Still doesn't explain how some things are picked

via my fav local movie critic / philosopher, [link|http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/02/20/PKGAB98ANO1.DTL| Mick LaSalle].

But I believe this wonderfully concise description addresses much more than just the nature of some of his mail - it goes to the psychological zeigeist, some reasons for our LOUD/screaming radio 'talk shows'; the basis for the popularity of such demagogues as Hannity and O'Reilly, to name just two:

Dear Mr. LaSalle: Have you ever considered publishing a book containing the most off-the-wall, rabidly angry and downright weird mail you undoubtedly receive?

Scott Pearson, Oakland

Dear Mr. Pearson: No, and you wouldn't want to read it, either. The sort of letters I sometimes print here represent the sane tip of a pretty disturbed iceberg, and it's that way for anyone in media. Much of the public, it seems, has replaced religious faith or spiritual practice with idolatry, either of a sick popular culture or sick politicians. The result is a lot of people who are both rabid and miserable, attached to things that give them no inner sustenance and yet deeply protective of those things. At least that's my theory. You might expect that such a mind-set might at least produce interesting mail, but the sameness and sadness of it all are only disheartening.

Your example, Leviticus - was in fact 'played out' on one of the early versions of the rather popular (in one polarity) TV What-If? presidential soap opera, The West Wing.

This was, IIRC in its first year. A Fright-wing lady / demagogue was with some others meeting the President. There was an Interesting exchange of the sort of example-selecting you decribe;

Ex: ~~
Pres: (confronting Ms. Authority Figure, a 'Doctor' in her title. Doctor of English Lit, it turns out.):

So then, must I kill my Chief of Staff personally, or may I delegate the task - he often works on The Sabbath. And about my daughter, should she choose [something, forgotten] - would I have to stone her myself?
My neighbor, who plants more than one crop in adjacent fields: how shoud he be killed?

The hypocrisy combined with Certainty, inconsistency complicated by the perpetually feuding splinter sects: guarantees that you can never know what One 'Christian' thinks/believes/Believes! = OrElseYouDieHorribly&Repeatedly, sucker -- but currently it matters little: nobody is listening except to their own comfort-oracle. Shout-radio is the proof of the pervasiveness of mental deterioration.

ie.
Non-Communication is our Largest industry in '05..
(And the major means of Neoconman persistence in power)
Can't you infer most of that just by watching Our President 'talk'?

Post #196,494 by bluke 2/27/05 4:37:44 AM Reply	Still doesn't explain how some things are picked like the prohibition on homosexuality and most other things are not. It seems hypocritical to say homosexuality is prohibited because of Leviticus when you ignore the next verse which prohibits other things (like pork).
Post #196,495 by pwhysall 2/27/05 4:44:57 AM Reply	It's about the pragmatic view. While it's clearly not a matter of deep doctrinal importance to avoid eating certain foods, it probably is when you're talking about the core of that which makes us human, to whit: our sexuality, love for our fellow humans and our need to reproduce. Given that there's so much interpretation of the Bible anyway, it seems unnecessarily nitpicky to say that just because some parts of a particular book are taken as more important than others, it's hypocritical. Or does having a flexible approach based on pragmatic, contextually-driven (in both the literary and contemporary cultural senses) analysis make me a flip-flopper? :-) Peter [link\|http://www.ubuntulinux.org\|Ubuntu Linux] [link\|http://www.kuro5hin.org\|There is no K5 Cabal] [link\|http://guildenstern.dyndns.org\|Home] Use P2P for legitimate purposes!
Post #196,501 by bluke 2/27/05 7:00:17 AM Reply	The interesting thing about it is ... that the bible doesn't seem to make these kinds of distinctions. The bible lumps together all kinds of prohibitions with no distinction being made.
Post #196,496 by Ashton 2/27/05 5:15:39 AM Reply	Here's an angle on the milieu, here in the Empire HQ via my fav local movie critic / philosopher, [link\|http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/02/20/PKGAB98ANO1.DTL\| Mick LaSalle]. But I believe this wonderfully concise description addresses much more than just the nature of some of his mail - it goes to the psychological zeigeist, some reasons for our LOUD/screaming radio 'talk shows'; the basis for the popularity of such demagogues as Hannity and O'Reilly, to name just two: Dear Mr. LaSalle: Have you ever considered publishing a book containing the most off-the-wall, rabidly angry and downright weird mail you undoubtedly receive? Scott Pearson, Oakland Dear Mr. Pearson: No, and you wouldn't want to read it, either. The sort of letters I sometimes print here represent the sane tip of a pretty disturbed iceberg, and it's that way for anyone in media. Much of the public, it seems, has replaced religious faith or spiritual practice with idolatry, either of a sick popular culture or sick politicians. The result is a lot of people who are both rabid and miserable, attached to things that give them no inner sustenance and yet deeply protective of those things. At least that's my theory. You might expect that such a mind-set might at least produce interesting mail, but the sameness and sadness of it all are only disheartening. Your example, Leviticus - was in fact 'played out' on one of the early versions of the rather popular (in one polarity) TV What-If? presidential soap opera, The West Wing. This was, IIRC in its first year. A Fright-wing lady / demagogue was with some others meeting the President. There was an Interesting exchange of the sort of example-selecting you decribe; Ex: ~~ Pres: (confronting Ms. Authority Figure, a 'Doctor' in her title. Doctor of English Lit, it turns out.): So then, must I kill my Chief of Staff personally, or may I delegate the task - he often works on The Sabbath. And about my daughter, should she choose [something, forgotten] - would I have to stone her myself? My neighbor, who plants more than one crop in adjacent fields: how shoud he be killed? The hypocrisy combined with Certainty, inconsistency complicated by the perpetually feuding splinter sects: guarantees that you can never know what One 'Christian' thinks/believes/Believes! = OrElseYouDieHorribly&Repeatedly, sucker -- but currently it matters little: nobody is listening except to their own comfort-oracle. Shout-radio is the proof of the pervasiveness of mental deterioration. ie. Non-Communication is our Largest industry in '05.. (And the major means of Neoconman persistence in power) Can't you infer most of that just by watching Our President 'talk'?

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