disillusioned

Very cool stuff.

Glad you're back!

You've actually pretty fairly summed up my position on questions of this type, Walter. I think that scientific theories are all abstract models of the world (or, at least, of certain aspects of the world). Good scientific theories make predictions which are verified by observations. QM is a very good scientific theory. It is statistical in nature, and it makes predictions about what we expect to see at microscopic scales. It aligns with what we observe on macroscopic scales (mostly), but most of its predictive power has to do with the world of subatomic particles like electrons. Where we obser

I don't personally think that either of these things needs to be (or even can be) universal. Like you, though, I recognize when I'm simply expressing my opinion.

The history of political philosophy is littered with different opinions on the bolded, and the related matters that you mention below it. I see that you have an opinion too.

This wasn't exactly my point, but whatever. It looks like we just fundamentally disagree on a couple points. First, I do not think that your constitution as it is is perfect in its guarantees of the rights of all citizens. There are some cases where the constitution was amended to deal with new rights, and others where it was amended to deal with rights that already existed. I don't see any reason to think that either of these processes is, or should be, over. Second, it is very clear at this point that you think that a better job of applying equal rights across the board is being done in prac

Where, in nature, may anything like pizza be found? Doesn't mean we shouldn't have it...

I profoundly disagree with this. One cannot be a progressive without allowing for progress. Progress entails that we strive to make things better. It entails that we recognize when things are better now than they used to be, and that we strive to make them better still in the future. This is a struggle which never ends. There is no perfection at the end of the tunnel, because there is no end to the tunnel. Very few people on the left, in my experience, believe that the human state can actually be perfected. What we believe is that it can probably be made better. That's

I'm glad you have such faith in your country's foundational documents, but I'd like to point out that the bill of rights was passed in 1791, and slavery was not abolished until 1865. Moreover, the abolishion of slavery, as you know, required an ammendment to your constitution, something which has happened some 26 other times as well. What on earth makes you think that the most recent draft is the final one, which actually completely levels the playing field and establishes perfect rights for all? None of the previous ones have sufficed, as it turns out. It seems to me that there's absolutely n

I've already said I have no idea how to fix this. But at the very least we should recognize that there is an actual problem, and should listen to, and take very seriously, those who have been, and are being, oppressed.

Some of them do receive some monetary reparations, but this is beside the point. It's like cutting someone's leg off, and then giving them a bandaid and some crutches and calling it all good. Also, I've noticed that neither side seems to think that just throwing money at it will really fix the problem. Systemic racism and oppression is about much more than just money.

Getting involved here goes against my better judgement, but fuck it. These days, every time my school board gives a presentation, training video, etc, they begin by acknowledging that we are conducting our business on unceded and unsurrendered indigenous territory, and by thanking the First Nations groups for their hospitality. To my ears, this always sounds like "Yeah. Our anscestors stole your land, and we're gonna keep it. Thanks for your hospitality." Don't get me wrong; I'm not proposing that the land should just be given back. I have no idea what should actually b

When universal healthcare is done well, this is not a real issue. Here in Canada, government run healthcare is perfectly sufficient pretty much all the time. Unless you are very rich, paying for better/more timely care is just not feasible, and is also generally not necessary. This is not to say that our system is perfect. It definitely isn't. But it absolutely does level the playing field, at least to a certain extent.

I'm fully supportive of abortion, assisted dying, doctor assisted suicide, and whatever other monikers voluntary death is going by these days. Pretty much anything non-coercive that keeps the line moving is good with me.

I think that it's hard to be a progressive when your entire worldview is based on the absolute authority of ancient writings.