It comes in cycles

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It comes in cycles

Art Martin — 9/21/2004 5:01:36 PM (archived)

Lee, you're so right and the past is a great place to look for the dangers that unrestrained fundamentalism can cause. Often times those periods in our history where religious fervor was at its zenith were also times where the citizenry felt in danger or insecure. I attribute it to the same phenomena as increased sales of lottery tickets during economic bad times. Human nature makes us look for simplistic answers. Crime is up? Well, we can't fix the basic problem of the population explosion without huge societal changes, so let's let magical forces fix our problems. All we have to do in return is keep the creator happy by demonizing something like gays or drugs.

People are flying planes into our skyscrapers? Hey, let's put God on our side and attack everyone not like us. It feels good. God bless the USA? You bet. Look at our kick-ass smart bombs. He must approve since locust swarms have gone out of vogue. Never mind that the blessing must have dipped when those guys took control of the airplanes. Now I'm not saying that we shouldn't have gone after the criminals responsible for those acts, but let's just leave God out of this because evidence says that whatever divine influence is going on is about a wash in benefits to either side.

The whole thread (37 posts)

"God bless the USA" - Art Martin - 9/20/2004 11:52:23 PM
- The tyranny of the pious majority. - Bowser - 9/21/2004 11:06:50 PM
  - As compared to the tyranny of the impious minority? (n/t) - ebnelson - 9/22/2004 6:21:33 PM
- Suck it up, if you don't like it. And God Bless you, too. (n/t) - ebnelson - 9/21/2004 8:05:48 PM
- re: "God bless the USA" - doghot23 - 9/21/2004 7:25:20 PM
- Why -- did it sneeze? - Fox - 9/21/2004 4:57:54 PM
  - Sneezing - LJ - 9/22/2004 4:34:51 PM
    - Judging from recent posts, I'd say the latter - Fox - 9/22/2004 11:01:37 PM
  - Very well-said. Thanks. - Art Martin - 9/21/2004 6:31:43 PM
- re: "God bless the USA" - REB - 9/21/2004 2:13:46 PM
- I secure enough in my beliefs to allow others to express theirs. - Lee - 9/21/2004 7:32:55 AM
  - I'm secure enough..... (n/t) - Lee - 9/21/2004 7:34:03 AM
- When you are totally comfortable with your atheism... - FrankC - 9/21/2004 1:11:07 AM
  - It seems many atheists are rather fascistic in their sensitivities. - ebnelson - 9/21/2004 8:07:28 PM
  - By itself it's not threatening - Art Martin - 9/21/2004 1:30:48 AM
    - Two different things - FrankC - 9/21/2004 4:48:34 PM
      - Not a bad outlook - Art Martin - 9/21/2004 5:24:47 PM
    - A modern phenomenon? Ever hear of the Scopes Monkey Trial? (n/t) - Lee - 9/21/2004 7:37:14 AM
      - It comes in cycles - Art Martin - 9/21/2004 5:01:36 PM
    - How about a coin with "In Allah We Trust"? - Bowser - 9/21/2004 3:43:50 AM
      - Ben Franklin wanted: "Mind your own business!" (n/t) - Publius - 9/21/2004 2:22:30 PM
      - re: .. sure, that would be better. (n/t) - Marcia - 9/21/2004 4:59:44 AM
    - As I pointed out elsewhere... - Tom Brosz - 9/21/2004 2:47:34 AM
      - re: As I pointed out elsewhere... - Art Martin - 9/21/2004 4:44:10 PM
      - Not an excuse. - Bowser - 9/21/2004 3:21:04 PM
        
        Ummm Bowser, where di he say that? - RNE - 9/21/2004 4:08:26 PM
        
        When your only response over many instances is a reference to others being just as bad - alcaray - 9/21/2004 4:24:53 PM
        
        Why I keep mentioning these things... - Tom Brosz - 9/21/2004 6:12:03 PM
        
        Impossible: "A mature human condition needs to get past all versions of philosophical collectivism." - alcaray - 9/21/2004 6:30:07 PM
        
        Sorry, there's way too much foundation that needs to be laid here. - Tom Brosz - 9/22/2004 12:12:01 AM
        
        Thats funny - alcaray - 9/22/2004 3:34:38 PM
        
        No American since Roosevelt has imprisoned an entire class of people, either. So let's not be smug about gulags. (n/t) - Tom Brosz - 9/22/2004 7:19:15 PM
        
        You are correct. So why keep looking for these mythical folks? (n/t) - alcaray - 9/22/2004 9:06:25 PM
      - Agreed - RNE - 9/21/2004 12:50:53 PM
        
        Disagree on a point - Larry J - 9/21/2004 9:47:31 PM
        
        re: Disagree on a point, maybe not - RNE - 9/21/2004 11:59:36 PM
      - re: As I pointed out elsewhere... -thanks, Tom. (n/t) - Marcia - 9/21/2004 5:00:34 AM

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