tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197051945822486684.post5025099905436791675..comments2024-03-29T18:17:34.956+11:00Comments on Thinking Out Aloud: Elizabeth Moon and posterior-interior cerebration within the American leftLorenzohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00305933404442191098noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197051945822486684.post-47448974720966658142011-03-22T19:00:26.137+11:002011-03-22T19:00:26.137+11:00JVG: Yes, I have always liked her writing too. (I ...JVG: Yes, I have always liked her writing too. (I am also amused that an American SF writer portrays a dynastic state so positively.)Lorenzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00305933404442191098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197051945822486684.post-71313965550065729862011-03-22T16:36:34.844+11:002011-03-22T16:36:34.844+11:00One of my favorite authors. Pro-business sci-fi. ...One of my favorite authors. Pro-business sci-fi. A little weak on free market economics, misunderstanding the alternatives and substitutions possible. But independent and resourceful heroes-herions.Jack Gardnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00833056014611399989noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197051945822486684.post-27430502242335691512010-11-11T07:52:18.501+11:002010-11-11T07:52:18.501+11:00Lorenzo, post is up. I've got a bit theologica...Lorenzo, post is up. I've got a bit theological, I'm afraid -- spot the Lutheran education!<br /><br />http://skepticlawyer.com.au/2010/11/11/the-higher-criticism/skepticlawyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09282438188120264295noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197051945822486684.post-14061382504816858632010-11-10T16:11:51.049+11:002010-11-10T16:11:51.049+11:00SL You might find this poll result of interest.SL You might find <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/144314/Faith-Groups-Split-Best-Resolution-Islamic-Center-Debate.aspx" rel="nofollow">this poll result</a> of interest.Lorenzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00305933404442191098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197051945822486684.post-74767106424316194182010-11-09T22:34:37.359+11:002010-11-09T22:34:37.359+11:00There has to be a middle ground between the kind o...There has to be a middle ground between the kind of prejudice that views all Muslims as primitive terrorists and the kind of attitude that denies that there are problematic widespread things happening inside the Islamic world. <br /><br />Here are two columns I found very sensible concerning the "Ground Zero" Mosque.<br />http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2010/08/05/the_mosque_controversy__religious_freedom_106634.html<br /><br />http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2010/08/20/reality_check_in_the_ground_zero_mosque_debate_106840.html<br /><br />This is another issue where I found myself alienated from both sides of the debate.<br /><br />About immigration, I think there is a bigger issue. In the past it was completely clear that immigrants adapted to the hegemonic national culture in their new country. The melting pot was aggressive and not very tolerant toward new immigrants. There were cultural enclaves, the Chinatowns and Little Italies, but they were supposed to be just a stage and not the norm, or they were viewed negatively. Immigrants could and did maintain aspects of their original cultures, but it took 2nd place to the culture of the new country, and they did it against the strong push of the melting pot and the (often condescending) expectation that they adapt and shed the old culture. <br /><br />Today, it has become more acceptable for immigrants to keep their original culture, and it has also become much easier with global communication and fast travel. <br /><br />What are the consequences? <br /><br />Has the power of the melting pot weakened, or are people not putting enough faith in its ability to work in the long run even if it does not seem to now?<br /><br />Is the melting pot still legitimate?<br /><br />What policy changes should be made to help the melting pot work?<br /><br />Should the world move to more free immigration or should immigration be restricted?<br /><br />Are Muslims unique in their resistance to the melting pot?<br /><br />Are European countries having a more difficult time because they are less used to immigration or because they were too tolerant of the kind of particularism that works against the melting pot or both?Michanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197051945822486684.post-34785905147937188742010-11-09T11:03:08.551+11:002010-11-09T11:03:08.551+11:00At some point I want to write about this issue, an...At some point I want to write about this issue, and I'll be drawing pretty heavily on your piece and a piece by Russell Blackford. Not sure when I will get around to it, but am just flagging it in advance.skepticlawyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09282438188120264295noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197051945822486684.post-76871023166100733572010-11-08T17:17:35.079+11:002010-11-08T17:17:35.079+11:00The Fenians are the closest example, but they were...The Fenians are the closest example, but they were Irish nationalists: they were fighters for Ireland that happened to be Catholic (and there had been prominent Protestant Irish nationalists such as Wolf Tone) rather than specifically motivated by religion. Particularly as Catholic Emancipation was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Emancipation" rel="nofollow">mostly done by 1829</a>. And their efforts were strictly retail killings rather than wholesale ones.<br /><br />The C16th and C17th examples are of interest in that, in some ways, we are living in the return of the C16th, hence torture coming up as an issue again (alas). But they were issues with a religious group who were every bit as local as the Protestants, which changes the dynamics a bit.<br /><br />I was not agreeing with Elizabeth Moon on every point, merely objecting to the casting of her outside the realm of reasonable discourse.Lorenzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00305933404442191098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197051945822486684.post-31969815038059627592010-11-08T13:35:03.827+11:002010-11-08T13:35:03.827+11:00"Please nominate the Catholic (or Vietnamese,..."Please nominate the Catholic (or Vietnamese, or whoever) equivalent of 9/11 (or the Bali bombings), or the jihadi networks more generally, in the historical experience of the United States or the Commonwealth of Australia."<br /><br />I don't know about Australia. In the USA, the historical equivalent of Jihadi networks would be the Fenian Brotherhood and related organisations, and the equivalent of 9/11 would be their 1866 invasion of Canada. And the parallel in English history is even clearer - after all, November 5th was only just the other day.<br /><br />Historically speaking, the beliefs and actions of many Catholics really were troublesome - the anti-Catholic prejudice was not created out of whole cloth. The views of Ayatollah Khamenei, while appalling, are clearly not as bad as Regnans in Excelsis, the Edict of Fontainebleau, etc.<br /><br />Like many feminists, Moon claims to want give-and-take but her balance is somewhat lacking. If she considers that it is leaning over backwards to "let Muslims believe stuff" then no wonder she feels oppressed. And how dare those Muslims offend her by expressing a different view on foreign affairs! Freedom of conscience and freedom of expression are not special privileges handed out by Ms. Moon for which Muslims (or anyone else) should be grateful.<br /><br />I'm sorry, I normally like your blog a lot, but this post really annoyed me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com