What's Really Wrong With America
I don't know if anyone found this little gem on CNN's site yesterday, but I think it brilliantly illustrates what's really wrong with America these days. Over 57-bleeping-percent of people who responded to this survey believe that "divine intervention" can "revive dying patients". That's right ... forget doctors, forget technology, forget science ... most of all forget facts ... these folks believe they can pray their loved one back to health even when all empirical evidence suggests otherwise.
However, the root cause of what's really wrong with American is contained in this quote from the author of the study, Dr. Lenworth Jacobs:
Jacobs said he frequently meets people who think God will save their dying loved one and who want medical procedures to continue.
"You can't say, 'That's nonsense.' You have to respect that" and try to show them X-rays, CAT scans and other medical evidence indicating death is imminent, he said.
Excuse me? "You have to respect that" ????? WHY??? Since when is it required to "respect" that fact that someone is an irrational, superstitious person? If the person in question believed that Xenu, or Shiva, or Baal, or Apollo, or Wotan, or the Flying Spaghetti Monster was going to save their loved one, we'd probably call the guys with the little white coats to haul them away.
Why is it that irrational, superstitious beliefs magically become worthy of respect when they reflect a mainstream delusion (Christianity, Judaism, Islam), but are safe to lampoon when they're either long dead or held by a relatively small minority of gullible people??
This level of doublethink and hypocrisy is what's really wrong with America today. Reason is something you reject at your own peril, because reality doesn't much care what you believe. Yet we remain enamored with this notion that belief, in and of itself, has some sort of magical properties. Saying "I believe" is no longer a statement of your personal point of view; it's now become almost a synonymous with "This is reality".
Hence, our presidential candidates (i.e. McBama & O'Cain) have to convince voters of their faith ... rather than defend the failed and unconstitutional policies they will enact. They can hit the stump with vague allusions to poorly-defined concepts like "fairness", "change", "duty", "patriotism" -- and thereby deftly avoid actually declaring what they really think or plan to do. Details and clarity are sacrificed to political expediency and the emotional pacification of voters who make decisions based on everything except reason, logic and good information.
Instead of "respecting" this kind of irrational behavior, we should be debunking it at every opportunity (which, to be fair, is pretty much what CNN is doing here). We should be teaching our children how to think instead of what to think. We should be encouraging critical thinking and questioning.
But the faithful could at least be a bit more honest. If you really believe that "divine intervention" is going to save your loved one, at least have the courage of your convictions. Don't hedge your bets by relying on science and reason until you don't like the answer. Stop trying to have it both ways. Pray your empty little heads off, and deal with the results.
If you don't have the courage of your convictions, why should we act as though they're worthy of respect?
However, the root cause of what's really wrong with American is contained in this quote from the author of the study, Dr. Lenworth Jacobs:
Jacobs said he frequently meets people who think God will save their dying loved one and who want medical procedures to continue.
"You can't say, 'That's nonsense.' You have to respect that" and try to show them X-rays, CAT scans and other medical evidence indicating death is imminent, he said.
Excuse me? "You have to respect that" ????? WHY??? Since when is it required to "respect" that fact that someone is an irrational, superstitious person? If the person in question believed that Xenu, or Shiva, or Baal, or Apollo, or Wotan, or the Flying Spaghetti Monster was going to save their loved one, we'd probably call the guys with the little white coats to haul them away.
Why is it that irrational, superstitious beliefs magically become worthy of respect when they reflect a mainstream delusion (Christianity, Judaism, Islam), but are safe to lampoon when they're either long dead or held by a relatively small minority of gullible people??
This level of doublethink and hypocrisy is what's really wrong with America today. Reason is something you reject at your own peril, because reality doesn't much care what you believe. Yet we remain enamored with this notion that belief, in and of itself, has some sort of magical properties. Saying "I believe" is no longer a statement of your personal point of view; it's now become almost a synonymous with "This is reality".
Hence, our presidential candidates (i.e. McBama & O'Cain) have to convince voters of their faith ... rather than defend the failed and unconstitutional policies they will enact. They can hit the stump with vague allusions to poorly-defined concepts like "fairness", "change", "duty", "patriotism" -- and thereby deftly avoid actually declaring what they really think or plan to do. Details and clarity are sacrificed to political expediency and the emotional pacification of voters who make decisions based on everything except reason, logic and good information.
Instead of "respecting" this kind of irrational behavior, we should be debunking it at every opportunity (which, to be fair, is pretty much what CNN is doing here). We should be teaching our children how to think instead of what to think. We should be encouraging critical thinking and questioning.
But the faithful could at least be a bit more honest. If you really believe that "divine intervention" is going to save your loved one, at least have the courage of your convictions. Don't hedge your bets by relying on science and reason until you don't like the answer. Stop trying to have it both ways. Pray your empty little heads off, and deal with the results.
If you don't have the courage of your convictions, why should we act as though they're worthy of respect?
posted by DrJDG @ 12:36
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