Comments on: The “religious safe harbor” for bigotry https://habitablezone.com/2014/03/25/the-religious-safe-harbor-for-bigotry/ Fri, 03 Apr 2026 22:41:18 -0700 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: bowser https://habitablezone.com/2014/03/25/the-religious-safe-harbor-for-bigotry/#comment-30204 bowser Wed, 26 Mar 2014 19:59:09 +0000 http://habitablezone.com/?p=43915#comment-30204 Those people against gay marriage should not be required to marry someone of the same sex. Those people against abortion should not be required to get an abortion. And so on. They should not be allowed to advocate that no one else live by their standards. Someone whose religion allows abortion or gay marriage should be allowed their religious belief, too, and have abortion or same-sex marriage available to them. The key is that freedom religion is personal, and freedom of religion includes freedom from other's religions. SCOTUS should be able to make that simple distinction. Those people against gay marriage should not be required to marry someone of the same sex.
Those people against abortion should not be required to get an abortion.

And so on. They should not be allowed to advocate that no one else live by their standards. Someone whose religion allows abortion or gay marriage should be allowed their religious belief, too, and have abortion or same-sex marriage available to them.

The key is that freedom religion is personal, and freedom of religion includes freedom from other’s religions.

SCOTUS should be able to make that simple distinction.

]]> By: ER https://habitablezone.com/2014/03/25/the-religious-safe-harbor-for-bigotry/#comment-30191 ER Tue, 25 Mar 2014 18:56:30 +0000 http://habitablezone.com/?p=43915#comment-30191 But for them, there are two types of men, "Nice People", like them, and the rabble--that is, everybody else, everyone that isn't like them: the 47%, the takers, the people whose lawns don't grow. Society used to be divided between the aristocracy and the peasantry. It still is, its just the defining criteria that have evolved to be more consistent with modern rhetoric. Its still the same Laws of Form: Us and Them, Decent Folks and the Lowlifes. Narcissism and Paranoia. And Religion isn't the only safe harbor. There's the Flag, the Constitution, the Family, the Free Enterprise System, Morality, Independence, Self-Reliance, Responsibility, Liberty...you know, the whole upper case litany. No, there isn't anything wrong with any of those things. In fact, they are all wonderful. But when people start talking about them all the time, when they obviously believe they have the monopoly on those virtues and you don't...make sure you keep your hand firmly on your wallet. The only safe harbor they're interested in is a place to drop anchor, flush out their bilges, and throw their garbage over the side. But for them, there are two types of men, “Nice People”, like them, and the rabble–that is, everybody else, everyone that isn’t like them: the 47%, the takers, the people whose lawns don’t grow.

Society used to be divided between the aristocracy and the peasantry. It still is, its just the defining criteria that have evolved to be more consistent with modern rhetoric. Its still the same Laws of Form: Us and Them, Decent Folks and the Lowlifes. Narcissism and Paranoia.

And Religion isn’t the only safe harbor. There’s the Flag, the Constitution, the Family, the Free Enterprise System, Morality, Independence, Self-Reliance, Responsibility, Liberty…you know, the whole upper case litany.

No, there isn’t anything wrong with any of those things. In fact, they are all wonderful. But when people start talking about them all the time, when they obviously believe they have the monopoly on those virtues and you don’t…make sure you keep your hand firmly on your wallet.

The only safe harbor they’re interested in is a place to drop anchor, flush out their bilges, and throw their garbage over the side.

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