Discourse

I have a friend who posts videos on facebook quite a bit. Normally, they are music videos, videos about his sport, or funny things. But sometimes he posts on debatable topics. Recently, he posted a video that related to religion and problems that this girl saw with them. So, maybe that's not all it was about, but it was full of really weak arguments and pseudointellectual babbling. Here is the link:



So I called out some of the bullshit that I saw in the video. His response was less than satisfactory, basically just attempting to dismiss me and say he didn't want to argue.

I'm not trying to make him seem bad or anything like that, but this is something I see as a much bigger problem in general. It seems that discourse is being lost and people are just stopping their ears more and more when someone disagrees. It's especially disheartening when I see it among my friends. My thought is this: if you don't want to debate, then don't post something in a public place. Why would you demonstrate your support for someone's thought if you aren't prepared to defend that belief.

Am I out of line? I don't think so. If someone posts an opinion, I might disagree and I might say something, but if it goes to a standstill because it is a matter of opinion, then I'm fine with leaving it at that. But when someone is spouting something that is not factual, then I feel an obligation to point out that it isn't true. That is what I would expect someone to do for me and I am lucky enough to have someone who does just that for me.