General Discussion

liberal_at_heart

(12,081 posts)

66. I think we could all stand to live and let live

Wed Mar 13, 2013, 05:18 PM

Mar 2013

we rail against laws being made based on religion which we should, but should we really be telling people what they are allowed to think? Everyone has the right to their own thoughts. My son use to think Greek mythology was real. I did nothing to discourage his opinions. He on his own later came to the conclusion that they are fun stories but logically could not have happened. As long as people are respectful of separation of church and state I have no problem with what people believe. In fact my husband who is an agnostic but loves learning about why people believe what they believe, has been visiting with Jehovah witnesses lately. He made the point that while refusing blood transfusions may seem strange to some of us at least they are not out there telling other people they are not allowed to get blood transfusions. I told him he had a good point.

Edit history

Please sign in to view edit histories.

Recommendations

0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

88 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

37 percent of people completely lost, Mark Morford [View all] madokie Mar 2013 OP

MUST READ malaise Mar 2013 #1

this is not really much of a surprise somehow Spider Jerusalem Mar 2013 #2

Beat me to it. nt Xipe Totec Mar 2013 #5

Eh, smart people are just better at defending wrong ideas Fumesucker Mar 2013 #8

Nailed it RZM Mar 2013 #24

Really smart people marions ghost Mar 2013 #32

I don't think I am RZM Mar 2013 #37

I wouldn't lump academia in with the media... marions ghost Mar 2013 #40

Some good points, but . . . RZM Mar 2013 #47

Not buying marions ghost Mar 2013 #53

Yes, note that Frank Rich and Bob Herbert, the two most populist columnists at the NY Times Lydia Leftcoast Mar 2013 #55

Right, populists are endangered marions ghost Mar 2013 #58

Much of the "elite" in control is not an intellectual elite Silent3 Mar 2013 #48

Yup, they go to the "right" schools and know the "right" people Lydia Leftcoast Mar 2013 #59

I'd go so far as to say that marions ghost Mar 2013 #65

Or perhaps it is as Eleanor Roosevelt said, Egalitarian Thug Mar 2013 #73

I've used that quote myself Fumesucker Mar 2013 #75

So much of the good that Franklin is credited with came from this great woman. Egalitarian Thug Mar 2013 #77

I agree on the fundamentals of what you're saying here Mopar151 Mar 2013 #11

well no Spider Jerusalem Mar 2013 #38

Were you expecting all Americans to have above average intelligence? Xipe Totec Mar 2013 #3

"by definition, 50% of them are below average"... sangsaran Mar 2013 #41

Read the central limit theorem then get back to me. nt Xipe Totec Mar 2013 #50

The central limit theorem... Silent3 Mar 2013 #52

When distribution is roughly like a bell curve... Silent3 Mar 2013 #51

This message was self-deleted by its author demwing Mar 2013 #4

Functional illiteracy in the US chervilant Mar 2013 #6

fractions Lurker Deluxe Mar 2013 #46

Decimal fractions have denominators -- they're understood (but maybe not by all.) immoderate Mar 2013 #80

I spent my K-12 years in three school systems: Lydia Leftcoast Mar 2013 #57

Best article I have read! Reality TV does not help. People are dumb! n-t Logical Mar 2013 #7

Really excellent article, a must read CanonRay Mar 2013 #9

You have a blessed day! grantcart Mar 2013 #10

boring, thoughtless and stupid. HiPointDem Mar 2013 #12

So, which one of those things do you believe in; unicorns, Obama gun control, or more? n/t Dawgs Mar 2013 #17

i don't believe in the results of polls about such things as described by pundits. HiPointDem Mar 2013 #19

Seriously? You need poll data to show you that over 35% of Americans believe in stupid shit. Dawgs Mar 2013 #30

He linked to the web page which gave the sources for the polls muriel_volestrangler Mar 2013 #44

the link to the source for the cloud computing point appears to be another article of the same HiPointDem Mar 2013 #70

WOW. I don't think this article(?) is very bright. WCLinolVir Mar 2013 #13

Agree marions ghost Mar 2013 #33

Thank you. Myrina Mar 2013 #34

Actually... sangsaran Mar 2013 #45

I agree, but the original article seems to insinuate that it does. Myrina Mar 2013 #54

You're correct. Morford is conflating a lot of things that don't belong together... truth2power Mar 2013 #43

I have a an extremely skeptic friend who no longer assumes such things WCLinolVir Mar 2013 #64

I think we could all stand to live and let live liberal_at_heart Mar 2013 #66

Not having read the actual article RedStateLib Mar 2013 #14

+1 for this: HiPointDem Mar 2013 #20

There's nothing particularly "open minded"... Silent3 Mar 2013 #22

Should I "respect the beliefs" of someone who believes in leprechauns, or The Stork? hatrack Mar 2013 #29

I respect someone with different beliefs who treats people with kindness a lot more than liberal_at_heart Mar 2013 #69

Can you imagine that this marions ghost Mar 2013 #35

Apparently I am an Idiot (for wasting my time on this article). IdaBriggs Mar 2013 #15

It's quite amazing still to find people with a functioning glowing Mar 2013 #16

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but NOT to having it considered equally on point Mar 2013 #18

And... stupidity is no less stupid when you call it a "belief". enki23 Mar 2013 #21

Excellent article samplegirl Mar 2013 #23

Elitist finger wagging, fake-superiority. Quantess Mar 2013 #25

Only 45% believe in angels but 73% are Christian? JVS Mar 2013 #26

Another Direct Hit From Morford. Encore! (nt) Paladin Mar 2013 #27

Bush's base n2doc Mar 2013 #28

DUrec... SidDithers Mar 2013 #31

At least 50% are below average the way numbers work. gordianot Mar 2013 #36

Yes, they come in all stripes Puzzledtraveller Mar 2013 #39

Proud to give this Rec #37, but I don't completely agree with Mark slackmaster Mar 2013 #42

Science is my religion. Comrade_McKenzie Mar 2013 #49

George Carlin: "Just how fucking stupid do you have to be to believe in angels?" Arugula Latte Mar 2013 #56

While the underlying premise of this article may be accurate, Avalux Mar 2013 #60

Mark Morford must have just spent a few weeks in IN. Brigid Mar 2013 #61

Teach to the test..avoid "controversial" subjects..downplay critical thinking SoCalDem Mar 2013 #62

Could it be, in reality, that Mark is being generous, that Mark is understating the impact of the indepat Mar 2013 #63

or maybe he's just a tattooed asshole with a big mouth. HiPointDem Mar 2013 #67

They do not believe things they were not told, they have been fooled, and so they are fools 1-Old-Man Mar 2013 #68

The obviously brilliant and non-lost writer of the piece: HiPointDem Mar 2013 #71

Is your post suggesting we should judge people based on appearance? nt ZombieHorde Mar 2013 #78

Why not? It's no less inane than Union Scribe Mar 2013 #84

OK, you got me there. nt ZombieHorde Mar 2013 #85

oh no, clearly we should judge them on the results of surveys reported third-hand. much better, HiPointDem Mar 2013 #86

Please tell me that was taken 25 years ago. Union Scribe Mar 2013 #82

So bashing "the 47%" is bad, but bashing "the 37%" is funny? Sorry, but no. reformist2 Mar 2013 #72

Pointing out the FACT that 37% ignore FACTS SalviaBlue Mar 2013 #74

Which facts are being ignored? ZombieHorde Mar 2013 #79

"Thirty-six percent believe in UFOs." ZombieHorde Mar 2013 #76

Well, I do believe in UFOs because I saw some UFOs. Amonester Mar 2013 #81

One of our nation's great hobbies Union Scribe Mar 2013 #83

+1 HiPointDem Mar 2013 #87

How do we treat our poor, is the real question. Festivito Mar 2013 #88