"The natural condition is to be political. To be political is to believe something, and to believe something is to believe that those who believe something else are wrong, and after all you don’t want people who believe (and would do) the wrong things running your government."- Stanley Fish, dissing "Independent Voters", on the New York Times blog
I wish so-called smart people would talk more about what they know - and not what they merely believe - because you can "believe" anything, but that doesn't make you right. Far from it.
God is a swiss cheese sandwich? Fine. That's what you believe. Can't argue with that, can I? We're losing the war in Iraq? Bullshit. I can show you clear, undeniable, proof you're wrong, you fucking traitor. I don't have to "believe" it - I know it.
The same goes for the "homeopathy is medicine" argument. It's nothing but water. I know it - and can prove it - beyond a shadow of a doubt. Anyone who says otherwise needs psychiatric help. Period.
Belief is for idiots, and losers, and fascists - and not exactly in that order.
The placebo effect is based on belief, not facts. Actually, to be frank, placebos are lies. Nonetheless, placebo effects really happen, as many medical experiments have shown. So where is the harm? Well- to answer that question, as yourself, when the placebo wears off, who got paid?
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