Man is a credulous animal, and must believe something; in the absence of good grounds for belief, he will be satisfied with bad ones. ~ Bertrand Russell
Atheists, Agnostics, and even large numbers of self-liberated Christians and secular Jews claim to have escaped the chains of shame and guilt.
Not so fast...
Charles Krauthammer (self-described as "not religious") exposes the secular guilt that infests the environmental movement:
Politically it's an idea of genius, engaging at once every left-wing erogenous zone: rich man's guilt, post-colonial guilt, environmental guilt.
Nevermind that our carbon belching factories built the modern world and lifted whole societies and chunks of humanity out of squalor, we must pay for our sins. No good deed goes unpunished. Does this spring from a poor self-esteem or a wretched self-loathing?
I am guilty of many things, but I feel not one shred of responsibility for the cesspools of ignorance and grubby fiefdoms that still pockmark the globe. Liberal enablers need to look in the mirror.
Real Guilt Serves a Purpose
Rabbi David Hochberg explains the purpose of a properly ordered guilt grounded in an ancient, unchanging morality:
Guilt is a very powerful and healthy emotion that keeps us honest with ourselves. It is our safeguard for inappropriate behavior. It is very difficult to do the wrong thing when we feel guilty. [...]
Guilt is the door to Teshuva (repentance).
God hatred knows no ideology
From loony lefty enviros to Ayn Rand objectivists, we see humanity's tendency to kill God and then invent a poor substitute. Throw God away, and people will worship a golden calf (or the earth), inventing their own orthodoxy, dogma, and catalog of sins.
It has been said that when human beings stop believing in God they believe in nothing. The truth is much worse: they believe in anything.
-- Malcolm Muggeridge
8 comments:
Such a fine rant.
I'm in the middle of Atlas Shrugged (actually in the first third ... it's a wonderful book but her writing talents leave a lot to be desired).
The world you describe is her book ... and our present.
We are so screwed.
I'm not much of a Rand fan. Adam Smith said it much better, even with his now archaic English.
"Such a fine rant. "
I agree snarky and Silverfiddle you're absolutely right..
"I am guilty of many things, but I feel not one shred of responsibility for the cesspools of ignorance and grubby fiefdoms that still pockmark the globe."
F' em. Me neither, I have no guilt whatsoever for any of the "ills of the world" because without us those "ills" would all be "black plagues".
Yup. We have been a force for so much good in the world, but the international liberal ignorami refuse to see the facts.
Economic growth, not handouts, is how societies lift themselves out of poverty. Ask South Korea, Chile, Brazil...
Linked yah in my Linkfest, (still working on it!)
I think the guilt trip is just to steer populations towards somebody elses agenda. If you don't know what to think, someone will surely let you know.
It has been said that when human beings stop believing in God they believe in nothing. The truth is much worse: they believe in anything. Love this one my friend..brilliant!!!:)
LCR: Thanks!
rjjrdq: You nailed it with a contractor grade nail gun!
Like Aaron Tipton says, "You gotta stand for something or you'll fall for anything."
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