Update: Joshua James, who has been following this fracas with insight and passion, makes similar points in brilliant fashion here.
In response to the righteous indignation that my posts and reviews have ignited here, here, here and here.
Let me see if I have this right…
It’s not okay for me to say that black people make better deep-sea divers, that Asian people make better mountaineers, or that white people are better at herding cattle.
It’s not okay for me to say that all women are slightly retarded but they make up for it by releasing a vaporous chemical from their tear ducts that causes slight amnesia in men. Or that women’s hair emits rays that compels men to rape them.
It’s not okay for me to say that men have nipples in the same way that batteries have two ends: positive, negative.
It’s not okay for me to say that homosexual men and women have halitosis and grow their toenails out to ridiculous lengths.
It’s not okay for me to say that Lithuanians raise their first born with kindness but ritually abort and cannibalize their second-born infants. Or that the Balinese would be rulers of the world, if not for their inability to metabolize coffee. Or that the British have a predisposition for lying. Or that Southern Californians are notorious, incurable premature ejaculators. Or that Spaniards are obsessed with cloud formations and indoor plumbing. Or that Ukrainians are actually a product of cross-breeding between medieval Frenchmen and Zimbabweans time-warped from the future, all engineered by a race of aliens who hoped to take over the Earth but grew bored and gave up their plans.
It’s not okay for me to say the world is shaped like a donut, with a lava river running up and down the middle for eternity.
It’s not okay to say that I control your mind and every thing you say and do is carefully orchestrated by my will.
It’s not okay for me to say that gravity is an illusion and we’re all actually whirling around and around each other, but a higher power makes us feel grounded and centered.
It’s not okay for me to say that I communicate with fairies, goblins and tree sprites who go forth and do my bidding at night while you sleep.
It’s not okay for me to father a child, lock her in a small dark room and psychologically abuse her for years.
It’s not okay for me to break into your home and kill your family because I say that God told me to.
But it is okay for me to say that I have a personal relationship with God, who speaks to me, that I am a member of a chosen people, God works His will in every molecule of the world, prayer heals, infidels deserve death and when I die a martyr my soul will pass the gates of Heaven and have sexual intercourse with winged pregnant virgins playing harps, while the souls of unbelievers like you will burn in Hell for eternity.
Or, on a softer note, it’s okay for me to say I think there may be a God…but who am I to say…and if you don’t believe that’s okay, I guess.
But that's less fun, isn't it?
To me, religious belief is just another prejudice. Not as vile perhaps as racism, sexism, nationalism or other bigotries, but still an abstract response to the world with absolutist claims to reality while having no basis in that reality. Religious belief usually incorporates a set of notions about how the world works and how people should behave that, to me, is only based on custom, historical conditioning and aesthetically pleasing or expedient rituals.
For some folks, belief is just in the head, a consoling philosophy that they would never press on another person. For others, belief is a sanction for murder and fascistic control. And I know that there are many, many, many gradations between. I believe in the evolution of morals, of which religion was a phase. But I think the future lies with rational secularism, human rights, environmentalism, economic equality and cultivation of the arts, among other things. I don't tell people they can’t believe, they can’t worship and they can’t try to convince other people of their beliefs. Much as I logically and ethically deplore religion, I don't do that. I may ridicule, cajole and make sweeping rhetorical gestures.
So I cannot take religion seriously. Disagree with me, prove me wrong, tell me I'm going to hell, but don't misrepresent my argument.
Spare me your wretched goddism.
I have nothing to add here about theology, civility, or stupidity. I just want to say I'm impressed David had the balls to actually write what he wrote in a mainstream magazine like Time Out!
And I'm even more impressed Time Out let it run!
Debate the tone all you want, but in this day and age, I really appreciate that. As long as David doesn't get fired, maybe that empowers more of us to express other "uncivil" yet valid opinions.
Posted by: Playgoer | May 18, 2007 at 03:47 PM