Good points, of course, and ones I hadn't really brought up. There are lots of cases where abuse/violence leads to desensitized people who are then capable of horrific behaviors because their metric of moral good/bad is messed up. Do I think that that is a dominant factor in this case? Eh, not so sure. Yes, it's a violent world she inhabits, but how much of that violence shaped her, at her later age versus how much was shaped by her experience before it is up to debate. Not that Saddam's reign was great and totally nonviolent, just that open guerilla warfare that has led the insurgents is more a feature of the Iraq war than not. So she probably developed her depraved indifference long ago and not necessarily as a response to her own trauma. (I'm not ruling it out, though.)
The "greater good" argument against religion is very damning. Without the sort of supernatural backing that religious zealots claim, they would have less influence over people who are more or less anesthetized against physical violence and doubtful of physical comfort or safety. With beliefs that encourage a focus on the afterlife and its rewards you get people sufficiently worked up to a point that they overlook the overwhelming biological urge of self-preservation. It's not impossible to do that without religion--plenty of "atheist" movements have slaughtered people just as wantonly--just that it's easier.
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Date: 2009-02-05 08:52 pm (UTC)The "greater good" argument against religion is very damning. Without the sort of supernatural backing that religious zealots claim, they would have less influence over people who are more or less anesthetized against physical violence and doubtful of physical comfort or safety. With beliefs that encourage a focus on the afterlife and its rewards you get people sufficiently worked up to a point that they overlook the overwhelming biological urge of self-preservation. It's not impossible to do that without religion--plenty of "atheist" movements have slaughtered people just as wantonly--just that it's easier.