Other-ing...

Source: LA Times Opinion

The epic conflagration between Ben Affleck, Bill Maher and Sam Harris in some links has well over a million hits. The "emperor has no clothes" when Bill is getting props from that other-Bill-named-O'Reilly for Islam-o-phobia as a "proper" mental state.

To note:

Isaac Asimov - secular humanist, scientist and science fiction writer - gave a succinct explanation regarding critical thinking, fundamentalism, science and religion. He pointed out in his interview with Bill Moyers, Robert Millikan - of the famous oil drop experiment (I met his grand nephew at Manor HS); Michelson - of the Michelson-Morley experiment measuring the speed of light - were both Nobel Laureates and devout Christians.

Steven Weinberg (born May 3, 1933) is an American theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate in Physics for his contributions with Abdus Salam and Sheldon Glashow to the unification of the weak force and electromagnetic interaction between elementary particles. Dr. Salam was known as a devout Muslim and was a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community who saw his religion as fundamental part of his scientific work. (Wikipedia)

In the Slate article: "What Jefferson Really Thought About Islam":

...his vote was interpreted by Jefferson to mean that Virginia's representatives wanted the law "to comprehend, within the mantle of its protection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and Mahomedan, the Hindoo, and Infidel of every denomination." Mahomedan would have been how Islam was referenced. Might have also been the origin of that pesky Establishment Clause of the 1st Amendment everyone seems to gloss over.

When blanket statements are made of one group - in this case, Muslims - it broad brushes those that practice their religion peacefully, it atomizes them into a prejudicial, bigoted category. One could say: "if/because the Ku Klux Klan has been known to burn crosses, then all Christians must burn crosses." In logic, that is Post Hoc Fallacy.

The debate - if you can call it that - ignored pretty much the impact of our foreign policy that can be summed up in three words since Mossadegh was deposed from democratically elected power in Iran in 1953 and the Shah installed by the US: get-the-oil! Never mind like oil rich and mineral rich countries - i.e. aluminum, diamond, lithium - the people living over the mineral wealth get NOTHING. We'll just "pray" for them as we enrich ourselves - cell phones, jewelry, laptops, etc. Being poor and hungry probably doesn't radicalize them: they just "hate us for our freedoms" (to loot).

Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Michael Shermer - all supposed paragons of critical thinking, rationality and reason - have lately been called out for their sexism and boorish statements. I notice however, they are all authors with public platforms on social media not unlike Bill Maher who has his show, and controversy quite frankly sells a lot of books.

It is true many scientists - a vast majority - do not believe in a personal deity. Lack of belief or otherwise does not make one a good scientist. As I've pointed out to many numerous times, science requires adherence to its tenants: following The Scientific Method and submitting your results to rigorous, brutal inquiry. It is then you've got something that can be called a Law or Theory, both of which are horribly misunderstood.

There is a prevailing modern myth regarding theism and science, a large part owed to the pseudoscience of creationism/intelligent design; its plainly politicized motivations and lack of usefulness - what has intelligent design "designed"? The insistence of passing it off as science - as the rest of the global economy carries no such delusions - in the public classroom has set up animosity between the two camps of reality vs. fantasy. Global warming denial, despite the evidence and 97% of climatologist agreeing on it, is just another example of the crackpot mainstreamed via marketing.

Science may/may not lead one to become either Atheist or Agnostic. That like theism is a personal choice. The solution is not politically injected authoritarian pseudoscience or willful ignorance. Atheism nor theism will make you more rational, reasoned or thoughtful in your approach to problem-solving, science or interactions with your fellow humans.

I could however, go for a few less narcissistic, xenophobic assholes.