Atheism

again though there is a difference between 'having no religious conviction' and being 'conscientiously opposed to religion'.

It's interesting that this is your fringe. I'd say this piece would be considered to certainly on the right in the USA, but not yet to the fringe.

I distinctly remember a thread here on A2K from a few months back talking about a rising trend in evangelicals in Oz. With this election, do you think that trend will incline, decline or have no effect at all?

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no effect. There are always one or two evangelicals around, but us Australians are just considerably more irreverent. I mean, we won't shout them down, but we also won't take them too seriously.

It goes back to our convict roots. Priests are part of the establishment, rather than part of the rest of us.

It's different in the US because people escaping religious persecution in EU and seeking freedom in the New World had a completely different attitude. They were much more religious, in my view.

Yeah. I'm inclined to agree. The meme of the "promised land" is strong in the USA. Many view the USA as entitlement from god to a build a Christian nation. The formation of the country could certainly be a part of that.

I'm also inclined to believe that religious resurgence is largely due to the Reagan era surge in the GOP.

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I believe Dawkins spells it M-e-m-e. He has said that the terms was more related to the word "gene" than the word "mnemonic."

It has sine been a fascinating field unto itself. It has now expanded to the world of information and technology and "temes" have been a means to evaluate progress in evolutionary algorithms.

GOP stands for "Good Ole (old) Party"

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Really not sure what you mean by "exit" though...
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I can never understand why a 'meme' is not simply a fancy way of saying 'idea'.

no longer exist

If the American populus / i.c. voters would study the facts the Republic would become the Third Party next to the Democrats and the Green. Wish-full Thinking on my Part.

It's not an idea. It's a completely different formation.

"lol" is a meme, not an idea. Memes are successful when the are propagated, the utility of which is discovered later.

Memes aren't just language either. If it was, we might just refer to them as neologisms. Here's another meme:


The peace sign gesture.

Similarly... if you change the direction of your hand it becomes the victory sign (the meaning of which escapes many...)

memes aren't ideas

if I want to express frustration, might type out...

a;oifna'ociena;coien;cainf;a

...by randomly hitting keys. Now frustration is an idea, but frantic key pressing is a meme. Even if I hit different keys...

a;oinao;in;odfina;fokeofjdewnwnw

... the idea is the same, while the meme itself has mutated.

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You mean that volcano in Iceland, right?

Do not mention Hecla. She made me miss my flight from Manchester to Amsterdam. Had to go car-train-taxi-boat-bus-train-streetcar and walk to get myself home again.

hmmm. not convinced. but then I don't like atomism of any stripe. that includes genetic determinism, and memes as well. But I will admit, I am pre-disposed to not liking anything Dawkins says about philosophy and maybe that is a meme that's got hold of me.

I see humanity as a semi-consious cloud of neurotics ... neurons not atoms ! I find it difficult to be morally any better. I started to Question morality and found no Troth in the physical world or religions. Just disagreement and power-games.

You told me you never fly..you only ever go by boat or train..

I do not like the invasion on my privacy at airports, every Day it's getting worse.

Thât's why I am a Magister; learning to fly my-$elf

ferries can be worse..Have you bought your wings yet?

If you see humanity as a semi-conscious cloud of neurotics sweepie then it's best to act as if they are. If you treat new ladies as if they are disconnected and full blown neurotics you might be surprised the lengths they will go to to prove they are not.

If you go in a pub where there's a ladies basketwork club renting the upstairs function room, assuming you are as passable as you avvie looks to be, and sit on a bar stool reading Reich's The Function of the Orgasm, a copy with a lurid front cover, which is to say the letters of the title can be read from 20 feet, it won't be too long, about 2 hours into the meeting, before two or three ladies will come down to reconnoitre the scene in which you are playing your part. They represent the racier element of the club. They are here to get dolled up, get out and get gossiping. So you have to get them gossiping about you.

And they are Christians don't forget. And you have defined them as in denial of something, that's what neurotic means assuming the denial is of satisfactions ardently desired such as eating a lot of cream cakes or not having to do what they are told.

Men who are semi-conscious neurotics are in the way of course but you have the jump on them if you're beyond all that.

i AM

Well said. It is all a hypotese of course, but it usually works fine. Since I was gay in my younker years I did not mind jumping on men. I could not care less about the cookies. Now I am betrothed to be married. With a Spanish Catholic !