Quote:
Originally Posted by xelasnave
Thanks Steve for sticking up for me  .
But nothing Night Owl has said do I find offensive in fact I like it when someone opens up and feels they can add to the subject under discussion.
Yours was a good post.
alex  |
Likewise xelasnave, absolutely no offense taken, and none intended. Or as Evelyn Beatrice Hall under the pseudonym Stephen G. Tallentyre wrote as an epitome to Voltaire [François Marie Arouet] (1694–1778), French philosopher, author. "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.'' Voltaire's Essay on Tolerance also included: "Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so too."
Needless to say I disagree with your ideas. But as I see it there is absolutely nothing wrong, bad, evil, rude, insulting, offensive, insensitive, unhealthy, or corrupt etc with having an arguement, as long as violence is not resorted to in some perverted manner to finish it (as is sadly the case in many historical curcumstances). In fact, it is good mental exersize arguing, as it challenges you to think about what you actually are prepared to believe in and act on.
That is why not being prepared to challege ideas you don't believe are right is the mortal enemy of every free willed human. History is full of the tragedies of entire nations of people being silently complicit to serious wrongs against individuals and other nations. That's bad.
What sort of world would it be if we all had to think the same? It would be the fruition of Adolf Hitlers vision for a thousand year reich, that's what!
So, if I disagree with you, or anyone elses ideas, I will attack your ideas that I disapprove of.
But on the same level, if I, or anyone else opens their mouth, then we should have the intellectual maturity to expect that not everyone is going to agree with us, and sing our praises. We should EXPECT that our ideas will not be universally accepted. And if we expect otherwise we need psychological help because we are demonstrating meglomaniacal personality traits!
But it isn't really an attack if someone doesn't agree with us. It is a CHALLENGE. I for one have no problem with having to defend what I say, and I actually enjoy the experience if people do. I might change my mind. I might even learn something I never would have otherwise.
I would rather have that happen than end up being the intellectual equivlent of the main charater in Hans Christian Anderson's "The Kings New Clothes", or George W Bush for a modern parable.
In fact I am sometimes accused of provoking an arguement, just for the hell of it. And yes I will do that, as it is a healthy cognitive workout!
The real problem is when anyone tries to remove your right to express your ideas, and stifle debate.
Actually this issue of who can't say what to who shows up a bigger problem than all others, that is gathering momentum in society. The runaway destruction of free speech is illustrated by having to be
Politically Correct.
You want an example of the utter stupidity of having to be Politically Correct...
Director Peter Jackson, of Lord of the Rings fame, is working on remaking the Movie based on the famous World War 2 617 squadron "Dam Busters" raid. Guy Gibson, the 617 Squadron Leader had a pet dog was called "Nigger", as it was a black labradour. The code word for a successful dam attack was "Nigger", as the dog had been run over and killed the day of the attack. Well knock me down with a feather, Jackson is coming under considerable pressure to not use the word "Nigger" in the movie because some people consider it a racist slur to use the word "Nigger" as the name for a dog!
The word "Nigger" means 'BLACK' in spanish! Gibson didn't name his dog after any hue of human pigmentation!
Forget that it is historically correct, and was over 60 years ago, and that Gibson was risking his life to defeat the Nazi's, and that Gibson loved the dog, and he was eventually killed in action!
Just don't offend anyone or hurt their feelings!
And to go one better, in America and England now in school classes you can no longer call the board at the front of a class that the teacher writes stuff on a "Black Board". But you can call it a white board! I'm not kidding.
I recommend everyone read George Orwell's "1984". Basically, its about what happens when governments eradicate such words as freedom, rights, and struggle etc. The basic premiss is if you eradicate the word, people will no longer know what to do if they lose freedom, rights, or anything else....
Total evil is only prevented by everyones right to free speech.
She was a terrific little dog for me. She used to come to work with me every day. Me to my job, and she to the Produce Agency next door, killing rats and mice, she was paid in dog food.
