Saturday, February 4, 2012

What Would (insert legendary religious figure) Say About....

I have never understood why religious people would even want to seek the advice from individuals who died thousands of years ago. My background is in Social Studies so I understand the idea of learning from the past but that is not quite the same thing. Trying to figure out what some figure from the ancient near east might say about a specific issue is just silly. Most of the figures that people invoke, like Jesus, Moses, Job, Etc... in all likelihood never exist. Even if they did what could they possibly say about an issue that either did not exist or that the surrounding circumstances make any potential answer moot in today's world.  To learn from the past requires a sense of context. A lot can be learned from various themes, trends, and patterns. Specific issues are always tied to the historical conditions and rarely can be applied to present concerns.

Here's a thought, if you want advice on contemporary problems or issues you should seek current information and expertise. Why not apply a little critical thinking? Most humans have access to an amazing resource. It's called a brain. Anyone having trouble with the thinking for yourself scenario should do the rest of us a favor by staying the fuck away from public affairs. I do not want public policy being shaped by what some bronze age guy may or may not have thought about specific topics. I certainly don't want the imaginary views of mythical figures playing into how our country is governed.

Then again, Papa Smurf would probably be a better leader than any of the assholes currently running the country.

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