Time out for Real Time

I'd watched Bill Maher for years, going back to when Politically Incorrect was on Comedy Central. When I've had HBO I've usually caught episodes of his current show, Real Time. For me it's nowhere near the neighborhood of cleverness that The Daily Show and The Colbert Report display four nights a week, but generally it still holds my interest to watch to the end of the show.

Unlike Maher, I would not consider myself an atheist. I don't have ties to a specific religion, but I do think it's unlikely the universe got to have this order by random chance. I don't attend church because my spirituality is something unique to me, not a general viewpoint that I imagine a room full of people share. However, I absolutely support that churches should exist, as there are many people who clearly do get something out of attending them.

That said, I am a strong proponent of the separation of church and state. One's religious views should dictate only how one lives one's life, not be the basis for political policy. Period.

So that brings me to last week's episode of Real Time, when again Bill went off how deluded are people who believe in God, or even have any view other than atheism, and indicate that all war and violence was done in the name of religion. Okay, the man is entitled to his opinion. However, when guest Cory Booker, mayor of Newark, tried to politely disagree—particularly about religion being the cause or justification for war—Bill would have none of it. Booker astutely called Maher on this, comparing his fervor with it to having the "zeal of a Baptist preacher about your atheism."



As Booker tried to make the distinction that it's humans who make war due to their flaws and that some merely blame that on religion, Maher kept interrupting and hammering his opinion that there's no difference between religion and those who do evil in its name. And I found myself change the channel; I couldn't sit through it any more.

Again, it's not that I oppose Maher having whatever belief he does, even if I think it's too narrow; I merely couldn't handle the way he wouldn't let the guest even finish his sentence before disagreeing. It was almost bully-ish in a way that I would expect from the likes of O'Reilly or Limbaugh, and thus it was disappointing. I'm not saying Maher can't be pig-headed with his opinions but generally he lets the guests get out their thoughts.

The obvious flaw in Maher's logic, which Booker was trying to elucidate, is that he suggests if religion were completely purged from humanity then the bad things done in the name of religion would stop. However, as a brilliant episode of South Park already featured, a world of atheistic idiots would simply find some other excuse for their stupid actions.

Even if one holds the belief that religion was started by the stupid to take advantage of the even more stupid (as I imagine Maher does), it's specious to conclude religion is the source of the stupidity or is what perpetuates the stupidity. That's just people being people.

Not all people, or at least not all people all the time, but stupidity is an unfortunate side effect of the human condition. And to blithely dismiss that and saddle it on religion is (what is it, Bob?): stupid.

Having any opinion about that whole thing is probably stupid as well, but that's a risk I'm willing to take.

And I reserve the right to tune in again to Real Time; I can handle being called delusional. (Heck, that I consider complimentary. I fully concede to being delusional; life is a matter of choosing the right delusion.) But I'll keep the remote in hand.