Dave, Dave, Dave.
Sit down, calm down, have a beer and look up "irony" in your favourite dictionary...
f.
p.s.: First time I saw that picture was in an e-mail I got from a - no kidding! - American friend. I'm even pretty sure he voted Bush
fodeja
JoinedPosts by fodeja
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130
America Bashing
by TR inwith all of the america bashing going on of late, i thought i'd mention the fact that america stands for freedom, as flawed as our system may be.
you're even free to be critical of the government and it's leaders.
the many men and women who have died defending this country did so to preserve the rights even of people who hate the u.s. there are many different cultures here, so there are many different attempts at creating laws for the land.
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137
Freedom of Thought and JW Opposers
by dunsscot indoes freedom of thought really obtain in this forum?
are those who have left god's organization and jehovah god himself actually now more open-minded and unbiased?
if those who espouse atheistic thoughts or those who believe every vile utterance spoken against jehovah's people think they are now speaking from some olympian perspective, i beg to differ.
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fodeja
Secondly, do not berate what you do not understand. Admittedly, a number of continental philosophers have used seemingly obscure or tortured language that is difficult to grasp at first blush. It does not mean that such language lacks depth or substance.
Dunsie, some people have read them books, you know? Some may even have (gasp!) advanced university degrees. Some may even be smart enough without having a framed certificate of it. You should not belittle people who aren't instantly impressed by your rhetoric.
You have completely failed to produce _anything_ of substance in your postings. So far, you have presented a grand smokescreen of name-dropping and philosophical jargon. If that is necessary for you to rationalize the teachings of Dubdom, so be it. But pleeeze, don't try to impress us with your grand worldly wisdom. Thanks so much.
f.
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6
You're Doomed!
by individual inabout 3 years ago we had one of those 'lovely' visits from the co. for his main talk he decided to encourage us out into the field, to do more on the ministry.
i don't know who his motivational instructor was but he might as well of stood in front of us at the hall with a machine gun.
the main point of his talk was "you only do one hour a month?
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130
America Bashing
by TR inwith all of the america bashing going on of late, i thought i'd mention the fact that america stands for freedom, as flawed as our system may be.
you're even free to be critical of the government and it's leaders.
the many men and women who have died defending this country did so to preserve the rights even of people who hate the u.s. there are many different cultures here, so there are many different attempts at creating laws for the land.
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fodeja
What do you think the answer to our energy problem is, build more damns (kills fish), nuclear (dangerous byproducts), solar (very expensive), wind (limited application), coal(pollutes). Conserve? well California is doing that now aren't they, and they are not to happy about it.
You may want to take a look at other countries with similar (even higher) GDP per capita and at the same time _significantly_ lower energy consumption and CO2 emissions. If it can be done elsewhere, why not in the USA?
f.
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137
Freedom of Thought and JW Opposers
by dunsscot indoes freedom of thought really obtain in this forum?
are those who have left god's organization and jehovah god himself actually now more open-minded and unbiased?
if those who espouse atheistic thoughts or those who believe every vile utterance spoken against jehovah's people think they are now speaking from some olympian perspective, i beg to differ.
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fodeja
duns,
after reading your little treatise on the Hegelian Dreischritt etc., I'm beginning to wonder whether there is anything of actual _depth_ behind your words. Either I'm completely stupid and don't grasp your point(s), or you're simply dressing up platitudes with borrowed obscure language.
I'm heavily leaning towards the second option when I'm reading completely unnecessary smart-ass references to Kant like "Each autonomous subject IS an end in itself" followed by non sequiturs like "being one of Jehovah's Witnesses allows me to act thusly toward my fellow man or woman". Oh, my. Shunning apostates is a way of treating your fellow autonomous subjects as the ends that they are themselves? No? Ah, I forgot the teleological suspension of the ethical. Stupid me (slaps forehead)!
If you want to impress people with obscure language, go to your KH. As a matter of fact I believe that obscurity of language is in >90% of all cases not an indication of _deep_ thinking, but of _muddled_ thinking.
f., who has read some of the books you're quoting from, and thinks you're a very bored troll.
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130
America Bashing
by TR inwith all of the america bashing going on of late, i thought i'd mention the fact that america stands for freedom, as flawed as our system may be.
you're even free to be critical of the government and it's leaders.
the many men and women who have died defending this country did so to preserve the rights even of people who hate the u.s. there are many different cultures here, so there are many different attempts at creating laws for the land.
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fodeja
As I stated before, the Greeks made it work, but not well enough for the idea to spread and maintian itself. We are in the unique postion of making that happen.
Well, the story isn't that simple, since "democracy" actually consists of many different aspects. It's not like democracy was re-invented in America and then exported to France to spread out further on. I had a longer discussion (or rather, a question-answer session) on this with a lecturer from our history department just a few weeks ago. The modern idea of democracy consists of many interwoven "threads", so to speak. Some of these have apparently been pioneered in America, some in other countries.
Here's a nice paper on this: http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/soc/groups/ccsa/markoff.htm
I had a couple of other interesting links somewhere, I'll see if I can find them if anyone's interested.
f.
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130
America Bashing
by TR inwith all of the america bashing going on of late, i thought i'd mention the fact that america stands for freedom, as flawed as our system may be.
you're even free to be critical of the government and it's leaders.
the many men and women who have died defending this country did so to preserve the rights even of people who hate the u.s. there are many different cultures here, so there are many different attempts at creating laws for the land.
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fodeja
Dan,
Like Dave said, it is silly to bash us for enjoying where we live.
you're attacking a strawman. I'm sure nobody here is bashing anyone because they are enjoying their life in [insert-nation-here]. Hey, I also like the place where I'm living.
What I personally dislike is the notion of superiority that comes with statements like "this is the greatest country in the world, now and for all time to be". I also strongly dislike the glorification of war that sometimes comes with it, but that's another story (one that I have briefly touched upon in another thread, some weeks ago).
As Prisca said, if you don't really know about the rest of the world, how can you tell? And if you are proud of the good things in your country's past and present, shouldn't you be ashamed of the bad things at the same time, with just the same intensity of emotions?
f.
p.s.: Here's something from your USA-bashing northern neighbours: http://www.laugh2day.com/america.html
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41
Kierkegaard on Abraham and Isaac: Blood
by dunsscot into whom it may concern,.
the witnesses are often condemned for refusing blood transfusions and "permitting" their children to die.
such a religious position is untenable, opponents of jws will argue.
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fodeja
"teleological suspension of the ethical."
Weee, duns. A Jaydub apologist quoting philosophers left and right, and actually able to spell those nasty un-English words. I'm..err...well, not impressed, but maybe a tiny bit surprised.
On the other hand, you aren't bringing up anything particularly original here. JWs do think refusing blood is a test of faith, yes. We know that. We don't need to exhume old Søren to get such a revelation. Big deal. And your point is?
"Teleological suspension of the ethical" is usually shortened in everyday language to "the end justifies the means".
The interesting question is, what is the right "end"? And do the means actually take us there?
Reflect on that.
f.
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130
America Bashing
by TR inwith all of the america bashing going on of late, i thought i'd mention the fact that america stands for freedom, as flawed as our system may be.
you're even free to be critical of the government and it's leaders.
the many men and women who have died defending this country did so to preserve the rights even of people who hate the u.s. there are many different cultures here, so there are many different attempts at creating laws for the land.
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fodeja
Yadrivel,
thanks for reminding me of one of the countless things I do NOT like about the JW religion: arrogant, fanatical, Watchtower-thumping jerks.
Go play outside.
f.
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130
America Bashing
by TR inwith all of the america bashing going on of late, i thought i'd mention the fact that america stands for freedom, as flawed as our system may be.
you're even free to be critical of the government and it's leaders.
the many men and women who have died defending this country did so to preserve the rights even of people who hate the u.s. there are many different cultures here, so there are many different attempts at creating laws for the land.
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fodeja
Reagan,
That was their "accomplishment;" I am their "accomplishment" and I carry that with pride and intend to hand that pride down to my own progeny someday.
What if your ancestors had been not been the type of person you'd like to have around? What if your grand-grandpa was a murderer, rapist or whatever? You know, the concept of "inherited pride" reminds me very much of the concept of original sin.
Do I think that this is the best country in the world? Abso-friggin-lutely.
May I ask what your knowledge of the rest of the world is? I'm asking because (as some other people on this board have pointed out), many people in America tend to be very "insular". I don't think it's their personal fault alone, as the media seem so completely self-referential there that it's all too easy to forget that there actually is a civilised world outside of the USA. I've noticed that some American people have rather strange ideas about the rest of the world. (For the record: no, I'm not "USA bashing" here. Stupidity, closed-mindedness and the like are world-wide phenomena.)
The same way that I cannot comprehend why there is so much nastiness and rock-throwing in the Middle East about the Gaza-Freakin'-Strip.
Er, I don't understand why you bring up this specific example, but OTOH I agree with your observations :-)
f.
