gibingus

i'm digging art's take on this. what really impresses me is that he is a self-professed conservative, but he is open-minded. (although once you make up your mind, man, it's made) open-minded conservatives are a very rare breed these days. we need more of them to get past these partisan pissing matches and get around debates where, as art has contended elsewhere, serve to merely ossify the already polarized positions in play.

his stance on repression is a great contribution to the discussion. organized religion is essentially a vehicle of repression, developed as an alternative means to control behaviors in societies under absolute rule. many of them are threat based - if you don't do things our way, you're going to suffer now and in the after life.

the religious right is really a small segment, but nearly all of them vote, making them a very powerful voice in selecting candidates and shaping policy.

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if everyone is thinking alike, chances are no one is thinking.