Enemies of Truth

"Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies."
-Friedrich Nietzsche

This is one of my favorite Nietzschean aphorisms. Having a conviction means feeling, instead of thinking, that something is true. A lie can be proven wrong; a conviction, on the other hand, can be maintained no matter what evidence or facts exist to impugn it. This is why convictions play such a vital role in religion; they allow the complete epistemic insulation that one needs in order to believe things without any reason at all.

With an upcoming election, we would do well to remember Nietzsche's words whenever a politician is praised for "the strength of his convictions".

Frighteningly fruitful

It's 2006, and the Catholic Church still opposes contraception. Just because of god's commission in Genesis to "be fruitful and multiply".

According to the Bible, god gave that command when there were two (2) people living. Now there are more than two. In fact, more than six billion people now populate the Earth. Haven't we been "fruitful" enough? Or will god just blow a whistle when we reach our quota?

That's the problem with categorically following the teachings of a book whose pages have gathered thousands of years of dust. Might not some of the content have an expiration date?

It's especially disheartening that all those unthinking idiots who eschew contraception in obedience to Church doctrine end up breeding more unthinking idiots as a direct result. This is not a desirable eugenic trend. It is, however, an easy way for the Church to ensure a perpetual supply of blinkered morons to fill its pews, generation by fruitful generation.

United We Flaunt

9/11 bumper stickers still confuse me. Five years after the fact, people are still flaunting their patriotism on the backs of their cars with flags and accompanying slogans that are either outright false or pitifully trite. We will never forget? Then why do we need your bumper sticker to remind us? These colors don't run? Yeah, but they sure start to fade when you leave them on your bumper through a couple winters. United we stand? Pray tell, in what country have you been during these past several years of internecine political bickering? And then, one that always stands out for calling attention to the stupidly obvious: There's Only One, inscribed proudly under a picture of the US Flag. Uh... yes, and there's also only one Zimbabwean flag, and only one Argentinian flag, and even only one Canadian flag. Oh, but ours is superior, prettier, more freedom-tastic? Well you indeed do a fine job of honoring it - I'm sure Betsy Ross herself would weep with solemn pride at the idea that your spare tire is protected from rain and slush with a cover that has our Grand Old Flag emblazoned across it.

Oddities

Edgar Allen Poe's stories are widely known for their darkness and horror, but not many people know that Poe invented the detective mystery with his Dupin stories. Below is my favorite line from The Purloined Letter. If you've never read it, go do so.

"That is another of your odd notions," said the Prefect, who had a fashion of calling every thing "odd" that was beyond his comprehension, and thus lived amid an absolute legion of "oddities."

Then it begins

Salutations. This is my blog. As I've spent the better part of the evening setting it up, I don't have much energy to write; rest assured, however, that I will soon begin posting frequently on all things ethical, historical, philosophical, fictional, farcical, critical, nonsensical, and grammatical.