"I couldn't possibly fail to disagree with you less."
7 December 2005A pox on both your housesThe flap over Christmas and other minor skirmishes in the culture wars are basically a product of an "unholy collusion," says Eric Scheie:
There used to be a more or less secular form of God, but over the years champions of secular atheism such as the ACLU — in unholy collusion with certain religious conservatives — worked relentlessly to purged this workable compromise from the schools and even from the founding. This has radicalized the debate into two very shrill camps: those who scream "God" when they mean fundamentalism, and those who scream "secular!" when they mean atheism. In my view, it's increasingly hopeless.
Pat Robertson types and ACLU types have done more for each other than they have for the country. The fact that enemies often obtain leverage from their enemies is a simple enough concept that I suppose an economist or mathematician could reduce it to a formula. It's a perfect setup: each demonizes the other and requests funding to sustain the fight, and the cycle repeats indefinitely. The only way to break the cycle is for the general public to tell one side or the other (or, preferably in my view, both sides) to go to hell, or the secular equivalent thereof. The only way to break the cycle is for the general public to tell one side or the other (or, preferably in my view, both sides) to go to hell, or the secular equivalent thereof. Philadelphia? Posted by: McGehee at 10:36 AM on 7 December 2005Or perhaps Camden, New Jersey, just across the river. In Oklahoma City, the closest thing we have to hell is the Belle Isle Bridge with a quarter-inch of ice. No, that's the second-closest. I take it you've never been to Cat Ballou's tavern, 402 SE 29th Street. Posted by: Sean Gleeson at 1:28 PM on 7 December 2005There's a limit to how much I'm willing to tempt Fate. :) Camden's bad, but parts of it are old enough to have a certain charm. Not hellish enough. But New Jersey does have possibilities. There are some truly decrepit suburban ghettoes sprawling around places like South and East Brunswick, or Edison. However, the Mob does provide some redeeming cultural value, as well as diversions. Hmmmm.... Let me think. Posted by: Eric Scheie at 9:37 PM on 7 December 2005 |