Quote:

What you're seeing has been selected FOR rather than against.




babyada,

It's amazing we've survived so long as a race as we have, really. If
we're selected for anything, it's to compete to the death for resources,
whether material or ideological. Irrational silliness abounds in the
world today, much more in certain parts of the world than others, but
everywhere, nonetheless.

I agree that forums such as this are relatively benign places where we can
exchange ideas and experiences, and over all, participating in this one
has been positive for me. I use to think that what I had to say may make
a difference, but now I'm content to resign myself to simply learning
tolerance and imperturbability from here. Not easy lessons, when some
persistently advocate the most irrational notions, and stubbornly stand by
them. To believe in silliness is one's right, but to then turn around and
insist that those who don't agree with their silliness are stubbornly
closed-minded and thus worthy of challenge ... well, ok, the universe
serves up yet another lesson of tolerance and imperturbability.

True, the average follower of something like Feng-Shui (or the likes) may
not be inclined to blow up buildings and such, but neither is the average
follower of Islam or any other religion. What bothers me is that
encouraging (and worse, selling) such beliefs is really a step backward
for us as a race. To really survive, we must consciously take hold of our
thought-processes and rigorously strip away all the non-sense. Sometimes,
"It just ain't so," and we should overcome our fears and see reality for what it is.
Otherwise, we just languor in the cesspool out of which we arose. I feel the
moral obligation to relentlessly counter those who purposely try to murder our
progress by stepping backward (and encouraging others to step backward) into
superstitions and irrationality. I'm heartened that at least one other of like-mind
exists here.

Anyway, I'm ready for more lessons in tolerance and imperturbability.