I just watched the excellent documentary The Unbelievers on Netflix. Richard Dawkins stated that he believes we are seeing the start of the death of religion because the vitriol they use to deliver their arguments is reminiscent of a wounded and dying animal. I hope the same is true of fascist thugs. However, the film upset me in a lot of ways - their contempt for believers was palpable, and I noticed a lot of the intellectual snobbery that plagues fascist / anti-fascist arguments (which Ive been guilty of myself). Anyone can preach to the converted and get a standing ovation - much trickier is getting people to really question their beliefs. The only reason I am an atheist, and believe in science, and morality apart from religion is because I grew up being taught to question and think for myself. I dont just believe what I read, I investigate. The people we are arguing with were clearly not raised that way, but theres no reason they couldnt come to question those beliefs - there are plenty of ex-fascists and ex-believers out there for this very reason. You shouldnt have to make reality fit your beliefs, your beliefs should fit reality. From now on Im going to try and encourage that rather than ridiculing those who havent been brought up with the same open-mindedness that I have. Obviously some are beyond help, but many are legitimately afraid of things they shouldnt be afraid of, so Ill try to make them see that, rather than mocking them. End rant.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Sep 2014 21:36:40 +0000
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