(July 28, 2014 at 3:42 am)Pickup_shonuff Wrote: Once again, Sam Harris opens his mouth on politics, and once again I'm left shaking my head. This time he wrote a lengthy blog in defense of the utter brutality that Israel has been exercising on her enemies the last few weeks. You can read it here: http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/why-d...ize-israel I know he speaks for no one but himself but perception is everything, and he has in many people's minds earned a place as one the fiercest and most well-versed proponents for the modern age's shift towards atheism. He's revered by many atheists, including those here, and in multiple respects this is well-deserved; that's also why I fear he is doing a heck of a job misleading the impressionable and creating a caricature of atheists that many, such as myself, find despicable. I have quoted his work before in arguing certain positions, and I can only imagine how his continual display of ignorance on vastly complex topics will be all too easily thrown back in my face.
My two biggest problems with his article:
The defense that Israel could cause a lot more damage, but doesn't, hence her intentions must be noble.
Second, that Hamas is to blame for the devastation Israel has caused for the millions who live in Gaza, when in fact Israel has made those people suffer for decades; Hamas is a predictable reaction. "Give me liberty or give me death" is a human ideal, not an American one. So, I was going to place this in the "Politics" section but I also think it deserves a spot here, as atheism, as a movement, which it can be called in some respects ("New Atheism")--and/or as it is perceived by believers--will be damaged by neo-con crap like this.
Also, Steven Pinker retweeted his link (another American Imperialist). I look forward to Murtaza Hussain's response (which he has promised in the future--and which I will post here).
All that aside, I'm still looking forward to Harris' new book Waking Up, which is coming out this September.
Um I am not an either/or "us vs them" on this issue. Both sides are doing what humans do, someone punches you you punch back. I am not going to myself make death a numbers game, or big vs small issue.
Having said that I do not like Harris's seeming blind support of Israel at all. I am shocked at him making their minority status in the world an issue. Why should any religion be free from criticism? I do not see how he can take that position after writing "The End Of Faith" and "Letter To A Christian Nation".
I also think if Ann Frank were alive today she would be horrified at the actions of Israel. My position is that neither side is going anywhere. I am also not for any type of religious nationalism. I am for an Israeli state, just not a Jewish state. I am for a Palestinian state, just not an Islamic state.
Both sides are locked in a death spiral because of a stupid fucking idea that a sky hero gave you land. If Muslims want to claim they were there first, the cannot because Hebrews existed long before. NO that does not justify what Israel is doing today. I would also point out to BOTH that polytheism held that same land long before either. Trace our species DNA back even further and we all came from Africa.
If you think about human violence on a group level and skip the labels what is going on is our evolutionary act of protecting the tribe. The problem is that tribalism is local, but human suffering is universal. If you focus on short terms of history, you miss the bigger evolutionary fact that our species has always been capable of both cruelty and compassion.
Harris has disappointed me on this issue. It is not anti Semitic to criticize a fellow human anymore than it is to criticize any other group. If you are doing something wrong it is wrong. I also criticize Palestine and Islam in general as well.
Our species ability to be cruel or compassionate is in US. in our evolution and we are not a separate species because of one moment in time.
