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Tuesday, May 22, 2012

An Appeal to Sapience

"Faith without reason leads to superstition. Reason without faith leads to nihilism and relativism."
-Pope John Paul II, Fides et Ratio (quote summarized)

So first off, just a few quick disclaimers, this is a rant, not a post about religion. Secondly, despite the tags, I am definitely NOT a fan of the work of the artist concerned. I have to be fucking clear as crystal on that point.

Lastly, look at the quote above, especially the first part, then look at the name of the person who said that.

Anyway, unless you live under a rock, you'd know that a certain artist has been making the rounds in the local news lately, not because of her work, but because of protests from certain religious groups and politicians with regards to her music. They claim that there are blatant and subliminal messages in her work, and that it influences whoever listens to it and turns them to the dark side of the Force.

I do not understand the bigotry that is prevalent in society nowadays. We talk about things like freedom of expression and the right to free speech, yet so many people who claim that they respect those rights quickly lose it the moment they do not agree or try to understand the idea being presented to them.

I do not believe in censorship. It is a massive 'fuck you' to the human capacity for judgement. It is an affront to free will. No one has the right to dictate what and what should not be seen, heard or experienced by any individual, much less an entire country. Humans, as intelligent creatures, are solely responsible for their actions, and it is illogical to shift blame to things that are external and completely unrelated to the problems at hand.

It is an insult to think that people would do irresponsible things because of what they perceive in pop culture. It is utterly irresponsible to spend taxpayer's money on matters like this, when there are more morally reprehensible issues plaguing our country. It is insane to say that people would be damned if they listen to certain songs, watch certain movies or play certain games.

It is a sad day for humanity when the same people who often preach about not casting the first stone  have already emptied their moral catapults at the first thing they see that they don't agree with.

TLDR: Come on, people. Don't make fools of yourselves. We have greater things to achieve, and this is not one of them.

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