And it wouldn't take much to tip that number over the 50% level. That's why a pure democracy would be a disaster.
Probably. They also likely want to get rid of the 14th amendment, too. I'd say it's cognitive dissonance, but I don't think these people are even intelligent enough to realize the ideas of being for strict constitutionalist judges and removing the 14th amendment (or restricting rights to religion) are conflicting.
You discussed this as though we were alone in the Western world in our lack of enlightenment and failure to think and act correctly. I apparently made my point that this simply is not so. The fact is that Americans are no different from the rest of the planet. The human animal is at times a fearful, irrational animal that acts out of ignorance and assumption rather than fact.
It's not a mosque, building this place is not going to cause harm to anyone. What the hell is wrong with America? This whole thing was started by a right-wing, conservative, anti-muslim blogger and people are making it a bigger issue than it needs to be. Building this place will not equate to a victory for al-Qaeda like most people would like to believe.
Where did I say it is "awful" here? Please point that out to me. And while you are at it, take your "roll-eyes" and shove it where the sun doesn't shine.
Then what's the point of ideals or values if they can be abandoned when fears and irrationality take over? We're just savages then.
We are, in fact, animals. We do our best to hide it, but we cannot make it untrue. We have values and rational thoughts to typify what we believe. The fight or flight response cannot be overridden regardless how much any one person would like to make it so. When such a significant percentage of the population reacts in such a manner, the answer is usually more complex than "savage" or " bigot or any other handy label some would like to ascribe to it.
There was a time when 95% of people use to think the world was flat. Ignorance isn't limited by percentages or majorities. I can only have hope that people are simply misunderstanding the way the issue has been framed in the media which loves to sensationalize and tends to align itself with the inflammatory rhetoric of the right. Hopefully, people will remember they are Americans and this is not Nazi Germany or the Congo or Serbia.
I agree 100%!!!! We should not tolerate the intolerant tea party and radical republicans like Sarah Palin. If we tolerate their intolerance our society will be lost. My god Basso, have you finally figured it out? Did you see the light and now understand why we must allow people to practice religion in peace and not give in to the intolerant rhetoric of those panzy tea-partiers?
i got into a really vicious fight today with a few friends over this. like, really vicious. stuff said that may damage future relationships. this is one crazily complex and volatile issue. btw thanks for the new sig Ref.
We are actually ranked number 8 - definitely not the freest and most tolerant country in the world (http://www.heritage.org/index/ranking.aspx) I'm sure our rank will drop after all the mosque protests. Sure there are places worst then the U.S. And perhaps that's the standard you and refman look for - a sort of reverse keep up with the Jones...I guess, as long as we are ahead of everyone else than hey we're ok kind of attitude. I don't buy into that. Republicans talk about America being a beacon of freedom to the world. SO here's there real test for them - f'ing live up to the claim or don't ever spout that b.s. again. That's all I ask for.
It's due to the complexity that so many people cannot take a step back, think with their brains rather than their emotions and realize that they're compromising the very principles that they profess makes this country so great. It is that very ability to utilize our brains rather then just our instincts and raw emotions that makes us Human. We think through complex problems, analyze solutions, search for compromises, and IMO most importantly be introspective of any potential hypocrisy in our decision making. But there is a large group in our population that does not do this. Guided by rhetoric, led by fear, and devoid of a thought process that chooses to question rather then follow like sheep, they make decisions based on emotion. As someone else mentioned these are the same people with signs and bumper stickers saying let's get back to the Constitution!
Damn was I naive! I don't give a rats ass about the "intent of the funders" or any other mind reading gossipy voodoo about "what it really is" anymore. We will know what it's about when it opens, and we'll also know how people react afterwards. This is America. We're labrats to an ongoing intercultural drama. I think the goal is to prove that as wild animals grasping with civilized (and a ever more crowded) society whether we can grow and move on with an evolving culture or if we culturally reset after each swing of the pendulum (Greeks, Romans, Islamic Empire...). I don't know whether people will trash the place or whether it'll open with a yawn. Kind of exciting and terrifying all at once.
Show me where I said we were "the freest and most tolerant country in the world." Go ahead. Where the **** did I say anything that justified a post like that. Has someone taken over your PC??
"And he's right" Refman did say we were the freest and most tolerant country in the world. That's not true. And maybe you are only agreeing in that there are worst places in the world...but if that is your argument then you are essentially saying liberty is a relative metric, not an absolute one. Those other places in the world don't claim to have ideals that define the nation. I expect us to live up to our mandate.
Other places aren't as diverse to test the idea. We are ground zero (pun intended) for tolerating each other's insane ways.
