Someone Wrong On Internet Again

This time it's Paul Waldman, ordinarily wiser, but doubtless scared of facing death or reality. "Insulting," maybe, but the truth hurts.

It's often said that there are no atheists in foxholes, and I suppose Wolf Blitzer thought the same would be true of tornadoes. But when you stop to think about that old expression, you realize how insulting it is, not just to those who don't believe in an almighty but also to those who do. It says that the primary basis for religious faith is fear of death, and one's beliefs are so superficial that they are a function only of the proximity of danger. If you believe only because there's an enemy army or a tornado bearing down on you, you don't believe.

Fear of death is the primary basis for religious crapola being swallowed whole by frightened fools. It may not be as pronounced when one isn't in immediate peril, but that's all it is. And the superficiality of religious belief is demonstrated every day by the actions & words of the religious themselves. (Isn't hypocrisy a no-no somewhere in those bullshit "Commandments?") The other big reason is the promise of not just an afterlife, but a better existence for the wretched once they are dead. This is the bullshit that conveniently keeps the wretched from slaughtering those who make their existence wretched. Handy, innit?

We will give the typist credit for noticing the intrinsic bullshit behind "tolerance."

We speak of religious "tolerance" as the most we can expect when it comes to the treatment of other people's religions. But we "tolerate" not that which we love or respect but that which is unpleasant, painful, or worthy of mild contempt. We tolerate things which we'd just as soon see disappear. You tolerate a hangnail.

Now if someone will deal w/ "inappropriate."

And of course the inane droning never stops.

[T]he most vapid expressions of faith will continue to be the norm. Singers will thank the Lord for delivering unto them a Grammy, smiting the hopes of the other nominees, who are plainly vile in His sight. Football players will gather to pray before a last-second field goal, in the hopes that God will alter his divine plan in their favor and push the ball through the goalposts. And presidents Democratic and Republican will end every speech with "And may God bless the United States of America." As The Atlantic's James Fallows has noted many times, this utterly content-free bit of religiosity means nothing more than "This speech is now over."

Again, c'mon. Is Waldman so blind he won't recognize it, or too scared to admit all expressions of belief are at best vapid, & always insulting?