Tuesday, September 22, 2009
+ Deceiving Apple Commercials
I am not really an Apple "fanboy". However, whether or not their ads are "deceptive", there is no question that they are good; i.e. funny and cool. Once I had seen these ads, I was compelled to shell out $2400 for a macbook pro; the choice was no longer my own.
Friday, September 11, 2009
- Islam is a religion of peace
Eight years ago today religious fanatics hijacked planes full of Americans, Indians, Englishmen, and many other nationalities. Just imagine what it was like, to see people who look like any other Americans, dressed in modern clothing, rise up with hatred on their minds and anger in their eyes. What did we do to deserve this.. those innocent victims must have asked, as the psychopaths in question screamed "Allah-hu-Akbar".. Why do I have to lose the only life I know and love.. they must have thought, as the perpetrators, heavenly virgins on their minds, flew these planes into buildings, causing death and destruction on a scale unseen in the US since the civil war.
Such a waste of REAL human life and property, all lost for the sake of a delusional fantasy dreamed up by an medieval, illiterate, war-mongering pedophile around 1500 years ago. And now the same people who claim to be "Secularists", atheists, anti-theists.. who rise up with passion, as do I, when we see prayer in public schools, and "in God we trust" on the US dollar and when nuts like Jerry Falwell call ours a "Christian nation".. these same people appear to go out of their way to apologize for this mad delusion and its destructive tendencies. These same people, many of them Indian-Americans, for whom the only two countries that really matter are ones under constant threat, who go out of their way to avoid causing "offense" to others. To them I say.. where has your Reason gone? Do you have any principles at all?
Shame on those who who wish to protect a nonsense ideology which would rob you of your Life and Liberty. It is self hating masochism, pure and simple. I often hear "Don't tar an entire religion with the actions of a few extremists".. What nonsense! Given the ideology in question, it's a miracle that Muslims are on average good, decent people. Here we have, held up as the ideal for all Homo Sapiens, a madman who chooses obedience and faith over logic and reason. Held up as the ideal parent, a man who raped a 9 year old girl, after forcing her into marriage at 6. Held up as the ideal statesman, a man who personally decapitated 500 Jewish men, and took their wives and children as slaves. A man who should be mentioned only in the same breath as Hitler, Genghis Khan and other such tyrants.. yet whose images are now pixelated by AMERICAN media.. all, of course, in the name of not causing "offense"!
This is not an argument against Muslim people, most of whom as I have mentioned, are good and decent members of our species. It is an argument against deluded ideologies, mental weakness and political correctness, that must be fought by those who believe in secular human ideals such as the right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. We must not leave this fight to fanatical Christians, Jews and Hindus.. it is our responsibility as rational people to stand firm against religious nonsense whenever and wherever we see it.. even if some people must be "offended" in the process.
Such a waste of REAL human life and property, all lost for the sake of a delusional fantasy dreamed up by an medieval, illiterate, war-mongering pedophile around 1500 years ago. And now the same people who claim to be "Secularists", atheists, anti-theists.. who rise up with passion, as do I, when we see prayer in public schools, and "in God we trust" on the US dollar and when nuts like Jerry Falwell call ours a "Christian nation".. these same people appear to go out of their way to apologize for this mad delusion and its destructive tendencies. These same people, many of them Indian-Americans, for whom the only two countries that really matter are ones under constant threat, who go out of their way to avoid causing "offense" to others. To them I say.. where has your Reason gone? Do you have any principles at all?
Shame on those who who wish to protect a nonsense ideology which would rob you of your Life and Liberty. It is self hating masochism, pure and simple. I often hear "Don't tar an entire religion with the actions of a few extremists".. What nonsense! Given the ideology in question, it's a miracle that Muslims are on average good, decent people. Here we have, held up as the ideal for all Homo Sapiens, a madman who chooses obedience and faith over logic and reason. Held up as the ideal parent, a man who raped a 9 year old girl, after forcing her into marriage at 6. Held up as the ideal statesman, a man who personally decapitated 500 Jewish men, and took their wives and children as slaves. A man who should be mentioned only in the same breath as Hitler, Genghis Khan and other such tyrants.. yet whose images are now pixelated by AMERICAN media.. all, of course, in the name of not causing "offense"!
This is not an argument against Muslim people, most of whom as I have mentioned, are good and decent members of our species. It is an argument against deluded ideologies, mental weakness and political correctness, that must be fought by those who believe in secular human ideals such as the right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. We must not leave this fight to fanatical Christians, Jews and Hindus.. it is our responsibility as rational people to stand firm against religious nonsense whenever and wherever we see it.. even if some people must be "offended" in the process.
- Humans are social animals
This is a cliche used so often that it has lost all real meaning. Humans are less "social" than many other species of animals, from ants to dolphins. In addition, the variation in human behaviour is clearly orders of magnitude greater than in any other species. In other words we are far more likely to have goals and views independent of "society" than not.
Furthermore, most of the greatest human achievements have been entirely by individuals, not society. While governments around the world spent billions to realize human flight, two bicycle mechanics (the Wright brothers) sacrificed all social life (they didn't go to college, get married and generally had poor family relations and few friends) to pursue the impossible.. and achieved it. The same could be said of Google, or even Facebook. Albert Einstein didn't need any publicly funded university to come up with special relativity, brownian motion and the photoelectric effect (all in one year at the age of 25) .. all he needed was a desk and time for his thoughts. Leonardo, Thoreau .. you could go on and on with a list of geniuses, who not only didn't NEED society.. in fact benefitted from isolation.
Yes, Society is an aspect of human existence. But it is hardly all we are, or even what separates us from other species. This is, obviously, the ability to Reason and exercise control (on an Individual AND Social level) over our environment. From my point of view Society, as it has stifled individual achievement and freedom, is the enemy of Humanity. Feel free to live your lives as "social animals", and I'll try to live up to the title Homo Sapiens, "wise man"... but if you choose to impose Your Society over My Individuality, be assured that it is done against my will. Recall Lincoln's words.. "As I would not be a Slave, I would not be a Master".. and remember that any Master-Slave relationship is corrupting to Both parties.
Furthermore, most of the greatest human achievements have been entirely by individuals, not society. While governments around the world spent billions to realize human flight, two bicycle mechanics (the Wright brothers) sacrificed all social life (they didn't go to college, get married and generally had poor family relations and few friends) to pursue the impossible.. and achieved it. The same could be said of Google, or even Facebook. Albert Einstein didn't need any publicly funded university to come up with special relativity, brownian motion and the photoelectric effect (all in one year at the age of 25) .. all he needed was a desk and time for his thoughts. Leonardo, Thoreau .. you could go on and on with a list of geniuses, who not only didn't NEED society.. in fact benefitted from isolation.
Yes, Society is an aspect of human existence. But it is hardly all we are, or even what separates us from other species. This is, obviously, the ability to Reason and exercise control (on an Individual AND Social level) over our environment. From my point of view Society, as it has stifled individual achievement and freedom, is the enemy of Humanity. Feel free to live your lives as "social animals", and I'll try to live up to the title Homo Sapiens, "wise man"... but if you choose to impose Your Society over My Individuality, be assured that it is done against my will. Recall Lincoln's words.. "As I would not be a Slave, I would not be a Master".. and remember that any Master-Slave relationship is corrupting to Both parties.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
- Healthcare is a human right
Today's Facebook meme of the day happens to be "No one should die because they cannot afford health care, and no one should go broke because they get sick." This is a bold statement, which sounds nice, but upon further review falls as flat as "Hope" and "Yes we can" and similar political reductionisms. It refuses to even address the issue of WHY human beings are entitled to these rights.
The question of what is, and what isn't a Human right is a philosophical one; by definition, any entitlement demands a logical justification, or is in fact an article of faith. Of course, one can religiously (and irrationally) believe that Humans are inherently valuable, which would grant them a positive right to be helped by others when they can't help themselves. I won't get into the absurdity of religious views right now, except of course to note that they are, in fact, absurd.
The real question is what if Humans are Not inherently valuable?.. What then would be the rights we are entitled to? While the easy answer is "none", it is not the only or even most logical answer. The Declaration states that we are entitled, by Nature and Nature's God, to the self-evident and unalienable rights of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. One might say, wait a second, isn't that a religious argument to begin with? I would argue that it is not inherently religious (just like the men who wrote it), and is based on a comprehensive analysis of what it means to be Human.
The words "Nature" and "self-evident" point out the concept that something unique in the Nature of Homo Sapiens that gives us rights with respect to other members of our species, but not with respect to our Creator (whether you believe it is the Flying Spaghetti Monster or DNA by natural selection). Humans are born Free, because they are endowed with the ability to Reason and make decisions for themselves. For one (or more) human beings to take this away from others violates the laws of Nature. Forcing people to help others, for example via tax-funded healthcare, takes away our inherent right to Liberty to provide a very different set of rights.
The technical term for these two types of rights are negative liberty (rights that can only be taken away by government), and positive liberty (rights that must be given by government). My view, which is derived from the Declaration, is that negative liberty must be protected By the government and From the government. Government subsidization of healthcare infringes on negative liberty, and therefore does not fit neatly into the American system and cannot be considered a Human right.
The question of what is, and what isn't a Human right is a philosophical one; by definition, any entitlement demands a logical justification, or is in fact an article of faith. Of course, one can religiously (and irrationally) believe that Humans are inherently valuable, which would grant them a positive right to be helped by others when they can't help themselves. I won't get into the absurdity of religious views right now, except of course to note that they are, in fact, absurd.
The real question is what if Humans are Not inherently valuable?.. What then would be the rights we are entitled to? While the easy answer is "none", it is not the only or even most logical answer. The Declaration states that we are entitled, by Nature and Nature's God, to the self-evident and unalienable rights of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. One might say, wait a second, isn't that a religious argument to begin with? I would argue that it is not inherently religious (just like the men who wrote it), and is based on a comprehensive analysis of what it means to be Human.
The words "Nature" and "self-evident" point out the concept that something unique in the Nature of Homo Sapiens that gives us rights with respect to other members of our species, but not with respect to our Creator (whether you believe it is the Flying Spaghetti Monster or DNA by natural selection). Humans are born Free, because they are endowed with the ability to Reason and make decisions for themselves. For one (or more) human beings to take this away from others violates the laws of Nature. Forcing people to help others, for example via tax-funded healthcare, takes away our inherent right to Liberty to provide a very different set of rights.
The technical term for these two types of rights are negative liberty (rights that can only be taken away by government), and positive liberty (rights that must be given by government). My view, which is derived from the Declaration, is that negative liberty must be protected By the government and From the government. Government subsidization of healthcare infringes on negative liberty, and therefore does not fit neatly into the American system and cannot be considered a Human right.
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