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That was confusing

4 files changed, 6 insertions, 405 deletions

diff --git a/thoughts/txt/midwit.txt b/thoughts/txt/midwit.txt
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+I have yet to encounter a smart person that uses the term
+"pseudo-intellectual"
diff --git a/thoughts/txt/solution-to-social-media.txt b/thoughts/txt/solution-to-social-media.txt
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+Social media should be run by the government.
+
+Primarily, because it will make it boring and no one will ever use it
+again.
diff --git a/thoughts/txt/textfiles.com/affirmative_atheism.txt b/thoughts/txt/textfiles.com/affirmative_atheism.txt
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-Atheism: An Affirmative View (1980)
-Emmett F. Fields
-What is Atheism that it survives?
-
-Every religion, from earliest times, has hated and condemned those who 
-could not believe whatever it was that those old religions happened to 
-believe. Throughout the ages there have been the 'intellectual outlaws' 
-who have questioned the "unquestionable," and doubted even the very 
-existence of the gods. And those individual thinkers have been hated, 
-hunted, persecuted, and murdered by the religious believers. Yet the 
-Atheists and doubters are very much with us today, but those old 
-religions, and the gods they created, have long since ceased to trouble 
-the thoughts of mankind.
-
-If Atheism is considered to be a religion, then it is easily the oldest 
-living religion in the world. Properly stated, Atheism is truly "that old 
-time religion" that the Baptists keep singing about.
-
-Atheism is a difficult subject only because of the slander and 
-misrepresentations preached and published against it. Even the information 
-that is available in our most trusted and respected reference books is the 
-distorted and prejudiced view presented by religion. Just as in Communist 
-countries, where the articles on Capitalism, democracy, politics, etc., 
-are always written by Communists and from the Communist point of view, so 
-in Christian dominated societies, such as the United States, all articles 
-on Atheism, Rationalism, Freethought, etc., that are to be found in 
-encyclopedias and other reference books, are written by theologians, and 
-from the Christian point of view.
-
-The article on Atheism in the current edition of the Encyclopedia 
-Britannica was written by a Roman Catholic Jesuit Priest, Rev. Cornello 
-Fabro, Professor of theoretical Philosophy, University of Perugia, Italy. 
-In the Encyclopedia Americana the article on Atheism was written by Roger 
-L. Shinn, a professor at Union Theological Seminary. It seems that 
-religion, like Communism, can survive only when it can control the 
-information about conflicting beliefs.
-
-This system of writing the most trusted and basic reference and 
-information books from the point of view of the dominant ideology in every 
-society has the dangerous effect of further polarizing and isolating the 
-peoples of the world within their own narrow beliefs, and of creating 
-contempt and distrust for all others.
-
-America was not established to have any dominant ideology, The United 
-States was meant to be 'a free marketplace of ideas,' where every opinion 
-could be heard and considered. Today we must consider the various ideas 
-and opinions as they are presented in great newspapers and reference 
-books.
-
-And so it is of the utmost importance that these ideas and opinions be 
-presented honestly, by the people who accept them, believe in them, and 
-are convinced they are the best answers to the problems under 
-consideration. Then, and only then, will people have any real opportunity 
-to make an intelligent decision about the beliefs they are investigating. 
-The American people have a right to know that in Atheism there is a moral, 
-sensible, and scientific alternative to religion.
-
-There can be no doubt but that the people of this nation must be among the 
-most deceived and brainwashed in the world, at least, at very least, in 
-the area of religion. As an Atheist I have a very special reverence for 
-truth, real truth, truth with fact and proof behind it. And it is 
-infuriating to me when I go into a public library and read the lies and 
-misrepresentations that are being fed to the eager, active, and searching 
-young minds that use our libraries in their quest for truth and 
-understanding.
-
-The first step, then, in understanding Atheism is to disregard all the 
-lies and propaganda that religion has spread against it. Atheism is more 
-than just the knowledge that gods do not exist, and that religion is 
-either a mistake or a fraud. Atheism is an attitude, a frame of mind that 
-looks at the world objectively, fearlessly, always trying to understand 
-all things as a part of nature. It could be said that Atheism has a 
-doctrine to question and a dogma to doubt. It is the human mind in its 
-natural environment, nothing is too holy to be investigated, nor too 
-sacred to be questioned. The Atheist Bible, it could be said, has but one 
-word: "THINK." Atheism is the complete emancipation of the human mind from 
-the chains and fears of superstition.
-
-There is absolutely nothing negative about Atheism; truth can never be 
-negative. The Atheist demands proof, or at least reasonable evidence, and 
-simply rejects whatever does not meet the basic requirements of common 
-sense. Throughout history all progress in society has come from doubting 
-and rejecting old ideas, old customs, and old beliefs. The tree of human 
-knowledge dies as it grows, with new growth growing out of the dead and 
-dying parts, and replacing it with better and truer beliefs. The 
-Theologian is an owl, sitting on an old dead branch in the tree of human 
-knowledge, and hooting the same old hoots that have been hooted for 
-hundreds and thousands of years, but he has never given a hoot for 
-progress.
-
-Morally speaking, Atheism has a great advantage over religion. The great 
-failure of religious morality comes from their illusion of a morality 
-above right and wrong. The religious mind has always known it is wrong to 
-murder and torture, wrong to persecute and hate, wrong to force its 
-beliefs upon others. Religion has always known these things are wrong, but 
-the religious mind suffers from the illusion of a "higher morality," and 
-because of that illusion all history runs deep with innocent blood. In the 
-name of their "god" and a "higher morality," Christians have waged holy 
-wars of extermination, have plundered, tortured and murdered those who 
-could not agree with their religion, or who had never even heard of it. In 
-the name of this "higher morality" Christians have hated, hunted, 
-persecuted, and burned alive the "heretic," the "infidel" and the 
-"atheist."
-
-And today, as always, when the religious person does a thing that even he 
-recognizes as being wrong and immoral, his illusion of a "higher power" 
-and a "greater morality" allows him to perform some ritual, confession, or 
-prayer, and presto, miraculously, "all his sins are taken away", and he is 
-free again from all pains of conscience and regret.
-
-Such foolish illusions do not comfort the Atheist mind. The Atheist knows 
-there is no morality above right and wrong, and no escape from the pains 
-of conscience and remorse. Murder is murder, and robbery, hate and 
-persecution are all crimes against humanity. Morally speaking, it is 
-better to be murdered than to be the murderer; better to be robbed than to 
-be the robber, and better to be hated and persecuted than to be among 
-those who hate and persecute. Morally speaking, then, history tells us it 
-is better to be an Atheist than to be a Christian.
-
-Religion claims that immorality always springs from a lack of religion, 
-but the facts prove just the opposite. Christianity has never been 
-stronger than it is today, Christians have churches in every community, 
-they monopolize radio and television time with religious propaganda, they 
-have forced their religion into our government, our laws, and into our 
-schools. They have done these things against the Constitution of the 
-United States, and against the most basic and sacred rights of all other 
-Americans. Like a sinking ship, with water rushing in and filling every 
-compartment where it was not supposed to be, so religion has attacked our 
-nation, rushed in where it was not supposed to be, where it has no 
-business to be, silencing all opposition, all opposing views, poisoning 
-the wells of our knowledge, and endangering the very roots of our nation.
-
-Christianity is that strong today, and yet we have not achieved any 
-respectable amount of morality in this country. Nowhere is the failure of 
-Christian morality more evident than in America. During the same time that 
-Christianity has been growing ever stronger and ever richer, over the past 
-thirty years or so, the use of harmful drugs has became a national 
-scandal, the crime rate has been climbing ever higher and ever faster, the 
-divorce rate has skyrocketed, and during that time our nation has been 
-embroiled in more wars and international conflicts than in any other 
-similar time period in its history. During that time, our nation was also 
-getting its 5000 or so weird religious cults, a byproduct of Christian 
-indoctrination. Right to-day we have the highest narcotics abuse rate, the 
-highest crime rate, the highest divorce rate, and the highest 'religion 
-rate' that we have ever had in the history of this nation. What does 
-Christianity say about these facts and how to cure them? They tell us we 
-need more religion and they are determined to force it upon us. 
-Christianity feels so strong today that it is moving into politics to try 
-to force its failing morality upon every American through a Christian 
-Dictatorship and a new Dark Age.
-
-Once Atheism is achieved, and the mind has escaped entirely from the 
-religious fears and beliefs that are put upon us from earliest childhood; 
-and once we can look at religion objectively and impartially, it becomes 
-entirely obvious that religion has all the characteristics of a form of 
-insanity. To one degree or another the religious mind must accept, and 
-believe in, another world; a supernatural or unnatural world, a world 
-filled with all sorts of imaginary beings called gods, devils, angels, 
-saints, demons, etc. These imaginary creatures are talked to, asked for 
-favors, guidance, "signs," or miracles, and then blamed or thanked for 
-natural events that follow. Except for the cloak of religion, such beliefs 
-and actions would otherwise cause an individual to be judged insane, and 
-committed to an institution for treatment.
-
-The study of history will further justify the theory that religion is a 
-form of insanity. No sane and healthy minds could have waged the bloody 
-religious wars and crusades where the conquered were slaughtered, men, 
-women, and children, even infants, all were put to the sword simply 
-because they were "infidels" or "heretics." The dungeons and torture 
-chambers of the Holy Inquisition could not have been run by sane and 
-healthy minds. And it had to be the insane mind, the religious mind, that 
-would tie a woman to a stake, pile wood and fagots around her and burn her 
-alive for the impossible crime of being a witch. No sane person could read 
-of the horrors, rape and slaughter in a savage book and call that book 
-"the word of God." And the Jesus myth, about a god who must become a man 
-and be murdered before he can forgive mankind, is the most insane of all.
-
-Today, Christianity chooses to ignore, or to hide and deny, its own bloody 
-history and to claim that it is the very foundation of our morals, and 
-even of our civilization. Religion also claims to be our only hope and 
-guide for the future. In view of Christian history these claims are, in 
-themselves, sheer insanity.
-
-But Christianity is not the only form of organized insanity in the world 
-today. The Atheist, being an individual who stands outside all belief 
-systems, is well aware that there are other religions and beliefs that are 
-equally insane and dangerous. Christianity is simply most dangerous to the 
-United States; to our government, our freedom and our future, because it 
-is here, it is powerful, it is wealthy, and it is entirely unscrupulous. 
-In addition to its illusion of a morality above right and wrong, I must 
-add, and emphasize, that it also has an illusion of a "higher allegiance" 
-to something above truth, above justice, and above America and national 
-patriotism. It does not require that a person be an Atheist to be aware 
-that Christian Fundamentalism is today the greatest threat to our nation 
-and its freedom.
-
-Communism is by far the worst thing that has happened to the world in the 
-last two hundred years, but it is also the best thing that has happened to 
-Christianity since the plagues. During the plagues the churches received 
-great wealth from people who gave their possessions and land to the church 
-in the hope that God would spare their lives, and the lives of their loved 
-ones. And so today religion is again growing rich and powerful from our 
-modern-day plague; Communism.
-
-Christians are constantly using Communism as a club to beat down all 
-opposition to their religion, their power and their schemes. Anyone who 
-disagrees with them, Atheist or not, is denounced as being a "Communist." 
-Religion implies that there is an inseparable connection between the 
-political-economic dictatorship called Communism, and the freedom from 
-religion called Atheism. Religion chooses to ignore the fact that Atheism 
-is older than Communism and Christianity put together.
-
-Even the fear and hate that religion is preaching against Communism is not 
-aimed at the political-economic ideology that is the cause of our trouble, 
-but at the "atheistic" aspect that is not the problem.
-
-Let us consider very carefully what the connection is between Atheism and 
-Communism in Russia. There can be no doubt but that Atheism is the reason 
-for the success of Communism. Atheism is the force that brought the 
-Russian nation up from being one of the most backward, primitive and 
-religious nations in Europe in 1917, to the point of being one of the most 
-advanced, scientific and technological, nations in the world today, 
-Whether we like it or not, we must admit that Communist Russia is a 
-powerful modern force, and a very dangerous potential enemy. Communism is 
-an external threat to our nation, and to our very world, that is of great 
-concern to all Americans, Atheists and Christians alike.
-
-It must be admitted that Atheism is the engine and the thrust behind 
-Communism that has allowed it to move forward into the modern world in 
-such a short time. Atheism is the engine and the thrust, but it is not the 
-steering wheel. The dominant, controlling ideology in Russia is the 
-economic-political dictatorship known as Communism. Even the Christians, 
-if they could be taught to hate a little less, and think a little more, 
-would have to admit that.
-
-Atheism is, has been, and will continue to be, the force for progress 
-throughout the Communist world, it is the powerful engine that powers an 
-evil ideology. Today we are in a desperate race for our very survival. 
-America and the free world cannot win that race if we continue to allow a 
-primitive, medieval superstition to hinder our progress. Because of that 
-superstition we have lost our lead, and because of that superstition we 
-may lose the race.
-
-What is the difference between our own Christian dominated society, and 
-the Atheist-oriented society in Russia? What is it that will make such a 
-great difference in the future progress of these two societies? According 
-to a special report in 'Science 80' Magazine concerning the Communist 
-threat, reads: "This challenge is expressed not only in growing military 
-strength but in a bid to outpace the United States and other Western 
-nations through an educational "mobilization" program designed to prepare 
-all Soviet youth to participate fully in an advanced technological 
-society." The article goes on to say "The Soviets have put massive 
-resources behind their assumption that a decisive advantage is to be 
-gained by raising the level of scientific literacy and numeracy of their 
-population."
-
-And what are we doing in the United States to keep up with the Communist 
-efforts to advance even further their scientific and math education 
-systems, systems that are so very important to any modern technological, 
-military society? At present we have a great push by Christianity to have 
-their primitive "creation" myth hidden under the guise of 
-"Scientific-Creationism," taught in our public schools on an equal basis 
-with the well established and accepted modern theory of organic evolution. 
-This is the same battle that was fought in the courtroom during the Scopes 
-"monkey trial" in 1925, a trial which made this country the laughing stock 
-of the modern world. It is the same war that has been raging between 
-Christianity and the modern world since 1859 when Charles Darwin's 'The 
-Origin of Species' was first published. For over one hundred and twenty 
-years Christianity has tried to prevent us from making any progress in 
-this basic science. The truth is, of course, that Christianity has always 
-fought every fact of science and modern knowledge that did not conform to 
-its primitive Bible, written and copied, as it were, by ignorant, 
-half-civilized nomads some four thousand years ago.
-
-How can we hope to survive as a nation, keep our freedom and remain a 
-force in the modern world unless we cast aside the superstitions of 
-primitive times, and adopt the scientific, technological, "Atheistic" if 
-you will, society that reason and common sense demands? It is time, and 
-long past the time, for Atheists in America to come out of their libraries 
-and defend our modern world and our nation against religion and Communism.
-
-Today we live in a world divided and tuned for war; tuned for a war so 
-unlike any previous war that wisdom can only shudder at the thought of it. 
-This is a world always fearful that the other side may strike first, and 
-thus gain some decisive advantage. It is fearful also to strike first 
-itself, lest it fail to devastate the enemy completely, and leave him able 
-to retaliate with devastation. Thoughtful people all over the world 
-realize that the situation is more dangerous than the enemy. That each 
-side has a tiger by the tail, and both sides are afraid to let go, or even 
-to lessen its grip, lest that side be utterly destroyed. Intelligent 
-people all over the world are working for an easing of tensions, a 
-lessening of armaments, and are searching for a common ground upon which 
-both sides might find some point from which to begin establishing a 
-working relationship. A relationship that would lead to a progressive 
-lessening of the threat of a nuclear holocaust, and the eventual 
-establishment of a peaceful and lasting coexistence.
-
-Intelligent people all over the world are working for these things, but 
-Christian fundamentalists are not. Christians are shouting "No coexistence 
-with Godless Communism" and "Atheistic Communism must be destroyed." This 
-is indeed the final proof that religion is a form of insanity. We must 
-judge Christianity by what it has done throughout its history, and it has 
-never been a force for peace. We must judge what Christianity is doing 
-today in preaching hate against that part of our world that has outgrown 
-and rejected Christianity. And we must judge what chance we have for 
-survival if our part of the world continues to be held back by religion. 
-Atheism has brought the Russian nation great progress in scientific and 
-technological advances, and has made Communism a powerful force in the 
-world. But Atheism could have been doing great things for us also, if we 
-had allowed our society to lay aside, through education, the foolish old 
-beliefs that are hindering our progress, our defense, and our very 
-survival.
-
-Where do we begin our long journey back to reality, back to sanity? I 
-would start with an 'International Encyclopedia of Information,' written 
-by those who believe the ideas and from their point of view. Imagine an 
-American going to a library and learning what Atheism is, instead of what 
-it is not. Imagine a Russian going to his library and learning what 
-Capitalism is instead of what it is not. Imagine people all over the world 
-going to their libraries and reading the same histories, truthful 
-histories, histories that will not need to be changed when ever there is a 
-political or religious power change. Let Communism write what it believes, 
-let Capitalism write what it believes. Let both work together to write a 
-universal history, and if they can't agree about the facts of history, let 
-them both write their view of history and let them be published side by 
-side, and let the reader be the judge. The purpose of a history or an 
-encyclopedia is education, not propaganda.
-
-After all, it was the Encyclopedia, the French encyclopedia of Diderot and 
-others, that was so instrumental in bringing Europe out of the Christian 
-Dark Ages during the Renaissance. There is every reason to believe that a 
-universal source of basic information would be a great step toward ending 
-much of the distrust and confusion that is at the very root of our trouble 
-in the world today.
-
-There is no part of the world where the people are all bad, and another 
-part where the people are all good. When nations go to war, people go out 
-and kill people. People who, under different circumstances, might well be 
-their honored and trusted friends. Christianity has never prevented a war, 
-but has been responsible for many wars because of its prejudice against 
-all other religions, and especially against Atheism.
-
-Some time ago I prepared "An Atheist's Message to America." I have read it 
-at other talks and meetings. It reads:
-
-"The overabundance of religious propaganda in this country would lead us 
-to believe that the primary purpose of this nation is the preservation and 
-expansion of the Christian religion. But that is not true.
-
-Our nation is not, and must not become, the battleship of the Christian 
-religion. Our struggle in the world is in defense of LIBERTY. To preserve 
-our own, and, if possible, to help others gain and keep theirs.
-
-This nation is not fighting "Godless Atheism" nor "Atheistic Communism," 
-nor any other group or nation that has had Christian hate terms applied to 
-them.
-
-We, as a nation, are opposed to Communism because Communism, like 
-Christianity, is an ideological force that is destructive to human rights 
-and freedom. It is, in fact, none of our business whether another nation, 
-or another individual, believes in a god or not. Our only concern is that 
-every individual must have the liberty to decide just what he, or she, can 
-and will believe. And have the freedom to express, publish and pursue 
-those beliefs in perfect safety.
-
-In short, our only concern in the world is exactly those ideals that this 
-great nation of ours was originally founded upon."
-
-And so after all this, let us look again at our original question: "What 
-is Atheism that it survives?"
-
-Atheism is the world of reality, it is reason, it is freedom, Atheism is 
-human concern, and intellectual honesty to a degree that the religious 
-mind cannot begin to understand. And yet it is more than this. Atheism is 
-not an old religion, it is not a new and coming religion, in fact it is 
-not, and never has been, a religion at all. The definition of Atheism is 
-magnificent in its simplicity: Atheism is merely the bed-rock of sanity in 
-a world of madness.
-
-July 20, 1990
-
-The above talk was delivered at the Thomas Jefferson Unitarian Church in 
-Louisville, Kentucky on Sunday, October 19, 1980, and was published in the 
-July-August 1981 'American Rationalist' magazine (P.O. Box 994, St Louis, 
-MO. 63188.) and has been sold as a pamphlet by them ever since.
-
-There has been a great change in the world situation during the past year 
-and a half. The dangerous situation discussed in the above lecture has, at 
-last, been broken. But it was not done by Christian love or by any 
-believer in a god. It was an Atheist, Mr. Mikhail Gorbachev, who had the 
-intelligence, courage and leadership to move his country, the Soviet 
-Union, in a direction of peace and understanding. By Mr. Gorbachev's 
-wisdom and action, and his alone, the tensions have been greatly reduced. 
-But already Christians are claiming that the achievement was the work of 
-their god, and, I am sure, in future issues of our Encyclopedias the 
-credit will, somehow, (as always) be given to Christianity and its god.
-
-Nothing changes history like the Christian Historian.
-
-Emmett F. Fields 
diff --git a/thoughts/txt/why-i-like-tech.txt b/thoughts/txt/why-i-like-tech.txt
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-My fundamental interest in the history of computing, software, and the
-internet really boils down to one question.
-
-How did we arrive at a place where the world is governed by technologies
-that few, if anyone, understand?