Bad Ideas Never Die

There are people who still believe the earth is flat. These people are no real threat, but if they managed to gain control of government, public schools, and the media, they could simply kill off the rest of us round earth people, and there you have it. After a generation or two, the world is flat again.

You can chuckle at this scenario, but I can't. This is because I watch it happen everyday in the realm of religion and politics. Kids are brought up believing in God, and anyone who doubts the fairytale is an "oddball." And despite the collapse of the Soviet Union, I battle Marxism constantly among people who should know better but don't.

Bad ideas never die. They just lie dormant waiting to emerge again when things become favorable. Phrenology and bloodletting could be back. To add insult to injury, new bad ideas come into existence everyday. You can demolish Catholicism, but Scientology is ready to take its place.

I find faith in a multicultural pluralistic society. The answer is not sanitize the culture of all bad thinking but to allow room for good thinking to emerge. This is why I despise political correctness. You never know when the whackos might be right. It is the same reason why we keep smallpox in a frozen vial. As bad as it is, we might need it someday. The same goes for Mein Kampf.

It is my personal belief that flat earth belief is held merely to go against the status quo. I think this is also the impetus behind Wicca. People want to be different, so they go along with bullshit to rankle people. As for me, I am amused but not alarmed. I recommend body piercing instead.

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