How realistic is it really?

[Rokcet Scientist]

it is not surprising people in the USA are more religious, since they feel religious organizations can be trusted more than the government.

I guess they like getting buggered better than getting bombed.

the USA is the only country in the western world I would be considered politically a "flaming pinko".

Yep, same here. And since "flaming pinkos" are considered to be "un-American", a.k.a. revolutionaries, or, as Dubya called 'm, "terr'ists", chances are that you'll be harrassed bigtime when you next try to enter that country. You would be wise to remember that Private Manning and a couple hundred goat herders (in Gitmo) have been incarcerated without trial for almost a decade now for being considered – never proven in a court of law! – "un-American", revolutionaries, and "terr'ists". That could happen to you too (and me).
And don't forget that Obama had a big mouth about it during his election campaign, but IRL has changed nothing at all during his presidency! He is exactly as bad as Dubya was, he just doesn't look as stupid.
It seems the next president of the United States – Palin or Bachmann – will be reinstating that tradition. With a vengeance.

[Spectrum]

On the topic of my own nation:
The U.S. is very consumerist. We like to think that the world should bend to our whim, and thinking things through comes last on the list. Christianity embraces this behavior. It is used for the benefit of the theist like any other stupid product we consumers buy incessantly. We are not a nation of goals, and in the face of multicultural diversity, all we seem to agree on is accumulating wealth and appeasing short-term impulses, no matter the cost! Christianity hates dissidents and labels them as evil. The democratic, capitalistic culture of "freedom" also hates dissidents and labels them as evil (if you do not approve of this nation's choices, then you are an evil socialist who wants to kill freedom). The political-religious axis blends nicely when viewing things from a psychological level.

[Minimalist]

The problem with the Ashkenazi thing, R/S is that it presupposes that the OT bullshit stories are true. We already know they are not. There was a genetic study a few years ago which, IIRC, essentially found that the inhabitants of Canaan were, duh, Canaanites. They spoke a common language ( Aramaic) worshiped the same gods ( El, Baal, etc) and the divisions between them were mainly political.

I am more and more convinced by the work of scholars such as Philip R. Davies that Judaism was a Persian concoction based on a handful of "priests" that was subsequently expanded when the nation obtained temporary independence in the 2d century and suddenly needed a "history."

[Rokcet Scientist]

The problem with the Ashkenazi thing, R/S is that it presupposes that the OT bullshit stories are true. We already know they are not. There was a genetic study a few years ago which, IIRC, essentially found that the inhabitants of Canaan were, duh, Canaanites. They spoke a common language ( Aramaic) worshiped the same gods ( El, Baal, etc) and the divisions between them were mainly political.

I am more and more convinced by the work of scholars such as Philip R. Davies that Judaism was a Persian concoction based on a handful of "priests" that was subsequently expanded when the nation obtained temporary independence in the 2d century and suddenly needed a "history."

I.o.w. Jewish history is a crock, as is Jewish ethnicity.
Only current Jewish 'culture' is real. And in reality that culture is not Jewish, but Ashkenazi. Masked as Judaism. And a large part of it is 'Zionism', a.k.a. fascism of the purest kind. They learned nothing from the 'holocaust'!

[Faith No More]

We will never get rid of religion until the human race stops looking for someone to guide them through life by the hand. I think these lyrics from the song "Euology" by Tool really say it well.

"Standing above the crowd,
He had a voice that was strong and loud and I
Swallowed his facade cuz I'm so
Eager to identify with
Someone above the ground,
Someone who seemed to feel the same,
Someone prepared to lead the way, and
Someone who would die for me."

[Minimalist]

I.o.w. Jewish history is a crock, as is Jewish ethnicity.

History is a lie agreed upon.

--Napoleon I


No special pleading here. EVERYBODY'S history is a crock.

[Rokcet Scientist]

I.o.w. Jewish history is a crock, as is Jewish ethnicity.

History is a lie agreed upon.

--Napoleon I

No special pleading here. EVERYBODY'S history is a crock.

That's a given.
So proportionality becomes relevant.
Sure, everybody's history is a crock. But Jewish history is a chutzpah.

---

these lyrics from the song "Euology" by Tool

Can you post links to the MP3 and the vid to illustrate your point?

[Faith No More]

Sure, here's a vid with the lyrics although I cherry picked the ones most relevant to what I was saying.

[Rokcet Scientist]

Sure, here's a vid with the lyrics although I cherry picked the ones most relevant to what I was saying.
[video]

Yeah, that's about what I get from an enema....

[Minimalist]

There is an interesting little book called "Memories of Ancient Israel" by Philip R. Davies, R/S. In effect he argues that what passes for "history" is really the cultural memory of what societies wish to remember. He gives the following example.

Most Americans attribute victory over the Germans in WWII to D-Day and George Patton. Even though they knew it AT THE TIME they have systematically lessened the impact of the Russians and the Eastern Front. Many Americans who will admit that there was significant fighting in the East will still maintain that it was only American assistance that allowed the Russians not to be overrun. In the Pacific, they have completely ignored the the contributions of the British, New Zealanders, Australians....and most of all the Chinese.

Of course, the British don't get off scot-free. They seem to forget that at Waterloo it was only timely intervention by Blucher and the Prussians which saved Wellington's ass from being a pin cushion for French bayonets.