"I enjoy living in the only free country on Earth (maybe it's not a free country anymore though), and there are plenty of others for people to choose if they don't like it."
Oh, shut up. I hate hearing this statement. I have to comment on it any chance I get. The spirit of this country is not in leaving with our tails between our legs if we don't like it, it's in changing things we don't like. So don't tell me to leave, tell me to get off my ass and change the things I don't like. Which, by the way, is what I try to do!
...And a great place to witness date-rape, and a great place to get fights picked in your direction, and a great placd to get laughed at and judged by jocks and ditzy sorority sisters, etc. etc. Believe me, I've been to several. I'm not _like_ them. I imagine that most of the people at this geek party aren't like them either. But since I'm not like them, they don't want me there, which is pretty evident by the examples I've given you (which, BTW, have all _happened_).
I think you should re-read the paragraph yourself. AC had it right, I believe. The quote is:
...the so-called "Christian" agenda is often used to push for censorship, attack culture and technology, and force a certain kind of moral values on people who don't necessarily want them. Judaism and the Muslim Faith certainly do this as well, at times, but not nearly in so organized and vocal a way.
Jon makes no mention of geographical boundaries here. It's probably your own ethnocentrism that makes you believe his statement only applies to the U.S. (I don't mean this as a flame, just making a point). In the global context, it certainly has validity. I can tell you what I know about Judaism, having spent 3 months in Israel and working in an Israeli-based technology company for a little over a year, talking to countless Israelis about their society and religion, reading about all of this, and just observing the culture as an outsider. In fact, I'm not even Jewish. But anyhoo, I can tell you that there is major conflict in Israel between ultra-religious Jews and the rest of society (comprised of religious Jews, people of other faiths, and yes, even some Atheists). Basically, ultra-religious Jews comprise a large minority of the population, yet they run the government (to an extent), and make religious-based laws that the rest of the country has to follow. This, to be blunt, pisses off a lot of people in that country. I've talked to several Israelis currently living in the U.S. that say some of the best things about it are the silly things, like being able to buy milk and meat in the same store. Seems pretty inconsequential to those of us that are accustomed to it. The point of this is, Christianity is definitely not the only religion that likes to control the masses. Anyone who has spent any time in Israel or knows enough about it can tell you that the ultra-religious Jews there are the same way. They want to keep the "holy land" pure, whether that means creating laws that most people don't want or not. They are well known for being totally inflexible, their only goal in promoting their own interests.
I can't tell you much about Muslim countries, but I think I can just mention "The Satanic Verses" (Salmon Rushdie) to refresh your memory on what Iran's leaders thinks of free speech that even remotely questions religion and authority in their country.
Religious Jews, please flame at your will. I'm expecting it...
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Oh, shut up. I hate hearing this statement. I have to comment on it any chance I get. The spirit of this country is not in leaving with our tails between our legs if we don't like it, it's in changing things we don't like. So don't tell me to leave, tell me to get off my ass and change the things I don't like. Which, by the way, is what I try to do!
...And a great place to witness date-rape, and a great place to get fights picked in your direction, and a great placd to get laughed at and judged by jocks and ditzy sorority sisters, etc. etc. Believe me, I've been to several. I'm not _like_ them. I imagine that most of the people at this geek party aren't like them either. But since I'm not like them, they don't want me there, which is pretty evident by the examples I've given you (which, BTW, have all _happened_).
Malcontent,
I think you should re-read the paragraph yourself. AC had it right, I believe. The quote is:
Jon makes no mention of geographical boundaries here. It's probably your own ethnocentrism that makes you believe his statement only applies to the U.S. (I don't mean this as a flame, just making a point). In the global context, it certainly has validity. I can tell you what I know about Judaism, having spent 3 months in Israel and working in an Israeli-based technology company for a little over a year, talking to countless Israelis about their society and religion, reading about all of this, and just observing the culture as an outsider. In fact, I'm not even Jewish. But anyhoo, I can tell you that there is major conflict in Israel between ultra-religious Jews and the rest of society (comprised of religious Jews, people of other faiths, and yes, even some Atheists). Basically, ultra-religious Jews comprise a large minority of the population, yet they run the government (to an extent), and make religious-based laws that the rest of the country has to follow. This, to be blunt, pisses off a lot of people in that country. I've talked to several Israelis currently living in the U.S. that say some of the best things about it are the silly things, like being able to buy milk and meat in the same store. Seems pretty inconsequential to those of us that are accustomed to it. The point of this is, Christianity is definitely not the only religion that likes to control the masses. Anyone who has spent any time in Israel or knows enough about it can tell you that the ultra-religious Jews there are the same way. They want to keep the "holy land" pure, whether that means creating laws that most people don't want or not. They are well known for being totally inflexible, their only goal in promoting their own interests.
I can't tell you much about Muslim countries, but I think I can just mention "The Satanic Verses" (Salmon Rushdie) to refresh your memory on what Iran's leaders thinks of free speech that even remotely questions religion and authority in their country.
Religious Jews, please flame at your will. I'm expecting it...