The Evolution of the Doubling of Life Expectancy

[rosarugosa]

Would you also say that about women who are Muslim?

Some on the left have a really weird disconnect about Islam. They’ll go on and on about religion of peace crap, but conveniently ignore the treatment of women and gays. Praise Islam to the moon and back. Yet they’ll go out of their way to tear down Christianity.

Tradd: Yes, I would, although in many Muslim countries women don't get to choose their religion. However, I am much more familiar with Catholicism, having grown up in an area that is largely Italian and Irish, and I was actually a member of the Catholic Church from ages 7 through 11. At 11, I decided that I didn't believe any of what they were teaching and I left the church. I remember when I was a kid that if a girl forgot her hat at church, she was required to put a Kleenex or something - anything - on top of her head. Perish the thought of her naked hair inside the church.

[happystuff]

I miss so much working nights!!

Combining comments from different posts:

Raised strict Roman Catholic and devout up to the day a priest said "You have no opinion until you are 21 years old." Happily getting my mysticism, pageantry, ornate temples, answers to life questions, spiritual fulfillment, etc. from Buddhism.

All men are not bad, but some beliefs that some men have concerning women and women's rights - I believe to be wrong. I really wish those men to be reborn as women with their memories as a man remaining intact.

Edited to add: RR, I've attended many a mass with a tissue on my head!

[JaneV2.0]

I was in the Middle Eastern Studies program at PSU on a a specific scholarship for a time, until I tumbled to the fact that a woman wasn't going to get anywhere in that field, for obvious reasons. I tend to agree with those who say Islam/most of the Middle East is stuck in the Dark Ages. certainly vis-a-ves the treatment of women, which is medieval at best. But most of the world is not much better, though that is changing in some countries. My gripe about the way the right (as long as we're politicizing this) goes on about Islam is they're all terrorism all the time, which is not in any way representative of the religion or its people, and only leads to the innocent being targeted by the usual brutish bigots who like to act out their hatreds.

ETA: The Bible and the Quran are both full of God-approved mayhem and bloodshed, but I believe that if Jesus and Mohammed came back today, they'd be appalled of what fundamentalists have made of their religions. Personally, I would shun a brimstone-breathing fundie from any sect.

[Alan]

Personally, I would shun a brimstone-breathing fundie from any sect.

As long as you've politicized it, is modern liberalism a sect?

[happystuff]

As long as you've politicized it, is modern liberalism a sect?

Probably as much as modern conservatism is a sect.

[JaneV2.0]

Probably as much as modern conservatism is a sect.

More of a cult, really. Witness the golden idol at CPAC.

[LDAHL]

As long as you've politicized it, is modern liberalism a sect?

I’m not sure “liberalism” is a very accurate term anymore for our brothers and sisters on the left. They seem to have abandoned classical liberalism some time ago. “Progressive” is probably more accurate now.

Sect-wise, I would compare them with Calvinism, with their own versions of original sin and predestination.

[Alan]

I’m not sure “liberalism” is a very accurate term anymore for our brothers and sisters on the left. They seem to have abandoned classical liberalism some time ago. “Progressive” is probably more accurate now.

I've always said there's nothing more illiberal than our current crop of liberals, and the term 'progressive' seems more an aspirational vanity tag than a functioning ideology. To be honest, I can't think of a polite term that is descriptive yet non-inflammatory so I've tried to remain consistent in using the 'modern' qualifier when using the term 'liberal'. To me, it emphasizes the ironically oxymoronic nature of the word as currently used.

[happystuff]

I've always said there's nothing more illiberal than our current crop of liberals, and the term 'progressive' seems more an aspirational vanity tag than a functioning ideology. To be honest, I can't think of a polite term that is descriptive yet non-inflammatory so I've tried to remain consistent in using the 'modern' qualifier when using the term 'liberal'. To me, it emphasizes the oxymoronic nature of the word as currently used.

Plug in "conservative" for the bolded "liberal" and change out "progressive" with "traditional" and it's pretty much the same.

This is also an example of how easy it is to just plug in whatever group/label you want for anyone to be hateful, negative, etc.

[ApatheticNoMore]

I’m not sure “liberalism” is a very accurate term anymore for our brothers and sisters on the left. They seem to have abandoned classical liberalism some time ago. “Progressive” is probably more accurate now.

Sect-wise, I would compare them with Calvinism, with their own versions of original sin and predestination.

this may be true but it represents people who largely don't hold office anyway. It's not President Biden, it's not ANY of the Dem Senators, maybe someone could find a house member somewhere, as there are so many it's sheer probability at some point, but even then I'm not sure. So the right spends it's time discussing people who don't hold any political office anyway because it's all they have at this point (but someone who doesn't hold any actual power has a much retweeted twitter account or something and we should be very very worried). And the rest of us consider it largely a waste of time compared to discussing those who do hold office (anyone who was angry at Trump for 4 years, yes well he was actually president).