Leefe wrote:
At 11:57 +1100 28/10/07, John Elliot wrote:Leefe wrote:Social norms change over time. Smoking is on its way out, homosexuality is becoming more accepted. Get over it. :)Hah! You weren't paying attention, were you?Angry white heterosexual male smokers are feeling marginalised and becoming irrational.
Here, let me help you. Everything that is "good" about us is irrational. The application of hard-line rationality is pretty much "evil". Keep an eye out in popular culture for the word "rational" and "irrational".You will see that when people say "rational" they mean "good", and when they say "irrational" they mean "bad". The truth is pretty much the opposite.
This is the most widespread and dangerous misunderstanding in Western culture at present.
As just a single case in point, here's a letter from George Pell, the Archbishop of Sydney, in the paper the other day [1]. Check this out: "Although Australian life has been marred by sectarianism in the past, the idea that religion is irrational and must be excluded from public affairs is not a native Australian plant."
The thing is, religion *is* irrational. God is irrational. Rational thinking isn't where you can find "values" or "truth". It's just a formal system of logic. Even the Archbishop of Sydney doesn't get it -- he's still trying to defend his religion in the context of "reason".
[1] http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/christianity-vital-to-democracys-future/2007/10/29/1193618796958.html
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