If, by doing provocative things, government can trigger you into acting, your actions become an excuse to crack down harder- which will trigger more people to act. Like a feedback loop.
Sunday, April 07, 2024
Don't fall for government provocation
(My Eastern New Mexico News column for April 7, 2024)
It's part of the reason for anti-gun legislation. It's part of the reason the two main factions of authoritarians love the fight over the issue of "immigration". It's why the real solution to crime is criminalized...read the rest...
"It’s why government officials decided to paste a divisive new 'holiday' over a traditional religious holiday, as if no other days were available -- a slap in the face to a significant number of believers. Doesn’t this look calculated to anger and divide?"
ReplyDeleteWell, the assertion that any such thing happened looks calculated to anger and divide.
I'm surprised that you fell for it, though.
I’m non-religious. I’m surprised you missed the effect it had.
DeleteIt had no effect, since it didn't happen.
DeleteYou're right and I was wrong.
DeleteThe only reason I believed it happened was because I'd never heard of it until I saw the *effect* it had on the religious people I know.
Most of those religious people believed what they were told by people who wanted to exploit their sincerely held religious beliefs. I don't blame them. Nor do I blame you. There's always too damn much idiocy going on to keep track of it or to not sometimes miss the details.
DeleteBut that was what happened -- an attempt to exploit.
"Trans Visibility Day" (or whatever it's called, I can never remember) is on the same date every year.
Easter falls on different days each year according to some kind of formula -- I think it may have to do with an older calendar system, lunar or something.
So, OCCASIONALLY, Easter is going to fall on the same day as some other "holiday." No biggie. People can celebrate one holiday, or more than one, or none at all.
Personally, I don't see why presidents feel the need to issue holiday proclamations and that kind of thing. But if Easter were to fall on, say, "President's Day" or "Patriots' Day" or whatever, I wouldn't expect a president to actively avoid mentioning the non-Easter holiday just because Christians consider Easter an important holiday.
If I'm not mistaken, Easter is on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the Spring Equinox-- a very pagan formula for setting a date for a Christian holiday, it seems to me.
Delete