A lot of attention has been given to the corruption of Rod Blagojevich, Governor of Illinois. Quite frankly, it is unimportant and uninteresting. First, he is the governor of Illinois, meaning the state in which Chicago exists. That's just the way they do things there. It is the way they always have done things there. Is anyone actually surprised? He keeps saying he did not do anything wrong, he probably does not even realize he did, LOL. I mean, frankly, this is the same governor who refuses to live in Springfield, the capital of his state, and commutes from Chicago by helicopter. He asked for a bribe. Second, there is so much corruption in this country right now that a bribe is the least of its worries. I mean, voter fraud, press censorship, free speech violations, voter intimidation, people deliberately damaging the economy ... It does not even register on the same scale as these things. Quite frankly, the issues surrounding this senate seat make Blagojevich's actions pretty much irrelevant, too. People are calling for it to necessarily go to a black candidate, whether or not he is qualified, or for this, or for that, but nowhere does qualification for the job come into play. At the point where the most qualified candidate is not necessarily getting the job, why does it matter if the guy who gets it gets it because of his money or his race? Jesse Jackson's son won the bid, anyway, so everyone should be happy.
Is bribery and corruption something to laugh at? I guess not, but it is CHICAGO! and Chicago machine politics are seeping into the politics of the rest of the country. Bribery is the least of everybody's worries, or should be!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
Being Conservative is like Driving a Stick Shift ...
Being Conservative is like driving a stick shift. For a little extra work and responsibility, you get higher gas milage, lower maintenance costs, higher dependability, and better horsepower. Plus, you get the skills you need to pretty much drive any car. Questions? :)
Monday, December 8, 2008
Atheism versus Antitheism ...
Atheist or Antitheist? What's the difference?
The prefix "a" means "a lack of" something.
The prefix "anti" means "actively against" something.
Similarly, the terms asocial and antisocial can be analyzed. "Asocial" means "a lack of sociability." Someone who is asocial is withdrawn from society. "Antisocial" means "actively against society." Someone who is antisocial works to disrupt society. Now do you know the difference? An atheist is someone who does not have a religion, who is not religious, who does not believe in God. An antitheist, well, that can be broken up two ways! On the one hand, it can mean someone who is actively against God. On the other hand, it can mean someone who is actively against theists, or people who believe in God. Either one works. Why does it matter? It matters because one is simply a belief, whereas the other encompasses a malicious view of certain segments of the population. Atheism is simply a belief. It is the belief that God does not exist. It is neither more nor less rational than being religious or believing that God does exist. As a "lack of" religion, it does not have holidays ("Holy Days"), churches, priests, pastors, or whatever. They also do not try to "convert" people, because that is a religious practice. Furthermore, an atheist should be no more offended at a Christian saying "Merry Christmas" (or a Jew saying "Happy Hannukah," etcetera) than a Frenchman or Briton is by an American saying "Happy Thanksgiving." They are not American, but the idea that there is a holiday in America which they do not celebrate does not offend them, because it does not go against any beliefs they actively hold. They let us celebrate it, they don't, that's that. It does not go against your beliefs, because you do not believe in a God. Why do you care if someone else believes in God? If you are an atheist, you do not! Now, this does not mean that, if someone tries to convert you, you cannot argue back. It does not mean that, in an intellectual conversation, you cannot voice your beliefs. No, all of that is included in atheism, because those are rights that go with any belief system. An atheist is someone who believes that there is no God. An antitheist is someone who wants other people to believe there is no God. This perplexes me. If you have no religion, why do you care if someone else does? If a religious person is trying to convert someone, theoretically they are simply trying to save their soul. They are trying to do you a favor. Obviously there are deviations from the norm, but this is the norm and should be treated as such. They are trying to give you something which means a lot to them. They are trying to give you religion, they are trying to help you get into Heaven. What are you trying to do if you are trying to pull someone out of religion? Does being religious hurt them? Are they going to go to hell if they do not stop believing in God? No. Obviously there are some people who abuse religion, so fight its abuses rather than its existence. People within religions fight its abuse, too. Trying to convert someone is different from having an intellectual argument with them. Going to religious gatherings and churches and trying to convince people who strongly believe in God not to believe in God is not really something which is worthwhile. It causes raised emotions. It does not provoke intelligent conversation. It is a meritless endeavor. (By the way, can you imagine the uproar if a Christian group went into the temple of another religion and tried to convert people?) Putting a sign which says that there is no God beside a Nativity Scene is also a meritless endeavor. These people say that they are offended by the Christian notion which says that people are imperfect from birth, and that they need a savior to rescue them. Why? Christian belief says that people are not to judge other people, so it does not affect them at all! I mean, do they really think they're perfect anyway? That's all that is saying. "No one is perfect." Wow, that is offensive. So who cares? It is not a personal insult. It is not something which singles out any member of the population. It is not something which alienates any segment of the population. So why do you care what someone else thinks? That is antitheism. Furthermore, antitheists have adopted practices similar to religious practices, which is kind of bizarre considering that they claim to have no religion. Apart from attempted conversions, now they want holidays! They want the ancient pagan holiday of the solstice as an atheist holiday. That makes no sense. First, a holiday is a "Holy Day," to commemorate something religious. It is meant to worship God and strengthen one's religious conviction. Second, the pagans were not atheists; they were polytheists. If you want to be a pagan, and celebrate the solstice, then be a pagan, call yourself a pagan, and call yourself a polytheist rather than an atheist, because that is what you are. The pagan holidays were religious ceremonies, too. Wanting an atheist holiday is like ... wow, you are going to have to give me a while on that one. Atheism is a belief, one which is respectable, and as rational as theism, though not more so. Antitheism has acquired a fanatic religious and malicious twist which removes all aspects of respectability from it. If Christians did some of the things the antitheists do, there would be an uproar. You always have to be respectful of other people's beliefs. Atheists are. Antitheists are not. Both types of people exist.
With that in mind, Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah.
The prefix "a" means "a lack of" something.
The prefix "anti" means "actively against" something.
Similarly, the terms asocial and antisocial can be analyzed. "Asocial" means "a lack of sociability." Someone who is asocial is withdrawn from society. "Antisocial" means "actively against society." Someone who is antisocial works to disrupt society. Now do you know the difference? An atheist is someone who does not have a religion, who is not religious, who does not believe in God. An antitheist, well, that can be broken up two ways! On the one hand, it can mean someone who is actively against God. On the other hand, it can mean someone who is actively against theists, or people who believe in God. Either one works. Why does it matter? It matters because one is simply a belief, whereas the other encompasses a malicious view of certain segments of the population. Atheism is simply a belief. It is the belief that God does not exist. It is neither more nor less rational than being religious or believing that God does exist. As a "lack of" religion, it does not have holidays ("Holy Days"), churches, priests, pastors, or whatever. They also do not try to "convert" people, because that is a religious practice. Furthermore, an atheist should be no more offended at a Christian saying "Merry Christmas" (or a Jew saying "Happy Hannukah," etcetera) than a Frenchman or Briton is by an American saying "Happy Thanksgiving." They are not American, but the idea that there is a holiday in America which they do not celebrate does not offend them, because it does not go against any beliefs they actively hold. They let us celebrate it, they don't, that's that. It does not go against your beliefs, because you do not believe in a God. Why do you care if someone else believes in God? If you are an atheist, you do not! Now, this does not mean that, if someone tries to convert you, you cannot argue back. It does not mean that, in an intellectual conversation, you cannot voice your beliefs. No, all of that is included in atheism, because those are rights that go with any belief system. An atheist is someone who believes that there is no God. An antitheist is someone who wants other people to believe there is no God. This perplexes me. If you have no religion, why do you care if someone else does? If a religious person is trying to convert someone, theoretically they are simply trying to save their soul. They are trying to do you a favor. Obviously there are deviations from the norm, but this is the norm and should be treated as such. They are trying to give you something which means a lot to them. They are trying to give you religion, they are trying to help you get into Heaven. What are you trying to do if you are trying to pull someone out of religion? Does being religious hurt them? Are they going to go to hell if they do not stop believing in God? No. Obviously there are some people who abuse religion, so fight its abuses rather than its existence. People within religions fight its abuse, too. Trying to convert someone is different from having an intellectual argument with them. Going to religious gatherings and churches and trying to convince people who strongly believe in God not to believe in God is not really something which is worthwhile. It causes raised emotions. It does not provoke intelligent conversation. It is a meritless endeavor. (By the way, can you imagine the uproar if a Christian group went into the temple of another religion and tried to convert people?) Putting a sign which says that there is no God beside a Nativity Scene is also a meritless endeavor. These people say that they are offended by the Christian notion which says that people are imperfect from birth, and that they need a savior to rescue them. Why? Christian belief says that people are not to judge other people, so it does not affect them at all! I mean, do they really think they're perfect anyway? That's all that is saying. "No one is perfect." Wow, that is offensive. So who cares? It is not a personal insult. It is not something which singles out any member of the population. It is not something which alienates any segment of the population. So why do you care what someone else thinks? That is antitheism. Furthermore, antitheists have adopted practices similar to religious practices, which is kind of bizarre considering that they claim to have no religion. Apart from attempted conversions, now they want holidays! They want the ancient pagan holiday of the solstice as an atheist holiday. That makes no sense. First, a holiday is a "Holy Day," to commemorate something religious. It is meant to worship God and strengthen one's religious conviction. Second, the pagans were not atheists; they were polytheists. If you want to be a pagan, and celebrate the solstice, then be a pagan, call yourself a pagan, and call yourself a polytheist rather than an atheist, because that is what you are. The pagan holidays were religious ceremonies, too. Wanting an atheist holiday is like ... wow, you are going to have to give me a while on that one. Atheism is a belief, one which is respectable, and as rational as theism, though not more so. Antitheism has acquired a fanatic religious and malicious twist which removes all aspects of respectability from it. If Christians did some of the things the antitheists do, there would be an uproar. You always have to be respectful of other people's beliefs. Atheists are. Antitheists are not. Both types of people exist.
With that in mind, Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah.
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