>> ^Smugglarn:
So that is what clear gets you!


Wow I had no idea he had Scientology issues - here's a tidbit I just read in Wikipedia:

After finishing work on the film Hancock, Smith gave crew members gift cards for a Scientology personality test at any Church of Scientology center as a wrap present, despite the fact that initial personality tests given by the organization are usually free.

WTF?

He's still high on the cool-o-meter but he just dropped below the megafonzies line for me.

So, I've noticed that opinions about Christianity are stronger, since (I'm guessing this is the case) most people sit close to Christianity (US, Europe, Australia). This post applies mostly to these people, and the US specifically. You get a stronger opinion of a religion when it's your door getting knocked on by the mormons... when you pass scientologists offering free "personality tests" in the street... when your own parents deride you and say they'll "pray for you" when you tell them you're different. We know these things, we're tired of them. In the same way, if you go to church once or twice a week or every other week, you see the sense of community, you know the value of your friends, and your moral code is wonderfully accounted for and easy to hold on to... you have faith, good feelings, good times, and good people around you all the time. Then there are these people benefiting every day from the hard work of the good Christians you know (community service or just plain good work) and bitch to their friends about how wrong you are about God, and how naive and stupid you are. It gets old. Tensions get high. You know both sides of the story but you're sick of the debate. You wish people wouldn't bring it up and when they do you either say what you know is true or hide in the corner. No one changes their mind because the whole argument is just a repeat of a repeat of a repeat, something you've made your mind up on inside and out, and will only change with a real introspective moment, not a sermon, religious or otherwise.

Then comes Islam. A vast majority of people were introduced to the Muslim faith on 9/11 via the media and the horror show it portrayed, next to the faces of the hijackers. On one hand, a lot of people are going to immediately say that Islam is bad without really knowing anything about it. On the other hand, since we're so far away from the immediate turmoil and things like we experience at home with Christians, we have the opportunity to stand back and look at the religion from afar. Some of us take this opportunity, some of us don't.

My only point after all of this babbling is that I can see these shared experiences in our discussions. I can see the pain and annoyance, the happiness that comes with understanding. The hate. You can't muffle these things by a law handed down from on high. You can't make people pretend to be civil, or be nice, or not hate and fear.

The only thing we can do is be a community. If you really feel like part of your community, then you ignore the occasional emotional outburst... the occasional disagreement or heated argument. You come together based on your shared activities and experiences. You realize that you're talking to a person, and so you temper your comments a bit. You don't hurt someone on purpose. You realize that the group someone belongs to does not define them completely. You listen, learn, make friends, understand.

I'm quite tired and this is quite rambl-y, but I think I mean to say that we should all treat this like a community and not a random anonymous forum. Every avatar represents a person. Every comment represents a point of view coming from a human being. If we start thinking about things in this way, we might all start getting along better. If we need to set down a bunch of considerations for the way you should behave on here, just to help people think of this as a community and not a drive through, then so be it.

Now go watch a funny, meaningful, or interesting video and relax. There's plenty to choose from, take your pick.