Criticism...

The man who cannot listen to an argument which opposes his views either has a weak position or is a weak defender of it. No opinion that cannot stand discussion or criticism is worth holding. And it has been wisely said that the man who knows only half of any question is worse off than the man who knows nothing of it. He is not only one sided, but his partisanship soon turns him into an intolerant and a fanatic. In general it is true that nothing which cannot stand up under discussion and criticism is worth defending.  (James E. Talmage)

Dallin Oaks "Criticism".  I posted a link to this on the Bloggernacle.  Everyone criticized it.

Minding My Own Business

I used to see a lot of such signs.  Apparently they are no longer politically-correct.

Ben Shapiro editorializes about this phenomenon.

The trend toward increased intolerance for anything that does not meet with popular approval continues to grow.

 

Minority interests force their views through lawsuits and sympathetic courts.  Anyone expressing non-conforming views is liable to get sued.  We have entered a realm where the thought police have attained supremacy.  The rulings of federal judges has far more preeminence than mere democratic process.

In my view, each needs to find his own balance.  My personal answer is to try to live after the manner of happiness.  Others seem to find different answers.

I find no reason to denigrate the viewpoint of others.  We all stand in our own place, and every perspective is unique.  But I maintain, and will continue to insist, that there is something that represents the ideal.  And it represents something that is greater than me, or any purpose that humankind can effect.

 

"Gay" in the News: Supporting Traditional Marriage

At the "Support Traditional Marriage" rally a couple of weeks ago, the "gay" interests held a competing rally on the same location several hours before.  Some of them stayed on, apparently intending to disrupt the subsequent rally.  They marched down the aisle while the Utah Attorney General was trying to speak, and threw glitter-filled balloons at him.  Then they fell on the floor kicking and shouting like an angry two-year-old in a tantrum.  That part was not particularly interesting to me, but it was fascinating to see dozens of media representatives rush down the aisle to make a record of the petulant outburst.  There were more cameras than cops.  The reporters swooped in from the periphery like a flock of vultures as the cops dragged them away.  Thus the protesters apparently fulfilled their purpose.

It would seem that most of us pitiful and pathetic people have an independant life of our own.  Others seem compelled to publicly exhibit a contrived "gender identity" that we must never presume to question.  That would constitute a thought-crime against humanity.

I'm pretty sure I have little understanding of what "transgender" hopes to accomplish.  As far as I can tell, what happens to a developing human takes place a long time before anyone is even born.  A bit of snipping and cutting, an excision or augmentation here and there, is not going to ever change that.  Cosmetic surgery makes changing some rather superficial physical characteristics about as easy as changing your clothes.  And as meaningful.

I personally feel that the ramifications of my own life are more important than an actor's wardrobe.  Sexuality is a human attribute, but I would think my life shallow indeed if I held that to be anything more than a small integral piece of what defines me.  Those advocates for "gay" thinking seem to be letting one obsession define the whole of their existence.  I could never be so narrow.

An associate once challenged me about my presumed "homophbia", suggesting that I should "try being gay for a day".  My impression has long been that I would find no real difficulty in doing so, in every bit as superficial manner as those who would project a "gender identity".

In me it seems to represent a character defect that I must work to overcome.  But others are apparently privileged to argue, "I was born this way".

Weren’t we all... 

"Gay" in the News: Not Really "Dear"

Now "Dear Abby" marches rightously into the "gay" advocacy fray, berating those who expect their conservative values to get respect in a new neighborhood.  Actually, I believe the current "Dear Abby" is second-generation.  Not sure how her mom would have reacted.

Apparently the new Archie Bunker look-alikes forgot to read the sign.

 

A word to the wise.  Signs, while much disparaged in popular culture, can sometimes save us from future grief.

Intolerance? What intolerance?

Think your culture is repressive and intolerant?

News article this weekend relates the murder of several tennis players in Iraq. Reportedly, they were killed for wearing shorts.

ABC News story

Extremists had distributed leaflets warning people in the mostly Sunni neighborhoods of Saidiyah and Ghazaliyah warning people not to wear shorts, police said.

Wearing shorts by youth are prohibited because it violates the principals of Islamic religion when showing forbidden parts of the body. Also women should wear the veil.

No one claimed responsibility for the slayings, which come amid worries that Islamic extremism is spreading in the war-torn country.

Sunni cleric Eid al-Zoubayi denounced the attack.

Islamic religion is an easy religion and it allows wearing sport shorts as long as they don't show the forbidden parts of the body, so the acts that are targeting the sport are criminal.