There are people who leave religion because they hate it, and people who leave because they loved something in it and could no longer pretend. I understand the second group better. Not because they are smarter, but because they are usually gentler. They are not trying to win arguments. They are trying to stop lying to themselves.
Most believers I have met are not hungry for control. They are tired, … Read the rest
By Eric Le Roy
In the 21st century, people eager to don the mantel of idealism are inclined toward harsh judgments of the past. Often they are right, for who among us would shout, “Bring back slavery!!” Or “Cancel Human Rights!”? It’s even getting harder all the time to talk someone into advocating for the return of capital punishment.
As for me, I would be uncomfortable in a place … Read the rest
Sometimes, late at night, when the city finally remembers that it is allowed to be quiet, I catch myself staring at the ceiling and thinking about the strange future we are building with our own hands. Not just faster phones, not just more clever recommendation engines that push us more cat videos and more outrage, but something else. Something like the Minds from Iain Banks’ Culture novels: artificial intelligences so … Read the rest
Content 16+ Every morning, in the quiet of homes far removed from the centers of power, people pick up their phones, turn on their televisions, and engage in the latest battle of ideological warfare. They argue over policies that will never touch them, defend leaders who do not know their names, and demonize people they have never met. A man in Paris rages about Trump. A woman in Madrid despises … Read the rest
Content 18+ There is a peculiar irony in the human mind’s ability to romanticize destruction. War, with its triumphant horns, glittering banners, and endless parade of heroes in history books, captivates those who have never had the misfortune of meeting it face-to-face. To the dreamer, war is a romantic spectacle—a grand clash of wills, a stage where heroes are forged, and where history strides forward in noble boots.
But to … Read the rest
