Religious, Spiritual, Mystical

More people today are described as "spiritual" but not "religious." What does this mean? What implications does this have for the world? I'll tell you: tasteless food because fake trans fats have to be removed, everyone's on diets, concerned about what problem the TV tells them they have, taking pills, having their kids forced to learn Spanish to cater to illegals, neohippies, and much worse!
Read the transcript here:
http://theurbanmystic.blogspot.com/2009/07/religious-spiritual-mystical.html

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Religion
• Spirituality
• Mysticism
• Atheism
• Economic Crisis
• Reality TV
• Trans Fat
• Adult ADD
• Neohippies
• Mathfails

[ArtificialSouls]

You made some good points.

However it's easy for someone to hear good points, then assume that the surrounding points are somehow connected, and thus by extension, valid as well.

For instance:

Yes we have illegal immigrants, however the question isn't how to keep them out, but why are they coming over illegally? Historically immigration has been the engine which expands our economy. Additionally, learning a second language has been shown to "improve student performance in other subjects"

[wpaxton]

@ArtificialSouls Who are you quoting?

If you've got a ship and it's leaking you better start bailing water before the ship sinks and the whole debate over why it's sinking won't matter anymore.  Once we close the border to illegals then we debate the why they're coming. Here's an idea, they're coming because we let them instead of kicking them out like normal countries do.

[ArtificialSouls]

@wpaxton

The quote was from Richard Riley, former U.S. Secretary of Education.

The ship sinking metaphor has a giant hole in it, no pun intended.

That is, that a sinking ship is obvious to all, and no proof of it is needed.

HOWEVER, in the case of immigration, it's still debatable the effect of it.

I mean, I can simply make the comparison, that immigrants are like wood for the fire of progress that is America. However this doesn't win any argument.

Xenophobia is easy...

[wpaxton]

@ArtificialSouls You're missing the point. I'm not talking about immigration I'm talking about ILLEGAL immigration, which, by definition, is a crime, and it's a crime that goes unpunished. My ancestors were immigrants, but they came here the right way and they adapted to American society, they didn't try to adapt American society to their culture. My ancestors learned English, they didn't try to make Americans learn Italian.

[ArtificialSouls]

@wpaxton "I also don't recall having ever talked about fat people, just people who are on diets"

Who/why do you think people are on diets?

It isn't just because culture says that you must look a certain way, it's also health risks.

"Lots of underweight people diet because the media create an impossible body image"

Agreed :)

Hell, I personally find myself at odds with the media image of beauty.

I find blonds to be ugly, and people who have fake tans to be nasty.

[ArtificialSouls]

@wpaxton Youre right, the illegality of their actions are undeniable.

HOWEVER, the question is why do they think they need to come over illegally?

Could it be that they have reasons to think they couldn't come over legally?

You see it's easier to see illegals as non-people

Finally, the idea of cultural preservation is VERY outdated.

Especially with the internet and cheaper inter-country travel.

We should influence other cultures, as well as take things which we find valuable from other cultures

[wpaxton]

@ArtificialSouls I never made any such claim. I also don't recall having ever talked about fat people, just people who are on diets. Lots of underweight people diet because the media create an impossible body image that only a tenth of a percent of the population can ever attain to. They were the main focus of this video, not obese people. The media worship the almighty dollar, there's no denying this. There's no big atheist obesity conspiracy, at least none I've encountered.

[ArtificialSouls]

@wpaxton "I'm also not a doctor and I don't know why these people got fat"

Yet you talked as though you knew.

You say everyone is on a diet, and continue on your way, seemingly relating atheism to this?

I ask you again, could the decline in physical activity be a cause for increase in obesity? On top of that, people are less likely to make their own meals, and thus will rely on prepackaged foods. Could this too be the cause?

Childhood memories of food are often skewed to some extreme.

[wpaxton]

@ArtificialSouls I never said everyone is on a diet because of trans fats, I said trans fats are being taken out of food because everyone is on a diet. You've got the arrow of causation reversed. I'm also not a doctor and I don't know why these people got fat and I'm not recommending any form of treatment.

[ArtificialSouls]

Do you want to know why "everyone's on diets", it isn't because of your "fake trans fats".

Instead, it's due to something which should be fairly evident.

Entertainment sources have shifted from an active medium, to an inactive one.

So, should we really blame it on all of those "invisible" fake trans-fats being taken out of our food, making it tasteless.

Or instead realize that our shift in behavior, leading to less overall physical activity, might have something to do with weight gain?