Nice to see O'Bama working on getting rid of midnight Bush rules

[kandrathe]

Religion just takes anything that isn't understood, and attributes it to god(s).

That is the primitive notion of religion, and yes, there are many people where that is sufficient for them. Others seek a higher understanding of their own existence. For example, in Buddhism, developing one's mind is the path to wisdom which in turn leads to personal freedom, and that the path of one's life is to develop discernment, insight, wisdom, and thereby enlightenment.

The road analogy works very well for me in explaining this quest we call life. Some people are walking, some are moving more quickly in vehicles, some are going the wrong way. Are you the kind of person who curses at the slow movers on your way past? What purpose does hurling that discouragement serve? Some people are taking a steep path which is more difficult, but perhaps shorter. Some people have crashed and lay wounded in the ditch. Will you be the one to stop and give them a hand? Others are heading down a dead end. As long as the people on the road are obeying the rules, can we not give each of them the respect of sharing that road equally with them? So you meet a person whose world view is "deluded by fairy tales", but if that world view is one of peace, morality, and benevolent reciprocity why should we worry? The religions of peace are just well worn paths, and atheism is a different path which may be steeper and more difficult. I just don't believe it is right in trying to make everyone take that same path, especially when you are not entirely certain it is the correct one. It seems better to me to allow everyone to choose their own way, and then respect that decision.

Consider a person who's IQ is well over 200. Would it be useful for that person to spend much time being frustrated by the ignorance of the 99% of people in the world? No. They need to value the exceptional gift they have and put it to some good use. So, if as Pete, Jester, or others here believe that they have the "right" answer and everyone else are "deluded by fairy tales", then move past it and do something useful with this insight. Luckily, we still live in a society that guarantees you the freedom to believe, or not believe in whatever you like. Perhaps even this tolerance is a sign that our societies are making some progress.