dorkmcgork opened this issue on Jun 17, 2008 ยท 117 posts
Penguinisto posted Thu, 19 June 2008 at 10:53 AM
Quote -
What modern secular cults are you talking about?
Well, here's a few that come to mind:
...and many, many more.
Basically, any group of individuals who carry an irrational passion for a pet issue (be it political, scientific, philosophical), to the point of getting visibly angry (or worse) at anyone who dares challenge it. That group successfully turns the issue's talking points and supporting arguments into dogma, the lead proponents as apostles, and the issue itself as their god. Anyone who brings conflicting facts into the arena are instantly treated as heretics and apostates. Instead of logical rebuttals and defenses, the adherents lose objectivity in favor of viciousness and raw anger.
Even atheism itself becomes a religion - after all, one's personal conclusions concerning belief are tentative at best, and that internal instability is almost always a source of discomfort. Having others come along, presenting arguments that make things even more unstable? Well, it more easily leads to a casting-aside of logic and more towards raw emotion. Even when the adherent is claiming to use logic (either by parroting talking points, or by presenting original arguments based on bad assumptions --or worse, bad or disproven facts-- ), it is often readily apparent that emotion is in charge.
I mean, look at this thread for instance... perjoratives like "Jesus Nuts" and "Sinners" get thrown around as the salt-and-pepper of many posts in this thread. Personally, if you (the generic "you", no particular person) have to use such terms, then your argument and its logic are likely too weak to stand on its own - even to your estimation, since you felt compelled enough to use them in the first place.
I haven't seen the inside of a church for longer than some folks reading this thread have been alive. That said, I do have to give props to (albeit sometimes overzealous) religious types in this thread. Why? At least they admit to relying on religion as a basis for their opinion - foibles, faulty logic, bad assumptions, blind faith, the whole ball of wax. OTOH, others in here claim to be 'above' that, yet the hallmarks of their prose suggest strongly that they are just as zealous, just as frail, just as dismissive, just as unsure of what its really all about... and just as human. They just refuse to admit otherwise.
Once we all admit that we're dealing with a lot of philosophical issues for which there is no scientific or factual analogue to be found, then the rest is just tentative postulation.
Personally, if two (or more) people want to set up house somewhere, cool - just know that you get the bad along with the good, and states with common-law marriage laws are going to be fun to live in... even if you and your partner never get married officially, or were just roommates.
You now get the grand booby-prize of risk: divorce proceedings, higher tax rates (depending on how you file), tax suckiness in general (ever have to file injured spouse paperwork w/ the IRS to keep from getting your tax return garnished?), custody cases (doesn't matter if you had the kid before you and your partner hitched up - the partner now has rights), property ownership, debt and collections, you name it... just like the straight couples have to deal with. You wanted reality? You got it.
So, err, before you pack your bags for Cali, you may want to stop and think about this. George Takei (no, not "Sulu" - the man does have a real name, folks) and his partner were together for roughly eternity IIRC, so they probably already knew what they were getting into - they just made it official. You and your partner may not - you think you do, but honestly, you probably don't. Just like the straight folks.
/P