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Sarah Palin ‘Unnerves’ NewsWeek Elitist Sam Harris; An Atheist Responds
Sam Harris Doesn’t Speak for Me
The Crack Emcee
The Macho Response
Response from an Atheist
[NOTE: An interesting--and accurately effective--rebuke of Newsweek's Sam Harris and his opinion piece, "When Atheists Attack".
Harris wrote that he was 'unnerved' when he heard Palin speak at the Republican Convention. Harris reveals much more about himself than Sarah Palin. Newsweek subheaded the Harris piece, "A noted provocateur rips Sarah Palin—and defends elitism." Of course, readers of Newsweek know that a writer need be neither a "provocateur" nor "noted" to attack Sarah Palin.
But then, readers of Newsweek, largely a cult following these days, might be also be unnerved by the "news" magazine's declining subscription base.]
I got a call today from one of my best friends, asking me if I’d read Newsweek magazine recently; specifically Sam Harris’s article on Sarah Palin called, “When Atheists Attack”. I told him no; that though I am an atheist, I’m not a fan of Sam Harris, and don’t trust the stance he’s taken in the dialogue on atheism – because he’s another angry Buddhist – which I regard as a spiritual con, beyond weird, a sign of elitist liberalism, and – as practiced in the West – part of the NewAge (rhymes with sewage) movement that I despise.
My friend, who sits on the fence in regards to a lot of political and theological arguments, read me a few of Harris’s paragraphs about Palin that he found troubling. But, while doing so, my friend also gave me further reason to dislike the elitist Harris even more.
Let me explain:
See, I’m not like other atheists in a number of ways: though born an atheist, I’ve always considered the battle, and taken-offense, over “In God We Trust” on money (or the phrase “Under God” in the Pledge Of Allegiance) to be silly. For me, God is not “dead” but merely outgrown his usefulness. I understand why, mostly as a response to communism, presidents say “God bless America”, and why these gestures were made historically, so they don’t bother me a bit. They’re nothing to rail against. They’re anachronisms, kitschy, and (though I’m loathe to admit it) touching, threatening my atheism not one iota. I guess I’m saying I find many atheists, and the planks they stand on, petty, laughable, and weak, and that’s also how I feel about Harris’s critique of Palin as well.
Harris starts off with the confession that he “was genuinely unnerved by Sarah Palin’s performance at the Republican convention” because it was “the most effective political communication” he’d ever seen. Considering how much we in the general public knew about Palin at that juncture, what was Harris afraid of? Why wasn’t this man, who I suspect is a feminist, overjoyed to see this “sexy” woman (Harris’s word) break the glass ceiling of presidential politics? He claims it was because “if anyone could make Christian theocracy smell like apple pie, Sarah Palin could”, but I suspect – as the early, and hypocritical, attacks on Palin indicated – it was mostly because this married mother of five clearly wasn’t a card-carrying member of the so-called “progressive” movement. Some elitists, who appear outwardly reasonable, have even gone so far as to declare she isn’t even a woman.
Ladies and gentlemen (especially the gentlemen) I ask you: is Sarah Palin not a woman?
Whatever the case for his anxiety, Harris wasn’t giving this new face on our national stage a fair break, as he indicates while discussing her Charles Gibson interview.
Harris says he was “relieved to discover, as many were, that Palin’s luster can be much diminished by the absence of a teleprompter” – without uttering a word on how elitist Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s celebrated stumbling without a teleprompter affected his mood. Harris adds that he “didn’t much care that she did not know the meaning of the phrase ‘Bush doctrine’”, but as Charles Krathammer (the man who coined the term) has pointed out, that great “gotcha” moment apparently hasn’t yet registered with “progressives” like Harris – or even the New York Times – as Charles Gibson’s gaffe – not Palin’s – three weeks later.
Continue reading: Sam Harris Doesn’t Speak for Me
by The Crack Emcee
image: The Macho Response
Source: Sam Harris Doesn’t Speak for Me
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You might not see God, but there sure as Hell ain’t nothing wrong with your eyes, Pal!
There’s Atheists and then there’s atheists. The other day I read a piece in Newsweek, an organ of Camp Obama, by Sam Harris. Sam Harris is the leader of the Reason Project dedicated ‘to encourage critical thinking and wise public policy. It will convene conferences, produce films, sponsor scientific research and opinion polls, award grants to other non-profit organizations, and offer material support to religious dissidents and public intellectuals — with the purpose of eroding the influence of dogmatism, superstition and bigotry in the world.’
Harris and HBO bigot Bill Maher a key player in the Reason Project smear and assault any and all religion. Harris attacked Sarah Palin as an icon of all Harris and Maher consider to betoo stupid to live. We are breathing their rarefied air it seems.
Harris is a punk philosopher, born in the age of ‘don’t hit him, he’s weak.’
Go With God , My Son – whether you want Him or not! Nice Post!
http://hickeysite.blogspot.com/2008/09/mccain-palin-obama-is-dull-but-he-is.html
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Religion is a neurosis. You should learn to live with it without bothering people who do not share your type of neurosis.
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We put together a tribute to Sarah…
Make Our Country Proud (Sarah Palin Song)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA-IXHojCDI
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I disagree with this response to Sam Harris. First of all, the term elitist is thrown around a lot. It’s really just a hot word that doens’t mean much. Obama is very intelligent, and has shown that intelligence through his academic accomplishments as well as political accomplishments. Now that I got that out of the way, let me start from the beginning:
I’m not sure you got Sam Harris’s biography correct, but I don’t want to get hung up on that very much. Things like “In God We Trust” and “Under God” are against the Constitution. That’s why I’m not exactly sure why you would look down on atheists for trying to uphold the Constitution. Also, protecting our rights on these issues act as symbols and progress for more important issues. I don’t know many atheists that care that much about these phrases, however, I do know many that care about keeping Creationism out of schools. Fighting these phrases, along with prayer in schools, have helped to keep Creationism out of schools and Sam Harris is right to defend these issues. I also disagree that saying “God Bless America” is just a response to Communism. It has become much more than that. Just look at the candidates running for presidential nominee: The Democrats tended to say God Bless much less than the Republicans and the Republicans, in general, are far more religious than the Democrats. And by religious I’m talking about bringing religion into politics. So there’s a summarization of why I think our “plank” is not laughable and does endanger your rights as an atheist.
Harris could see from early on that Palin was a religious nut and rightfully so. There’s plenty of videos to show it, and the more she talks the more we realize how religious she really is. See, you are way to concentrated on Palin being a woman. Harris doesn’t care about that. I’m sure he cares that she’s anti-choice, he cares that she’s religious and isn’t shy about it, and he cares about his rights as an atheist being demolished further by another Republican ticket. Is that really that terrible? Why do we all have to roll over because she’s a woman? I promise you that Harris would attack Palin exactly the same if she was a man.
Palin also stumbled in more than just one interview. Other interviews have come out now and she is just as bad in those. Why is Palin protected so much? You don’t see Biden making these mistakes. Do you really think he doesn’t face reporters trying to get “gotcha” moments?
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