“I am against religion because it teaches us to be satisfied with not understanding the world.”
Richard Dawkins, evolutionary biologist, noted atheist and skeptic
Category: Friday Quote
Friday Quote – Ronald Reagan
“Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. The U.S. Marines don’t have that problem.”
Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States.
I will admit it. I am utterly fascinated with the culture of the United States Marine Corps. I’ve used them as the basis for more than one of my sci-fi stories because of their unique warrior ethos.
Friday Quote – Double Quote- James Feibleman & Stephan F. Roberts
BONUS DOUBLE QUOTE PRIZE!
“A myth is a religion in which no one any longer believes.”
James Feibleman
“I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.”
Stephen F. Roberts
As an atheist, when I look at the myths that surround the current “popular” religions, I see many of the same themes that populated the “myths” of extinct religions. We shouldn’t kill (with exemptions), don’t steal (with exemptions), don’t lie (with exemptions), be kind to others (with exemptions). To use the old phrase, “the devil is in the details”. Each religious system believes that their deity or deities told them what the exceptions, be it kill only in self-defense or that it’s okay to lie and steal from heretics. I have to reconcile the pillars of my belief system when they clash, such as killing in self-defense or defense of others.
Friday Quote – Lord Chesterfield
“The difference between a man of sense and a fop is that the fop values himself upon his dress; and the man of sense laughs at it, at the same time he knows he must not neglect it.”
Lord Chesterfield
h/t Put This On
I could go to work in a polo and jeans everyday, but I make sure to wear shirt and tie. I find that the people I need to influence listen more closely when I’m professionally attired. I will occasionally joke that my foppish side comes out, but this quote comes closer to my true nature.
Friday Quote – Thomas Sowell
Freedom has cost too much blood and agony to be relinquished at the cheap price of rhetoric.
Thomas Sowell, Ph.D. Economics
Whether you agree or disagree about how the current military conflicts protect our freedom, there have been times when our nation has been forced to sacrifice its young men and women in order to protect its existence. There have been times when the local populace has been forced to take up arms against corrupt governments and organizations to protect their rights from those that should have been protecting them. Yet people are willing to forget those sacrifices – those dead and wounded – and hand over the rights won by others on the promises of politicians and technocrats.
Right now, I’m listening to the audiobook version of Dr. Sowell’s Basic Economics. It is an excellent primer on what is economics and how it explains events we see in the marketplace. If you’re homeschooling your children, this should be one of the texts you use. Probably junior high to high school level.
Friday Quote – Marko Kloos
Okay, this one is a day late. So sue me.
“You’re not the better human by not fighting back. You’re not the better human for choosing to have no claws or teeth. You’re not the better human for delegating responsibility your personal safety to some underpaid guy or girl with a tin badge. And you damn sure don’t get to claim a halo for your attitude.”
This quote made the circles around the gun blogs a few months ago. Like many of them, Marko managed to perfectly sum up my feelings towards many of the “violence is not the answer” crowd. There is a big difference between avoiding violence and refusing to do violence. As I said in my previous post, I try to avoid escalating a conflict to the point of physical violence and attempt to deescalate if it looks like the altercation is going that way. That said, I’m always prepared to do violence in the protection of myself or my loved ones. Heck, even some of my acquaintances.
Refusing to do violence when attacked is rewarding the predator by making his job easier. Surrendering of liberty, by abrogating the responsibilities that come with liberty, means that even those of the populace willing to take up that responsibility will be forced to give up their liberty.
Is it enlightened to not want to do violence to another? Yes. Should we take steps to avoid violence? Yes, when possible. Will there come times when violence is the answer? Yes.
Hat tip: Say Uncle
Friday Quote – Thomas Paine
“To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.”
Thomas Paine
American Founding Father and author of the Revolutionary-era pamphlet Common Sense.
Common sense tells us to pick our battles. There is little point in arguing with zealots because they are unfazed by the use of logical arguments. It is highly unlikely that anything said will make them stop and re-evaluate their beliefs. FSM knows I used to be like that when I was gripped in the throes of the conservative political dogma.
The only time I know to engage the zealot is when there is a third-party that can be swayed. In one of the great scenes from the movie Thank You For Smoking, the protagonist, Nick is explaining his job as a lobbyist to his son, Joey.
Nick: Okay, let's say that you're defending chocolate and I'm defending vanilla. Now, if I were to say to you, "Vanilla's the best flavor ice cream", you'd say …? Joey: "No, chocolate is." Nick: Exactly. But you can't win that argument. So, I'll ask you: So you think chocolate is the end-all and be-all of ice cream, do you? Joey: It's the best ice cream; I wouldn't order any other. Nick: Oh. So it's all chocolate for you, is it? Joey: Yes, chocolate is all I need. Nick: Well, I need more than chocolate. And for that matter, I need more than vanilla. I believe that we need freedom and choice when it comes to our ice cream, and that, Joey Naylor, that is the definition of liberty. Joey: But that's not what we're talking about. Nick: Ah, but that's what I'm talking about. Joey: But … you didn't prove that vanilla's the best. Nick: I didn't have to. I proved that you're wrong, and if you're wrong, I'm right. Joey: But you still didn't convince me. Nick: Because I'm not after you. I'm after them. (Pointing to by-standers)
We’re not trying to convince the zealots, we’re trying to convince them. The by-standers that will listen to reasoned arguments against the rhetoric. Those who can be swayed.
Friday Quote – Edward R. Murrow
“We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep deep into our own history and our doctrine and remember that we are not descended from fearful men…”
I first heard this quote in the intro of Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History podcast. I was struck by the appeal to the fact that we are descended from humans that accomplished amazing feats and survived incredible hardships.
Then I went back and looked at through my skeptical lens. As Americans, we stand on the backs of men and women of the Enlightenment. Of men and women who valued reason, not only in the sciences, but in economics, philosophy, and politics as well.
There are many people today that will try to drive us into an age of unreason. Some will just because they can wring some sort of monetary or power advantage. These are the charlatans, the snake-oil salesmen of our modern world. Fraudsters are dangerous, but not nearly as dangerous as the other kind of person that will drive us into unreason. The kind that will do it because they believe they are right and just and must inflict their justice upon us. These fanatics will deny what history or science has taught us because history or science is corrupt and non-applicable to their paradigm.
Friday Quote – Shackleton
“Inveniam vaim aut faciam†– I shall find a way or make one.
My brother first came across this phrase when reading about Shackleton’s expedition to the Antarctic. Mr. Shackleton had this phrase carved into the wall near his hospital bed. According to the linked Wikipedia article, it’s been used by many others as a motto, which is how I use it. We are surrounded by people who will live in their little cocoons and never try to find a way to better themselves or in how they work. I’m a big believer in system improvement. What can I do to make my products easier to produce, better than others, etc.?
In terms of writing, that means I no longer have to just go the traditional route with the big publishing firms. There are new models, or I can make my own model. I shall find a way or make one.