> [Arlo] > Mitt Romney: "Freedom requires religion". > > It's the biggest myth of the day. And one prime on the neocon agenda. You > ask why Ham resorts to the tired "nihilism"-bugaboo, and I recall these > words from "The Power of Nightmare".
The fear mongers of secularism strike again. By all means, let's get rid of Christmas. > "[Strauss believed] Western liberalism led to nihilism, and had undergone a > development at the end of which it could no longer define itself or defend > itself. A development which took everything praiseworthy and admirable out > of human beings, and made us into dwarf animals. Made us into herd > animalsâsick little dwarves, satisfied with a dangerous life in which > nothing is true and everything is permitted. > > Strauss believed that the liberal idea of individual freedom led people to > question everythingâall values, all moral truths. Instead, people were led > by their own selfish desires. And this threatened to tear apart the shared > values which held society together. But there was a way to stop this, > Strauss believed. It was for politicians to assert powerful and inspiring > myths that everyone could believe in. They might not be true, but they were > necessary illusions. One of these was religion; the other was the myth of > the nation." > > And whether you hear this echoed in the pandering-but-moronic statements of > a presidential candidate, or in the "barbarians at the gate" rhetoric of > those who feel man needs some "intelligent designer" lest he be amoral and > beastly, its the same core principle. It has its foundations in the "guilty > at birth" rhetoric of the "Judeo-Christian" code, that has us all born evil > and sinful, and in need of the power of some outside agent to cleanse us and > make us Good. > > And in the sophmoric "analysis" of Bill O'Reily whose "culture war" consists > of noble and good "religious traditionalists" battling immoral and evil > "secular progressives", the same sad rhetoric is doled out for hours a day. > The only "culture" brought historically by "religious traditionalists" is > the oppressive and enslaving bounds of theocracy. Want to know what life > under "religious traditionalist" rule would be like, witness our own > European history prior to the Enlightenment. Sadly, were there more "secular > progressives" in the middle eastern nations perhaps they impetus towards > democracy would be greater. > > But telling people they are evil beasts who need to be saved by The Creator > in order to be moral and righteous serves the power desires of our modern > day leaders, and it (as Strauss saw) gives people the go-ahead to feel smug > and superior while they behave like sheep. > > The irony, of course, is that O'Reily's "culture war" is the terra firma of > the justification among "Islamofascists" to denounce Western life. Honestly, > if you had to pick a side in the "culture war" that the "Islamofascists" > would back, do you think it would be the "secular progressives"? Hell no. > > Here is another snippet from the Power of Nightmare. "But Qutb saw something > else: the dancers in front of him were tragic lost souls. They believed that > they were free. But in reality, they were trapped by their own selfish and > greedy desires. American society was not going forwards; it was taking > people backwards. They were becoming isolated beings, driven by primitive > animal forces. Such creatures, Qutb believed, could corrode the very bonds > that held society together. And he became determined that night to prevent > this culture of selfish individualism taking over his own country." > > Ask youself, who does that sound like? Who among us decries a culture > pushing us to be "primitive animals"? And who offers the solution of > providing a "religious traditionalist" government/culture that "would > provide a moral framework that would stop peopleâs selfish desires from > overwhelming them."? (The quote, btw, is how Qutb described the Islamic-led > government). > > "People need 'powerful myths', primarily 'god' and 'the nation'". Seems > Sayyed Qutb would be very happy to hear someone in the "secularly > degenerate" West say "freedom requires religion", and join forces in the > "culture war" that pits the vile, corrupt "nihilists" against the Ardent > Light of the Religious Traditionalist. > > ============= > > As a postscript here, I find it funny that we suddenly have a flock of > candidates (both sides) who are tripping over themselves arguing about who > is the biggest Christian. Reminds me of the Four Yorkshiremen skit of Monty > Python (with apologies)... > > "Why I remember all the days I worshipped God in our church." > > "Church? Why we used to worship God in our living room, and serve him tea > and crumpets!" > > "Crumpets?! Why God used to come over to our house, sit down, put his feet > by the fire, and we'd serve him the finest meals while we ate cardboard." > > "Feed him? Why I remember fondly the nights God would come over and sleep in > our beds." > > "Sleep? We used to let God have his way with us." > > "Oh sure, that's great if you think passive worship is best. We, on the > other hand, would service god rather than be serviced, if you catch my > drift." > > "Once a night?" > > "Aye." > > "Ha! We used to service God three times a day and then beat ourselves with > hair whips to pass the hours until we could service him again." > > "Just three? Five times a day we'd whack off the almighty, while a flock of > demons shredded our backs with sandpaper. Afterwards he'd kill us, just for > fun, and the resurrect us in time to service him again." > > "I would have loved to have just been killed in between. Six times a day > we'd give the almighty a hot oil rubdown, with release, and in between he'd > toss our souls into a pool of molten lead and laugh as we melted into the > fire." > > "Right. After performing oral sex on the lord, every hour on the hour, I'd > praise his divine being while he tossed my sinful soul into a pit filled > with fire and starving rats. Then, he'd resurrect me as various farm animals > and it would start all over." > > "Ah, but we love the lord." > > "Try telling that to nihilists today... they won't believe you!" > > "They won't!" > > > Moq_Discuss mailing list > Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. > http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org > Archives: > http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ > http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/ Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
