Why the Antitheists Go Too Far.

While on vacation from TLWR, I'd come across a clip of Christopher Hitchens, who is the author of the book, God Is Not Great (which no, I have not read), and among other things, is a vocal atheist that speaks out often and quite abrasively against organized religions.

Mr. Hitchens, who's courage I do at times admire, is a frequent guest on many talk shows, so one may not be surprised if you've seen him on tv, or, as it is now called, Youtube. One clip in particular caught my eye as I was browsing through the place.

Here it is for mass consumption.

Personally, I don't watch Hannity & Colmes, I've been left unimpressed by Sean Hannity on the few occasions when I've been exposed to his brand of professional television journalism.

That said, and speaking as a confirmed agnostic (if there is such a thing - how does one confirm not really knowing much?), I find that Mr. Hutchins (and he is hardly alone in his scathing opinion of faith in general and of religious leaders) does not help the cause of secularism and tolerance.

It is striking to me that the very basis on which people of no particular faith take objection to religion in it's organized form, as Mr. Hutchins illustrates in that clip, is that most religions and moreover religious organizations, are unbending and rigid. They have and do create discord among peoples, and in many cases, as in the case of Falwell, do promote intolerance and even hatred.

Yet all proponents of faith cannot be judged by the same yardstick.

Moreover, the point being made here is this: How can one attack religion, on the basis of breeding intolerance, while at the same time, being so callous towards the sensitivities of those to whom you preach tolerance?

Clearly, in the clip, Mr. Hitchens has no regard for the sentiments of the countless people that did hold Jerry Falwell in high regard, and it would be a gross injustice to define them all as bigots, racists and other such labels. This attitude is disturbingly common among atheists, more so in the Middle East, though here they are careful to keep their views where few will hear them, because yes, someone like me might get shot for writing something like this, which is in no small part the reason that this blog is operating with its author's usage of an alias.

There cannot be tolerance without mutual respect and mutual understanding. There cannot be tolerance without an unspoken accord that allows for respectful dialog without attack or persecution.

I often feel that we that are not of faith have had to suffer in these latter years as the Christians did in their infancy. And in doing so, we have developed a sense of bitter vindictiveness, we do not care about your sensitivities as we have been forced to put up with your lack of consideration for ours.

Which, in a tit for tat world, is only fair. But we, the secularist, claim a higher moral ground, a higher ethical ground, in that we are the people of the people, that we struggle against hate, and against intolerance. We seek a world for all.

But in that vision, there is no room for hate, and no room for anger. The resentments and injustices of the past must be put away.

Perhaps what Christopher Hitchens said about Jerry Falwell was true. It doesn't matter. What matters here is that he could have expressed those truths, he could have expression those thoughts, in a manner less designed to inflame and incite. For a man of his education, it would have been no great feat.

He chose not to. Full Post.

The Raconteur is Back!

The Blog has fallen into disuse lately, as I've been having a bit of a rough go at it in the world beyond the computer screen. Things, however, have settled down, and I return with a vengeance. Don't bother clicking on Full Post, that's it. Full Post.

Free Enterprise: For Whom the Bell Tolls

I read something this morning that made me want to throw up just a little bit in my mouth. The sad thing is that the point of the article I refer to was one that I would otherwise agree with. It's just that there's a certain self pitying, xenophobic tangent in which the author indulges, and it requires some response.

My response to Mr. Yellen below:

I neither have an apartment in New York, nor am I a European or a South American, but the reference to exploitation strikes me as greatly ironic, and somehow profoundly insulting.

It comes laced with a sense of hypocrisy, though perhaps both are understandable and forgivable when seen to manifest themselves in people that have known little else.

I would ask Mr. Yellen, who's self confessed (and as quickly dismissed) xenophobia verily drips from some words in his article, where the cries of exploitation were when the American machine used the very same principles of buy and sell in so called third world countries, working into labor, land and capital?

Ah, but when exporting American money, it was labeled by all parties as 'Foreign Investment'. Today, evidently, the tables, to some small extent, have turned. Suddenly the 'cheap dollars' allow the 'exploitation' of cities like New York by 'foreigners'.

The whole thing stinks of this all pervading arrogance, really. Specifically, the idea that it was alright for us, but it's not alright for them to do the exact same thing is what sticks in my craw.

For decades now, the US Government, both Democrats and Republicans, have fervently pushed the Global Economy into being this giant instaweb that it is today. They shoved free trade down the world's collective throat, forcibly at times, coercively at other times, breaking down barriers that in some part protected small time operators in underdeveloped economies from competing with robust megacorporations, and as far as the local small timers went, someone might want to wander down to take a careful peek at the categories of local produce that the US subsidizes in order to create a bulwark for the resident economy. Ah well, dog eat dog world, and all that. Except it wasn't always and it needn't be this savage.

Well, I've got news for you, Mr. Yellen: Free enterprise is a frightful bitch. And she swings both ways.

Don't get me wrong, while I don't tend to talk about economic policy as much as I rant on social issues, I find the unchecked and irresponsible levels of growth one of the greater evils of modern society. Just the wrapping in which this particular point was conveyed was, in a word...

Repugnant. Full Post.

Random Quote

I've decided that Quote of the Day will now be changed to Random Quote, mostly because it occurs to me that posting Quotes on a daily basis is impossible if you wish for the quotes to have any significance beyond ritual. Well, at least for me, there might be others out there that read enough material on a daily basis to find quotes worth quoting every day.

Today's quote though, from a memory of my childhood, it was spoken by a character on some cartoon or comic or something, but I can't recall who it was. It's stayed with me over the years.

"I've always resisted the idea that [the apple of] knowledge was the damnation of Adam." Full Post.

Even Benny and Snooch make fun of Dubya and Co.

For shame. Full Post.

The Raconteur Gets a Facelift.

So, I stayed up till noon today working on this thing, and let me tell you, HTML is something that, as Barbara Bush once said of Ms. Ferraro, rhymes with 'rich'. No really, it's evil. Spawn-of-Satan level evil.

But, we've finally pulled away the hazard tape and taken down the construction signs. I'm proud of my efforts. The Raconteur now boasts:

• Two sidebars, instead of just the one on the right.
• A larger area in total.
• A search box.
• An email address (impressive eh?)

The list looks dishearteningly sparse now but believe you me, actually getting it done while being entirely code oblivious is a frightening concept. And one that can take you upwards of ten hours.

In addition to the above, I now have at least a crude and rudimentary understanding of what changes what in the template code, which gives me the ability to modify such things as color and so on.

Translation: Now that we've tackled the code, expect a thematic overhaul in the coming days/weeks (depending on how long it takes me to woo those imaging genius people into helping me out here).

Also, while I'm being silly here, it bears noting that Svveet Jayne is true to her name.
Full Post.

Blog Under Construction.

The Raconteur is currently in the process of receiving a facelift. You may have noticed the nifty new search bar on the side, plus a couple of other less noticeable additions. Working my nonexistent coding skill in an attempt to add something more interesting. Meantime, don't mind the clutter. Full Post.