Comments for Enfranchised Mind http://enfranchisedmind.com/blog programming, politics, & other religious issues Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:16:00 +0000 hourly 1 Comment on National Security: What Does It Mean? by Robertestx http://enfranchisedmind.com/blog/posts/national-security-what-does-it-mean/#comment-38288 Robertestx Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:16:00 +0000 http://enfranchisedmind.com/blog/archive/2005/06/24/9#comment-38288 I cannot believe you actually suggested we work through "UN Peacekeepers".  Have you ever served in the military?  I'd bet with certainty you haven't because only the ignorant make such suggestions.  Do you realize just how powerless the UN is?  NATO is a bygone organization, replaced for all intents and purposes by the EU.  The EU is on the verge of collapse as some of their countries are in such dire economic straits. This is your post and you can say what you want, but if you want to be taken seriously, you really should examine the facts.  Why don't you find some studies on how effective UNOMIL was and UNOL. People are still dying.  The UN is a weak police force.  They get on the ground and have no power.  Their rules of engagement (ROE) are ludicrous and just plain useless. UN Peacekeepers... Do a study on Bosnia.  See how effective they were there.  People still die. I know, I was there. Funny how much text you gave to the Patriot Act versus the things that really do the hard work of securing America, our ideals, our people, and its way of life. Get a cup and coffee, and don't smell it.  Drink it. and lots of it while you do some NON PARTISAN research.  That means staying off the democratic bloggers website, and the republicans.  If you can find the truth you will change your story.  I promise you. I cannot believe you actually suggested we work through “UN Peacekeepers”.  Have you ever served in the military?  I’d bet with certainty you haven’t because only the ignorant make such suggestions.  Do you realize just how powerless the UN is?  NATO is a bygone organization, replaced for all intents and purposes by the EU.  The EU is on the verge of collapse as some of their countries are in such dire economic straits.
This is your post and you can say what you want, but if you want to be taken seriously, you really should examine the facts.  Why don’t you find some studies on how effective UNOMIL was and UNOL. People are still dying.  The UN is a weak police force.  They get on the ground and have no power.  Their rules of engagement (ROE) are ludicrous and just plain useless.
UN Peacekeepers…
Do a study on Bosnia.  See how effective they were there.  People still die. I know, I was there.

Funny how much text you gave to the Patriot Act versus the things that really do the hard work of securing America, our ideals, our people, and its way of life.

Get a cup and coffee, and don’t smell it.  Drink it. and lots of it while you do some NON PARTISAN research.  That means staying off the democratic bloggers website, and the republicans.  If you can find the truth you will change your story.  I promise you.

]]> Comment on Back Again to There: A Nontheistic Statement of Faithiness by David Thatcher http://enfranchisedmind.com/blog/posts/faithiness/#comment-38287 David Thatcher Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:16:00 +0000 http://enfranchisedmind.com/blog/?p=2719#comment-38287 "rationality cannot form the foundation of lifestyle and morality." -Perhaps from the 30,000 ft view. But rationality pervades everyday existance, whether comparing prices, job offers, whether to take marijuana or Imodium for your diarrhea, etc. You don't want to go into the operating room under the knife of a doctor who decides to go bowling once he has you sliced open. -Which is to say, you may not be able to form the foundation of lifestyle and morality FROM SCRATCH with rationality. -Nevertheless, mankind has come to a place where everything has evolved to the point where a moral lifestyle is useful. You would not cheer me on in the idea that, fuck it, I'm going to go bash my neighbor's head in with a bowling ball. -Which is to say that you must factor in the role of Darwinian evolution in providing us with frameworks for lifestyle and morality. Much scholarly work has been done in this field of study to explain how it is that undirected, random evolution has not only produced homo sapiens but resulted in morality. -Accepting the explanations of Darwinian evolution requires recognition that along every stage of our existance, the right thing to do has been the expedient thing to do. In morality, evolution has reached the point where we now understand that social cohesiveness is essential for the continued existance of our species. Morality could be seen as an advanced form of manners, perhaps. -Morality has evolved from protecting tribes, to protecting nations, and is now evolving to protecting the world. It is why racism is immoral now, when it wasn't immoral two centuries ago. Religion resists this evolution of morality because most religions are tribalistic. This is also why religion lends itself to nationalism, whether in the form of Nazism ("Gott mit uns") or the American religious right. -The continued evolution of morality requires the continuous advancement of civil liberties. This paradigm informs a fairly comprehensive morality on its own. “rationality cannot form the foundation of lifestyle and morality.”
-Perhaps from the 30,000 ft view. But rationality pervades everyday existance, whether comparing prices, job offers, whether to take marijuana or Imodium for your diarrhea, etc. You don’t want to go into the operating room under the knife of a doctor who decides to go bowling once he has you sliced open.
-Which is to say, you may not be able to form the foundation of lifestyle and morality FROM SCRATCH with rationality.
-Nevertheless, mankind has come to a place where everything has evolved to the point where a moral lifestyle is useful. You would not cheer me on in the idea that, fuck it, I’m going to go bash my neighbor’s head in with a bowling ball.
-Which is to say that you must factor in the role of Darwinian evolution in providing us with frameworks for lifestyle and morality. Much scholarly work has been done in this field of study to explain how it is that undirected, random evolution has not only produced homo sapiens but resulted in morality.
-Accepting the explanations of Darwinian evolution requires recognition that along every stage of our existance, the right thing to do has been the expedient thing to do. In morality, evolution has reached the point where we now understand that social cohesiveness is essential for the continued existance of our species. Morality could be seen as an advanced form of manners, perhaps.
-Morality has evolved from protecting tribes, to protecting nations, and is now evolving to protecting the world. It is why racism is immoral now, when it wasn’t immoral two centuries ago. Religion resists this evolution of morality because most religions are tribalistic. This is also why religion lends itself to nationalism, whether in the form of Nazism (“Gott mit uns”) or the American religious right.
-The continued evolution of morality requires the continuous advancement of civil liberties. This paradigm informs a fairly comprehensive morality on its own.

]]> Comment on Back Again to There: A Nontheistic Statement of Faithiness by Robert Fischer http://enfranchisedmind.com/blog/posts/faithiness/#comment-38285 Robert Fischer Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:11:00 +0000 http://enfranchisedmind.com/blog/?p=2719#comment-38285 I know that it's bizarre, but the reality is that beliefs don't really impact behavior much — we're rationalizing hypocrites at our core. Our behavior is much more determined by our immediate momentary environment and state, our tribal associations, our epigenetics, and the classical conditioning that we've received through life. You're critiquing modernism for being a religiously-based idea, but you're also playing directly into modernism and the Protestant presumptions which fueled it. The idea that everything will fall into place if you just get your beliefs right is an *extremely* Protestant idea, and as bizarre as it seems from within the modernist mindset, it actually sounds like crazytalk to a lot of the rest of the world. It's also false to fact in a lot of important ways. I know that it’s bizarre, but the reality is that beliefs don’t really impact behavior much — we’re rationalizing hypocrites at our core. Our behavior is much more determined by our immediate momentary environment and state, our tribal associations, our epigenetics, and the classical conditioning that we’ve received through life.

You’re critiquing modernism for being a religiously-based idea, but you’re also playing directly into modernism and the Protestant presumptions which fueled it. The idea that everything will fall into place if you just get your beliefs right is an *extremely* Protestant idea, and as bizarre as it seems from within the modernist mindset, it actually sounds like crazytalk to a lot of the rest of the world. It’s also false to fact in a lot of important ways.

]]> Comment on Back Again to There: A Nontheistic Statement of Faithiness by Robert Fischer http://enfranchisedmind.com/blog/posts/faithiness/#comment-38284 Robert Fischer Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:37:00 +0000 http://enfranchisedmind.com/blog/?p=2719#comment-38284 The human brain isn't wired to do "rationality" as I'm using the term here. There are entire fields of study (e.g. neuroeconomics, behavioral economics) demonstrating that it doesn't work. The fact that most advertising is emotive and not rational is because businesses have made the non-rationality hypothesis into a technology called "marketing". Also, as far as I've heard, secular humanism's philosophical basis is grounded in "enlightened hedonism". I think someone even made that exact argument either on this post or its predecessor, and the books I've read seem to either 1) presume an intrinsic value in other human beings, or 2) argue based off of hedonism. The human brain isn’t wired to do “rationality” as I’m using the term here. There are entire fields of study (e.g. neuroeconomics, behavioral economics) demonstrating that it doesn’t work. The fact that most advertising is emotive and not rational is because businesses have made the non-rationality hypothesis into a technology called “marketing”.

Also, as far as I’ve heard, secular humanism’s philosophical basis is grounded in “enlightened hedonism”. I think someone even made that exact argument either on this post or its predecessor, and the books I’ve read seem to either 1) presume an intrinsic value in other human beings, or 2) argue based off of hedonism.

]]> Comment on Back Again to There: A Nontheistic Statement of Faithiness by Meg http://enfranchisedmind.com/blog/posts/faithiness/#comment-38283 Meg Wed, 01 Feb 2012 01:07:00 +0000 http://enfranchisedmind.com/blog/?p=2719#comment-38283 Probably the best fit for you: http://www.triangleinsight.org/ Probably the best fit for you: http://www.triangleinsight.org/

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