|
Register | Sign In |
|
QuickSearch
Thread ▼ Details |
|
Thread Info
|
|
|
Author | Topic: Letters to a Christian Nation - Free Download | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tangle Member Posts: 9573 From: UK Joined: Member Rating: 6.2 |
I've no idea about his politics (but it feels unlikely that he's right wing) but he's certainly no ass or islamophobe.
Je suis Charlie. Je suis Ahmed. Je suis Juif. Je suis Parisien. I am Mancunian. I am Brum. I am London. Olen Suomi Soy Barcelona. I am Ukraine. "Science adjusts it's views based on what's observed.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Phat Member Posts: 18584 From: Denver,Colorado USA Joined: Member Rating: 2.4 |
This caught my eye this morning:
nwr writes: Yet you are a libertarian, and libertarianism is a system of theft from society. So I went to several internet sources to look into your claim. I DID find that libertarians value freedom over equality and this is one of the things I largely agree with.
Stanford Encyclopedia Of Philosophy writes: Nowhere in the article did I see any hint of libertarianism being a form of theft from society. (That is unless one believes that society owes equality unto itself at ALL costs.)
Libertarians strongly value individual freedom and see this as justifying strong protections for individual freedom. Thus, libertarians insist that justice poses stringent limits to coercion. While people can be justifiably forced to do certain things (most obviously, to refrain from violating the rights of others) they cannot be coerced to serve the overall good of society, or even their own personal good. As a result, libertarians endorse strong rights to individual liberty and private property; defend civil liberties like equal rights for homosexuals; endorse drug decriminalization, open borders, and oppose most military interventions.nwr writes: I suppose they could argue that shoplifting is in fact their job and livelihood. And you could point out that they are stealing from the wealthy owners of the equity firm that owns my store! But this all sounds too Marxist for me! The sale of that stuff pays my wage. If someone steals from that pot, I potentially get paid less...in the form of hours worked or in the event that the store would have to close. Should people be able to demand equality at the expense of another mans freedom? But maybe shoplifting isn't as irrational as you think, for people who might otherwise have no income at all.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Percy Member Posts: 22894 From: New Hampshire Joined: Member Rating: 6.8 |
Is it possible you're thinking of someone else? I haven't followed his politics, but just the way he writes comes across as liberal and inclusive.
--Percy
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
nwr Member Posts: 6484 From: Geneva, Illinois Joined: Member Rating: 9.5
|
Phat in Message 34 writes: Nowhere in the article did I see any hint of libertarianism being a form of theft from society. They don't include that in their definition. But you can see it in how they behave. Society doesn't come for free. We pay the cost in our taxes. And libertarians are always opposing taxation.
But this all sounds too Marxist for me! There's nothing Marxist about rationalizing theft.
The sale of that stuff pays my wage. That's also rationalizing. The owners of your store could pay themselves less, pay you more, and still be quite wealthy.Fundamentalism - the anti-American, anti-Christian branch of American Christianity
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Granny Magda Member (Idle past 262 days) Posts: 2462 From: UK Joined:
|
Hi Percy,
Theo is absolutely not mixing anything up. Sam Harris is a piece of shit.
quote: RationalWiki has a good breakdown of Harris' slide into Dark Web Alt Right horseshittery here; Sam Harris - RationalWiki
Letter to a Christian Nation was about the last thing he wrote before the brain worms got him. Mutate and SurviveOn two occasions I have been asked, – "Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?" ... I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question. - Charles Babbage
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Percy Member Posts: 22894 From: New Hampshire Joined: Member Rating: 6.8
|
Granny Magda in Message 37 writes: RationalWiki has a good breakdown of Harris' slide into Dark Web Alt Right horseshittery here; Sam Harris - RationalWiki
Letter to a Christian Nation was about the last thing he wrote before the brain worms got him. There's a more balanced treatment over at Sam Harris - Wikipedia. We who have held Christianity responsible for a great deal of death and destruction would object to the characterization of Christianophobe, and I can see how those holding Islam responsible for its own contributions in this regard would object to the characterization of Islamophobe. --Percy
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Granny Magda Member (Idle past 262 days) Posts: 2462 From: UK Joined:
|
There's a more balanced treatment over at Sam Harris - Wikipedia. Indeed and even that makes note of his controversies. As far as I'm concerned , you can't "both sides" Fascism and that's exactly what Harris specialises in. After a certain amount of palling around with Fascists, platforming Fascists and making public apologia for Fascists and racists it ceases to matter whether the individual concerned is personally a Fascist or a racist or not; they've become part of the Far Right propaganda machine and that makes them part of the problem. And this at a time when Fascism is resurgent. No matter how slanted the RationalWiki article, no-one forced Harris to have Charles freaking Murray on his podcast. No-one forced him to cosy up to Quillette. No-one forced him to stick up for Tommy Robinson and Sargon of Akkad. That's not normal. Normal people don't have a problem identifying a monster like Stephan Molyneux as a racist. I can't read Harris' mind, I can only judge him on the gross stuff he says and the dubious intellectual company he keeps and I have zero tolerance for this kind of thing. I have no problem with holding Islam to account. I have no love for Islam any more than I do Christianity, but it should be possible to oppose it without supporting Fascists or fantasising about nuclear first strikes on Muslim nations, or attacking BLM or supporting profiling Muslims at airports or any number of objectionable things that Harris has said or done. He's beyond the pale as far as I'm concerned. Also Harris believes in UFOs now. Because some unnamed person told him they were real. I think that is a good measure of how seriously Harris should be taken. Mutate and SurviveOn two occasions I have been asked, – "Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?" ... I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question. - Charles Babbage
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Theodoric Member Posts: 9488 From: Northwest, WI, USA Joined: Member Rating: 6.1
|
Anyone supported by and praised by Bari Weiss is a wing nut.
Opinion | Meet the Renegades of the Intellectual Dark Web - The New York Times He is an islamophobe. He doesn't think it exists.
quote:What Does 'Islamophobia' Actually Mean? - The Atlantic He is a person who claims to be a liberal but continually embraces illiberal ideas. He flirts with fascists and fascist ideals. But in the end, I venture to guess that he has no actual principles or even ideas. He has perfected the grift. And yes He is a pretentious ass who thinks he needs to share his petty ideas with the world. He is an intellectual lightweight who in reality uses a lot of words to say nothing but are an attempt to look smart.Sam Harris - Wikipedia What can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence. -Christopher Hitchens Facts don't lie or have an agenda. Facts are just facts "God did it" is not an argument. It is an excuse for intellectual laziness. If your viewpoint has merits and facts to back it up why would you have to lie?
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Percy Member Posts: 22894 From: New Hampshire Joined: Member Rating: 6.8 |
I think there's an intellectual spat taking place. I wouldn't accept either side's characterizations of the other side.
--Percy
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Theodoric Member Posts: 9488 From: Northwest, WI, USA Joined: Member Rating: 6.1 |
Reality. He is really quite shallow.
quote:https://www.salon.com/...tely-different--yet-very-much-alike Sammy has also tilted toward the anti-sscience banner and attacks "woke". He has had Charle Murray on his webcast and embraced the Bell Curve crap. He attacks BLM repeatedly without ever mentioning what their goals are. There is good, well sourced critique on Reddit.Blocked He may not be #MAGA but he is a POS.What can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence. -Christopher Hitchens Facts don't lie or have an agenda. Facts are just facts "God did it" is not an argument. It is an excuse for intellectual laziness. If your viewpoint has merits and facts to back it up why would you have to lie?
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Theodoric Member Posts: 9488 From: Northwest, WI, USA Joined: Member Rating: 6.1 |
So you are a bothsiderist on fascism?
What can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence. -Christopher Hitchens Facts don't lie or have an agenda. Facts are just facts "God did it" is not an argument. It is an excuse for intellectual laziness. If your viewpoint has merits and facts to back it up why would you have to lie?
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Phat Member Posts: 18584 From: Denver,Colorado USA Joined: Member Rating: 2.4 |
I followed your link to Reddit but became lost in the arguments favoring Palestine over Israel. Palestine is easily winning the ideological propaganda war. I can't really argue in defense of Israel at this time. As for Sam Harris, I'm not really impressed after listening to parts of his podcast. He is no wiser than any of us.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Theodoric Member Posts: 9488 From: Northwest, WI, USA Joined: Member Rating: 6.1
|
No and a bit dumber than many. He is a grifter nothing more nothing less.
What can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence. -Christopher Hitchens Facts don't lie or have an agenda. Facts are just facts "God did it" is not an argument. It is an excuse for intellectual laziness. If your viewpoint has merits and facts to back it up why would you have to lie?
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Percy Member Posts: 22894 From: New Hampshire Joined: Member Rating: 6.8 |
Phat in Message 44 writes: As for Sam Harris, I'm not really impressed after listening to parts of his podcast. I thought you were reading Letter to a Christian Nation.
He is no wiser than any of us. He's not revealing any secret information that we've been holding back. We've been saying the same things for years. Harris is just a better writer who is better at crafting information into arguments. --Percy
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Phat Member Posts: 18584 From: Denver,Colorado USA Joined: Member Rating: 2.4 |
Percy writes: Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to introduce the leader of the infamous EvC Peanut Gallery! We've been saying the same things for years. The peanut gallery is rarely unanimous. Theodoric thinks Harris to be a grifter. Tangle, on the other hand sees Harris much as Percy does...saying it in better ways than "we" can. Why not just label Harris a Theophobe? Many Liberals do. They think that their intellectual ideals are superior to traditional religious ideals. This secular humanist ideology is, in my opinion, a greater threat to global stability than religion. If it comes to fruition, the resulting leaders will only muck up the world by believing that human consensus cannot fail us. And Equality will triumph over Freedom.
|
|
|
Do Nothing Button
Copyright 2001-2023 by EvC Forum, All Rights Reserved
Version 4.2
Innovative software from Qwixotic © 2024