Civil Commotion

Just imagine someone trying to explain to you as an adult how Catholics believe a wafer can double as the actual, literal body of Christ. There’s no way you would ever take that seriously. That’s why they have to get that stuff in your head before you’re old enough to think critically or ask questions. So many religious beliefs have power precisely because people accept them before they know how to challenge them.

Hemant Mehta

Of course. This is exactly why preachers are so endlessly frantic to get children into Sunday School before they grow up.

A pregnant, 10-year old Paraguayan girl was raped and is unable to acquire an abortion.

A man in Paraguay accused of raping his 10-year-old stepdaughter and getting her pregnant was arrested Saturday, police said.

Benitez Gilberto Zarate, 42, had fled in the wake of the accusation against him. But he denied any wrongdoing to police and local media, and has demanded a DNA test on the unborn child to back up his claim.

An international rights group is pressing the Paraguayan government to allow an abortion for the girl — a procedure that health officials in the South American country have so far blocked.

Sigh. Paraguay is a strongly Catholic country, and abortions make Jesus sad, and so forth.

Now, in most such cases, the doctors eventually declare a medical emergency, perform a Caesarean, and preserve the child’s life; it is quite likely that her life will be protected, albeit underhandedly, and with potentially lifelong consequences.

It is a disgrace that ancient superstitions even bear upon such a vital matter. The sooner humanity is done with religion, the better off we all will be.

Even George Will, the exemplar for modern conservatism, ‘gets’ that Mike Huckabee mustn’t become president.

Now comes the Apostle Mike, determined to save Christian America.

[ … ]

For many voters, a party is largely defined by the behavior of its presidential aspirants. For Republicans worried about broadening their party’s appeal, there is one word for Huckabee’s stances: Appalling.

Well, he gets no argument from me; honestly, I can’t think how anyone devoted to American ideals can be anything but appalled by the prospect of a Huckabee presidency. But: The evangelical right will rally to Huckabee, because he is one of theirs, and they are persecuted by ‘the world,’ et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

It is always a mistake to go long against the common sense and decency of the American people, so I don’t think Huckabee will achieve any more than fouling the waters and building his mailing-list. But the mere fact that somebody so manifestly unfit for high office can gather media attention, and money, and exercise influence, is a good indication of how hopelessly childish our electoral politics have become.

Book Two: A Criticism of the Highest Values That Have Prevailed Hitherto
III: General Remarks on Morality

§301   My problem: What harm has mankind suffered hitherto from morals and from morality? Harm to the spirit etc.