monoxide_child
New Metal Member
- Jul 30, 2008
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Stupidity of this forum
- Thread starter The_Walrus
- Start date
Silver Incubus
Dead Hands Justin
I meet dumb Americans all the time. Literally. The inane, easiest to solve questions they ask me is saddening for the most part. I don't even think that I am any more then decent in the intelligence department. I mean I am pretty smart, but I have met many more people who were much smarter then myself and that is why when people are that stupid, it makes me sad, sad to live in a world where there are many more like them, where it seems they are mostly non thinking, or on autopilot of sorts. Walking through each day like a haze dreaming linking each event to the next in jaunted fragmentation. What I really don't get is how people can get so angry over trivial things.
Dak
mentat
monoxide_child
New Metal Member
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i'll give it till the end of 2015, then i'm leaving america... haven't decided which country i'll move to yet...
derek
Grey Eminence
derek
Grey Eminence
Silver Incubus
Dead Hands Justin
Well when I have finally met one of those rare people I think I will be pleasantly disappointed in the fact they still believe in fairy tales yet are obviously quite intelligent.
And typically smarter people with religious believes do not talk about them and therefore never have them challenged the same way evangelicals have their beliefs challenged.
A good example is the guy at Vatican in Bill Maher's film Religulous who says its all hogwash, and he seems to understand it only as a metaphor.
derek
Grey Eminence
I don't really find anything particularly abhorrent about early Christianity, I tend to reserve my open dislike for the dogmatists that came later.
I do question whether smarter people with religious beliefs don't talk about them, because that's the exact opposite of my experience, in fact I've discussed such topics at length, especially during the early years of my masters.
Also, as funny as some parts of Maher's movie were, beware of Maher himself and the movie more generally - he set out with an agenda, and I can imagine it'd be just as easy to make him look stupid.
I do question whether smarter people with religious beliefs don't talk about them, because that's the exact opposite of my experience, in fact I've discussed such topics at length, especially during the early years of my masters.
Also, as funny as some parts of Maher's movie were, beware of Maher himself and the movie more generally - he set out with an agenda, and I can imagine it'd be just as easy to make him look stupid.
monoxide_child
New Metal Member
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Americans are stupid to the extent that i'm seriously considering leaving America
in America, people specifically get angry at the specificly trivial things instead of getting angry at the things that people of other countries would get angry about, it gets really creepy
AtWarWithSanta
Illegal in 49 States
This. I could elaborate but I think this sums up America perfectly. And yes, I am from here.
PhantoMPhones
owning your ass since '03
- Jul 19, 2008
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I think when it gets down to it, what most people religious and non-religious alike, fail to realize is that god (and to a lesser extent, religion) is just the anthropomorphism of an ideal(s). Many fundies/not so fundies look at god/religion like they are absolutely literal and infallible. Many non-religious people likewise look at it the same way, that way when they read works such as the bible or contemplate the idea of god, they draw an equally flawed conclusion that its all a bunch of fairy tales. It is a flawed conclusion because they are using the model of infallibility/literalism as the backstop, taking off from a non-believer/hater point of view. Does that make any sense? Likewise it is flawed from a believer point of view (regarding literalism) as it shifts focus from the ideals which the god(s) or religion(s) represent, to the ideas (heaven, another life after the physical, etc etc) which the previously mentioned promote and operate under. Obviously here, I am speaking only of dogmatic religions.
I find it nothing short of laughable that there are people (not naming names) who lump all religious people and religions alike, in the same category as having no merit, and in fact worthy of insult and prejudice. I find this is abhorrently rampant in people who, when talking about said religion/god, only seem to be referring to christian based faiths, or at the most judeo-christian and islamic based faiths, and usually have in fact, NO intellectual basis or experience regarding said faiths outside fundies coming to their door, watching TV evangelists, or from other flawed individuals who act inappropriately based on their faith. Some use the excuse "I've read the Bible cover to cover", which is as unlikely as any other experience/knowledge they claim to have regarding other faiths, as it is unlikely they actually read it cover to cover for one, and for two because even if they have read it cover to cover, they don't have ANY insight to any of it, are likely incapable of deciphering messages and intent, and because they read it with the presumption that its just stories to begin with. This does not facilitate intellectual growth or understanding. Not all faiths are the same, not all religions are the same, not all of them are dogmatic, not all of them hail to an all powerful being(s), and most of all, not all people who claim a similar faith are necessarily similar in their beliefs, intellect or actions.
As for my personal opinion, I'll try to summarize;
1. The idea of god/god(s) becomes as literal/representative/non-existent as we recognize it to be, as individuals.
2. The idea of god is meant to empower us and assert our dominance in the world. It is meant to give insight into our existence, behaviours, origin etc etc, and does so, no less effectively than (and with the same intent as) other forms of philosophy and even science, though obviously with different mechanisms and implications.
3. Religion evolved out of a need for community and peace within a people. People gathered together to learn, interact, and to be part of a unit, which gives security and was especially important in early human history. Religion (like everything else in this god forsaken, hate filled sad excuse for a world) has long since been corrupted and manipulated by the elite in order to use the inherent properties of faith, trust and community, to control the masses, and maintain their position as 'the few' opposed to 'the many' by whatever means available (notice I didn't say 'necessary'). The problem is that people have been so conditioned, so dumbed down that they follow like lemmings over a cliff. This is not the time for the non-religious (I mean atheists for the most part) to revel in themselves, as they are manipulated into just as much ignorance as the lemmings are.
4. In regards to religion (and yes even atheism is a belief system like any other religion) and security, I find three general categories of a person's security. Bear in mind this is a gross generalization for the sake of brevity. The first category of security is mass mentality. Pretty easy to see how many theists and athiests alike fall under this category. Apathy(and all the way down to hatred) which generally I find many atheists and agnostics fall under. And ignorance, which theists, atheists and agnostics could potentially all fall under. This is not to say that everyone is ignorant or apathetic etc, but is meant to illustrate the futility of saying "I'm right, you are wrong", and to illustrate some ways that beliefs are used as a protection of ones boundaries, fears and likewise.
(once again that was not meant to label anyone, or to be infallible or to even say I'm right)
5. I generally find that atheists are much less open to metaphysical (meta-scientific) concepts as a whole, and do not limit their apathy/hatred/disbelief to strictly religious concepts. ( I am speaking of things like PK, energy work, the observer, quantum mechanics etc)
6. My most emphatic belief is that we are the creators of our reality. Period. Fairy tales or literal circumstance alike. (I don't mean we created the universe or anything.... Or did we?...) Religion is what we make of it, reality is what we make of it, society is what we make of it. And we are failing, epically.
7. My most apparent observation is that most people lean far to one side or far to another, not many people are indeed as open as they claim. To me, this is one of our largest failures as a species.
I know all that was rather off the original topic, but seemed to fit in to where the topic ended up
I find it nothing short of laughable that there are people (not naming names) who lump all religious people and religions alike, in the same category as having no merit, and in fact worthy of insult and prejudice. I find this is abhorrently rampant in people who, when talking about said religion/god, only seem to be referring to christian based faiths, or at the most judeo-christian and islamic based faiths, and usually have in fact, NO intellectual basis or experience regarding said faiths outside fundies coming to their door, watching TV evangelists, or from other flawed individuals who act inappropriately based on their faith. Some use the excuse "I've read the Bible cover to cover", which is as unlikely as any other experience/knowledge they claim to have regarding other faiths, as it is unlikely they actually read it cover to cover for one, and for two because even if they have read it cover to cover, they don't have ANY insight to any of it, are likely incapable of deciphering messages and intent, and because they read it with the presumption that its just stories to begin with. This does not facilitate intellectual growth or understanding. Not all faiths are the same, not all religions are the same, not all of them are dogmatic, not all of them hail to an all powerful being(s), and most of all, not all people who claim a similar faith are necessarily similar in their beliefs, intellect or actions.
As for my personal opinion, I'll try to summarize;
1. The idea of god/god(s) becomes as literal/representative/non-existent as we recognize it to be, as individuals.
2. The idea of god is meant to empower us and assert our dominance in the world. It is meant to give insight into our existence, behaviours, origin etc etc, and does so, no less effectively than (and with the same intent as) other forms of philosophy and even science, though obviously with different mechanisms and implications.
3. Religion evolved out of a need for community and peace within a people. People gathered together to learn, interact, and to be part of a unit, which gives security and was especially important in early human history. Religion (like everything else in this god forsaken, hate filled sad excuse for a world) has long since been corrupted and manipulated by the elite in order to use the inherent properties of faith, trust and community, to control the masses, and maintain their position as 'the few' opposed to 'the many' by whatever means available (notice I didn't say 'necessary'). The problem is that people have been so conditioned, so dumbed down that they follow like lemmings over a cliff. This is not the time for the non-religious (I mean atheists for the most part) to revel in themselves, as they are manipulated into just as much ignorance as the lemmings are.
4. In regards to religion (and yes even atheism is a belief system like any other religion) and security, I find three general categories of a person's security. Bear in mind this is a gross generalization for the sake of brevity. The first category of security is mass mentality. Pretty easy to see how many theists and athiests alike fall under this category. Apathy(and all the way down to hatred) which generally I find many atheists and agnostics fall under. And ignorance, which theists, atheists and agnostics could potentially all fall under. This is not to say that everyone is ignorant or apathetic etc, but is meant to illustrate the futility of saying "I'm right, you are wrong", and to illustrate some ways that beliefs are used as a protection of ones boundaries, fears and likewise.
(once again that was not meant to label anyone, or to be infallible or to even say I'm right)
5. I generally find that atheists are much less open to metaphysical (meta-scientific) concepts as a whole, and do not limit their apathy/hatred/disbelief to strictly religious concepts. ( I am speaking of things like PK, energy work, the observer, quantum mechanics etc)
6. My most emphatic belief is that we are the creators of our reality. Period. Fairy tales or literal circumstance alike. (I don't mean we created the universe or anything.... Or did we?...) Religion is what we make of it, reality is what we make of it, society is what we make of it. And we are failing, epically.
7. My most apparent observation is that most people lean far to one side or far to another, not many people are indeed as open as they claim. To me, this is one of our largest failures as a species.
I know all that was rather off the original topic, but seemed to fit in to where the topic ended up
beast from the east
Member
It just shows your ignorance to say that "Americans are stupid", or to generalize any large group as some of you are doing. Yes, many Americans are clueless - but so are many Canadians, Brits, Aussies, etc - stupidity is a worldwide phenomenon folks, not just here. But hey, you were all doing so well in your superiority, so I digress...proceed...
derek
Grey Eminence
monoxide_child
New Metal Member
- Jul 30, 2008
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yeah, there are some stupid people outside of USA, it's just that here, we're blatantly obvious about being stupid, and vapid and obsessed with meaningless crap
i mean
who the fucking hell are "heidi and spencer"? why do we actually care that "jon and kate" are finally breaking up? why did every one in america think that lady gaga was a hermaphrodite, and even if she is, why did we make such a big deal about it?
we're just so celebrity obsessed and juvenile
Silver Incubus
Dead Hands Justin
I posted to this, it must have gotten lost.
to summarize what I said earlier.
1. This by definition makes God not real.
2. God for the most part was the God of the Gaps in human understanding. Then it was used by clerics of that God to manipulate the people into obeying a strict moral code (this then gave them more power then the rulers)
3. This is plain wrong. Religion in fact uses the sense of community to propagate its agenda. Once the religious meme infects enough or all of the people of a community it becomes ingrained, and passed down throughout the generations as tradition. The teaching of such religion are for the morality of the slave while the nobles use the morality of the master as Friedrich Nietzsche wrote about( a wiki link if you don't know what I am referring to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master-slave_morality).
4.ATHEISM IS A LACK OF BELIEF IN A DEITY. Therefore a negation cannot be a thing that it is negating. Atheism is not a belief there is no deities it is the lack of belief that there ever was deities
5. The reason is that metaphysics isn't real.
6. If that were true we'd all be rich.
7. That is the selfish gene. The one that wants to keep you kin alive over the kin of another.
hexwind
Creepiness Och Terrorism
Silver Incubus
Dead Hands Justin
I think the fact that people watch fox news at all is a bad sign of the countries intelligence pool. That shit is fake but pretends to be real.
hexwind
Creepiness Och Terrorism
Actually, I don't watch TV for that reason. I was so busy with studying in 08 and i didn't have enough time to watch Tv, study and hang out at the same time, so i spent a lot of time without checking it out,and when I did, i felt that i was receiving the information differently, so much violence to create hatred between people, news? different version of the same event in each channel... What a tool for cultural travesty
Godhead's_Lament
Clandestinity Now
So you think that Fox is the only misleading news station? Oh please. I hate Fox, but your bias here is obvious.
derek
Grey Eminence
It's news quite generally, although it's not always bad nefariously, it's just simply bad.
Fox is particularly bad at hiding it, though.
Fox is particularly bad at hiding it, though.
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