‘Rational atheist’ Sam Harris, one of the intellectual leaders of the ‘New Atheist Movement’, has chosen to defend his insane statement that Osama bin Laden is far less reprehensible than US President Donald Trump. In doing so, he alleged that American political commentator Mike Cernovic, who initially shared the audio clip from his Making Sense podcast, was deliberately misleading his audience.
I get that you don't like me or respect my audience, but why would you attempt to mislead your own audience? Anyone can understand what I was saying in context. https://t.co/Ww9Dhj7jfD
— Sam Harris (@SamHarrisOrg) October 31, 2020
In reality, there was nothing misleading about what Cernovic shared and he was only quoting the ‘peak rational atheist’ verbatim. While Sam Harris is correct when he says that everyone can understand what he was saying in context, the context only makes him appear far more insane than on the face of it.
The reason why Sam Harris believes Osama bin Laden is less reprehensible than Donald Trump is because according to him, the Islamic terrorist had numerous virtues and his actions were motivated by a sentiment of being part of something greater than himself. Trump, on the other hand, according to him, is a sociopath who does not care about anyone or anything apart from self-aggrandizement.
Sam Harris has said in the past, “I find Trump more despicable than I found Osama bin Laden… With Osama bin Laden, it’s just obvious to me that he could have been a mensch in some sense, right? He’s making serious sacrifices for ideas that he deeply believes in. He’s committed to a cause greater than himself.”
He had added, “I don’t doubt he had real ethical connections to the people in his life that he cared about. He’s a real person, right? And in some ways, he is kind of a moral hero in a very bad game. And so therefore, he’s kind of prototypically evil when viewed from my game. He’s a person of actual substance- he’s just committed to the wrong ends, whereas Trump is the negation of all those things.”
By any rational standard, the comments made by Sam Harris are insane. Only in a world that has gone crazy would calling Donald Trump more despicable than Osama bin Laden be considered a defensible or rationally justified observation. The deluded atheist, meanwhile, believes his comments are perfectly sensible when seen in context.
Sam Harris pretends that the only reason people disagree with him on the matter is because they have not understood the context. It is the hallmark of hubris that such ‘intellectuals’ earnestly appear to believe that no one who actually understood their argument could possibly disagree with them. On this particular occasion, it is safe to say that we do understand his argument perfectly and still believe his comments are crazy and indefensible.
It is emblematic of the cesspit American politics has sunk to that ‘intellectuals’ such as Sam Harris can make such ridiculous remarks and still be taken seriously. It is one thing to not like Donald Trump, completely another to claim that he is more reprehensible than Osama bin Laden. The dehumanization of Donald Trump has manifested in such a devastating fashion that, often, even physical assault on his supporters are justified.
Atheists such as Sam Harris, who love to harp on about facts and logic and pretend to have a monopoly over rationality, completely ignore the genuine achievements of Donald trump during the first tenure of his presidency. He has secured peace deals between historical enemies in the Middle East, ushering in the possibility of a new era of peace and prosperity.
Donald Trump has been far more restrained in terms of using the American military as well. After Iran brought down an American drone, he refused to order military strikes against the country because he believed the potential loss of Iranian lives was a disproportionate response to the shooting down of an unmanned drone. This extremely humane decision was lambasted by those around him that are often treated as hallmarks of credibility by men such as Sam Harris.
Thus, Sam Harris pretending that his claim that Donald Trump is more reprehensible than Osama bin Laden is oozing with some remarkable insight is just preposterous. It is rather disgusting that he pretends that the only ways someone would find that comment insane is if the words are taken out of context or someone does not understand the context. The fact of the matter is, the comment was absolutely crazy and he is suffering from the Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS).
