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Subject: Re: Religious Hypocracy? ( 11 of 52 )
Posted by Douglas Adams

It seems that the new term for 'person who has a different opinion than mine' has become 'person with an agenda'. Or 'idiot with an agenda' as you put it, which is a variation I hadn't come across before.

My opinion, if you want it, is quite simple, and if you don't want it or don't like it, it doesn't matter much to me. That's how powerful my 'agenda' is.

Here it is. There is no evidence for the existence of a god. Many people, however, for reasons which have nothing to do with evidence, choose to believe that there is one anyway. If that's what they want to do, it's fine by me. I respect your opinion. But I suppose one needs to be precise about what one means by the word 'respect' in this instance. The word has at least two meanings. One is 'allow for, give space to, do not infringe' as in 'I respect your privacy' or 'I respect your boundaries' or 'I respect your right to think or behave in any way you see fit provided that it doesn't interfere with my or anybody else's similar rights'. The other meaning is closer to 'admire', as in 'I respect you for your courage' or 'I respect Van Morrison as a musician', or 'I have no respect for Dan Quayle as an orator.'
So when I say 'I respect your opinion', I mean that I respect your right to hold it, not that I admire it in any way.
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