About a year ago, I wrote about a Gallup poll that showed that Murkins overwhelmingly believe that Jesus rode a dinosaur to work.
Another year, another poll, same result.
And democrats still have nothing to gloat about. Look at the percentage of rational people among them.
Amazing.
In case you were wondering, I say amazing because over here in Europe, numbers would probably be (at least) reversed, although we’ll probably never know, because the last time anybody was questioned on the matter was probably during the Spanish inquisition or something (inquisitorial activity was definitively abolished in 1834).
So just like during the Cold War days when Europe was stuck between US & Soviet nukes, here we are stuck between christian & islamic nutjobs (although to be fair to the islamic nutjobs, their destructive potential is infinitesimal compared to their US buddies (yay, Murka, you’re number one!)).
So if I’m to understand correctly, you’re all for a varied and diverse global culture, but if Americans tend to make different choices for themselves as individuals, as the imagined iconic « Euro-man » would, then he’s an idiot.
Do you still want to know many Americans don’t think well of our European ubermenschliche « betters » when we hear that sort of thing?
We can respectfully disagree about things like whether european or american football is a better game, or whether american cheese is in fact cheese.
One might even argue that the fact that such a large majority of americans believes in magic & fairy tales is kind of endearing.
But believing that the world is 10000 years old, well, I think it’s OK to take a stand and say that that’s fucking nuts. And when the majority of the inhabitants of the mightiest military power in the world believes this kind of scary obscurantist bullshit, well, it tends to scare people like Europeans, who settled these kinds of debates a couple of centuries ago.
We’ve been there, invading the world and killing in the name of god, and worse. So that gives us some perspective, and the right to call it like we see it.
Which reminds me, I stumbled on this quote from Voltaire (1694-1778) yesterday: « Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities ».
When people believe that the planet is predestined to fall to pieces because it’s predicted in some nonsensical, centuries-old text that was the product of a superstitious and primitive culture, what is their motivation to take steps to mitigate the effects of man’s destruction of the planet?
When they think somebody’s going to swoop in any day and « bring an end to suffering and evil » what is their motivation to work towards that lofty goal themselves?
When think they’ve got pearly gates waiting for them when it’s all said and done, what is their motivation to strive to make life on earth as close to that vision of paradise as they can?
Religion is a crutch. People hide behind it and feel like they have a ticket to avoid responsibility. The religiosity of America explains a lot about that culture.
Obscurantist is the key word. When you just accept a religious explanation for everything, you don’t bother to explore different ways of thinking. (It is unbelievable that there is still a debate about teaching creationism in schools in America in the 21st century). The more religious people are, the more they discourage intellectual curiosity. Can that possibly be a good thing?
We are complex creatures living in a complex world. Understanding and improving ourselves and our world requires more than pat answers from old books. Hiding behind religion is the ultimate in laziness.
On Americans making the choice to be religious: Are children in religious cultures exposed to and taught to compare and analyze throughout their lives, in a secular environment, the philosphies and ideologies of all major societies and all of history, from ancient Greece to communism? French children are. Are children in religious cultures encouraged to ponder the ramifications, short and long term, of these philosophies and ideologies? French children are. Are the actions and affinities of people raised in religious cultures informed by their broad and deep understanding of both religious and non-religious historical thought? Clearly not.
Do religious people make the choice to be religious? Are they given all the philosophical and ideological options in an objective way and allowed to make a choice, or not, at some point in their lives? No. They grow up being told how to believe. It’s brainwashing, it’s child abuse, and it’s a crime against humanity.
In a nutshell 😉
If this poll wasn’t enough, check out what I flag in my Google Shared Items (over there on the right) on any given day…