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All the Perl that's Practical to Extract and Report

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Lost in space 6 Comments More | Login | Reply /

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  • Let me give the opinion of a French atheist. That law is pure insanity, and that's not the first insanity that is done by this government. Instead of attacking religious fundamentalism and intolerance by teaching history of religions in schools (*), they attack little symbols. How much easier, isn't it. Consequence : some Muslims and some Jews will feel persecuted, there will be more private schools, (I'm totally against privatization of education BTW), and more Zacharias Moussaouis will grow in the shadow

    • Thanks. You at least help restore my faith in the French people, if not their government. :)

      I'd question the government's role in attacking religious beliefs, though. Again, as long as no rights are violated, people should be allowed to believe whatever they want (and as long as they are willing to fact the consequences of their beliefs). For example, a Muslim may be allowed to hate Christians so long as he does not engage in violence toward them. (And so long as he is willing to accept the fact that

      --
      J. David works really hard, has a passion for writing good software, and knows many of the world's best Perl programmers
      • We can't obviously mind-control everyone, forcing them not to hate their fellows :) But the main purpose of a democracy is to provide a safe place for citizens, where they can enjoy their freedom without being paralyzed by the fear of seeing their synagogue burnt (taking an example from real life.) Thus I don't think at all that a government should attack any religious belief -- religion is not the government's business. But it should make efforts to prevent, as much as possible, the spreading of fundamenta
        • I don't mind, in principle, the idea of forbidding head coverings, or any other thing a public school wants. The problem is that you have a system that is set up for all the people of a nation (the public school system). That is a problem in a diverse, multiethnic, multireligious, society, as it will always create conflicts like this.

          Who is to say which religious freedoms are necessary to allow for, and which are not? Why should the government be making any such decisions? But if they don't, then who w
          • If a nation lets its communities go down the path of seperation, balkanization and isolement, it's a sign it's about to explode. Coming from a family of immigrants, having lived among immigrants, I can testify that public school is the single most important entity to help a nation to form a coherent entity, and to absorb the new blood from immigration.

            • If a nation lets its communities go down the path of seperation, balkanization and isolement, it's a sign it's about to explode.

              The French perspective seems to be one of safeguarding the culture. Many Americans share this view as well.

              I view liberty in this matter as paramount, however. Society is an aggregate of many individuals and their choices. Some may view one language as more desirable than another and may wish to force this choice on others. Allowing people to choose their language, however, may result in better decisions overall. If everyone entering America has to learn English, they might not have the time and resources to learn a language that might be better for them, like Esperanto. (I'm not making the case that Esperanto is a better language; I'm making the case that each individual needs to be at liberty to decide what is best for them.)

              Allowing people to choose their culture results in a sort of competitition and innovation in a sort of marketplace of cultures. We've been watching the melting pot here for 200 years. People come over and stay isolated for a generation or two, and then slowly blend in. As they do so, they add their own unique contributions to the culture. If they were forced to assimilate according to someone else's predefined plans, they might drop valuable elements of their culture that would have otherwise been retained and passed on.

              Coming from a family of immigrants, having lived among immigrants, I can testify that public school is the single most important entity to help a nation to form a coherent entity, and to absorb the new blood from immigration.

              I think the need to support oneself economically and get by in public is the single best incentive for this. If the government allows people to choose their languages but transacts official business only in one, then people will learn that language. If people have trouble getting a job because they wear headcoverings, they will reevaluate how important they believe that headcovering to be.

              --
              J. David works really hard, has a passion for writing good software, and knows many of the world's best Perl programmers
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