Sunday double!

On one of the three holy days claimed by our faith-laden brothers and sisters, Sunday, I like to do double posts, just to really drive a point home.

This Sunday I will talk about a really interesting subject, one that has been talked about in freethinking circles for a long time; religions have some really cool buildings they meet in!
Churches have some incredible architecture, they really are standouts in human craftsmanship. Big stained-glass windows, high vaulted ceilings, archways, buttresses, you name it, they have it. Gold, copper, wood, stone, they have a ton of different materials used to make em, and they have been done in a variety of styles, ranging from ornate to simple, modern to gothic. If it wasn't for the whole religion thing, I would hang out at a church for fun on Sundays, or any other day; doubly so if my friends were all there. I think that the buildings may be the sole reason some people go to meetings, they are larger than life!

I think it would be really cool to have a place to go mix with other freethinkers that was as ornate as some of these churches. What could be better than celebrating freedom from the shackles of religion while in a gigantic work of art? Cool people, great conversation, in a rare and beautiful setting -- what more could a person want?

Random brain droppings

"What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence." - Christopher Hitchens

"Give a man a fish, you'll feed him for a day. Give him religion, and he will starve to death while praying for more fish." - Unknown

"Everyone starts out as an Atheist, no one is born with belief in anything." - Andy Rooney

"All thinking men are Atheists." - Ernest Hemingway

"Religions vary in their idiocy, but I reject them all." - Gene Roddenberry

"Suppose we've chosen the wrong god, every time we go to church we are making him madder." - Homer Simpson

"Prayer has no place in public school, just like facts have no place in organized religion." - Superintendent Chalmers

Yes, the idea of gods is covered even on The Simpson's.

Coolest game evar?

Here is a fun little exercise, called Battlefield God. The idea is that you get asked questions, and you respond with what you really truly believe, and as it asks you more questions, it tracks to see if you are being consistent in your convictions. If you contradict yourself it takes action and offers you choices to reconcile your issue.

There is a short section to be read if you want to understand the purpose of the game; if you are a theist and are tossing out answers that you know will not trip a logical foul, you're doing it wrong.

http://www.philosophersnet.com/games/god.htm

I got through with having to bite one bullet (which was a questionable call IMHO) and took no direct hits. Fun stuff!

Upsides of being faithless

Though Atheism is not a world view, it can change the way you view some things in life, and often for the better. Choosing to live rationally can really simplify situations, for example, the whole fuss over the afterlife; there is no evidence to believe in one so I don't worry about it, I enjoy my time here as if it's my only shot at existence.

Another upside is that I don't have any dogmas to worry about. No unreasonable and cumbersome nonsense tripping me up. I can eat meat on any day I please, my Sundays are open, and I have no issues with modern technology. I don't have to hang my head when someone tells me I'm a wretched sinner, and I'm not born with an undeserved flaw that I'm forced to reconcile through some celestial dictator.

I am free to decline the unnecessary judgment of other people, since there is no jerk in the sky commanding it. I can respect the views of both men and women, and I don't have to justify the command to stone non-virgins to death on their wedding nights. I don't have to murder my friends for working on the sabbath; overall, I am free to be... Civil.

But one of my favorite parts is that I can take in any new information without having to judge it before I attempt to understand it. I could read any of the numerous buybulls, qur'an, hadith, the book of mormon, bhagavad gita, or any other holy book without having to judge it before I see it. I can take in a lecture on Evolution without any compatibility problems at all, and philosophical topics about the existence of gods don't make me squirm at all.

Overall, it rocks. I can choose my own path in life, and no one gets nailed to anything.

Talking points

There is no question that the political right has the best message work (propaganda). Their ability to convince credulous people of clearly false ideas is second to none. On top of really sophisticated "talking points" they have convinced most of their sheep to trust only rightist pundits and disregard everything said by centrists, independents, or leftists, even if their points are based in cold hard facts. George Orwell would be wide eyed and open mouthed in astonishment.

Take the sub-prime mortgage crisis as an example; the GOP convinced almost everyone I know that "big government" was to blame, through regulation. The idea was that the banks made their suicidal loans because of legislation passed by Carter and later reinforced by Clinton (no mention of George H.W. Bush's involvement mentioned... of course). In reality, the legislation in question (the Community Reinvestment Act) was only responsible for 25% for the loans made. The majority of those insane loans came from banks taking huge risks because they chose to; they knew that when people were unable to repay, they would just socialize the cost of their failure. They gambled with our money and lost big, then asked us to bail them out, and we did. Somehow, government is always to blame -- even if they aren't.

So how does the political right manage to pull off these Orwellian maneuvers? This is the 21st century after all, most Americans can read (kinda), so how do you convince hordes of people to believe that grass is not green, but it is instead blue? One important tool is controlling the topics of discussions, and one way to do this is with talking points. I have yet to chat with a rightist that didn't rely heavily or entirely on talking points and very specific or isolated minority examples to back up their claims. They have been trained to try to keep the conversation centered on one idea, or point. Example conversation:

"Evolution is just a theory."

"But you understand a theory is not a mere hypothesis or idea, you do know that a theory is the highest possible level of acceptance that human discovery can achieve?"

"That doesn't matter, what matters here is that Evolution is just a theory."

"Do you even know what that statement means? A theory is a fact. It has been tested again and again, pitted against all evidence, peer reviewed, and subjected to the harshest forms of professional scrutiny."

"You are getting off the subject! Look, Evolution is just a theory."

By sticking to a talking point, and inserting it over and over, you hope to drive the point home; or at least get the point to stick, so people begin to associate Evolution and theory even if they don't have an opinion of their own yet. A talking point doesn't have to be based in fact, it can be complete bullshit, it doesn't matter; and if the target isn't buying it, get emotional, or use appeals to emotions, or even emotional blackmail. Talking points are crucial to control conversations, and public political discourse in general. The GOP knows this, while the Dems seem to lag miles behind.

Here are some juicy links containing talking points on health care reform and financial reform, complete with comments from critics and the author himself, Frank Luntz:

http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/get_ready_for_the_gops_new_talking_points_20100201

http://gawker.com/5461788/get-used-to-these-words/gallery/

http://www.pnhp.org/news/2009/may/frank_luntzs_the_l.php

I am going to try to dig up some good leftist talking points, I wonder who helps organize their propaganda (whoever it is he/she seems to be slacking). A person could make a full time job out of debunking talking points with facts and reality; numbers from the CBO, independent or outside analysis, think tanks, etc. Maybe I should look into that!

Go Stewart go!

Kudos to The Daily Show for showing some equality in dishing out criticism. After Keith Olbermann made some weak and uncalled for comments about the new Senator from Massachusetts, Stewart calls him out for stooping too low.

Here is a video of the exchange:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZylQXm-vis

Stewart deserves two cheers in this instance; he not only called out a clearly over-the-top Olbermann, but he managed to find the time to do this when the conservative media monster is spewing out garbage at a staggering pace. Perhaps you've heard the latest from Glenn Beck and Fox Noise:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooPOmlm81Ro

I really wish hucksters like these would just shut their faces, or better yet, we all just start calling a spade a spade, and stop tuning into these clowns. They wouldn't last a week if we all just starting ignoring them, as we should, based on their dishonesty.

People like Olbermann and Beck (you know the rest of the list) are nothing more than "news commentators", they are not even legit news dudes. They have ZERO responsibility to be honest or even semi-factual. Hell, even the real news people have no obligation to report news accurately, and all these clowns do is "comment" on the "news" they hear! Yet, they are the voices that deliver "information" into the heads of voters, most of which may even believe that that their favorite commentator is being something akin to realistic or objective.

Self censorship and irrationality

I spend a good bit of time wondering how people can come to hold clearly false beliefs. How can two people look at a normal object, like a tree for example, and come to two radically different conclusions about how that tree came to be. How can two people hold two incompatible views about the same object? Surely, someone is wrong; perhaps both views are not entirely correct. I always scratch my head when both sides claim to have "facts" or "evidence" to backup their claim.

I think that, in part, the reason we have this kind of thing stems from the methods used by some people in gathering information (obvious I know but stick with me). If one person only takes in supporting data, and rejects or marginalizes opposing data, of course their view is going to be irrational. If I believe that our example tree is here because "magic man done it", and in turn only take in information that supports my belief, it follows that my view will be flawed.

It is a common practice of people to only take in supporting information, and find reasons to reject or downplay information that opposes their view. In fact, most people I interact with fall victim to this wish thinking in one or more aspects of their lives. I have heard some pretty interesting justifications for people's prejudices or preconceived notions; ranging from clearly corrupt to absolutely illogical. Rejection of the real world has become its own art form. People will do intellectual back-flips and contradict themselves, time after time, in attempting to explain their ignorant behavior, or their flawed logic.

Take the "christian nation" assertion as an example. To anyone that can read this claim is not supported by reality; but if a mind has been correctly indoctrinated, it is a tenable position. A properly indoctrinated person will really shock you with their crazy supporting ideas. Evidence, logic, reality, indeed all the tools we rely on, go right out the window. Some people will tell you that the word "god" appears in our constitution, when they can look for themselves and plainly see it does not, let alone does it appear in any fashion that establishes their god as the official god of the nation. I have even heard that bible passages appear in our constitution! Even if they were, that would not even begin to establish any one of the thousands of forms of christianity as the official religion of the US. This illogicality is spread and supported by half-truths, propaganda, and outright lies. To any functioning mind, this idea holds no water, but to a severely corrupted mind, it is reality.

Forget your wish thinking and illogicalities, embrace reason -- choose your brain.