Quote:
Originally Posted by Devious21
You bring up a good point. On the topic of the first amendment, I want to be clear that I'm not suggesting I think it would be a good idea to make these beliefs illegal or that we'd be better off without the right to believe in these things.
What I am saying is that we, as a society, need to recognize that giving someone the right to believe in crazy shit, doesn't require us to surrender our own right to criticize them for it.
If a friend believed that drinking anti-freeze would cure his heart burn, you'd probably correct him and ridicule him for it. Not in a hateful way but in a manner to ensure he wouldn't do it again. "Are you out of your f@$!ing mind?!"
That kind of response is important for us because we naturally seek approval. Tolerance can provide false approval which is potentially harmful. I believe we too often give these beliefs a free ride without being challenged like they should. Whenever people come up with stuff like this, they should be told they're an idiot by people who care about them BECAUSE they care about them. Tolerating bad ideas just says "I don't respect you enough to tell you that's stupid".
This video of Sam Harris demonstrates the kind of ridicule I'm talking about and why it's important.
|
I knew the language of your first post sounded familiar
I'm a huge fan of Sam Harris. I've watched all of his videos/debates (many of them multiple times!) and I've read all of his books as well. I think anyone would be hard pressed to find a more eloquent speaker.