Well, I read it. Much rolling-of-eyes ensued. Yet another editorial
light-weight sounds off. Seems very sincere, though. So sincere, in fact,
that if the guy ever realized how politically-correct, blinkered and
superficial his "analysis" really was, he'd probably slit his own throat.
Don't get me wrong, he's right about organized religion, and he's
smart enough to use some of the tried-and-true tricks of the trade, such
as using emotional rhetoric in an alternating accusing/pleading format,
and painting an entire group with the brush of extremist's quotes.
Unfortunately, he seems to lack the wisdom to see in himself that which
he so fervently opposes.
To really savour the irony, try reading the article, then re-read it,
replacing every reference to religion with it's Politically Correct
correlate.
Here's a taste:
Before:
Think about it. God-talk permeates our culture and
politics. Civic leaders consistently invoke God,
hide behind Him, bend their knee. No
acknowledged atheist would dream of running for
national office, even in our supposedly secular
country. Just a few decades ago, journalist H. L.
Mencken enthusiastically lampooned the
pomposity and hypocrisy of organized religion and
the sometimes gullible piety of the faithful: Now,
no newspaper columnist or TV news anchor would
dare. Any teacher who challenged his or her
students to think critically about religion would be
looking for work the next day.
After:
Think about it. (Group-think) permeates our culture and
politics. Civic leaders consistently invoke (Political
Correctness), hide behind (it), bend their (words into
empty euphemisms). No acknowledged (outspoken free-thinker)
would dream of running for national office, even in our
supposedly (enlightened) country. Just a few
(years) ago, journalist Ed L. Moser enthusiastically
lampooned the pomposity and hypocrisy of (Politically-
Correct jargon) and the sometimes gullible piety of the
(zealots). Now, no newspaper columnist or TV news anchor
would dare. Any teacher who challenged his or her
students to think critically about (different cultures)
would be (up on charges for hate speech).
If you folks want to understand how spread a "meme-complex"
/quickly/, and affect an entire culture in a profound
and subtle way, then give religion a rest. Study the
history of "Political Correctness" (hint: start in the 60's,
and remember that a mind is a synergistic emergent of memes/
memory interacting with emotion/motivation and intelligence/
pattern-recognition - simple patterns, usually).
Dan