[Your Mom]

[ QUOTE ]
"As long as people are good to others, I don't care what caused them to incorporate that into their philosophy."


Barry

I have two problems with that statement. Firstly I think it is a bit selfish. Most people would like to live in a world where the rest of the population, especially non friends and family, can be guaranteed to be nice even if that means they must believe in nonsense to get that way. But it would be more selfless to wish eveybody wisdom even if that slightly (but not greatly) increases the chances for a few bad apples.

My second problem is that the nonsensical beliefs of religion don't really always make people be good to each other. Often they simply make them more, shall we say, "polite". Their deeper feelings are apt to cause more harm to people in general than the fact that they are nice during one to one encounters.

About 1960 I was driving with my family from NY to Miami. We stopped one night in Jessup, Georgia. I asked to go bowling in a nice facility they had there. The waiting list was long and we reluctantly started to leave. The manager rushed after us and said that he would put us on the top of the list and I was delighted. The manager said he was sure no one on the list would object. We took him up on his offer but my father felt it was necessary to say to me "David, what you just experienced is what they call 'Southern Hospitality'. And that's nice. But you must not forget that these same people who seem so nice will not let Negroes in here to bowl. And remember earlier when you were shocked that the restrooms in the gas stations said Men, Women, Colored. And that the Colored was not kept clean and that there was no separation for men and women. These same people in here who let you bowl think that is fine. Know that the reason this is happening probably isn't because they are bad people. It is more likely because they are simply IGNORANT." I never forgot that little speech.

[/ QUOTE ]

Is there a point I missed anywhere in this post?