Yeah, lately it iseems sometimes he is snarky just for the sake of beign snaky.

I have to agree. People in a certain time period are not only limited in their information and knowledge that were available to them at that time, depending both on history as well as their economic class, which determines, in most cases, the level of their education. There is also the obvious matter of conformity, because even if someone in a certain time period was aware of the moral wrongness of a policy or tradition of their time, and wanted to buck the system, the fact is that as individuals who are way outnumbered by the majority, there is usually great social and economic cost to breaking the rules of the time, even if doing so might be legal. And Maher is right about this part of it for sure, namely that most people will not buck the majority, unless they are so rich and privileged that they can get away with it without surrendering their freedom and most of their financial comfort. Humans may not all be bad people, but most of them that I have met sure seem pretty selfish when it comes to bucking the system, if it would cost them much of anything, materially or even socially.... They not only want to keep all their stuff, they also want to be popular...

I've been saying this for years! EVERY ''great'' society has had slavery and we can't ''honor'' the Greeks, Romans, Jews, Egyptians, etc, without recognizing that slavery was the cornerstone of their prosperity. Go to Africa and talk to historians about the system used in many countries there....capture people in wars, use them to carry goods to market for sale to the Eastern and Western world and then, sell the slaves. Win/Win.

We have to face the fact that humans can do wonderful, compassionate, creative things....but also have a streak of cruelty, selfishness and bellicosity (is that a word?) which makes them so difficult.

@LucyLoohoo It is now. Yes, Yin/Yang even exists within us. I think because we seem to have an ability to self-reflect that we feel humans can rise above our negative traits but that's a ruse. We can't. The best we can do is understand their origin and try to tame them.

@rainmanjr I've wished SO MANY TIMES that our species had evolved from bonobos, rather than chimpanzees. Female led, bonobos solve every social problem with sex. (Yes...really.) Male led, chimps solve problems with horrendous violence. Not that chimps can't exhibit kindness and empathy, but it's not as common as bonobos' gentle life.

@LucyLoohoo I don't believe we evolved at all. Since we are caught in an illusion we are writing a script to explain the illusion and that includes a sense of history. The only real time is now so past didn't actually happen. It's a fake. I believe that life is consciousness, which demands experiential sensations, and those begin at birth. It ends when our electron's polarity changes and disengages from other electrons.
I'm telling you all that Zen Taoism solves many fights. That's why we seem so relaxed.

@rainmanjr You and I are coming from different directions here. I've spent 30-some years teaching primate evolution to physical anthropology students. If I understand you correctly, you're speaking on a more metaphysical level. BUT--I can bring us together in this way....bonobos are having sex dozens of time every day. They're full of endorphins...which is why they're so relaxed!

Totally agree with you Pam. He was actually pretty good on Friday night. Maybe he started “reading the room” with his fans and is making an adjustment with his comments??

@Redheadedgammy I hope we're right, Rhonda! He actually let his guests finish sentences, rather than just interrupting them the entire hour.

@LucyLoohoo Well, that’s a step in the right direction isn’t it?? Letting people finish their thought is just having manners after all!! Maybe Bill is learning some manners!!

@Redheadedgammy AND...sometimes, I think he's had a bit of weed and gets wired. Not that ANY of us would know ANYTHING about that!

@LucyLoohoo I think when he is a little high he is a lot nicer to his guests. He should think about doing that more often in my opinion.