[Buddha-l] Prominent Neobuddhist proposes religion basedblacklisting for government jobs

[Curt Steinmetz]

S.A. Feite wrote:
> I'm curious Curt, after your continued attack on Sam Harris, if you've  
> ever read his classic "Letter to a Christian Nation"?
>   

I find Sam Harris' writings to be of great interest, and yes I have read 
both End of Faith and Letter - and watched many of his youtube videos, 
and read many other things he has written.

Despite Harris many faults on of his great virtues, and one of the 
things that makes his writing so valuable, is that he is completely 
without guile. His says plainly and simply what most people with any 
capacity for self reflection would never dare say out loud, let alone 
put down in writing.

Harris is a also fine specimen representing the bleeding edge of a 
social movement that has been underway since the days when folks like 
James Randi and Martin Gardner were just starting to make a name for 
themselves as self-appointed commissars of correct scientific thinking. 
But men like Randi and Gardner are good, often excellent writers and 
very sharp wits. I could never imagine either one of them writing 
anything like "He fails the way a surgeon would fail if he attempted to 
operate using only his toes." which is a sentence from the opening 
paragraph of Harris' "review" of Collins' book.

And I'll give Harris credit for one other thing (in addition to his 
clueless candor): he has some kind of weird charismatic power over 
certain people. Not unlike a recent president of the United States, come 
to think of it. It's creepy. Here's a guy who was a prime cheerleader 
for Bush's War on Terror, an unapologetic proponent of torture, and a 
man who proclaims to the world that he believes in excluding 
PRESBYTERIANS from being appointed to certain government positions. And 
yet millions of people think he is above reproach - and whenever I 
criticize him somebody always says, "oh, well, but have you read his ...."

Curt Steinmetz