I’m tired of fighting it. There’s just no end. I don’t think we can ever stem the tide. Where are Uncle Cecil and Slug? Where are the voices of reason that were posting? They have passed like RAM on a virtual drive, like flatus in a tornado. The days of enlightenment have gone down on the net, behind the firewalls - to shadow. How did it come to this? What can we do against such ignorance?
Link?
To me, ignorance is like poverty and neediness. If you try to give to all of the worthwhile charities, you’ll go nuts and broke. So, you pick a couple of charities that you believe in strongly, and give them as much as you can. You won’t be ending poverty or neediness, but you’ll be helping the cause, and you won’t be a contributing factor to the cause. If you try to fight all ignorance, all the time, you’ll lose your mind. So, pick your battles. Fight ignorance in fields you know something about (you seem quite adept at this, QtM, and my hat’s off to you). You won’t be able to defeat ignorance, but you’ll be doing your part, and not contributing to the problem.
If that doesn’t work, perhaps consider taking a break from the Boards (though you would be sorely missed!)
But you are alone. Who knows what you’ve spoken to Cecil, in the bitter watches of the night, when all your life seems to shrink, the walls of ignorance closing in about you, a hutch to trammel some wild thing, or maybe, say hi to Opal.
[gollum]"…and even now the truth is choked with ash and crawling muds, sickly white and grey, as if the mountains had vomited the filth of their entrails upon the boards – leprous growths, feeding on ignorance, as this is a land that has been defiled beyond healing, and it shows not only the depth of Cecil’s power but also the hopelessness of his task." [/gollum]
Once more unto the breach, dear Qadgop, once more;
Or close the wall up with our disvalued sapience.
Among savants there’s nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility:
But when the blast of ignorance blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger;
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favour’d rage;
Then lend the eye a terrible aspect;
. . .
Follow your spirit, and upon this charge
Cry ‘Cecil for Truth, Knowledge, and Straight Dope!’
For me, it’s just a matter of not being with the ignorant. Remember, if you’re not part of the solution, then you’re part of the problem. I’d much rather be fighting and imposible battle, than just taking a backseat and enjoying the war.
And like norinew said, pick the good fight.
So be it! Yes!
For truth and knowledge! The posts of Qad Mercotan shall appear on the Dope yet again! Let this be the site when we draw cites together. Daft threads await! Now for reason! Now for ratiocination! And the Straight Dope!
Thanks, gang.
I needed that.
It’s like the story (extremely overused, but I like it anyway) of the girl who walks out on the beach every evening and gathers the starfish that have been stuck on land by the receding tide, and throws them back into the ocean.
A passerby tells her, “Why do you try, there are thousands of beached starfish here, you can’t possibly make a difference.”
The girl throws the starfish she’s holding into the water and says “I made a difference to that one.”
I prefer a variation on a famous one…
“All that is necessary for ignorance to win is for good men to do nothing.”
Preach it, my friend.
First Bricker posts positing “fake posts” to find out the kneejerk partisans and now this.
We should all keep in mind the 3 requirements for a good discussion/argument.
Both parties should care about their point of view
Don’t get into discussions or arguments with people who just take a side for the sake of it.
Both parties should have equal emotional involvement
I hold positions on lots of matters that I will happily share as speculation but would not insult proponents of deeply held beliefs by offering as argument. For instance I am an atheist but I don’t lose sleep over what religous folk belief. So I am not sufficiently informed to argue with true Christians about their beliefs so I don’t but dinner party chitchat with the un commited is fine.
Invoke Karl Popper
The good old Principle of Falsifiability - if the person you are arguing with can’t tell you what proof would destroy his point of view, then he is not arguing he is preaching. If his convictions are so strong that nothing could shake them he is not arguing a position merely asserting an article of faith. Without agreed standards of evidence even the simplest argument becomes two monologues in favor of different points of view.
I believe another forum would be nice. A twilight zone where non-arguments just go away to die. Start a thread about Bush knew about 9/11, fine. Unable to agree what would dissuade you of this belief. not so fine “whoosh” and you’re gone.
I have no problem with preaching it’s just that it has a place. That place is not a forum where someone like QtM thinks he is “fighting ignorance” but gets sandbagged by people who not only don’t listen but don’t want to listen.
Ignoranse? whats ignoranse mean?
Well, I’m not allowed to either thin the herd or useconditioning when fighting ignorance, so I’ll just have to continue to make snarky remarks to people when I feel they deserve it.
By the way, I STILL get a chuckle over your Incredibly Stupid Patient who decided to OD on asthma inhalant, and how your PM nurse gave him a lecture every hour on the hour.
don’t ask, those are fine principles for GD, but what drives me bats’s do is what passes for an “informed response” in GQ. I’m tired of trying to enlighten people on the same old issues over and over, on “colonic cleansing” or “chiropracty for infants”, or “ridding your body of toxins with peppermint lozenges!” etc. etc. ad nauseum. But this is MPSIMS, not the Pit, so I’ll just stop there. It’s just me.
I’m just tired.
So very, very, tired.
I have ROTK on video. Perhaps I’ll watch it tonight.
Unfortunately it’s the cartoon ROTK version.
And thanks, Lynn!
Since you’re confronting the same tired issues over and over again, why not store pithy refutations on each topic, complete with references, in a file, say in your documents folder? Then when the topic pops up once again in GD, just copy and paste, with any minor editing changes the particular instance requires. That would save you a lot of time composing the same damn thing over and over again.
Yes, I know it does nothing for the anguish of seeing yet another boneheaded credulous dolt spouting nonsense, but at least it’s less work for you – a prelighted candle, you might say.
I don’t wanna know…
Don’t give up, QtM. Remember the lurkers! For every one person who stubbornly and actively refuses to listen, there are probably 10 dopers who cruise into threads out of curiosity, get the, er, straight dope, and ease on out without ever making a ripple in the conversation. (The first person to say “cite?” gets a swirly. Or a wedgie. Your preference.)
I mean that, too. Only sincerity causes me to mix metaphors.
Mr. Mercotan? Sir?
Please don’t give up. You give us folk that still believe in the decency of humanity, in the basic common good of all mankind, hope that there are others out there that will continue, against all odds, to try and bring truth and accuracy to the world.
Please give a few moments to think of those that went before you, that gave you the insights into life, the universe, and everything, that brought about the incredible wit and intelligence that is you. I’m sure that at one point, they too reached your crux of either letting it all go, or continuing their battles, yet they chose to continue their fights, aiding logical minds such as yours for generations.
If they had given up then, where would be be today?
If you give up now… Where will we be tomorrow?
Thank you for staying.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Qadgop the Mercotan *
**So be it! Yes!
For truth and knowledge! The posts of Qad Mercotan shall appear on the Dope yet again! Let this be the site when we draw cites together. Daft threads await! Now for reason! Now for ratiocination! And the Straight Dope!
Thanks, gang.
I’m just glad you’re back! I try with the same poster you do, I believe, to no avail.
Welcome back. and just keep talking.