From: Michael M. Butler (mmb@spies.com)
Date: Sun Jan 12 2003 - 21:17:48 MST
Michael M. Butler wrote:
>>> The meme they were competing with was the Divine Right of Kings.
>>> So it wasn't just a psychological necessity for them--it was a
>>> memetic necessity for mindshare.
...and then he wrote:
> I am not claiming necessity. I am describing a tactical choice which
> makes sense in context.
There is a contradiction here, which I acknowledge. Sorry. My error.
I got carried away and forgot context. I did use the word "necessity", and
I hereby retract that as convenient shorthand, due to parallel construction
in congruity with the writing of my correspondent. Sloppy of me.
What I should have said was something like:
"Independent of any personal psychological value which such a belief might
have had for proponents of what they called 'natural and God-given rights',
there was significant value in their framing their speech in such a way while
promoting their goals, given the entrenched and monopolistically-violent
opposition they faced which justified its suzerainty, sometimes for
_all eternity_, in like terms." Had they not, they likely would have been
called "Godless", and that was serious mud to be slinging back in the day.
This probably puts me at or over my 8 post limit.
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