[MD] a-theism and atheism

[Platt Holden]

Hi John C,

But of course, you and I are not to be taken seriously. After all, our
opinions don't arise
from getting good grades in grad school or having the approval of the Great
Author himself. Nor have we done the work necessary to be admitted to the
philosophy club. Thus, our intellectual skills are sorely lacking, and we
have no business challenging much less criticizing our betters in academia.

Yeah, right. Pirsig nailed this arrogant mindset precisely: "First you say
things our way and then we'll listen to you. Phaedrus had heard it before. What
it always means is that you have hit an invisible wall of prejudice. Nobody
on the inside of that wall is ever going to listen to you; not because what
you say isn't true, but solely because you have been identified as outside
that wall." (Lila, 4)

I'm proud to join you and others outside the wall, John.

Best,
Platt



On Wed, Nov 24, 2010 at 1:28 PM, John Carl <ridgecoyote at gmail.com> wrote:

> That's the quote I was thinking of, Platt.  Thanks as always for having it
> handy.
>
>
> "What we tend to forget is that, unlike the European aristocrats they aped,
> > the American Victorians were a very creative people. The telephone, the
> > telegraph, the rail road, the transatlantic cable, the light bulb, the
> > radio, the phonograph, the motion pictures, and the techniques of mass
> > production—almost all the great technological changes that are associated
> > with the twentieth century are, in fact, American *Victorian* inventions.
> >
>
> Now the value-added:
>
>
>
> > Since the morally bereft intellectuals took over the direction of
> society,
> > their ignorance of the creative force of Dynamic Quality has created the
> > economic disaster the West finds itself in today. Codes of thrift and
> > self-discipline disappeared years ago. Last time I looked, total debt in
> > the
> > U.S. exceeded $50 trillion. Thanks, intellect. A fine mess you've gotten
> us
> > into.
> >
>
> We are the spoiled children and grandchildren of those thrifty and
> hardworking creators, and we've been coasting on the capital of their
> efforts for some time, but that capital is just about used up and our
> children are going to have a tough time of it.
>
> I agree completely, Platt.
>
> John
>