Freethinker's corner
I will not go quietly into the night!
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Yesterday, December 8, 2008 I witnessed a fine example of fused thinking, a mind already made up, and inflexible. The Host was going to have Annie Laurie Gaylor of the Freedom from Religion Foundation on as a short term guest. Before Annie’s appearance he repeatedly lamented the sign the FFRF had posted in the Capitol building of Washington. (Washington State I presume)
How, he lamented, could someone put up such a devastating sign at this season of seasons? How could anyone so crassly denigrate someone’s belief system? How could someone be so insensitive to others? This set the tone of the interview.
Miss Gaylor did nevertheless appear, which is more than I could have done if so insulted. A very gutsy lady, indeed.
(human behavior observation: 081209)
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Yet another letter in the local paper trying to remind people of the reason for the season. Yet another idiot got it wrong. This miscreant claimed as many others in the past that this season is a christian holiday. In actuality this season was the time when people celebrated the solstice, the time when days started to become longer, and the sun was returning to it’s summer place in the sky.
If it were the celebration of the birth of a god in human form it would have to take place early in the year, not in December, or not as all, since such a birth never took place.
When I put up a "christmas tree" I will call it a "solstice tree", and it will be a celebration of life, not death, as in the christian vein.
(Human behavior observation: 081207)
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I am watching the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s battle with religious bigots with much delight.
The FFRF had installed a sign at the capitol expressing the sentiment that religion is a myth. That sign, weighing around 50 pounds, was stolen by some outraged "Christian" criminal.
Why do these bigots, and make no mistake, that is exactly what they are, fight to remove this message from public view.
The only reason that can be is that they are afraid that someone will be turned from their archaic, negativistic belief system. They remove opposing arguments because their arguments are too weak to stand scrutiny.
(human behavior observation: 081205)
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I’m praying for you, god be with you!
Translation: There is nothing I can do for you, and I really intend to do nothing to help you, but I feel I must pretend to do something.
Humans feel a need to pretend to not be helpless and yet saying I’m praying for you, is just the same as admitting just that.
Why not just say the truth: I can not do anything to alleviate or ameliorate your present state and yet I hope that things turn out ok. Even a mundane "Best Wishes" would be preferable to a lie. Of course, where humans are concerned, the truth would be an odd commodity. It would be too refreshing to hear someone admit their inability to provide assistance, or even that they simply will not provide assistance: I could help you, but I simply don’t want to, or I am simply too freakin’ lazy to help you. Or even: I hate your guts, and though I could alleviate all your suffering, I prefer to see you suffer.
Humans seem to prefer putting forth a facade rather than to display the simple truth. Perhaps some of this confusion is caused by a desire not to denigrate or upset the individual, or to deny that they are helpless, or that the situation really is that dire.
Sometimes you wish that people came with a truth button on their foreheads. You could reach out, depress the button, and receive the truth for a change.
(Human Observation: 081201)
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A mass layoff is occurring where I work. I am one of those unfortunates that have been deemed expendable.
An older man who appears near retirement is duly worried about the future. The future he is worried about has nothing to do with the reality facing us. He walks around with ashen face, almost zombie like appearance in his demeanor.
During one lunch period he chose to sit at my table. His purpose was clear. He wanted to tell me about the coming apocalypse. Yes, he thought all the misery we were suffering was the dawn of a coming apocalypse and that he was going to save my soul from the destruction that was certainly coming.
His mind was not on the layoff, his mind was on the middle east and the most certain calamity facing it in the next twenty years.
I tried in vain to inform him that I did not share his faith, I all but told him I was a non-believer. To no avail. I didn’t want to dash his hope in his faith so I didn’t pursue the matter. I merely left, telling him that I thought the world would be better off if the Middle East did not exist. This ended the conversation. He was too angry at me to continue to press his assertions.
I respect this man’s ability. He performs his job well. I just wonder at this man’s obsession with the myth when so much reality is at hand. Perhaps it diverts his stress. After all, if everyone is doomed, then a mere layoff is of no consequence.
(Human behavior observation 081117)
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