Sam Harris hates "religion" but supports mosque?

I've been trying for some years now to solve the puzzle of whether American leftist-socialist-Dems are deliberately trying to destroy this country, or whether they're just so astonishingly ignorant that it simply looks that way.

Now, let me say that I do know a fair handful of liberals personally, and fairly well. Most of 'em strike me as intelligent. And no, that's not a contradiction of the "ignorant" hypothesis in the first 'graf.

See, they're technically smart--many are attorneys, for example. But they just can't seem to get it through their heads that both socialist and statist policies are inherently, unavoidably destructive. Or perhaps they're vaguely aware that socialist states have a fairly crappy track record in terms of prosperity and freedom, but they believe it's a small price to pay for Equality of Outcomes (as opposed to equal opportunity).

A second thing I've noticed about these people is that I've not met a single one who majored in a "hard" science or math. (I don't doubt such critters exist, but my sample suggests they're a tiny minority.) While some are vaguely aware of the literal meaning of phrases like "exponential growth," that's usually the limit of their education in any math sense.

Functionally they could be considered borderline innumerate.

Many of them gloss over this...um, educational void by generous use of phrases like "You don't understand, I'm a 'big picture' visualizer, and numbers are just details. We hire people to work out the little details, see?"

A few can even be baited into declaring that "mere details" are quite unimportant, and that the only thing that matters is that one has the right *intentions.*

In this vein, many of them believe anyone who has ever made or wanted to make a profit is automatically disqualified from adult discourse.

I've also noticed that a very large percentage of libs-socialists are either atheists or agnostics. Hard to know whether there's any causal relationship here--and if there is, which way it's running. But it does seem reasonable that if an individual believes there is no God, they'll put something else at the top to take His place--like the state. Or themselves.

And it is with that intro that I present a fellow named Sam Harris. I'd never heard of Mr. Harris before an hour ago, but from what shows up on a web search he seems to be something of a darling of the left, having written The End of Faith in 2004, and blog the articles "There is No God (And You Know It)," The Politics of Ignorance, and "Science Must Destroy Religion."

This guy is solid with the Left. And then there's this deep insight:

We are no more free to believe whatever we want about God than we are free to adopt unjustified beliefs about science or history, or free to mean whatever we want when using words like "poison" or "north" or "zero."

These are words more commonly associated with members of an extreme religious cult: 'You are NOT free to believe whatever you want about God,' he says.

Unspoken is the crucial, implicit conclusion: If you're not free to believe as you wish, you are not free, period. Instead, we will tell you what to believe.

Because, of course, he and his friends are smart (it's why they're Leftists), whereas you and your friends are dumb.

Easy to see why this guy's a darling of the Left, eh? Here's another gem:

It is difficult to imagine a set of beliefs more suggestive of mental illness than those that lie at the heart of many of our religious traditions.

Aw c'mon, when he said "many" of "our" religious traditions he was probably speaking as a citizen of the world--almost a requirement for Leftists--and so was thinking about those goofy bastards who stone women, mutilate the genitals of ten-year-old girls and fly hijacked jetliners into buildings. Let's see...oh yeah: Muslim "extremists."

How about this one?

The idea...that religious faith is...a sacred human convention...is really too great a monstrosity to be appreciated in all its glory.

Again, probably thinking about the folks who throw acid in the faces of schoolgirls. Who forced girls fleeing from a burning school back into the burning building because their heads were uncovered. Of course he is careful not to actually *say* that, so who knows?

Just a few more--he's put out thousands of quotes like these:

We must find our way to a time when faith... disgraces anyone who would claim it.

As you can see, Sam is a gift that keeps on giving. A piece of work who seems too precious by half.

The Creator who purports to be beyond human judgment is consistently ruled by human passions—jealousy, wrath, suspicion, and the lust to dominate.

Mormonism, it seems to me, is...just a little more idiotic than Christianity is.

So, your beliefs are "idiotic." And in any case you're not free to believe as you want.

Remember, this guy is pillar of the Left--those people who keep screaming about how tolerant they are!

And a good Harris summary:

The God of Abraham is not only unworthy of the immensity of creation; he is unworthy even of man.

Now that we have a good idea of where Mr. Harris is coming from, what do you think he has to say about the "ground zero mosque:"

The NY Times has declared that the proposed mosque will be...“a monument to tolerance.” .... Nor can we ignore the fact that many who oppose construction of this mosque embody all that is terrifyingly askew in conservative America—“birthers”... opportunistic Republican politicians, and utter lunatics who yearn to see Sarah Palin become the next president of the United States (note that Palin herself probably falls into several of these categories). These people are wrong about almost everything under the sun. The problem, however, is that they are not quite wrong about Islam.

Oooh. Conservatives are "not quite wrong about Islam," eh?

Sam, be careful, man: You may well be getting close to being bumped off the Lefty "A"-list.