[lbo-talk] Kucinich saw UFO on Shirley MacLaine's porch, was deeply moved

Gar Lipow the.typo.boy at gmail.com
Fri Oct 26 20:51:05 PDT 2007


On 10/25/07, Matt <lbo4 at beyondzero.net> wrote:
> On Wed, Oct 24, 2007 at 06:03:17PM -0400, Charles Brown wrote:
> > As I understand it, acting as if it is impossible for there to be other
> > life in the universe is not the materialist/scientific "position" .
> > Rather acting as if earth has the only life forms in the universe is
> > closer to the old , religious "earth is the center of the universe"
> > idea.
>
> Being skeptical about someone who asserts: some phenomenon they could
> not explain was an encounter with extraterestrials, is not the same
> position as asserting: extraterrestrials do not exist.
>
> This, as a defense for every kook who thinks some weather ballon was a
> flying saucer, is equivalent to the theist who demands the atheist
> "prove there is no god".
>
>
> Matt

I do think we are being a little hard on Kucinich here. His belief is UFOs is widely shared. His belief that he has personally seen a UFO is no nuttier than a belief he shares with the majority of USAians - that they have personally had prayers answered by God at one time. And the thing is, most humans, including most atheists have nutty beliefs somewhere. Nobody can be an expert on everythings. We all get fooled in some area, either by believing in the conventional wisdom when we shouldn't, or by doubting the conventional wisdom in favor of something far nuttier. A belief in personal encounters with space aliens is usually a comparatively harmless form of nuttery.



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