@tranquilsea Our Founding Fathers didn’t put a Nuclear Regulatory Agency into the Constitution because they knew nothing of nuclear energy. Had they seen what happened to Hiroshima and Nagasaki in WWII, and known that those cities were hit with bombs only ½500 of the power of the most powerful hydrogen bombs; do you think they would have insisted Nuclear Power remain unregulated? Would they have resisted food inspection had they understood what we now know about ood borne illness? Would they oppose regulating pollution of any kind even after they witnessed Love Canal, the Cuyahoga River catching on fire not once but twice, acid rain killing forests, the Bhopal, India chemical plant poisonings, the Exxon Valdez and now the Deepwater Horizon.
We don’t have a government that resembles that of President George Washington’s fine administration because we don’t live in the 1700s. That seems so profoundly obvious to me that it mystifies me how extreme libertarians like the one you linked to can miss it. And while you are right that we shouldn’t dismiss all views held by someone simply because they believe in some things that defy proof, it’s a hint they may believe in many things that defy proof or even fly in the face of available facts.
Belief in superstition instead of reason is why Medieval Europe killed off all its cats to “fix” the problem or bubonic plague approaching, and in doing so gave free reign to the rat infestation that was a major part of what really spread the disease. Instead of admitting the truth that they had no clue what caused the plague, they jumped to the conclusion that it “obviously” was a curse and witches “obviously” cast curses, and witches “obviously” use cats in their dark rituals.
When you set aside reason in favor of superstition and magic, you end up believing in many things that are patently false. The least harm this does is keep you from seeking the truth. Often, as in the case of the great plague, actions taken based on superstition make the problem they are designed to cure far worse.