Congrats USA on your new President

Gavinski

@espiegel123 said:
Religion is not the sole cause of toxic belief systems. Many who are religious believe n science and secular humanism. Religious extremists are not more religious than non-orthodox, non-extremists. Nationalism and ethnocentrism are also exploitable.

It is the easy way out to blame leaders for people choosing to believe them. People often are quite willing to be lead astray and bear some responsibility for their own choices.

Would better education help? To a degree. And to the degree that it is true it is probably not a simple matter of better science education (though that would be a great start).

It can’t be forgotten that one of the most evil and methodically racist regimes in history was in a country considered to be intellectually elite whose culture was revered by those that considered themselves cultured and educated. It’s ideology was not rooted in religion...and in fact dressed itself up as being rooted in science. And much of what ails the U.S. is descended from that view of the world.

While many evils have been perpetrated in the name of religion, just as many have been the fruit of other allegiances. Much evil committed in the name of religion owes as much to ethnic or national allegiances.

So, let’s not fool ourselves into thinking religion is singular in regards to leading people astray.

Humans have a natural and exploitable bias to distinguishing between themselves and other. That tendency is our weakness. And awareness of it is the only way to combat it.

Good Post Ed. Certainly my comment was not intended to suggest that religion is the sole cause, either now or in similar situations through history. My point, and I don't think this can be disputed, is that religion is a very relevant factor in what's going in in America today. But again, even saying that, I'm not saying that the problem would magically be solved if people didn't believe in religion. I come from Nothern Ireland. The troubled political situation there for much of the past 50 years had a lot less to do with religion than it seemed to on the surface. It was far more about economics, tribal resentments and unjust policing and governance, to name just a few factors. The civil rights fight for catholics was very similar to what went on in the US. Working class protestants resented these changes, as they directly ate into their slice of the pie and their sense of not being at the bottom of the pile, in the same way that many working class whites in the US resent the improvement in rights for immigrants and blacks. In both cases, fairer distribution of wealth would do a lot to solve the problem.

michael_m

@Gavinski said:
I come from Nothern Ireland. The troubled political situation there for much of the past 50 years had a lot less to do with religion than it seemed to on the surface. It was far more about economics, tribal resentments and unjust policing and governance, to name just a few factors. The civil rights fight for catholics was very similar to what went on in the US. Working class protestants resented these changes, as they directly ate into their slice of the pie and their sense of not being at the bottom of the pile, in the same way that many working class whites in the US resent the improvement in rights for immigrants and blacks. In both cases, fairer distribution of wealth would do a lot to solve the problem.

Half of my family live in and around Belfast, so I know what things have been like there. Now I live in the Bible Belt in the US, and it’s not really the same religious issue at all. For a start, there is no conflict between religions in the US, it's more that there are different levels of belief that religion should be part of politics. Unfortunately it’s also tied to being white, as there has been a long history of churchgoers not being integrated, despite both sides being members of the same religion.

I think the resentment of Democrats in the South goes back to the passing of the Civil Rights Act that essentially ended segregation - the southern states flipped from being Democratic to Republican in 1964 when white southerners blamed the Democrats for taking away their power to segregate the black population.

There are parallels, for sure, but I have always thought that NI’s problems have had a lot more back and forth, and the problems are many-faceted with paramilitaries having other factors driving them rather than just social issues.

Gavinski

Ah sure, Michael. The main point I wanted to make in that last comment was that religious belief is often more about clinging to identity than about the actual content of the beliefs. For sure the Northern Ireland situation and the American situation are very different. But they both have a lot to do with economics.

michael_m

@Gavinski said:
Ah sure, Michael. The main point I wanted to make in that last comment was that religious belief is often more about clinging to identity than about the actual content of the beliefs. For sure the Northern Ireland situation and the American situation are very different. But they both have a lot to do with economics.

I re-read what I wrote and think I missed my point. What I was trying to say is that I agree with you on NI, but think that the southern states in the US are more influenced by religion to some extent or another.

Definitely some economic factors in there, but I don’t think that people in NI are as stubborn when defending the details of their religion (but definitely stubborn over many other beliefs! 😉)

JohnnyGoodyear

Dear Mr. Nadeau:

As long as there is one upright man, as long as there is one compassionate woman, the contagion may spread and the scene is not desolate. Hope is the thing that is left to us, in a bad time. I shall get up Sunday morning and wind the clock, as a contribution to order and steadfastness.

Sailors have an expression about the weather: they say, the weather is a great bluffer. I guess the same is true of our human society — things can look dark, then a break shows in the clouds, and all is changed, sometimes rather suddenly. It is quite obvious that the human race has made a queer mess of life on this planet. But as a people we probably harbor seeds of goodness that have lain for a long time waiting to sprout when the conditions are right. Man’s curiosity, his relentlessness, his inventiveness, his ingenuity have led him into deep trouble. We can only hope that these same traits will enable him to claw his way out.

Hang on to your hat. Hang on to your hope. And wind the clock, for tomorrow is another day.

Sincerely,
E. B. White

reasOne

My guy

[Deleted User]

@CatherineHowell said:
Hey! Yeah, it's pretty exciting to have a new president, always brings a fresh energy and new possibilities. I'm glad we can all come together and celebrate this moment, even if we don't all agree on everything. It's interesting seeing how different administrations approach things, and these inaugurations can offer a glimpse into what's to come. I hope the change in leadership brings some positive advancements and helps make the country stronger. It's always cool to see people from all walks of life gathering in support of their candidate. Did you check out the speeches? They had some great moments. You know, just the other day I was browsing through the archive on this site https://www.politiq.net/US_President_Democratic_Party_Primary_Election_2024, and it was cool to see how far we've come. Anyway, here's to the future!

Catherine, what year do you think it is?

Simon

@fearandloathing said:
Catherine, what year do you think it is?

Phew - this thread is from 2021...thank God. When I saw the thread title I thought Logic Pro had just been made President...

[Deleted User]

@Simon said:

@fearandloathing said:
Catherine, what year do you think it is?

Phew - this thread is from 2021...thank God. When I saw the thread title I thought Logic Pro had just been made President...

One of the best Logic jokes so far
Well done

enkaytee

@fearandloathing said:

@CatherineHowell said:
Hey! Yeah, it's pretty exciting to have a new president, always brings a fresh energy and new possibilities. I'm glad we can all come together and celebrate this moment, even if we don't all agree on everything. It's interesting seeing how different administrations approach things, and these inaugurations can offer a glimpse into what's to come. I hope the change in leadership brings some positive advancements and helps make the country stronger. It's always cool to see people from all walks of life gathering in support of their candidate. Did you check out the speeches? They had some great moments. You know, just the other day I was browsing through the archive on this site https://www.politiq.net/US_President_Democratic_Party_Primary_Election_2024, and it was cool to see how far we've come. Anyway, here's to the future!

Catherine, what year do you think it is?

I'm thinking Catherine might just be a bot or some such thing...

knewspeak

@Simon said:

@fearandloathing said:
Catherine, what year do you think it is?

Phew - this thread is from 2021...thank God. When I saw the thread title I thought Logic Pro had just been made President...

I’d say Logically LP would be an improvement

rs2000

@knewspeak said:

@Simon said:

@fearandloathing said:
Catherine, what year do you think it is?

Phew - this thread is from 2021...thank God. When I saw the thread title I thought Logic Pro had just been made President...

I’d say Logically LP would be an improvement

Logic President?

[Deleted User]

@knewspeak said:

@Simon said:

@fearandloathing said:
Catherine, what year do you think it is?

Phew - this thread is from 2021...thank God. When I saw the thread title I thought Logic Pro had just been made President...

I’d say Logically LP would be an improvement

+1 lol