Procrastination is hitting full steam this morning.
First, Neil Gaiman on Tea. I'm not quite sure what it is about British writers that brings them to write about tea. I have a hankering suspicion that it may be Love.
I had a discussion with a roommate last night about the defense of the religious. For the record, I'm not opposed to the religious. I'm opposed to the religious ignorant - those that cloak their ignorance in a mantle of religion, and thus denigrate all other religious people.
Now for some gleeful moral equivalence: If a vocal minority of ice cream eaters (say in the larger tens of millions) suddenly takes to fits of savagely beating a good friend of yours (for the sake of the argument, let us call him progress), you might begin to give the ice cream eaters (who coincidentally largely look away and focus on sucking on their cones) some dirty looks.
Just a leetle bit, no?
An article at the nyt reports on the growing movement of the religious ignorant to spread bigotry through the land:
Georgia State Senator Nancy Schaefer on gay/straight alliance clubs in (gay/straight integrated) high schools:
"I just don't feel like homosexual clubs have anything to do with readin', writin' and 'rithmetic."
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4 comments:
okay...so first of all, the NYT article ha s little to do with religion and lots to do with tolerance, or lack thereoff. The programs currently under attack - are particularly important in light of the recent Massachusets report, and it is unfortunate and dissapointing.
That said, however, I am not sure wehre teh finger should be pointed. The sad reality is that both sides - the religious and the secular display nothng but contempt for each other. And, honestly, I am not sure who started it.
Moreover, you write about beating on progress - but who gets to defien this? I am not sure that secular Europe - is progress. It is the secular views on life that have perpertrated some of the worst attrocities in history - most (Cultural Revolution being the exception) in Europe.
At teh ends of the day - what we seem to have lost in the United States is the ability to converse respectfully. and that, is at the end of the day, what is trully sad.
oh - and this movement isn't about spreading ignorance - it is about the parents feeling like thier moral views are not being taken into account considered. and they should be. I know plenty of minority (religion, culture, etc) parents who would shit a brick if their kids were being educated in a way that would conflict with what they wanted their kids to learn - it seems teh secret is to promote tollerance (while respecting ALL the views on the subject).
Tolerance is a funny thing, and I'm coming to think that it is utterly and necessarily viral.
Tolerance of all things except for bigotry.
I have no qualms about not tolerating bigotry. Neither should the state.
Some people's readings of their holy books which promote bigotry (this isn't new) will conflict with my ability to tolerate them. Especially when toleration takes the form of respecting state intervention in preventing discourse.
You're merely begging the question: what is biggotry? We do not treat all people equally - and there are reasons for this. They look like bigotry to some, and like justified policies to others. Who decides?
Thats where teh problem is.
Oh - and one other thing: Governing is not about ideals, its about pragmatisim - and ask yourself what is worse - compromising some on school policies, or having an ever INCREASING number of students go to homeschooling wherehte positive effects of socilisation do not occure at all. ?
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