The only thing this liberal miscalculated was the lack of empathy, compassion and humanity coming from the various factions of organized religion. Without secularism, in the end, only one belief system will remain intact. They will blast each other back into the stone age until a single victor emerges. Their "gut" instincts are seemingly just their brain programmed to believe whatever.
Humanity would evolve to a better place without patriarchies demanding and forcing compliance and obedience. Until the feminine reclaims it's rightful position on a global scale, death, war, and destruction will reign and wreak havoc on the Earth and everything that relies on its life sustaining resources. Intuition is severely underestimated. ✌️
Your entire framework is infinitely more imperialistic and racist than what you project onto religious people. Anti-theists are the worst of all possible worlds; a fundamentally intolerant lot who can't conceive of the irony of their own position. There is nothing inherently progressive about secularism, as evinced by your reactionary sentiment. Pure projection!
Your worldview will be left behind and this gives you imminent anxiety. You speak of the evolution of humanity yet excise yourself from the overwhelming majority of humanity and refuse to understand their perspective as being anything other than your caricature. You have no right to guide the so-called 'evolution' of humanity and your position will in fact be filtered in due time. Cry about it, you vacuous racist.
Unfortunately, I don't think the Democrat/Progessives/Liberals will listen.
They have their own religion, built on fantasy more absurd than what they scorn. Religions and their stories developed over thousands of years to combat what we are living with. There has always been sexual license, cruelty, greed, murder, abuse of power, etc. The classic seven deadly sins.
Dominant elites offer nothing which can help every day people deal with human nature and the unavoidable sorrows of life. I was young in the sixties and believed in what the liberals were selling. Now, I see that they merely unleashed what was always kept somewhat in check by the dominant culture. Certainly, there was need for reform, but corrective measures have morphed into delusion, extremism, lies-and evil.
There's a wide gap between the 90's, when so- called liberal elites supposedly said open borders were a great idea for political reasons, and what allegedly happened in the 2024 election. Actually, George W. Bush in his first term was saying that our economy needed immigrants to do jobs that Americans wouldn't do. The Catholic Church complained how unfair it was that these Catholic immigrants were paying into SSI when they couldn't receive the benefits. What happened in the 2024 election was that Catholics were told to vote for Trump by their priests because Trump appointed 3 Catholic activists to the SCOTUS in his first term and that Roe would be overturned. Rich oligarch Catholics have been bailing out churches to cover losses from their child rape case losses for decades. They wanted Trump for the tax cuts, of course.
I think you’re overgeneralizing in some of your statements. In many cases, the liberal left upholds a stronger moral code than what we see from the so-called “Christian right.” It’s troubling to see the right repeatedly excused despite promoting policies and rhetoric that actively harms others.
I’m also trying to understand your perspective. You refer to Democrats as “we,” yet your commentary often seems heavily critical of everything they do. That inconsistency makes it difficult to determine where you actually stand.
From my view, the political right—especially in its current form—shows a disturbing lack of conscience. Its actions often seem to harm anyone who doesn’t fit a narrow definition of acceptable, typically centered around being white and Christian. That’s not just disappointing—it’s dangerous and unacceptable.
Glad to find you Frank. I like your directness. I got a warning HERE for speaking what I believe as a minister and epigeneticist what's going on with Donald.
Wow! This is powerful. New thinking that I have not heard before from such a wide viewpoint, all inclusive. Frank is right I see, but so few would agree. The difficulty remains, how to move the intellectual elite off of their pedestals and enable them to appreciate that belief systems are at the core of their misstep. A worthy task. I’m not sure where to start on that one.
Frank, what is this obsession that you seem to share with Bill Maher that there is a small, “liberal” elite that is setting the agenda for immigration and all other wrong-headed social policies? Really? You are beginning to sound like Abe Simpson, yelling at the clouds. Instead of “elites” letting millions of immigrants into the country out of political calculation, picture yourself on some people on a capsized boat, facing death, and you happen upon them far out at sea, do you, perhaps in your large ship, help them? Or do you let them drown because they are “foreigners” and would upset the cultural balance of your Christendom-influenced land? That is the choice European nations and others faced with the chaos in Syria, Somalia, etc. What sort of people would we be if we sailed our ship past the drowning “Others” because they might upset a segment of our land?
I wrote to MSNBC saying very much what you say in this particular episode. I grew up Mennonite and understand very much what is going on especially around the issues of prophecy which I was indoctrinated with. I have two masters from Columbia University so have lived in two worlds. Tomorrow I go to a reunion with my Mennonite relatives who are all devout Trump followers primarily because of their belief in the prophecy of Jesus returning and setting up an earthly kingdom, and as we would say with some PA Dutch—their beliefs are also vermixed with Old Testament prophecies. Apparently since I was indoctrinated years ago there are modern charismatic prophets who are influencing the faithful. They thoroughly believe that Jesus is coming back as a militant to set this world straight. The Jesus of the Bible is the opposite of what is returning. In fact my sister said He is coming back with a sword. Trump and his vengeance agenda fits well into their prophecies. For them the world is falling into chaos and they must set it straight—literally. The hierarchies of men and women and the races must be maintained to maintain order. They can’t understand a nuanced world. All is clearly right or wrong, black and white, Christian or heathen—as is the same happening all over the world. Old hierarchies and binary thinking are changing. Can we survive this upheaval and those fighting to maintain old orders and clear cut dichotomous values? And they have the guns. Even many formerly pacifist Mennonites are ready to take up arms to fight the ungodly.
Thank you, thank you for telling the truth. Very right on!
The only thing this liberal miscalculated was the lack of empathy, compassion and humanity coming from the various factions of organized religion. Without secularism, in the end, only one belief system will remain intact. They will blast each other back into the stone age until a single victor emerges. Their "gut" instincts are seemingly just their brain programmed to believe whatever.
Humanity would evolve to a better place without patriarchies demanding and forcing compliance and obedience. Until the feminine reclaims it's rightful position on a global scale, death, war, and destruction will reign and wreak havoc on the Earth and everything that relies on its life sustaining resources. Intuition is severely underestimated. ✌️
Your entire framework is infinitely more imperialistic and racist than what you project onto religious people. Anti-theists are the worst of all possible worlds; a fundamentally intolerant lot who can't conceive of the irony of their own position. There is nothing inherently progressive about secularism, as evinced by your reactionary sentiment. Pure projection!
Your worldview will be left behind and this gives you imminent anxiety. You speak of the evolution of humanity yet excise yourself from the overwhelming majority of humanity and refuse to understand their perspective as being anything other than your caricature. You have no right to guide the so-called 'evolution' of humanity and your position will in fact be filtered in due time. Cry about it, you vacuous racist.
Absolutely agree and I’m a person with no use for religion. I’m not a fool though. I do know what the “ True Believers” are capable of.
Thanks frank. Value Systems don't have to be attached to organized religion. We need to teach Secularism and Atheism along with other 'religions'.
Excellent commentary.
Unfortunately, I don't think the Democrat/Progessives/Liberals will listen.
They have their own religion, built on fantasy more absurd than what they scorn. Religions and their stories developed over thousands of years to combat what we are living with. There has always been sexual license, cruelty, greed, murder, abuse of power, etc. The classic seven deadly sins.
Dominant elites offer nothing which can help every day people deal with human nature and the unavoidable sorrows of life. I was young in the sixties and believed in what the liberals were selling. Now, I see that they merely unleashed what was always kept somewhat in check by the dominant culture. Certainly, there was need for reform, but corrective measures have morphed into delusion, extremism, lies-and evil.
Following from Australia. This is really perceptive, how belief systems drive people's actions.
Which book by Karen Armstrong are you referring to? And do you have a particular title by Tom Holland to recommend?
So true
There's a wide gap between the 90's, when so- called liberal elites supposedly said open borders were a great idea for political reasons, and what allegedly happened in the 2024 election. Actually, George W. Bush in his first term was saying that our economy needed immigrants to do jobs that Americans wouldn't do. The Catholic Church complained how unfair it was that these Catholic immigrants were paying into SSI when they couldn't receive the benefits. What happened in the 2024 election was that Catholics were told to vote for Trump by their priests because Trump appointed 3 Catholic activists to the SCOTUS in his first term and that Roe would be overturned. Rich oligarch Catholics have been bailing out churches to cover losses from their child rape case losses for decades. They wanted Trump for the tax cuts, of course.
I think you’re overgeneralizing in some of your statements. In many cases, the liberal left upholds a stronger moral code than what we see from the so-called “Christian right.” It’s troubling to see the right repeatedly excused despite promoting policies and rhetoric that actively harms others.
I’m also trying to understand your perspective. You refer to Democrats as “we,” yet your commentary often seems heavily critical of everything they do. That inconsistency makes it difficult to determine where you actually stand.
From my view, the political right—especially in its current form—shows a disturbing lack of conscience. Its actions often seem to harm anyone who doesn’t fit a narrow definition of acceptable, typically centered around being white and Christian. That’s not just disappointing—it’s dangerous and unacceptable.
Glad to find you Frank. I like your directness. I got a warning HERE for speaking what I believe as a minister and epigeneticist what's going on with Donald.
You make lots of sense…
Please don’t stereotype.
It grotesque. More than a miscalculation. Immoral.
Wow! This is powerful. New thinking that I have not heard before from such a wide viewpoint, all inclusive. Frank is right I see, but so few would agree. The difficulty remains, how to move the intellectual elite off of their pedestals and enable them to appreciate that belief systems are at the core of their misstep. A worthy task. I’m not sure where to start on that one.
Frank, what is this obsession that you seem to share with Bill Maher that there is a small, “liberal” elite that is setting the agenda for immigration and all other wrong-headed social policies? Really? You are beginning to sound like Abe Simpson, yelling at the clouds. Instead of “elites” letting millions of immigrants into the country out of political calculation, picture yourself on some people on a capsized boat, facing death, and you happen upon them far out at sea, do you, perhaps in your large ship, help them? Or do you let them drown because they are “foreigners” and would upset the cultural balance of your Christendom-influenced land? That is the choice European nations and others faced with the chaos in Syria, Somalia, etc. What sort of people would we be if we sailed our ship past the drowning “Others” because they might upset a segment of our land?
I wrote to MSNBC saying very much what you say in this particular episode. I grew up Mennonite and understand very much what is going on especially around the issues of prophecy which I was indoctrinated with. I have two masters from Columbia University so have lived in two worlds. Tomorrow I go to a reunion with my Mennonite relatives who are all devout Trump followers primarily because of their belief in the prophecy of Jesus returning and setting up an earthly kingdom, and as we would say with some PA Dutch—their beliefs are also vermixed with Old Testament prophecies. Apparently since I was indoctrinated years ago there are modern charismatic prophets who are influencing the faithful. They thoroughly believe that Jesus is coming back as a militant to set this world straight. The Jesus of the Bible is the opposite of what is returning. In fact my sister said He is coming back with a sword. Trump and his vengeance agenda fits well into their prophecies. For them the world is falling into chaos and they must set it straight—literally. The hierarchies of men and women and the races must be maintained to maintain order. They can’t understand a nuanced world. All is clearly right or wrong, black and white, Christian or heathen—as is the same happening all over the world. Old hierarchies and binary thinking are changing. Can we survive this upheaval and those fighting to maintain old orders and clear cut dichotomous values? And they have the guns. Even many formerly pacifist Mennonites are ready to take up arms to fight the ungodly.
Thank you, thank you for telling the truth. Very right on!