"The Secret" -- Liberal version of "Jesus Camp"?

[bascule]

http://www.theonion.com/content/infograph/the_secret

 

The Secret—the new self-help book and DVD that purports to channel ancient wisdom and claims that if you ask the universe for something, it will be delivered—has become a nationwide phenomenon. Here are some of the book's tips:

 

You deserve whatever you want no matter how awful you are

Infographic The Secret

 

Try not to use any critical-thinking skills or logic when pondering concept of The Secret

 

Capitalizing on basic human feelings such as greed can bring you vast wealth

 

Eat a hearty breakfast every day

 

Please allow universe six to eight millennia to deliver

 

You can never be too tan

 

The Secret does not work if you are attempting to learn it from stolen, bootlegged, or borrowed products from Prime Time Productions

 

Yeah, anyway, this seems to be the biggest crock of new age bullsh*t to reach the public consciousness since What the Bleep.

 

What does it have to do with liberals, or Jesus Camp?

[ParanoiA]

What does Jesus Camp have to do with conservatives?

[bascule]

What does Jesus Camp have to do with conservatives?

 

Well, there's the part where they parade around a cardboard cutout of Bush

 

(I guess true conservatives think Bush is a liberal, am I right? That's what Michael Savage always says anyway.)

[ParanoiA]

Well, there's the part where they parade around a cardboard cutout of Bush

 

You're not serious right? Because they carry a cardboard cutout of Bush, then the conservatives have no choice but to welcome them into the fold?

 

Well then the fact that ANY liberal, not to mention several prominent liberals, go even further than a cardboard cutout to promote this "Secret" means it is obviously a liberal faction. They are in your fold. Go ahead, welcome them, don't be so intolerant like conservatives...

 

(I guess true conservatives think Bush is a liberal, am I right? That's what Michael Savage always says anyway.)

 

Michael Savage is an idiot, so I don't listen to him. I think most conservatives are dissappointed with his immigration stance. Other than that, I'm not sure who's calling him liberal.

[Sisyphus]

The Jesus Camp people are only "conservative" because they're political. Fundamentalist Christianity is a major force in national politics, and are a major and indispensible part of the conservative base that therefore has major influence on many politicians. As far as I know, there's nothing comparable related to the "Secret," so it's a political non-entity, not "liberal." There might happen to be a lot of liberals stupid enough to buy into it, but it's completely unrelated.

[ParanoiA]

The Jesus Camp people are only "conservative" because they're political. Fundamentalist Christianity is a major force in national politics, and are a major and indispensible part of the conservative base that therefore has major influence on many politicians. As far as I know, there's nothing comparable related to the "Secret," so it's a political non-entity, not "liberal." There might happen to be a lot of liberals stupid enough to buy into it, but it's completely unrelated.

 

Now that's a logical answer.

[Pangloss]

The Wikipedia has a good write-up of Jesus Camp here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_camp

 

(In case anyone else is wondering what it is.)

 

I thought it was a pretty good documentary, by the way, and worthy of its Oscar nomination (it lost to "An Inconvenient Truth"; perhaps the most predictable award in all of Oscar history).

 

One thing that I think a lot of observers of this movie might miss is the fact that the film-makers very much appreciated and respected their subjects. The Wikipedia article talks about that aspect, as do the directors themselves in the DVD commentary track (which was quite interesting as well).

 

But the point of this thread was that zealotry and evangelism are not limited to Christian Fundies. You can find them with regard to any principle. Even politically correct ones. A parent brainwashing their child to believe in god as a matter of faith is no different from a parent brainwashing their child to believe in global warming as a matter of faith.

 

Just a little something to think about the next time you see your local reporter doing a cute little story about elementary school children and their "project to raise awareness about an important cause".

[bascule]

A parent brainwashing their child to believe in god as a matter of faith is no different from a parent brainwashing their child to believe in global warming as a matter of faith.

 

So you're saying faith in a religion and faith in science are synonymous?

[Pangloss]

Yes. Faith is faith, regardless of the subject. That's not even debatable -- it's a simple matter of dictionary definitions.

 

Note that I'm not the one condemning faith. Faith in my view can very much be a positive, whether it's faith in relgion or faith in science or faith in one's self or faith in anything. It's only when it's not balanced with reason that it becomes a problem.

 

But children don't have that capacity -- that ability to balance doing what they're told with doing what makes sense. They lack the experience. So if they're surrounded by people with ulterior motives, who don't mind (or realize) they're damaging their progeny in the process, then they're really up a creek without a paddle. And there can hardly be any debate about whether that happens outside of religious circles. Just turn on the news (and grab on to something tight).

 

Anyway, remove the word "Jesus" from every scene in that movie and insert the word "Darwin" and the effect on the child and the meaning/value of that child's act would be exactly the same. The fact that there are fewer (if any) people who run around training their children to pray to Charles Darwin is fortunate, but that doesn't mean that there aren't plenty of other obstacles around of a similar nature that have nothing to do with religious zealots.

 

Case in point: The infamous "Country Walk" child abuse cases that made Janet Reno's career, in which children were coerced into repeating allegations of abuse by two "research scientists" complete with PhDs.

 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/fuster/frank/summary.html

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/terror/

 

And after reading that, if you want to read something REALLY scary, take a look at what two names are listed about halfway down this page, which carries a 2007 copyright:

http://www.growingchild.com/team.html

[bascule]

Faith is faith, regardless of the subject.

 

Then what is knowledge?

[Pangloss]

Keep reading.