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Archives for April 29, 2008

Wright is Not Alone (Obviously)

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The views that Wright has put forth, most specifically his theory about AIDS and his view of 9/11, are not original to him and are actually not uncommon. I have heard AIDS conspiracy theories for years and, of course, governments are not above such things. Smallpox was used intentionally as a biological weapon during the colonial era in North America and, of course, there are the infamous Tuskegee syphilis experiments. Further, numerous biological weapons were developed during the Cold War. I don’t believe that AIDS was intentionally created by the United States, but I must admit that such a scenario is not impossible. I can also see how someone might be inclined to believe in such a claim.

In regards to 9/11, Wright’s view is shared by other preachers. For example, Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson placed the blame for 9/11 on Americans:

“I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America. I point the finger in their face and say ‘you helped this happen.'”

Their discussion on the September 13, 2001 edition of the 700 Club can be read here.

As with the AIDS matter, I think this view is mistaken. But, Wright is not alone in his views in regards to these points.

There is something very appealing to conspiracy theories and hence it is easy to get drawn into them. Further, it is also appealing to want to believe in purpose rather than chance-even if the purpose is a malicious one. Just as people once attributed diseases to the gods, it is tempting to attribute them to human agents (and sometimes this is dead on correct). It is also tempting to believe that suffering is the result of sin-that people have brought harms upon themselves by their misdeeds. This is a common theme in religions.

As such, it is not surprisingly that Wright holds these views and that he is hardly alone in holding them.

There is the question about whether he is correct or not, In regards to AIDS, the best evidence seems to be that it is a naturally occurring disease. Nature certainly brings forth a multitude of horrific ailments and AIDS seems quite at home among them.

In regards to 9/11, it is obvious that past American actions helped motivate the attack. But, there is the further question of whether or not we deserved to be attacked-whether it was our chickens that were coming home or not. A strong case can be made that the United States has acted badly throughout the years and hence deserved to be attacked. However, a good case can also be made that America did not deserve such an attack. In any case, it is certain that those who were murdered that day in September did not deserve to die.

Obama & Wright

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While Wright is clearly an impressive and powerful speaker, his recent public speeches have the potential to do impressive and powerful damage to Obama. While Wright was once Obama’s mentor, Obama has been cast into the unfortunate role of having to speak against his friend.

This must be a hard thing for Obama. After a the two men seem to have had an excellent relationship in the past-right up to the point where Wright started becoming a liability to Obama. Naturally, this current situation raises many questions.

One that is no doubt on the minds of many Americans is the truth about Obama’s views. As many conservatives have pointed out, Obama seems to have kept some fairly radical company in the past. Some have suggested that Obama actually shares the views put forth by Wright. As evidence, they point to the fact that he was part of Wright’s church for a long time and even wrote of him as a mentor. His book, Audacity of Hope, drew its title from a Wright sermon. As such, it might be suspected that Obama is only turning against his old friend because he knows he must do so in order to have a chance of being President. After all, most voters would not support a person who believed that AIDS was created by the US Government or that America seems to have brought terror upon itself.

Of course, it is quite possible that Obama’s outrage is genuine and that he honestly disagrees with his former mentor. After all, people do not always agree with their former mentors. Further, Obama claims that Wright has changed-that he is not the same man that he knew 20 years ago. This is also possible. People do change and sometimes change in ways that might be regarded as a change for the worse. Interestingly, many great philosophers went on to endorse some very odd things. For example, George Berkeley espoused the medical value of tar water and Jeremy Bentham advocated the use of preserved corpses as statues (called “Auto Icons”). Most people also know of friends and relatives who take up rather odd views later in life. I am not, of course, suggesting that Wright has gone mad. But, perhaps his views have changed considerably over the years and hence Obama is correct in saying that Wright’s views now are not the ones that he had when they first met.

Sex, Love and Money

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Although the Spitzer scandal has dropped off the radar, I was once again led to think about it. Now that the semester is over, I can finally catch up on my neglected reading material. In some cases, this is a bit like having a time machine-by reading out of date publications, I’m transported back to the distant past of a few months ago.

Not surprisingly, men and women often tended to say different things about the Spitzer case and the behavior of the people involved. I noticed that women were often inclined to bring up their view of the differences between the sexes. Mainly, men were stereotyped as lust driven beings who did their thinking with their gonads. Women,in contrast, were presented in a much different light. Lenore Skenazy put it best in “Battle of the Sexes over Sex” (Funny Times May 2008, pages 10-11): “…for women, sex and love are still pretty much linked.”

This seems to be obviously false. First, the Spitzer scandal itself serves to undermine her claim. Spitzer was not having an affair with a woman who was in love with him. He was paying a woman to have sex with him. I assume that is how most prostitutes operate. After all, it is hard to imagine prostitutes taking the time to fall in love with their clients before having sex with them. If any love is involved, it is presumably a love of money. Thus, each time a man is driven by his gonads to have sex with a female prostitute, there is a  woman  involved who is having sex that is presumably not linked to love. So, the man is there because of lust, the woman is there because of money. This is not to say that all women have sex in return for financial gain (either cash on the nightstand or gifts). After all, to think that all women are this way would be just as bad as inferring all men are ruled by mindless lust.

Second, the same issue of Funny Times features a statistic in Harper’s Index (page 21) that noted that 61% of single American women in their 20s are “very” or “extremely” willing to marry for money. The survey in question also indicted that 74% of women in their 30s were willing to marry for money. If women do link sex and love, then presumably they either love money or they would be having sex with someone other than the man they would marry for money. Or perhaps it is love of money that is linked to sex. Then again, perhaps women would prefer to marry for money someone they also happened to love (or could grow to love). Men were, not surprisingly, less interested in marrying for money. Perhaps this is because men are ruled by their gonads rather than their bank accounts, whereas women are apparently the opposite.

The views put forth  do nicely match the stereotypes of the sexes: men are out to have sex, while women are willing to trade sex for financial security/gain. Naturally, people prefer to see their own sex in a positive light, they are happy to regard the other sex in a poor light. Perhaps both are quite right.

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