ps. jeremy, that also means that buckets of dog shit are not better than evil analysts!

hee hee, you’re right of course (carlos is talking about this post):

http://www.snant.com/fp/archives/costco-not-evil-enough-for-analysts/

but, as a writer, i reserve the right to hyperbolize to make a point. i guess there’s a little bit of bill hicks in me.

Too strong reliance on authority

This is definitely the case, but is not exclusive to religious peoples. This seems to be so with any persons in a big enough system, where a strong hierarchy exists, and the majority of things flow downward instead of up.

Also, larger systems in order to maintain their power, attempt to vilify the individual in ways that individuals are willing to accept. They do this and act as if it (the system) is the only intermediary to what they seek, and without this system in place, all would be chaos.

these are HUMAN flaws which come out among all people everywhere, regardless of race, religion or creed

True. Certain systems breed these traits moreso, and any power structure attempts to maintain and expand itself. When the system one is under sees itself as more effective only when it has large numbers, what better traits to have your followers wear than those? The Democrats are a growing example of this (somewhat), in that they keep saying “if we can only gain more converts, more people to follow our cause, THEN we can make a difference.” Too much time is spent trying to expand oneself, instead of realizing the similarities between persons and allowing people to form their own affinity groups. Bah, bit of a tangent.

Is Self-Taught Better?

Another excellent idea spawned by a previ [...]

- Hatred / Bigotry
- Narrow (or simple) Mindedness
- Resistance to new experiences
- Too strong reliance on authority
- Not practicing what you preach

I think the thing that people are losing sight of though is that these are HUMAN flaws which come out among all people everywhere, regardless of race, religion or creed

none of us immune

the first rule of behavioural generalisation: there are less differences between groups than within groups.

christains, occultists, lawyers and rockstars all come in every conceivable behavioural flavour. that’s what’s great about being an individual. i can join a group and still be one.

one’s image of what an occultist is may be better than one’s image of a christain, but that says more about one’s perception of the world (and one’s self) than any objective reality. when we makes value judgements based upon comparisons of ideas that exist only in our heads, then we are none of us immune to self-righteousness and petty bickering.

the second rule of behavioural generalisation: difference does not necessitate conflict.

which group do i think is the coolest? who really gives a fuck?

there are idiots everywhere. i’m one of them.

ps. jeremy, that also means that buckets of dog shit are not better than evil analysts!

loves, hates, happy, sad. joy, pain… pretty normal usually i reckon

I’ve never seen fundies as the ‘real’ danger, as it’s really dogma, especially the politicized kind that makes it more of a social accessory than a search for knowledge, that’s the harm. Most of the people I’ve known who were truly seeking after God showed it, regardless of their method or mythology. Those who weren’t did a lot of talking, usually aboiut other people.

now, a saner view of existence might be that openness, freedom and compassion and humility are healthier qualities in the long run than close-mindedness, hatred, etc. but, those are still externalities being manifested by valuable and free individuals. i’m more than happy disagreeing with the homophobic point of view, for instance, but i don’t believe that makes me ‘better’ than those who profess homophobia.

in my experience, one who considers h/erself ‘better’ than someone because he or she follows a different path is in serious danger of being guilty of spiritual darwinism.