I have no particular religious leanings. I don't go to church and the like. I see the flaws in Christianity and its effect on society. Likewise I see things negative in secularism and atheism. I'm a member of a website called Satanspace.com. It's full of religion haters. The intolerance and hatred is shocking. I'm not popular there because I don't condemn Christians and Jews. I'll defend them when appropriate.
And the irony is, I'm doing what a Christian might call God's work. But not out of religious regions but for social and ethical reasons. Like I said, I don't follow a religion but not reject them. Nor do I reject atheism provided it is tolerant, fair and not based on hatred. I'm able to find something valuable in both things and see no need to reject one or the other out of hand.
Now, your other statement.
"Absolutely. It seems to be getting worse though."
This is worth exploring. To that end I submit this too you:
The rise of the internet as a media tool contributes largely to less free thought. Initially it might have helped to foster more independent thinkers as it provided us with a fresh new source of media which was free of the bias of television news, talk radio and print media.
Somewhere along the way the internet became corrupted in this regard. And like its media counterparts it soon became a vehicle for people to push their ideology and agendas. I'll cite far left websites like Moveon.org, The Daily Kos, and that awful thing Arianna Huffington has. Clear agenda driven bias. Far right groups do this as well. The internet makes it possible for anyone to push their view out there whereas before the internet it was more controlled.
In time legions of people embraced this medium but lost sight of independent thought. Ever notice some brainiacs on online forums are always quick with cut and paste info, stats, articles to back up thier views? Many can find anything online that backs them up. And the internet lacks a certain professionalism and impartiality that traditional news had. Or should I say used to have? The internet is mostly biased information available in many sources and anyone can use it to back up their argument. Anything can be spun, twisted about, and not even verifiable in many cases. Most of it second hand info.
So with a generation turning this it is no wonder many people lack independent thinking. Humans don't like to make effort or work, they want it all handed to them. And this internet is good for handing us whatever we want.
It's to the point now an independent thinker has even more work ahead of them trying to decipher things and filter out biased information. For this, it is best they rely heavily upon experience, wisdom and logic. And a dose of common sense.
What do you think about this Tracy? Am I putting too much stock into it?
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