The day I hit the bottom

[tusaki]

Subject: The day I hit bottom It started out innocently enough... I began to think at parties now and then -- just to loosen up. Inevitably, though, one thought led to another, and soon I was more than just a social thinker. I began to think alone -- "to relax", I told myself -- but I knew it wasn't true. Thinking became more and more important to me, and finally I was thinking all the time. That was when things began to sour at home. One evening I had turned off the TV and asked my wife about the meaning of life, but she just spent that night at her mother's. I began to think on the job. I knew that thinking and employment don't mix, but I couldn't stop myself. I began to avoid friends at lunchtime so I could read Thoreau and Kafka. I would return to the office dizzied and confused, asking, "What is it exactly we are doing here?" One day the boss called me in. He said, "Listen, I like you, and it hurts me to say this, but your thinking has become a real problem. If you don't stop thinking on the job, you'll have to find another job." This gave me a lot to think about. I came home early after my conversation with the boss. "Honey," I confessed, "I've been thinking..." "I know you've been thinking," she said, "and I want a divorce!" "But Honey, surely it's not that serious." "It is serious," she said, lower lip aquiver. "You think as much as college professors, and college professors don't make any money, so if you keep on thinking, we won't have any money!" "That's a faulty syllogism," I said impatiently. She exploded in tears of rage and frustration, but I was in no mood to deal with the emotional drama. "I'm going to the library," I snarled as I stomped out the door. I headed for the library, in the mood for some Nietzsche. I roared into the parking lot with NPR on the radio and ran up to the big glass doors... They didn't open. The library was closed. To this day, I believe that a Higher Power was looking out for me that night. As I sank to the ground, clawing at the unfeeling glass, whimpering for Zarathustra, a poster caught my eye. "Friend, is heavy thinking ruining your life?" it asked. You probably recognize that line. It comes from the standard Thinkers Anonymous poster. Which is why I am what I am today: a recovering thinker. Now I never miss a TA meeting. At each meeting we watch a non-educational video; last week it was "Porky's." Then we share experiences about how we avoided thinking since the last meeting. I still have my job, and things are a lot better at home. Life just seemed... easier, somehow, as soon as I stopped thinking. I think the road to recovery is nearly complete for me. Today, I registered to vote Republican.

[Jet]

Nice... This is of course satire, but it clearly has a grain of truth, for religion is exactly that: stopping thinking, letting someone else do your thinking, and religious conversion is exactly a thinkers' anonymous organization.

[PatrickHenry]

Originally posted by Jet, Nice... This is of course satire, but it clearly has a grain of truth, for religion is exactly that: stopping thinking, letting someone else do your thinking, and religious conversion is exactly a thinkers' anonymous organization.

Where did you read this? What a parrot...
tusaki, that was funny. I got a big kick out of it, before I read Jet's twisted interpretation. Get a clue, Jet.

[Jet]

I think I've sampled enough religious people in debate to conclude that. In their defense, they have to stop thinking, because when you think too much about a religion you see all of its contradictions, internal and external alike. So you have to either ignore large portions of reality, or rationalize this as "faith."

Nice tusaki. However, you should have said you registered to vote Republican or Democrat. Neither party has corner on the non-thinking market.

[Jet]

Seconded; a quick visit to the Democratic Underground will verify that.

[tusaki]

Agreed, but I posted it 'as is'. Someone send it to me via email. I thought it was interesting enough to post.

[Jet]

Yeah... thanks anyway, tusaki.

Okay, we'll let it slide this time :)
Actually, I really dropped the ball with my democrate's secret plan thread. I should have explained it as my own instead of providing a link to Boortz.
A much more Egregious error than yours.

[The Black Flag]

HAHAHA! That's just awesome. Ahhh, art, don't you love it?

[white rice]

It's depressing if you think that is how civilization is headed, if not already.

Oh well, time to lighten up and inject some Prozac.

[dismal]

I know this is supposed to be a joke and all, but one thing I've learned is that it is a great fallacy to believe that everyone who disagrees with you is stupid or uneducated.

You can find smart people on both sides of almost every issue.

[Gorgo]

Smart doesn't mean right.

[Suburbanite]

Genuinely this is baiting a flame and not constructive to the debate format. Please don’t post something like this again.

[Mia]

Originally posted by Jet, I think I've sampled enough religious people in debate to conclude that. In their defense, they have to stop thinking, because when you think too much about a religion you see all of its contradictions, internal and external alike. So you have to either ignore large portions of reality, or rationalize this as "faith."

Or you have to smart enough to deal with complexity.

[BlackVelvet]

Originally posted by Suburbanite, Genuinely this is baiting a flame and not constructive to the debate format. Please don’t post something like this again.

Who's Genuinely?

[white rice]

Originally posted by Mia,+--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Mia,)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteBegin-Jet, I think I've sampled enough religious people in debate to conclude that. In their defense, they have to stop thinking, because when you think too much about a religion you see all of its contradictions, internal and external alike. So you have to either ignore large portions of reality, or rationalize this as "faith."

Or you have to smart enough to deal with complexity.[/b][/quote]

By dealing with complexity eventually you'll have to rationalize as faith. Unless, you assume that you're arrogant enough to understand, let alone comprehend, God.