The loss of humanism does appear to be a real threat, and there are many different ways this could happen. We tend to focus on it happening by the authoritarians taking over and imposing their will on others. I suppose another route would be for us to willingly abandon it to achieve some sort of "greater good." Both are scary to think about.
It seems like too many people get hung up on the word. "Spirituality" doesn't have to mean "belief in spirits."
Lots of us have made similar arguments, including me. I wish the Dems better reflected my political views. I'd like them to be closer to the Greens or Socialists, and that's where I was coming from. I was sad to see that 3rd party candidates couldn't get any traction in 2016 even when we had two of the least appealing candidates we've had in my lifetime. I remember thinking at the time that this was all the evidence I needed to see that 3rd parties weren't close to being viable.
Still, when I compare most of the policies Dems implement and how they govern with what I see from the Republicans, they don't look very similar. Trump didn't govern like Biden or Obama. I could pick some areas where their policies overlapped if I were incredibly selective and ignored the fact that both had obstacles in Congress that limited what they could do. But I see more differences than similarities. We are going to be dealing with what Trump did to the courts for generations. I don't believe Biden has done anything comparable there.
I'd have to agree with you that we are much closer to an oligarchy than a democracy or a republic. I'm not thrilled with that either. But I fear that an oligarchy isn't going to be enough for Trump. He seems to want something closer to a dictatorship.
Cleaning up the House has to be a priority. That Freedom Caucus seems determined to make sure government doesn't work. I guess that's a good tactic for getting elected but not for governing.
Yes, as well as the many Christians most of us interact with every day in a hate-free way. It seems like a belief with lots of disconfirming counterexamples.
I prefer to leave the "should" out of it and say that every individual atheist needs to decide for themselves whether an SE approach or something similar is for them. I don't know of anyone who'd use it in every interaction and at every opportunity, but I wouldn't want to be around such a person. If I were in the situation you describe, I'd steer clear of it. I would see very little upside and a large downside. It would be nice if we could all be as open with others as we'd like, but this still leads to isolation in many scenarios. That may be a trade-off some are willing to make, but I wouldn't recommend it.
Absolutely! That's it exactly. The problem isn't what they believe or their cherished Christian identity; it is how some of them act.
That's understandable. I can't say I'm much of a fan of Biden or most Democrats these days. I do see them as much better alternatives to Trump or any of his clones, though. The upcoming election will be one to play defense. I am not enthusiastic about the Democratic option, but I am very enthusiastic about the Republican option being kept out of office.
There were a few moments when Christie seemed to have at least some contact with reality. It was harder to find those for the other candidates.
That's true. Most people who embrace magical thinking don't hear any sort of counter to it. They view it as normal and assume that everyone else is like them.
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Creation