[ale] [OT] rant - decadence in society - DRM

[David Ritchie]

On Fri, Mar 25, 2011 at 8:41 AM, Michael Potter <michael at potter.name> wrote:
> On Fri, Mar 25, 2011 at 12:16 AM, David Ritchie <deritchie at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> Another piece, IMO, is that there are more and more people who don't
>> believe in a God. As a result, they are not fearful of divine
>> punishment. I feel that such individuals may be just a little bit less
>> restrained in these areas than those people who do worry about such
>> things. They see more upside than downside - and since the moral
>> calculation is surpressed and only an economic one remains, there is
>> less restraint there. A big part of the problem is that societies only
>> work well when the bulk of people are self-regulating in their
>> behavior - something that is becoming increasingly less common.
>>
>
> To all those who do not believe in God on this list,
>
> Let's not attack David for expressing his view.
> Let's help him change his view with kindness and understanding.
>

Actually, you might be surprised as to my views on this issue.
Email is at best a murky way of convey this sort of argument.
Let me be clearer here. Fear of punishment (either beyond this world,
if you are inclined to believe, and/or in this world, if you
aren't so inclined) is a real deterrent to some, but not all people.
It isn't the only restraint by any means. Intellectual restraint,
ethical restraints etc. as mentioned by Michael,  may also enter in
the equation - but anti-intellectualism is rampant in society today,
so a system based on intellectual restraint alone is problematic.

You don't believe in God. The arguments for and against
are ones of faith and as a result are fundamentally unprovable. The
point that I was trying (unsuccessfully, apparently) to make is that
inherently, religion is about control, and that less religion implies
less control which implies less external restraint on one's actions.
This is not to say that the other factors mentioned may not increase
as a countervailing forces, but there is more than a little suspicion
on my part that this is more the exception than the rule.

Anyway, this is obviously a hot button for some. My views are out of
watching both sides for 50 years, but may not mirror your own
experience. Since it makes you uncomfortable, let's agree to disagree
and move on. If you want to continue via email that is fine too. Let's
let it drop here.
- Dave