George H. Smith Gives Qualified Endorsement of Ron Paul 2008

[gombagod]

If I vote for Ron Paul do I need to wear a condum?

[Doolsey]

And down with Courtlandt Homes!

[usernamesarehard]

Forget Dawkins and the rest, George Smith's Atheism: The Case Against God is the only book one needs to read about Atheism. Pick it up today!

[Kolbe19]

George Smith was soundly beaten by Greg Bahnsen on the radio debate.

[ChromodynamicGirl]

His book "Atheism" is really god.

[kardentyrell]

oh please tell me the title of the music from the beginning of this video

[debbieclark7]

@kardentyrell LOL...It's the theme song to the film adaptation of Ayn Rand's novel, The Fountainhead. Google that and you'll find it online. The whole sountrack to The Fountainhead is also available on CD.

[buddhasknowbest]

The best book I've ever read on anti-theism is Atheism: The Case Against God by Smith himself. I would even call it a masterpiece. Even the purple cover is sweet.

[KajiCarson]

Thanks for sharing this video; Smith is a great thinker, and I highly respect him for his book "Atheism: The Case Against God".

[Ilikejpgs]

George Smith should debate William Lane Craig.

[arkhanari]

George H Smith exists! Damn! I read Atheism years ago and I'd love for people to put up anything with George - lectures, speeches and what not.

Regards from Sweden

[smikro1]

A number of people have asked about my dog, Herbert, who appears in this video. Unfortunately, he died on Dec. 26, 2008, nearly a year to the day that this video was shot. That sure ruined that Xmas season for me.

I now have have another Bichon, Jazz, and he's even more of a pain in the ass than Herbert was. 8-)

Ghs

[alphacause]

Its sad that this is the only video on YouTube of George Smith. I have always yearned to hear and see audio and video posted of George H. Smith ever since I read his seminal work "Atheism: The Case Against God", 11 years ago, during my junior year at my university. It would be no exaggeration to say that it was one of the most important books on religion I ever read. Hitchens/Harris/Dawkins/Dennet­t/Stenger/Mills, etc have added much to the discussion, but Smith's book will always be a classic.

[debbieclark7]

Yes, I'd really like to do more videos of George and we had talked about that in the past, too. But we live in two different states so it is complicated and would entail probably me visiting him again...which is not as easy as it sounds as I work so my vacation time is limited, and family, grandkids, stuff like that. But hopefully we will be able to get together again someday and I'll do some more video of him. It was really a lot of fun. :-)

[smikro1]

Thanks for the flattering comments. I have posted some videos on YouTube, but most of them have to do with jazz and all are in text. I've been thinking for some time about doing periodic commentaries on religion and politics, but for that I will need a video camera. Maybe I will buy one this Xmas as a gift to myself. Meanwhile, you can find my current videos by searching smikro1,

Ghs

[gamingshows]

There is a debate between George Smith and Greg Bahnsen on youtube you can watch and that's been up for a few years now. Audio only, though. Personally, I think Hitchens/Harris/Dawkins are complete, sophomoric amateur hacks who have no decent arguments nor do they represent any sort of strenuous commitment to philosophic study. Complete pop garbage read for amusement. George H. Smith, like Bertrand Russel or David Hume, is a serious voice who wrote a very serious book.

[alphacause]

gamingshows, thanks for the information concerning the debate between Smith and Bahnsen. I have actually heard this debate before, about ten years ago, when it was posted on the Secular Web. For some reason they took it down. Concerning your comments about Hitchens/Harris/Dawkins, I agree that there is nothing sophisticated or philosophically in depth about what they say. Yet they are important because they have popularized atheism in a way that has never been done before. (continued).

[alphacause]

(continued from previous response to gamingshows) Many people dont have the stomach for an exhaustive and academic treatment of atheism, which have been addressed in Smiths book, or Michael Martins Atheism: A Philosophical Justification, or J.L. Mackies The Miracle of Theism. Hence, men like Hitchens/Harris/Dawkins provide an important service because they make the issues accessible to all people. (continued).

[alphacause]

(continued from previous response to gamingshows) After all, the true way to induce real change in this world is to not have such arguments only appeal to minds that can grapple with academic and esoteric discourse. True change is induced when one can take these ideas and distill them to the common person. I think this is where the aforementioned authors are valuable.

[hecbiz75]

@alphacause Are you reading my mind? I'm a HUGE fan of this gentleman. His book was the first atheist book I ever read. Yes, I went on to read the more recent works by Dawkins, Harris, etc., but Smith's book holds a special place for me. Since it predates the 'new atheists' by a few decades, it's all the more amazing. His merciless style is simply a delight.

[sjdoc]

Well, there's nothing really wrong with voting. As long as you do it in private, and wash your hands afterwards.

[TOTASS1]

This guy is my fav! Second time I visit this video... cant not return to watch this dude after reading his book

Wish there was more videos on youtube where he talks about atheism..or debates with other philosophers...Somebody post him up dammit!

[THEREIZNOGOD]

'atheism' is such a wonderful book. if i were to write a book, it would turn out exactly as 'atheism'. every section speaks my mind almost verbatim. it's timeless, forever valid, well-spoken, and very well can be the only book needed to refute god's existence. hitchens, dawkins, harris, harding, and others help keep things fresh, but 'Atheism: The Case Against God' is foundationally simple.

[THEREIZNOGOD]

it is--for tragic lack of better word--a true "bible" of sorts for atheism, what it is, and why it's a great thing

[THEREIZNOGOD]

i have many things which i could discuss on here, but i will set them all aside to say that, as a reader of 'atheism', i am very happy to get to see this video of mr smith and would be overwhelmed with joy to see him start his own channel with short videos on the matters covered in his book.

[TOTASS1]

took the words right out of mouth

[milwrift]

Quick question for george the libertarian: how can you unite hard determinism with free will?

[peterscottfrost]

Herbert for president! 2012!

Change we can believe in!

[debbieclark7]

I have no doubt that Herbert would do a better job as president than Bush and Obama combined. Unfortunately, however, Herbert is no longer among the living. George does have a new dog - the same kind - in fact he may have named him Herbert, also (I can't remember for sure).

[peterscottfrost]

I'm very sorry to hear about Herbert's demise. That would not stop me from supporting him for president, however. :)

[debbieclark7]

LOL...I hear ya!

[THEREIZNOGOD]

i think, given the performances of the last few presidents, a dead dog would be far more likely to turn things around. (i say this with all respect and condolences to herbert and mr smith, respectively)

[dkw12002]

I wonder what god George would say to believe in if you have to believe in gods, understanding that he would of course point out that a belief in god is irrational and would recommend atheism instead, but just say if you were going to believe in a god, which one would he recommend you believe in. Taking a cue from Herbert, my guess is he would recommend you take up Hinduism. In Hinduism all life forms are equal, including Herbert and Ron Paul...well, 92% equal.

[CorollaKing]

Paul is a theist who seperates his religon from his politics, however I sometimes get the feeling Ron Paul is secretly an atheist..the evidence? He's recommended reading lists and quotes from his speeches have a lot atheist quotes..even if his is a theist he is a great man I voted for him

[riggensh]

Nice touch George, so Herbert has you watching Fox News, ehh? Mrs. B

[tomstark12]

Forget (if you can) Ron Paul's infamous newsletter, replete with all Lew Rockwell's bile; forget the bizarre statements Ron Paul has made anent natural selection; forget Mr. Paul's explicit advocacy of unlimited majority rule at the state level ("a state right," as Doctor Paul calls it, to ban drugs, raw milk, same-sex intercourse, whathaveyou); forget, even, Paul's remarkable stance on abortion and immigration. It's the wholesale endorsement of a man named Robert Pape that sickens most of all.

[dunderdolt]

LOL. If you absolutely cannot control your political impulses, by all means.... That was brilliant. Loved "The Case..." Read and enjoyed Why Atheism. Chatted with George in an atheist chat many years ago. Good guy.

[TheAtheistChrist]

Atheism: The Case Agaisnt God is awesome. I have read it several times as well as, Why Atheism? George H. Smith is one of the clearest writing authors I ever read. A wonderful intellectual. Thank You George!

[Eric21ND]

I think Ron Paul can win the atheist vote. I saw an informal poll once and he had tremendous support of atheists. Maybe it goes beyond just the atheists, Ron Paul might have the crtitical thinker voting block all sown up.

[xdmoneyx22]

one things for sure.. he didnt get the christian vote..

i bet atheist do love Ron Paul

[Eric21ND]

that's because he doesn't wear his religion on his sleeve to win votes like some other notable politicians. as an atheist we respect that sort of thing.

[pikechris1]

ron paul does not believe in evolution via natural selection. the vid is to be found somewhere here on YT. its an actual interview with ron paul. i cant endorse ron paul...

[DoctorMurky]

I know it's none of my business but if you "accept" the theory of evolution by natural selection please use "accept" instead of "believe in".

[pikechris1]

dictionary . reference . com/search?q=believe&x=0&y=0

dictionary . reference . com/search?q=accept&x=0&y=0

sounds like rhetorical trickery to me, at least at a colloquial level. ;-)

[legendre007]

The dog is named Herbert after Herbert Spencer? Herbert Spencer rocks! :-)

It was actually from the writings of George H. Smith and Roderick T. Long that I learned that Spencer was not a "social Darwinist" and that he didn't want the poor to die; all of those accusations that Spencer was a social Darwinist wanting the poor to die was a smear concocted by Richard Hofstadter, and it stuck.

[hezekiah98]

atheism the case against god was very influential in me becoming an agnostic.

its amazing that he wrote the book in his early 20's

[legendre007]

He was in his early 20s when he wrote that? :-O

Now I'm even more impressed by it. :-)

That was the single most persuasive case for atheism I ever read. The current spate of atheist authors - Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris - don't even come close to equaling its brilliance.

[DoctorMurky]

Another book called "Atheism" subtitled "a very short introduction" by Julian Baggini is very good. He hosts the BBC program "Secular Believers". He's downright bubbly, very unlike George Smith.

[smikro1]

True. I've been called many things in my life, but never "bubbly." I suppose you could describe me as a cynic who doesn't take his own cynicism very seriously.

Ghs

[VMA1985]

I fully agree. His book convinced me that I was an atheist.

[MosesFabrication]

George H. Smith, get off your ass and vote for Ron Paul !

[kushaze]

Donate today during the FUCK YOU FOX spontaneous moneybomb on Jan.6. Ron Paul wasn't included in the forum. They can try to kill the revolution but the revolution is going to fight back. Donate what you can so that they know that we aren't going to take their shit anymore.

[KYLESWILKINSON]

lol!

[freebob3]

My dog likes O'Rielly and Hannity too! I don't. Maybe it's dogs who watch them.

[ButteBill]

I too, after 30+ years of abstention, have registed "social nationalist" so that I can vote against Adolf.

[drakulva]

Buttebill: What is your point?

[ButteBill]

Were we living in Weimar Germany with foreknowledge I'd consider registering with the National Socialist German Worker's Party so that I could have a chance, an infinitesimal chance, of getting someone other than Rud - Adolf - as chancellor of my country.

I agree with Mr. Smith's analysis of voting. However, occasionally I am willing to vote as a form of self defense, and I believe now is such a time.

(Mahalo George for your books on religion and heresies.)

[drakulva]

Paying a tax because otherwise you'll be shot is quite different from being burned alive because your grandma is a jew: in the one case you have a choice and in the other you don't. Ron Paul has his contradictions: advocating the non-aggression principle while believing in "national sovereignty." That makes him confused rather than evil because he is honest. Because he is honest he will try to "restore the republic" and that republic is a whole lot better to live in than the third reich.

[ButteBill]

Tut, tut. The Social Nationalists ALways killed the grndkids before they burned them; it's the feds that torch kiddies alive because their elders were Adventists.

And hey, Drak, I'm on your side.  I think. Mo betta get burgled than burned. Go RP in NH.

[drakulva]

They burned the kids because the elders were saying f*k you to the feds not because of who they were. I agree that a principled non-voter supporting RP is appropriate in he same way that an alternative medical practitioner saving someone from bleeding to death by pressing on their spurting carotid artery is appropriate. The war, the dollar collapse and the torture camps are the spurting carotid,. Go RP!

[kbrown45]

Smith still makes sense. And what a great dog.

[infundadiform]

I bet that dog is cool but he sure is ugly.

[GBanville]

Didn't George H. Smith also compile or edit "The Lysander Spooner Reader"? I feel the same way as he does about voting, having read his essay in an online copy of the Voluntaryist some years ago, and while I realize that voting for your freedom might not work, I have to say, it seems a great deal safer than shooting the bastards -- which is what I'd expect we'll have to do to get any freedom if Paul doesn't win.

[debbieclark7]

George wrote the introduction to "The Lysander Spooner Reader." He also wrote Chapter 3 of the book, "The Public School Monopoly: A Critical Analysis of Education and the State in American Society, edited by Robert B. Everhart, 1982, which was on "Nineteenth-Century Opponents of State Education: Prophets of Modern Revisionism." His works are much more extensive than the three books I listed in the video. (Google George H. Smith + Knowledge Products). He is currently completing his 4th book.

[truefictions]

Smart dog:)

[patsagainstrats]

God is dog spelled backwards, and this one appears to have been molested by his master.

[ArielAvedon]

This comment is sick.

[ArielAvedon]

I meant the one by patsagainstrats. Really icky and brainless.

[grantlandsmith]

'Wish he'd stop with that poor dog.

[EmerThoreau]

The dog has the answer! Ron Paul....

the monkey is a bit confused and angry...although i am interested in this strange pitch not to vote...will research this strange one...comical, none the less!

[FascistNation]

Because of Ron Paul, I have registered Republican, I intend to vote for the first time in many years, and I even became a Precinct Committeeman. If George Smith can become a voting virgin, hell really has froze over and Ron Paul will be President-elect. Welcome to the party George. It sucks but somebody has to do it, and it is relatively bloodless.

[saintmartha]

Herbert seems awfully smart. Does he play chess?

[ArielAvedon]

I would never vote for Ron Paul because of his stand on abortion (he's against it)but I have to say that George Smith's video is very very funny, I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. Too bad Paul is not as funny as Smith. :)

[XxmattitudexX]

Ariel, if the new world order gets in place you might be told when to breed and with who.

the issue of abortion will be dwarfed when you have no rights at all.

where you work ,what you eat, when and if you travel might all be out of your control.

it is a big red pill to swallow.

type in northwoods in wikipedia,

search "kennedy zeitgeist" on youtube

was jfk a conspiricy nut

[libertarianlady]

I love my fellow libertarians. ;o)

[ibo1978]

i never vote. like i never gamble aww what the hell commmmooon ron paul!!!!!!!!!

[InTheSticks1881]

:O)

[Bosco20061217]

For his "beef against voting, google "ethics of voting george smith" and go to the third search result. Apparently we can't post links here.

[Bosco20061217]

Test

[WineCommonsewer]

I re-registered so I could vote for RP in the primary.

[theoremaxim]

Get out and VOTE people.

Funny video though. I love the Fox News being on the dogs level of intelligence. How true!

[kushaze]

Great commentary. I liked that part about Cook County and animal voting.

[contain1359]

Understand that the reason the Main Stream Media will not support Ron Paul is because he is heads above the other candidates and the internet is heads above todays MSM. If the MSM gives Ron Paul attention they will be giving in to the internet. This whole media coverage war is no different then the IRAQ war. Its a joke! And the people have had enough. Lets take advantage of there ignorance. VOTE RON PAUL !

[soulmantim]

I like the sex education analogy.

Ron Paul = Condom for America

[Boomer1949]

I think there a quite a few voting virgins out there who are going to loose their virginity this primary season.

[rp08ftw]

I'm curious what the beef is about voting. But good endorsement.

[PeacefulParadox]

hell yes! thanks for posting this =D

Ron Paul 2008!