I'm not saying you're wrong...

...I'm just saying you COULD be wrong.

You know those people who just embody stubbornness? The pigheaded ones who MUST be right? I'm sure you do - there are enough in this world that it would be pretty darn strange if you didn't know AT LEAST one.

People like this really strike a nerve with me sometimes. I mean, really. If my opinion differs from yours, so be it. It happens. We can discuss the matter, argue about it, even fight it out, if you really want to. But from the moment you start sounding like you aren't wrong because you can't be wrong, we're gonna have an issue.

See, I'm the type of person who tends to disagree with a lot of people on a lot of things; things that people don't usually like to have challenged. Too often I encounter persons who are unwilling to concede not only defeat but the possibility of defeat. I would like to take this opportunity to pronounce a lack of respect for such individuals. No matter how much evidence you have, no matter how strong your convictions are, there is ALWAYS a chance that there is something you don't know which renders your point invalid. To behave otherwise is nothing short of the highest conceit.

Now, I bet some of the readers are stunned by the apparent hypocrisy of this stance: after all, as a pronounced heathen, surely the Ranter entirely dismisses the idea of a God, right? No, that's not the case, I just think that the available evidence suggests that there is none, particularly as defined by the parameters of modern and ancient world religions.

But the reason I'm uploading this particular post to The Rant rather than Happily Heathen is that I don't just have a problem with this popping up around religious issues. I have a general dislike for dogma, and will always speak out against it. The way your Ranter sees it, no knowledge is infallible. Doubt everything. You may find one day that we do not in fact exist, or that the rhinoceros is in fact the most common species of animal on the face of the earth. Dubious ideas at best, so it will be only natural to doubt those things as well. For how else can we progress as a society eager for truth but to accept the possibility that what we think is right is in fact partially or entirely wrong. This is a fundamental principle of science and of my life, and, I hope it is or will become a part of my readers' lives as well.

I think by now you know who this is, but none the less: This has been your Humble Ranter. Happy reading, and for the love of FSM, PLEASE keep thinking critically.