America is pretty much a game of twisting the ideas the nation was founded on into the opposite of what they were intended to mean. Much like American Christianity. It’s a batshit country.
Adam Smith didn’t want unchecked capitalism; he argued that capitalists would immediately conspire to fuck everyone over when given the chance. Somewhere else he used the invisible hand as part of a metaphor for how specialization and trade between nations causes mutual benefits. The american political thought propaganda department took these two words out of context and made Smith the hero of unregulated capitalism, because the “invisible hand” of the market will solve everything.
It’s the same thing over and over. Jesus said love thy neighbour, American Christians are chanting build a wall. America was founded in direct opposition to kings, the current president is bragging about being one while hiring judges as hitmen who insist on taking the text of the constitution Very Seriously.
All of American society is a distorted lie at this point. All of it.
Of course, the founders of the original ideas were never perfect either, but the ideas were often better than the men behind them. Arguing that the idea that all men are created equal is invalidated by the fact that it was written by a slave owner is just another part of the endless distracting bullshit narrative. It makes the author a hypocrite, but it does not invalidate the idea.
Bad analogy. Christianity is terrible all the way through. The bible exists to normalize abuse. There is no world where “all-powerful and loving being chose to make us suffer” makes sense.
Jesus said love thy neighbour, American Christians are chanting build a wall.
He was talking to those who would inherit his kingdom. He was more dismissive of others. “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
The golden rule predates christianity. There is no such thing as a christ, Jesus was a delusional narcissist who caused endless problems for us.
It makes the author a hypocrite, but it does not invalidate the idea.
To prevent such hypocrisy in the future, we cannot pretend false things are true. “Freedom of religion” makes accountability impossible. Grown-ass adults need to stop pretending magic is real. I don’t think baseless religious claims should be protected under the first amendment, it is akin to yelling “fire” in a crowded theater when there is no fire.
We can’t get on the same page when people are encouraged to believe whatever they want. Honest people believe what is most likely true whether they want it or not. We need to rely on standards that are grounded in observable, measurable reality.
To prevent such hypocrisy in the future, we cannot pretend false things are true.
I am of the opinion that any sufficiently advanced religion is indistinguishable from the believer’s own morals (in terms of presence in decisions). Banning religion would not solve anything.
I advocate for education. All life depends on the truth; therefore, certain falsehoods threaten all life.
As we are living people, it is in our best interests to hold each other accountable for our words and actions, which are driven by our beliefs.
Instead, we currently have adults pretending that bronze age blood magic is real and that’s why we should dehumanize LGBTQIA+ and immigrants.
This is insane, yet the average person has bought the comforting lie that everyone is entitled to believe whatever they want. We should correct this deadly mistake every time we see it.
I don’t see the difference between your last paragraph and banning believing. To me, you can ban hate crime but you can’t ban bad morals, so you can’t ban beliefs because it’s just a disguise for the morals doing the talking, an arbitrary abstraction that people from all spectrums enjoy. See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_anarchism.
I literally can’t control what people think, correct.
because it’s just a disguise for the morals doing the talking
You got it backwards. We are all morally obliged to align our beliefs with reality because mistakes can cost lives. I don’t have to ban belief. I have to educate whoever is willing to listen to reason. It is in everyone’s best interests for everyone to believe in the reality we share. All our lives depend on it.
People like my father are proudly exercising their right to be wrong, to accept claims with no evidence, and their choices as a direct result of their magical thinking have directly led to abuse. No one should be okay with parents abusing their children because they believe in magic, but it is cheered here in the bible belt. I think people are underestimating how harmful these beliefs are.
I’ll agree with that. But I disagree with the targetting of religion as “these beliefs”. Domestic violence is famously high in atheist China. I have my own personal anecdotes from a very atheist/agnostic family. Religion is just aesthetic window-dressing and creates both bad and good. Believing “no pain no gain” is its own form of magic.
I forget where I heard / read this but weren’t the founders dead set against the economic system we now find ourselves in?
America is pretty much a game of twisting the ideas the nation was founded on into the opposite of what they were intended to mean. Much like American Christianity. It’s a batshit country.
Adam Smith didn’t want unchecked capitalism; he argued that capitalists would immediately conspire to fuck everyone over when given the chance. Somewhere else he used the invisible hand as part of a metaphor for how specialization and trade between nations causes mutual benefits. The american political thought propaganda department took these two words out of context and made Smith the hero of unregulated capitalism, because the “invisible hand” of the market will solve everything.
It’s the same thing over and over. Jesus said love thy neighbour, American Christians are chanting build a wall. America was founded in direct opposition to kings, the current president is bragging about being one while hiring judges as hitmen who insist on taking the text of the constitution Very Seriously.
All of American society is a distorted lie at this point. All of it.
Of course, the founders of the original ideas were never perfect either, but the ideas were often better than the men behind them. Arguing that the idea that all men are created equal is invalidated by the fact that it was written by a slave owner is just another part of the endless distracting bullshit narrative. It makes the author a hypocrite, but it does not invalidate the idea.
I agree in spirit. But:
Bad analogy. Christianity is terrible all the way through. The bible exists to normalize abuse. There is no world where “all-powerful and loving being chose to make us suffer” makes sense.
He was talking to those who would inherit his kingdom. He was more dismissive of others. “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
The golden rule predates christianity. There is no such thing as a christ, Jesus was a delusional narcissist who caused endless problems for us.
To prevent such hypocrisy in the future, we cannot pretend false things are true. “Freedom of religion” makes accountability impossible. Grown-ass adults need to stop pretending magic is real. I don’t think baseless religious claims should be protected under the first amendment, it is akin to yelling “fire” in a crowded theater when there is no fire.
We can’t get on the same page when people are encouraged to believe whatever they want. Honest people believe what is most likely true whether they want it or not. We need to rely on standards that are grounded in observable, measurable reality.
I am of the opinion that any sufficiently advanced religion is indistinguishable from the believer’s own morals (in terms of presence in decisions). Banning religion would not solve anything.
Did I say ban?
I advocate for education. All life depends on the truth; therefore, certain falsehoods threaten all life.
As we are living people, it is in our best interests to hold each other accountable for our words and actions, which are driven by our beliefs.
Instead, we currently have adults pretending that bronze age blood magic is real and that’s why we should dehumanize LGBTQIA+ and immigrants.
This is insane, yet the average person has bought the comforting lie that everyone is entitled to believe whatever they want. We should correct this deadly mistake every time we see it.
I don’t see the difference between your last paragraph and banning believing. To me, you can ban hate crime but you can’t ban bad morals, so you can’t ban beliefs because it’s just a disguise for the morals doing the talking, an arbitrary abstraction that people from all spectrums enjoy. See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_anarchism.
I literally can’t control what people think, correct.
You got it backwards. We are all morally obliged to align our beliefs with reality because mistakes can cost lives. I don’t have to ban belief. I have to educate whoever is willing to listen to reason. It is in everyone’s best interests for everyone to believe in the reality we share. All our lives depend on it.
People like my father are proudly exercising their right to be wrong, to accept claims with no evidence, and their choices as a direct result of their magical thinking have directly led to abuse. No one should be okay with parents abusing their children because they believe in magic, but it is cheered here in the bible belt. I think people are underestimating how harmful these beliefs are.
I’ll agree with that. But I disagree with the targetting of religion as “these beliefs”. Domestic violence is famously high in atheist China. I have my own personal anecdotes from a very atheist/agnostic family. Religion is just aesthetic window-dressing and creates both bad and good. Believing “no pain no gain” is its own form of magic.
I agree that people don’t need religion to be bad.
But also, the more excuses we remove, the fewer places they have to hide.
Religion is not just aesthetic window dressing. It is often the willful embracing of things that cannot be measured, including deadly falsehoods.
My main issue with religion is that there is no consistent standard.