What do you think is the most controversial issue worldwide?

[im_bad_at_n]

I'll broden my statement:

Are you all joking? It's gotta be religious extremism. It encompasses most problems related to political instability and is openly hostile to progress.

but I'll extend it to just religion in general. Religion, or peoples beliefs of the existance of higher powers, contradicts all the time. and people do not like it. Its the cause of most debates world wide, and is a subject even schools do not want to "go that far into". People complain that "in god we trust" is on the dollar bill! And they refuse to say the plesge of allegiance because theres a phrase "Under god" in there! Pointless complaints like these are common, sadly. Religion has to be the most controversial.

It IS a cause of most wars. Only a few wars in all of history do not have a religious aspect to it. The middle east will NEVER be at a lasting peace because they do not get along. Even the war in 18... yes that one too. Also... this one too! But thats not all religion does to be the most controversial issue.

On a homefront, it rises one of the most debated questions ever: The existance of higher power(s). People have so many opinions about that question! I am agnostic, so i dont really care whos what, but the answers "atheist" (no god),"monotheist" (one god), and "polytheist" (more than one) can cause huge arguments between the answers that are directly against one another. "Agnostic" is another choice, meaning they believe there is a god(s) but not in organized religion (my def). meaning they dont go to church, pray, etc. Overall, THAT question (the existance of higher power(s), to the point of religion in general, is the most controversial issue worldwide.

[t̷s͢uk̕a͡t͜ư]

Well, there was actually a fair bit of consideration involved in my use of the word "extremism." I suppose it would've been better on my part to say "religious people who push their beliefs onto people and into the legal system." Personal religiosity is definitely something I consider a problem, but a much more benign one; it's not something that causes harm so much as prevents people from living their lives sensibly. The new Ugandan edict to kill homosexuals that was the direct result of American Evangelicals in that area, for example, is the stuff to focus on. I have little doubt that a religion that demanded that its adherents keep it personal would not present in this way, so to me it's the fact that it is so aggressive and focused on dominance that it's a problem.
If it should ever miraculously be the case that religious extremism is eradicated for the most part, I think we still have more pressing issues in the world to deal with than personal religiosity.

[otters]

Here is a news article about the whole Uganda thing; it's one massive WTF to me. 95% of Ugandans were opposed to legalizing homosexuality.

I mean, goddamn, for once I'd like to see a government run mostly by homosexuals and have them pass a law banning straight people from having proper health care or work benefits or whatever it is that gays are being deprived of at the moment.

[MattKestrel]

the NUMA rating system

This. Not even kidding, I lolled for a whole minute. :D

[SlappyMcGee]

Well, there was actually a fair bit of consideration involved in my use of the word "extremism." I suppose it would've been better on my part to say "religious people who push their beliefs onto people and into the legal system." Personal religiosity is definitely something I consider a problem, but a much more benign one; it's not something that causes harm so much as prevents people from living their lives sensibly. The new Ugandan edict to kill homosexuals that was the direct result of American Evangelicals in that area, for example, is the stuff to focus on. I have little doubt that a religion that demanded that its adherents keep it personal would not present in this way, so to me it's the fact that it is so aggressive and focused on dominance that it's a problem.
If it should ever miraculously be the case that religious extremism is eradicated for the most part, I think we still have more pressing issues in the world to deal with than personal religiosity.

I'm not sure I agree with you. Why is it when you think that people should have more guns, it is your reasonable opinion, but when Christians are homophobes, it is religious extremism? They are drawing from a different base for their own morality, but I don't think that makes it any less valid in a democracy. I think it is only reasonable that gay folks should marry, and I think anybody who does not is unreasonable, but I also believe that anybody who likes health care or taxes at all is unreasonable.

[t̷s͢uk̕a͡t͜ư]

Why is it when you think that people should have more guns, it is your reasonable opinion, but when Christians are homophobes, it is religious extremism?

Two avenues to this:
1) As a libertarian, I'm sure you'll agree with me when I say that it's preferable to leave a controversial social issue unregulated, and only begin to regulate it when it clearly poses an overbearing problem (e.g. murder is illegal). I don't see that marijuana use is particularly negative, so I'm in favor of relieving it of its illegal status. I don't see that limiting gun ownership to the only demographic that would pay attention to such regulations does any noticeable amount of good, so I'm in favor of loosening firearms restrictions for law-abiding citizens. My life is not affected by gay people marrying, so I'm in favor of overturning the specific definition of marriage being between one man and one woman. Deregulate, deregulate, deregulate.
2) Whether or not my reasons are valid, I hold the positions I do on social issues such as gun control for (what I believe to be) reasons. The stances I hold are ones I've been convinced of. Religiosity is rooted firmly in faith, which necessarily lacks reason, and therefore campaigning in support of a particular stance on a social issue that is only held because it is consistent with the person's religion, even if it's a stance I also hold, is religious extremism.

It should also be noted that I will always be in favor of people becoming more awesome, because the most obvious problem in the world is that most people are quite far from awesome.

[SlappyMcGee]

Good points, both.

[beethoveN]

religion, humanity, and how many licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop.

[Rhekatou]

ninjas vs. pirates.

[t̷s͢uk̕a͡t͜ư]

ninjas vs. pirates.

Enjoy your warn.
After I submitted it, I realized you already had 2. Do something this stupid again, and you earn yourself a temporary suspension.

[SlappyMcGee]

ninjas vs. pirates.

Enjoy your warn.
After I submitted it, I realized you already had 2. Do something this stupid again, and you earn yourself a temporary suspension.

Tsukatu, that's his third temporary ban this month. It should be getting permanent soon.

[t̷s͢uk̕a͡t͜ư]

ninjas vs. pirates.

Enjoy your warn.
After I submitted it, I realized you already had 2. Do something this stupid again, and you earn yourself a temporary suspension.

Tsukatu, that's his third temporary ban this month. It should be getting permanent soon.

Oh, shit, really? Yeah, that really ought to be a suspension, then. And to think he had the nuts to PM me with, "you warned me over a single post?"

Well, if he fucks up again, I'm telling y'all right now, I'll just permaban him. It'll be on him to figure out a way to weasel back into the community.

[Rhekatou]

...Slaps?
You didn't ban me 3 times. You warned me two times. And banned me once. Those are different.

And yes, Sukes,

You warned me over one post?

[Spawn of Yanni]

Yes, you get warned over single stupid posts. It's intended to warn you against making another stupid post, funnily enough.

[Rhekatou]

Yes, you get warned over single stupid posts. It's intended to warn you against making another stupid post, funnily enough.

If we had upheld this rule for everyone, all the time, there would be hardly anyone here.

[Spawn of Yanni]

Yes, you get warned over single stupid posts. It's intended to warn you against making another stupid post, funnily enough.

If we had upheld this rule for everyone, all the time, there would be hardly anyone here.

I don't understand. When someone makes an obviously stupid post, they get warned. This is how its always been. No one is out to get you, you just keep making very stupid posts.

*sigh* And before you decide to rummage through the forums to find examples of where this may not be the case, the point is that you've been warned three times for this sort of thing before, but you don't seem to have any intention of stopping. Which really isn't cool.

[SlappyMcGee]

...Slaps?
You didn't ban me 3 times. You warned me two times. And banned me once. Those are different.

And yes, Sukes,

You warned me over one post?

You clearly do not have an understanding of what has been happening to you. You've been warned four times this last month, twice by me. You've been banned twice, first for being an idiot and second for evading the first ban continually. This would be, hypothetically, your third ban.

[Kablizzy]

Humanity.

Oh ho ho! You're *dark*.

[noops]

Religion. Politics are based heavily in religion, in my opinion, and so you can pretty much say that religion is really the most controversial issue worldwide. Why are most wars fought? Religion. Abortion? Also religion. Entertainment? Definitely religion, though not so much nowadays.

Though, without religion, we'd just find some other thing to bitch at each other about, seeing as how it's such an integral part of society 'nd shit.

[Tunco]

Religion. Politics are based heavily in religion, in my opinion, and so you can pretty much say that religion is really the most controversial issue worldwide. Why are most wars fought? Religion. Abortion? Also religion. Entertainment? Definitely religion, though not so much nowadays.

Though, without religion, we'd just find some other thing to bitch at each other about, seeing as how it's such an integral part of society 'nd shit.

And poverty and nescience.

Those three things are our main problems.

[otters~1]

Religion. Politics are based heavily in religion, in my opinion, and so you can pretty much say that religion is really the most controversial issue worldwide. Why are most wars fought? Religion. Abortion? Also religion. Entertainment? Definitely religion, though not so much nowadays.

Though, without religion, we'd just find some other thing to bitch at each other about, seeing as how it's such an integral part of society 'nd shit.

And poverty and nescience.

Those three things are our main problems.

The hell? Are you saying ignorance is our biggest problem? We're far less ignorant than we've ever been as a species.

Poverty is a bitch, but a somewhat nebulous one.

[Tunco]

Religion. Politics are based heavily in religion, in my opinion, and so you can pretty much say that religion is really the most controversial issue worldwide. Why are most wars fought? Religion. Abortion? Also religion. Entertainment? Definitely religion, though not so much nowadays.

Though, without religion, we'd just find some other thing to bitch at each other about, seeing as how it's such an integral part of society 'nd shit.

And poverty and nescience.

Those three things are our main problems.

The hell? Are you saying ignorance is our biggest problem? We're far less ignorant than we've ever been as a species.

You're right about that. Illiteracy should be there.

[t̷s͢uk̕a͡t͜ư]

nescience

Now there's a word you don't hear every day. It's so uncommon that Chrome is calling it a misspelling, though it really is a valid English word.
I'm going to guess that you used some translating service to get this word, so this brings me significant quantities of amusement.
(Tunco: "Ignorance" is the much more common synonym.)

[otters~1]

...and literacy rates are higher than ever, Tunco. Illiteracy just isn't a problem on the level of global warming or religion.

[SlappyMcGee]

nescience

Now there's a word you don't hear every day. It's so uncommon that Chrome is calling it a misspelling, though it really is a valid English word.
I'm going to guess that you used some translating service to get this word, so this brings me significant quantities of amusement.
(Tunco: "Ignorance" is the much more common synonym.)

I like to believe that Tunco is a English scholar.