Members of AboveTopSecret.com: I'm Sad… And Maybe You Are Too…

reply to post by masqua


Great video, I haven't seen that one before.

Well worth the watch... it's the perfect reminder of why we are all here on ATS.

Thanks !



Keep our eyes and attention on the REAL enemy at hand, NOT amongst ourselves.

To the long time posters who are chiming in.....

Holy crud, I thought you left.

Glad to see you are still here and I must say....I miss your used to be frequent posts. Lots of info shared that I got alot out of. I don't like to post mainly because I'm not too good at it, but I read alot.

Just know that I am not the only one out there who mainly lurks, gets alot out of what you post. Your contributions would be missed.

Thanks for being here.



WILD TIMES.......just wanted to thank you for the startings of a good debate the other week.

It was very refreshing to discuss a polarized subject with someone else without all the 'slingfest' that happens as of late. It made my day I am sorry I couldn't come back to it that day. Your contributions were excellent!

Skeptic Overlord,

I still think this is probably still the best site on the web for like minded people to come together. You have the best moderation still.

I am saddened by what I see happening in the world today and the level of general animosity diplayed all over it seems.

I truly miss what we had when you all first started the site. When tech and the net were a true frontier and as free as it could get.

i think anonymity of the net brought out the best and worst that humanity has to offer....and you are seeing the effects of that. I think we all are.
Yes, I am saddened and have also been caught up in slingfests from time to time.

I would hate to see you all sell the site or change what fundementally keeps this place going. Its been around for a long time and still has a huge place in denying ignorance in this world.
Sorry I am all over the place, I took a trip down memory lane while posting...missing the old times and glad ATS is still here! [forgive the grammar, I'm not great at that either]

reply to post by SkepticOverlord

At one point in my journey here at ATS, I found myself wrapped up in a certain topic and eventually had come to the conclusion that I needed a break from this site. I still browse every now and then but, not to the extent I use too.

One thing I can say for sure is that ATS as helped me develop a different attitude, one more tolerant, less arrogant and understanding of others perspectives and beliefs. This attitude has translated into my life, and has helped me become a better person for myself and the people around me.

So yes, ATS can be a great tool for open discussion and debate. The most important thing IMO is what we as individuals can do to understand and gain wisdom from it.

When I am at work, and I tell an employee to do a certain task, often times I receive this reply, "no one else does it, so why should I," and I say, "It doesn't matter what anyone else does, what matters is what you do as an individual."

So too some it up, do your best and be your best regardless of what's happening around you, regardless of what others do. At the least you can have peace of mind knowing you have given it your best.

Having said that, the world is a beautiful place, you just have to see it. It took a minute for me to realize this...Have a nice day and Happy New Year.

Daedal

So… a week has gone by. To those who showed restraint, from all sides of the ideological, dogmatic and philosophical isle, thank you for contemplating and making an effort. I hope something was learned.

The point here, was to drive a spike into the beast that all too often overwhelms us with righteous absolutism. The beast arouses a furry of resentment toward those who dare show diligence in a alternative way of thinking. Because it thrives on our wasted energy of choosing and defending sides with disparaging discourse. It loves to see you rudely attack ideas when yours have not been. It loves to see others malign you and your ideas when you're just trying to logically lay out your position. It loves your insults when none are needed. And it's strong, and it's keeping us divided.

Apply the metaphor above to whatever you wish.

If so many people are staunchly and passionately absolute in their dogma, ideology, politics, etc., how can anything "right" ever emerge; when everything "wrong" continues to happen at the behest of the beast?






If we don't start listening to each other, we're doomed. And this applies well beyond ATS.









Still sad.
That is all.

reply to post by SkepticOverlord

Hi Skeptic...I personally refrained from speaking ill of other religions during the one week. That's all I can say about that, as far as family members or those types of things and the neighbor's dogs barking, well.....

reply to post by SkepticOverlord


You're a good man SO. Thanks for sharing your strengths and wisdom.

Platitudes and impulse control won’t completely foster real change and understanding.

People should understand the etiology of their inner thinking that fosters religious bigotry and intolerance

that turns into violent argumentation and violence in worst forms.

I am trying to get us to inspect the science behind this issue that is ETHNOCENTRICITY:

ETHNOCENTRIC: Evaluating other peoples and cultures according to the standards of one's own culture.

In our benighted history we have been plagued by racial, tribal and nationalistic ethnocentric chauvinism. But since the combination of the King and the Cleric in the era of Constantine when he, in the 4th century added the cleric to his power, the Catholic church, what began was a worsening of the usual racial and tribal ethnocentric divisions by adding religion to the mix: OIL ON GASOLINE!

Before that most conquerors didn’t give a dam about your religion as long as you payed tribute, but the super ethnocentric Roman Catholic empire started murdering people because they wouldn’t follow that religion. This added another lethal layer of human division that still plaques modern man.

Before that the Jews roughed people up in the name of the chosen of God when they gallivanted into Palestine to wrest the land from the inhabitants and said God gave us this land so get the hell out or die.
Unfortunately the Muslimeen didn’t do much better, though as balance to the Christian ethnocentric empire it was partly created....it still didn’t learn the lesson of love and didn’t know how to teach without compulsion despite the Quran having a particular verse against compelling people to believe against their will.

As well Muhammad’s last sermon was actually a sermon that could have been said by a secular politician in TODAY'S WORLD when he warned the Arabs than they were no better than anyone because they were Muslims and or Arabs, so behave accordingly.

They didn’t listen of course, so our western history is plagued with ethnocentric religious bigotry, hatred, violence and wars, and it is ingrained in us.

Let's give a little nod to the Buddhist since of all the major creeds they probably have indulged least in ethnocentric violence. They should be a model for us all.

This is what we as individuals have to inspect within ourselves…that is our own ethnocentricism, inside our own selves, or this exercise in a week of impulse control will go for naught.

It is about understanding oneself and realizing your own psychological bent towards ethnocentric superiority, whether it's race or religion.

It is of course no problem believing your creed is the truth, but you have to learn to understand that other people in other faiths have similar ideas of the merit of their religious traditions--learn to respect that.
Atheists have to understand that religious people have an emotional investment in faith--learn to respect that, or at least try.

As well the believers have to understand the atheists aren't wiping boys to be dammed to hell
They are human beings as precious to God as a believer--of course even though they don't believe in God it doesn't matter the essence of true religion is to love all unconditionally!

Also, how dare we go about condemning a whole group of any religious body for the actions of a few!

To me that is the worst form of ethnocentric bigotry and the most illogical reasoning imaginable.

Condemnation of acts of violence should always be done but to blame innocents for the acts of militant crazies is the height of injustice and never heals it only increases the violence and hatred.

Yes indeed we better learn to listen to each other, or we may hasten our destruction as a species, but also we better learn to know ourselves and what is the cause of our intolerance and hatred, or if not we will be doomed and the Skeptic Overlord will just be another voice crying in the Wilderness who no one listened to.

Very well said and concise. I concur that there is more hostility in our words on here and it shouldn't be that way. This site is for us to freely address our thoughts and feelings freely. Of course there will be differences in opinion, but it all comes down to how it is addressed. Let us continue to debate, just without all the hostility, please and thank you

as a fairly new member I have seen what you are talking about to much it kinda turns me off to the point were I do not reply to the negative post I seen on here but I understand debate but not to the point of ridicule so most of the post I reply to are to positive post or ones I can give my opinion on with out fear of being put down.
don't get me wrong if I see something different than my view I will respond but I trust in a respectful manner.