Culture and Religion

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Certainty

Unfortunately it appears that sometimes with certainty comes fanaticism.

During the Democratic party primary process I heard of fanatical followers of Hillary Clinton unwilling to listen to those pointing out that Hillary is the establishment candidate, pro-Wall Street, anti-labor, who is pro-war, pro-Israel, pro-American world empire, and so any improvements to the many current domestic and international problems are quite unlikely under her reign. Those who are certain Hillary could be the first woman president and were certainly committed to that outcome could not be persuaded to hear and consider arguments against that effort. Of course, as Hillary is the establishment candidate, national media bias was observed in pro-Hillary news stories and even cases of probable electoral fraud (where exit polls were quite different than the reported vote counts) in several states were in Hillary's favor. Voter suppression tactics by both political parties typically target potential voters more likely to seek change to the current political system, so the outcome of each election is more likely in favor of those candidates favored by those in power.

Global warming alarmists are certain their efforts will save the world, quite the noble cause. Those denying their alarmist claims are now called deniers, a label meant to sound like the infamous holocaust deniers (those who deny the atrocities committed by the Nazis). Lately, the epithet climate denier is used even though it is blatantly ridiculous to believe anyone would actual deny the presence of climate, which is commonly interpreted as being weather trends over a long period of time, usually over 30 years. Calling someone a climate denier is like saying that person denies there is weather. The use of this epithet clearly reveals a fanatic. Unfortunately for these fanatics, there is no scientific proof that carbon dioxide generated by mankind's activities is actually directly responsible for recently measured global warming. Most CO2 in the atmosphere comes from natural sources; only a very small percentage comes from man's activities. There was similar global warming in the 1930's, with cooling in between and yet we are told to believe claims only the most recent warming was caused by CO2 while all earlier warming phases over thousands of years were natural.

Lacking actual proof, now the fanatics rely on claims of scientific consensus, an argument from authority. The UN IPCC was formed as a UN body generating claims and reports about man-caused global warming. Maurice Strong and others knew this tactic would enable these arguments from authority in this push for global governance. The UN IPCC is not really accountable to anyone as it continues to generate new reports every few years claiming more certainty even as scientific reports over that same time continue to find new grounds for uncertainty, as the world's weather (and climate) is just not that well understood. Claims of consensus (the amount of 97% is often used) actually means nothing in science. As Einstein famously put it, 'No amount of experimentation can ever prove me right; a single experiment can prove me wrong.' Each new study funded to find global warming actually finding a sign of global warming does not actually prove global warming is caused by man. There must be actual tests to verify or confirm either man-caused or natural global warming but in this day of enforcement of the consensus dogma those bucking that system clearly risk their careers. This system was confirmed with the Climategate emails.

Religious fanatics are so certain that there religion is the one and only correct one, that their rules for behavior are the only correct ones, they seek to force others, even those not believers in this religion, must conform. These fanatics seek to put into law rules prohibiting access to birth control, as if only fanatics decide for others whether a couple can have control over whether a pregnancy will occur or not. These fanatics seek to put into law rules prohibiting access to abortion services, as if these fanatics have decided no one can terminate a pregnancy regardless of its impact on that family. These fanatics seek to put into books and school curriculums used by public schools the teaching of creation in accordance with a story in the Bible, because those public schools are not part of the indoctrination desired. These fanatics have tried many times, usually rebuffed (as they are a clear violation of the separation of church and state intended by the first amendment), to get their religious prayers into schools and into government meetings. These fanatics are tried many times and most recently are becoming more successful to get taxpayer funding of their religious oriented schools through mechanism like vouchers, because their intent is to ensure the success of their schools' religious indoctrination over each successive generation of youngsters.

In past years, religion was used as the basis for racist intolerance. As society has matured those claims are eventually declared unfounded and many of those laws were revoked or overturned. Religious fanatics still seek legal intolerance for minorities including those in the LGBT community. Their certainty in their beliefs continues to be a problem for society to overcome prejudice and intolerance.

In America, 83% identify themselves as Christian. This majority makes it easier for political decisions to be based on that majority to the detriment of the minority. The typical 'us vs them' technique of debate is so often successful. Either the political system needs better checks and balances to protect the minority or that majority needs to become more aware of how political changes affect a minority and they must hold their elected representatives accountable for unjust policies being enacted into law. Judging from recent observations, either systemic improvement is quite unlikely in the near future.
created - June 2016
last change - 06/12/2016
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