How Religion Is Like North Korea

[Lars77]

Run time: 03:54 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eefS0gayKFc   Posted on YouTube: August 26, 2011 By YouTube Member: ForaTv Views on YouTube: 3507   Posted on DU: August 28, 2011 By DU Member: Lars77 Views on DU: 1565

 

[zeemike]

1. Actually what the two have in common is authoritarianism.

Bout North Korea and fundamentalist have leaders that are athoratarina...and once the authoritarians take charge the train the kids from a young age to submit to authority

[Lars77]

2. If Rick Perry wins the GOP primaries the US is only 1 election away from the same. nt

[tooeyeten]

9. that's the point

there's one mindset, and no options.

[cleanhippie]

3. You should re-post this in R&T...

[humblebum]

4. The obvious irony, of course, is that N Korea is a state atheist country.

And in virtually all of those countries in which state atheism is recognized, thought and speech control are strictly enforced. If any religious tolerance happens to exist, it is rigidly scrutinized and regulated.

[Lars77]

5. You mean like the United States, where church and state are separate?

Hitchens´ point, which i agree with wholeheartedly, is that religion, especially monotheistic religion, has many, many of the same features as totalitarian dictatorships. I haven´t been to North Korea, but i have been to Turkmenistan for example, and seen the huge golden statue of the former leader Turkmenbashi rotating in the sun. It might as well have been a Buddha or Jesus statue.

The whole point is that atheism is the absence of faith. Authoritarian dictatorships demand absolute faith and obediance in the state, often personified in a leader such as Hitler, Pol Pot or Turkmenbashi. The reason religion is outlawed or supressed in these contries is becuase the state does not want the competition.

[humblebum]

6. North Korea is a Marxist-Leninist dictatorship, which officially

declares state atheism. Pol Pot was of the identical political and philosophical persuasion.

[Lars77]

7. i give up.

[humblebum]

8. You really can do nothing else.

To compare the state of religion in the US to N Korea is beyond absurd, and another irony is that Hitchens himself is/was an avowed Trotskyite (bolshevic) and an student and admirer of Marx and Lenin. I'm just sayin'.

I do understand the comparison that Hitchens is trying to make, but he is quite biased, not accurate about the state of religion in general, and he makes a lot of money doing what he does best. The history of organized atheism is much more frocked with the kind of totalitarian control he speaks of.

[tooeyeten]

10. he's more correct than wrong

And because he makes money is of no consequence; he's making the point that the use of religion in government is to control the nation's citizens.

[humblebum]

11. As is the use of state atheism for total control. The facts about Hitchens stand.

"How Religion is like North Korea" The very fact that North Korea is an atheist state makes that concept laughable.

[savannah43]

12. Since when did making money at something one is good

at become some how evil? I see this attitude all around the blogs and it's always put forth by someone from the left side of things. Money isn't the root of all evil--the LOVE of money is the root of all evil. Classically speaking, that is. If you disagree with him, just say that. Your ad hominem attack on Mr. Hitchens just weakens your argument. I think that organized atheism is the bastardization of real atheism.But that is just my opinion.

[humblebum]

13. Where did i say it was evil? But the fact remains that he makes much money

bashing religion. when secular and atheist groups hire him to speak, they don't expect him to give cooking hints.