Two videos with surprising similarities: Richard Dawkins and Digby. Both discuss being vilified by conservative forces for being "strident", and both explain that it's all about passion for a cause—Digby for progressive politics, Dawkins for godlessness.
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Nice Videos! And ... it must make you proud to be mentioned in such length by Dawkins in the paperback of the God Delusion, doesn't it?
Dawkins is always fun to listen to (Esspecially since humour is so lacking on the other side.) But I think he could have made his point better. The "I'm an atheist but..." is almost always a form of "I'm an atheist but I'm scared".
The compromisers aren't stupid.. they are morbidly scared.
There is such a thing as the courage of one's convictions. The way to make a safe world in which your beliefs don't put you in danger is to have that courage. Hiding the belief makes you safer in the short term, but more in danger in the long term.
A big shout out to PZ in the preface to the paperback edition of The God Delusion! How cool is that?
Next stop World Domination eh PZ? :))
Clearly Richard Dawkins knows how to get on the front page of Pharyngula; simply namedrop PZ. How simple!
Unfortunately I did not detect any PZ in Digby's speech. One out of two ain't bad, though.
Sheesh. As if Digby dropping the veil of anonymity weren't enough.
A shout out to PZ? What's it say?
(Also: I was reading Pharyngula before it was cool. I'm Indie Blog Patrick.)
Hurrrr, it's in the video. Never mind, i r dum. I'll have to watch it when I get home.
P-Zed! Nice long quote, too! Great way to start the day.
Congrats on making the preface!
'strident'? Apparently, they're using a different dictionary than most people.
Hey, I am in there too! He said, "We have a raving Mike"! And, and, and my rear end is quoted: "I'm an atheist butt."
But, all kidding aside, looks like I am going to have to get the paperback version of Dawkins' book. I'm an atheist, but I would be proud reading PZ Meyers and Dawkins in the company of christians.
(What, huh? Oh, roving, not raving. Never mind)
Here's a June 19 radio interview from with Dawkins, followed by comments from Lawrence Krauss and Michael Ruse.
http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/2007/200706/20070619.html
(Scroll down to the link in Part 3.)
Also, this news:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070620.wcreate0620…
"There is such a thing as the courage of one's convictions. The way to make a safe world in which your beliefs don't put you in danger is to have that courage. Hiding the belief makes you safer in the short term, but more in danger in the long term."
Agreed, and I believe that dawkins in his book and PZ with his website give many the courage to go forward and face the non-safe world. The appeasers simply wish to hold on as long as they can on the "short term" And that means attacking, ridiculing etc. dawkins and the like.
I love Dawkins and almost always agree with him. But there is something about the way he speaks that turns most people off (including at times me). I wish he would stop presenting his arguments as if he were reading some 1930s radio theater. It makes his opinions come across as enchanting fairy tales. They should come across as facts and reason, or well founded opinions.
Christopher Hitchens is much better: He simply presents his opinions (and their justifications) in a straightforward and aggressive way. Then he dares his readers: "You disagree? OK. Cool! Attack me, I love a good fight!"
@ frodo:
Funny, my experience of Dawkins vs. Hitchens is the exact inverse of yours.
Something about honey and vinegar.....
I'll take the singsong cadence and genteel enthusiasm of Dawkins over the abrasive diction and scornful prepossession of Hitchens.
(May both of them prosper, nonetheless!
.....Your mileage may vary, especially if the leaden burden of the One Ring weighs you down.)
Digby for president. She's great and the speech was excellent.
P-Zed, indeed!
What's on Dawkins's shirt? Is it a dinosaur chasing a coconut?