Say what you will about Henry II, he knew how to deal with Archbishops

I felt I needed to point out a relatively minor matter. It’s in regard to the post two entries down, regarding the Egyptian lawyer who is planning to sue Israel over a passage in the Bible. Kimber posted some comments which I certainly agree with in principle, but I get the feeling she missed the point of why I posted that story. Now, bear in mind that I don’t for a second think that she diverges from my views, as she is obviously an intelligent and open-minded person (despite the satan worshipping and baby sacrifices… kidding! =D), but I felt the distinction needed to be made. Plus, I bit my tongue like a good boy throughout the whole ten commandments debacle, so I need to vent. And no, I’m not actually treating the matter with seriousness it doesn’t deserve (ie. any), but I don’t have anything else to write about…

Well, here’s my thinking on that. If everyone in the world was able to sue for past greivances nothing would ever get done because the entire global economy would be wrapped up in legal fees. The Irish alone could tie up most of eastern Europe and England for decades. Then you have the Australian Aboriginies, the Central and South American native population that survived would have Spain on the carpet, just about every country in Europe, North Africa and Mesepotamia could have actionable issues with Germany… You get the idea.

We need to focus our collective energies now on stopping the bad stuff that is happening now and preventing the bad stuff that will happen in the future rather than spending time fretting about past atrocities. I guess that’s where I was going with that.

Yeah, I agree with you on that completely. Such legal action is frivolous and potentially harmful. But that’s a separate issue. The point I was originally making was that you can’t centre any kind of litigation on religious belief. That’s both a) presumptuous in that it implies that, in the eyes of the Law, your beliefs have as much weight as lawsuits for negligence, etc, and b) legally tenuous (any judge who isn’t Roy Moore would laugh you out of court on lack of evidence). Speaking of which, people who appealed against the removal of the ten commandments monument from the courthouse on his behalf were attempting to use the argument that to do so would constitute the institution of a non-theistic religion in a courthouse. Do I even need to tell you how insane that is? It’s like the Creationist crackpots advancing their own religious pseudo-science and demanding to have it taught in high school science classrooms with equal emphasis on, or instead of, evolution. NO! You don’t understand! Your judgment has been irreversibly impaired! Religion and Science. Religion and Politics. Religion and Law. They don’t mix. It’s ignorant and misguided to the point of arrogance to even consider trying.

(Incidentally, something that’s always bothered me about Creationism, apart from the brazen twisting of scientific facts. Doesn’t seeking proof for the existence of your god (albeit unsuccessfully) undermine the very thing religion is based upon, ie Faith? That’s always bemused me, but I’ve long since given up trying to fathom the mind of a fervently religious individual. *shrug*)

By the way, we’re about 6 months behind the US in terms of television episodes, so all the war crap is finally starting to filter through. I watch Dr Phil about as frequently as I do Australian Idol, but yesterday afternoon’s show was unmissable. The subject? “Anti-War Protesters: Are They Traitors Or Are They Patriots?” Right. Because there’s no middle-ground. An hour of a bald, flabby bloke who earns a living spouting banality accusing his anti-war guests of “boosting the morale of enemy soldiers”, while a demographic slice of concerned parents from middle-America and army colonels in their best military suits sagely nodded their empty little heads and howled down just about every point the guests tried to make. At one stage, one of the guests asked the audience how many of them believed that Saddam had anything to do with September 11. Roughly 90% raised their hands. Needless to say, it restored my sense of humour rendered flagging in the face of mandatory water restrictions and general national and international bullshit.

Thanks for boosting my morale, Phil!