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Challenge craziness when you hear it
The Gazette Opinion Staff
Aug. 13, 2009 12:10 am
Recent developments have caused me to subscribe to a new maxim. “Craziness” must be resisted whenever it is encountered. If not challenged, it may soon become the norm.
I am referring to a notion concerning the secular world that cannot be supported by empirical evidence, logical argument or ethical or moral imperatives. Those who promulgate such nonsense usually depend on a strong emotional appeal and, if challenged, will simply repeat their assertion more vociferously or possibly manufacture evidence for it that is easily disproved.
A couple of recent examples of this type of craziness:
There is a contention that President Barack Obama was not born in the United States and thus is not eligible to be president. In the face of indisputable evidence, his birth certificate archived in Hawaii, the nonsense lives on.
A second example relates to the health care reform initiative that some have suggested will include a provision for involuntary euthanasia of the infirm elderly. Presumedly, this is a reference to a proposed provision for voluntary end-of-life counseling for the elderly, but again, the craziness continues.
An unfortunate consequence of this sort of activity is that the people who have been deluded into supporting the craziness are often the same people who would benefit the most should Obama's initiatives become law.
Robert J. Boes
Ely
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