Okay, strange topic for today based upon a web comic I like which got sorta deep today:
As a man raised in a very strict Christian faith, the kind where even handling a book about pagan beliefs was considered a sin*, I have come a looong way toward reasonableness. I didn't recognize until my late 20's that, even from my youngest memories, I have always hated know-it-alls, pomposity, and holier-than-thou types. To give an example: the tv show Archie Bunker. I never could understand why people watched a show so full of hate and bad manners. Archie was a regular Wesley Crusher (Star Trek: The Next Generation) when it came to knowing exactly what to say or do about the social/political situations in which he found himself, such as: his wife and daughter explaining about the ERA and the women's liberation movement. He'd say something like "stifle it, Edith." How could anyone watch that? How was that a comedy?
So, in reference to the linked comic, it has been my displeasure to experience real people with close-minded worldviews. Generally those people were either very religous or very political-minded. This is not to say they were the ministers or politicians- those folks were generally above the idiocy while at the same time encouraging it by tacit consent in their adherents. I could receive the sanest and wisest advice from people who, if asked similar questions by their followers or constituents, would spout double-talk and hate of unbelievable tenor. Maybe you should try it as a test sometime with someone you suspect of having a double standard. Ask progressively harder questions on such topics as marraige and pre-marital sex or the equality of a certain gender or class of people. I used to get answers from people I respected at a young age which now make no sense to me at all.
So the question I have to continually ask myself is: would I say [ insert idea ] in front of my mother, grandmother, best friend or boss?
Darn, I've just run out of things to talk about...
*For the record: that book I bought for $1 at Barnes & Noble about mythological creatures such as the Hydra is NOT a work of the Devil you pin-headed, idiocy-expounding, moral bigot...
