[Buddha-l] Prominent Neobuddhist proposes religion basedblacklisting for government jobs

S.A. Feite sfeite at roadrunner.com
Sat Aug 1 18:10:22 MDT 2009


Thanks for responding with an excellent critique and some very good  
points. Well said. It made me think and helps me appreciate your POV.

Steve

On Jul 30, 2009, at 8:18 PM, Curt Steinmetz wrote:

> S.A. Feite wrote:
>> I'm curious Curt, after your continued attack on Sam Harris, if  
>> you've
>> ever read his classic "Letter to a Christian Nation"?
>>
>
> I find Sam Harris' writings to be of great interest, and yes I have  
> read
> both End of Faith and Letter - and watched many of his youtube videos,
> and read many other things he has written.
>
> Despite Harris many faults on of his great virtues, and one of the
> things that makes his writing so valuable, is that he is completely
> without guile. His says plainly and simply what most people with any
> capacity for self reflection would never dare say out loud, let alone
> put down in writing.
>
> Harris is a also fine specimen representing the bleeding edge of a
> social movement that has been underway since the days when folks like
> James Randi and Martin Gardner were just starting to make a name for
> themselves as self-appointed commissars of correct scientific  
> thinking.
> But men like Randi and Gardner are good, often excellent writers and
> very sharp wits. I could never imagine either one of them writing
> anything like "He fails the way a surgeon would fail if he attempted  
> to
> operate using only his toes." which is a sentence from the opening
> paragraph of Harris' "review" of Collins' book.
>
> And I'll give Harris credit for one other thing (in addition to his
> clueless candor): he has some kind of weird charismatic power over
> certain people. Not unlike a recent president of the United States,  
> come
> to think of it. It's creepy. Here's a guy who was a prime cheerleader
> for Bush's War on Terror, an unapologetic proponent of torture, and a
> man who proclaims to the world that he believes in excluding
> PRESBYTERIANS from being appointed to certain government positions.  
> And
> yet millions of people think he is above reproach - and whenever I
> criticize him somebody always says, "oh, well, but have you read  
> his ...."



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