Discussion for article #242831
When are they going to start building a wall?
Oh wait. They tried that once before didnât they?
Ah, you build a wall and next thing you know somebody catapults a cow over it.
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The Maginot line was not a wall but a series of fortified tunnels with rail lines etc. for supplying and resupplying their armed forces.
Right. So if theyâd built a WALL, Hitler wouldâve died of complications from Parkinsonâs in a nursing home.
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I just heard on the news that big mouth Trump tweeted after the attacks something to the effect âItâs it interesting a country that has such gun control would have suffered these attacksâ being very sarcastic, and a high member of the french cabinet tweeted back calling him repugnant and vulgar.
Yayyyyy
Anyone still want to claim Islam is a religion of peace? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? âŚ
To be fair, that tweet was from back in January. However, I wouldnât be the least bit surprised if he says something equally dickish about this attack. In fact Iâll be surprised if he doesnât.
rync1h
Anyone still want to claim Islam is a religion of peace? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? âŚ
Itâs a religion that some followers use as an excuse to practice or support organized violence in pursuit of power, in the same way that some right wing Christians and some right wing Jews do with their religions.
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Trump is not the only foul-minded conservative: check out these ultra-compassionate tweets posted well before the French SWAT teams assaulted the Bataclan Concert Hall.
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Doesnât entirely seem like the right time for this conversation⌠but I highly suggest you look at tribal impact over religious impact if you want to understand some of the more bat-shit crazy behavior in the world. I am an atheist⌠but also an historian and people who look to religion first are actually very wrong when identifying motivating factors for a lot of things. Not to say it has no impact⌠but backwards people are backwards regardless of their religious leanings. (Ok⌠I should have mentioned that I am an âintellectual historianâ, or someone who studies the history of thoughts and most people normally get it really wrong).
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Then again, I find âtrue believersâ of any stripe to be very scary. If you think that âgodâ is telling you what to do, thereâs simply no limit on what youâre capable of. The religious identity may, of course, be a proxy for something else - ethnic differences, economic disparities, and so on - but itâs often the religious belief that gives rise to the most horrendous behavior.
Differing in that itâs almost always religion-- as opposed to faith-- that is the springboard to extremism.
jw1
To be honest, I have a lot of trouble with âfaith.â By definition, faith is the willingness to believe in things for which there is no evidence. To my mind, when you embrace faith, you are rejecting rational thought, and have thrown away the only tools you have for determining whatâs real and what isnât. I think that makes you dangerous.
Which you have a right to postulate.
But there are those who donât allow faith to be the overriding determinant in situations requiring critical thinking.
My faith, for instance, is important in the makeup of my persona and moral claritiesâ
but never would I âseek guidanceâ in my work. (Lord? Do I purchase Dell or HP?) 
The abundance of zealotry that gets megaphoned to us media-wiseâ
gives rise to a natural prejudice against a person of faith-- being reasonable.
Religion OTOH? I have no use for.
My distinction between religion and faith?
IMHO religion is a haven for those who refuse to think for themselves.
jw1
Thatâs where we part company. I donât think thereâs any situation in life in which failing to use critical thinking is a net plus.