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Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
Part of growing up is learning that we can disagree on some issues, sometimes painful ones (And believe me, to get how painful these dehumanising issues are, how real they are, one only needs look at the current true-believer Republican Party*) but still agree on others.
We may not find middle ground on everything and a large part of me wonders if it would be desireable even if we did (The fallacy of moderation being "The emperor has no pants - nice shirt though") but that doesn't stop us being people, forever fumbling to find the words to express what we really mean to say and forever getting it wrong.
Heck, I have read enough of your posts to know that even if we don't agree on everything, you are a decent human being. We may disagree painfully on this issue, but that doesn't stop us agreeing on others.
* Yes I know you were a Republican, but you will acknowledge how the current party treats religion as deeply frightening.
Thank you so much for this. I can't tell you how appreciated it is. It's true, growing up (or maybe just growing) must involve the recognition that not only may we not agree on everything but that, as you point out, such agreement might well be undesireable. For me it would be, in great part, a terrible tragedy, in fact. We learn from each other -- sometimes.
I very much appreciate your seeing me as a decent person. I do, truly, mostly, aim for decency as a minimum standard. Some days I actually rise above that. Other times, well...you know.
I'm happy we agree on as much as we do, including my political afiliation, which I maintain now more for spite than any other good reason (that and the fact that I believe once the scum has been scraped off there may actually be some few good things remaining). Meanwhile I'm happily dancing on the grave of the GOP I've come to know and hate, and yes, they have not only treated religion in ways that are frightening but have done it with dishonor and deceit as well, preying on the wildly mindless religiosity of people for the sake of mob manipulation, which for my money is just another way of portraying what Mark Twain called "The United States of Lyncherdom." Christianists are always ready to volunteer for that sort of dirty work, it seems.
Thanks again. You've rather made my day. That's a pretty powerful and creative thing to do, too, to make someone's day for them. :)
We know there is self-orgianization in proteins. It is a monumental and exciting breakthrough but there is no "therefore God". It is not established to be a sacred process.
Perhaps, but he must have been at Bible study group during Logic 100.
Evidently, any semblance of syllogistic coherence is absent from his thoughts.
There are more undistributed middles here than Yr. average Richard Simmons sweat-off.
Egregious gibberish.
Study the semantics of these issues inside and out, and all the disagreements disappear.
Although I agree with much of what Dr Kaufman says here, I don't think it really adds very much to the debate about evolution or what? This mystical, humble sense of awe about the universe and life is not contradicted by the theory of evolution; nor would most atheists be uncomfortable with it. This "God" has certainly little in common with "religion" as commonly understood and practised. It does not give meaning to life, nor does it explain the origins of life. Nor does it need to. "To see the world in a blade of grass and heaven in a flower" is quite sufficient for me.
... if you're still following this ...
Thanks back at you! Was just checking today to see if anything different was being said (conclusion: not really) and saw your compliments a few pages back. Not sure which post of mine you agreed with (wrote a couple of lengthy ones way back), but I'm glad you found some common ground somewhere in there ;o)
Much of the initial coverage about Fort Hood turned out to be wrong. Is there anything wrong with that?
The accountability imposed by another country for the CIA's kidnapping and torture reveals much about our own.
Fox News' morning show plays to type, talking about whether Muslims in the Army should face "special debriefings"
The survivor and author is upset about comparisons some on the right are making to genocide
Once seen as a lunatic fringe, reactionary anti-women groups are courting respectability
Salon headlines in your mailbox
