. People are already starving here and there, animal species disappearing forever, the climate changing resulting in immense catastrophes. The ill winds of our demise approach quickly, they’re right around the corner. All I ask is perhaps another twenty years. I hope things can hold together another twenty years.
Be Good for Goodness Sake! Thought Thread on Morality.

2015/06/14

Is it possible to live a moral life? Who judges whether your life is moral? What is moral for you may be immoral to someone else. Could it be that a person can only define the morals by which he desires to live irrespective of what others might consider moral? By establishing a set of moral guidelines are you merely setting up for yourself barriers that your sub conscience may feel obligated to transgress? Perhaps the best one can do is establish a central code of morals about which your life orbits rather than must strictly adhere to? Should there be barriers through which one must never proceed? (like murder, theft, etc.) Finding ways to deal with frequent failure to adhere to established guidelines seems a must. (Depression is not a way of dealing with failure)
Nothing New Under the Sun… June 7, 2015

2015/06/07

There is nothing new under the sun. It’s all been thought of and done before. There are times when this seems the distressing reality. In fact the times that it seems untrue grow shorter as my time upon this earth continues. Just when I think I have an original thought, a unique idea, I find that someone had it previously.

Just when you think you have found something new… to your dismay it turns out to be simply a different mix of old things. A different arrangement… something that could result from putting all the old within a mixer and what results seems new but isn’t really. It turns out that everything is built upon what was and nothing is really new from the ground up because the ground never changes.

Interchangeable parts comprise all things. In the end the substance of that thought new is simply of material that isn’t. Just like the Total Recall suggestion that your vacations are boring because in the end it’s the same old you that is there. Everything is indisputably composed of the same atoms that existed during all of the eons of existence.

Yes, I suppose everything is boring for people who feel they have thought and done it all. Perhaps that is the reason evolution gave us such short lives. The young have not seen it all, thought it all, and think, though they be in error, that they bring something new to the table. The only thing of course that is possible is that the bring a new arrangement. Even that of course may simply be an arrangement that was forgotten in days past.

Is it even possible to bring something new to existence without it having a foundation in the past?
Shhhhhhhhhh! May 18, 2015

2015/05/17

Shhhhhhhh! There are certain things you cannot speak of. There are issues covered by the veil of political correctness that have mandated directives as to what you must think about them. To buck the current of the crowd is to invite a mob justice reaction. Shame on you, they will say, you should be more accepting of those poor (whatever crowd is in “minority” this week). Everybody is seeking minority status because of the extra perks such a status brings. Almost everyone has managed to find some niche, some label to hide behind. Women, gays, transgendered, disfigured… everyone is regarded as so very special and therefore so specially privileged. Women, who are in fact a majority, carry this magic label of disadvantaged minority somehow. Who is left, one asks, that is simply normal?! The frowned on class in these times, the epitome of advantage class, held up to scorn by all the rest, is now heterosexual white males. “Die, Cis scum” the transgender crowd exclaims. The feminist crowd denigrates normal white males as privileged and heaps upon the insults whenever possible. Many men have simply surrendered and abandoned life to go alone. Others continue in silence, muttering under their breaths for to speak aloud the crimes others have committed against them always brings biting insults and hatred.

Keep your mouth shut while the engineers of social change destroy all the past that has been built by sweat and tears and builds some artificial plane upon sandy unstable foundations. The rewriting of history has begun and will not end until every speck of the majesty of man’s achievements is destroyed and replaced with the shoddy and despicable ideologies worshiped today. They will proceed, despite some claims to the opposite, to a point where the reestablishment of civilization will be impossible and only chaos reigns. It will be left to distant future times when visitors of some wiser planet visit and see the weeping remains of human endeavor.
How Feminism is Like a Religion … May 11, 2015

2015/05/10

As an atheist I see religion as being a totally fictitious belief system or ideology. There is no deity, no god or gods, as its foundation. Its roots can be found in myriad prior religions, and among the many myths of the day. There being no evidence everything must be accepted upon faith… total complete blind faith. Through support of fellow believers the ideology survives and is passed generation to generation.

In much the same way that religion is false, so is feminism. They, the feminist leaders, concocted in the early sixties a beastie which they labeled the patriarchy. The patriarchy was described as being composed of all men. All men, at that point, became the enemy of feminists. The patriarchy worked, they asserted, to oppress women. Most men, and rightly so, looked about and said “Who, me?” The truth was no man was oppressing women, no organized bunch of men were ever oppressing women. True, there were some elements of oppression within the ranks of the religious, but no where else. Nevertheless, through repetitious lies the feminist sisterhood was able to convince a willing bunch of gullible women that there was indeed some hideous oppressive beast called the patriarchy… of which, all men were members. Members had to accept this on blind faith as there was only fictitious evidence available to substantiate the claims. Taking up the gauntlet these twisted sisters began teaching the lies to their children… even their innocent boy children. In this way the lies are spread and maintained from generation to generation.

Much of what passes for feminist ideology is based on emotions, yes, feelings. If it feels right it must be right or if it feels wrong it must be wrong… reality, what is really right and wrong is subjugated to these feelings.

You protest… religions have churches. Well, feminists have their meetings to plan their attacks upon men… they also have, thanks to our gynocentric government, more women’s studies in universities than you can imagine.

Actual proselytizing in media by feminist writers is common these days.
•It can be often seen in programs like “The View” – feminists attempting to force everyone into feminist worship.
•They sometimes literally worship their own vaginas and engage heartily in men bashing.
•As there is much religious art and music, so there is feminist art and music.

Feminism is in every sense a religion. They are told to believe with blind faith in an entity called patriarchy, an entity against they must battle and destroy.

Many people leave religions only to adopt another one or make their own. Some disparage of all religion and become atheists. This does not make them any less susceptible to being hoodwinked. Atheists remain gullible if the ideology they are presented is cloaked well enough. This is why many atheists adopt feminism within their ideologies. Yes, atheists have their ideologies also. It is nearly impossible to avoid developing certain beliefs when people come together, be they religious or atheist. This is why I no longer belong to any group. This is why I do not financially support any atheist or humanist efforts. Feminism has infiltrated and subverted almost every atheist group. Once a reasoned, logical atheist is infected with the nonsense of feminism, nothing which they think can be trusted. Everything becomes tainted. Just as religious belief can destroy science, so can feminist thinking. It is all in the perspectives.

Women achieved total equality long ago. That was not enough. It was too hard to assume responsibility for their own lives. They continued to press eager-to-please politicians to produce laws and restrictions against men. That is why we have de facto laws like Title IX, the Gender Equity Act, and now the very biased and sexist VAWA. They continue to press in their pursuit to destroy anything male, anything masculine. It can only end very badly.