As I said yesterday, the piece I trawled from the internet was worth reading; at least, I thought so.
But I wasn't quite happy with the argument as a whole. As arguments go, the conclusion was quite logical; & so I started to examine the premises the argument was constructed upon. & it was there that I think I found the fault. Lets see what you make of it.
As I pointed out yesterday, the argument & conclusions put forward could equally be applied to most organised religions & "isms"; indeed, this was the method of exposition used. &, I think, herein lies the flaw; not of argument, but of premise.
In order to more easily make sense of the world, we compartmentalise it; categorising & looking for patterns as we examine each discrete phenomenon. This works well with inanimate objects, & of course, is the basis of the scientific method which has given us this world of seemingly boundless possibilities. But does it work so efficiently when the objects of study are human?
Humans are of a dual nature: social, & individual; the herd & the hunter! & in that former role, as herd members, using the (pseudo)scientific method of categorical analysis may be of use, albeit limited. But to categorise individuals into groups & expect such analytical method to explain or predict behaviour of the individual by reference to group mores measured by some statistical analysis, for instance; however many such individuals within the group exhibit such behaviour, has a fundamental flaw.
In other words, to conclude from this argument: we might be on surer ground when examining our fellow humans if we treat them as individuals. Of course, its not possible to ignore certain social characteristics such as the obvious ones that we perceive with our senses immediately. But it may be helpful to push these perceptions to the back of our minds & examine the individual rather than the social attributes before judgement.
But I do take one of the conclusions, (not that this was a conclusion meant to be drawn). Namely, that the acquiescence of the majority allows the dangerous minority to represent, however falsely, the group purpose.
I picked this up from the internet. Although, at first sight, it appears to be yet another disguised diatribe against the islamist religion, it has some merit & is worth a read, I think.
Also, from my point of view, as one who dislikes & mistrusts all organised religions, except maybe, parts of buddhism, the following could be applied to all religions & "isms", including capitalism in some of its manifestations.
Anyway, see what you think!
The author of this is said to be Dr. Emanuel Tanay, a well-known
and well-respected psychiatrist.
A German's View on Islam
A man, whose family was German aristocracy prior to World War II,
owned a number of large industries and estates. When asked how many
German people were true Nazis, the answer he gave can guide our
attitude toward fanaticism.
'Very few people were true Nazis,' he said, 'but many enjoyed the
return of German pride, and many more were too busy to care.
I was one of those who just thought the Nazis were a bunch of fools.
So, the majority just sat back and let it all happen. Then, before
we knew it, they owned us, and we had lost control, and the end of the
world had come. My family lost everything. I ended up in a
concentration camp and the Allies destroyed my factories.'
We are told again and again by 'experts' and 'talking heads' that
Islam is the religion of peace and that the vast majority of Muslims
just want to live in peace. Although this unqualified assertion may
be true, it is entirely irrelevant. It is meaningless fluff, meant
to make us feel better, and meant to somehow diminish the spectre of
fanatics rampaging across the globe in the name of Islam.
The fact is that the fanatics rule Islam at this moment in history.
It is the fanatics who march. It is the fanatics who wage any one of
50 shooting wars worldwide. It is the fanatics who systematically
slaughter Christian or tribal groups throughout Africa and are
gradually taking over the entire continent in an Islamic wave. It is
the fanatics who bomb, behead, murder, or honour-kill. It is the
fanatics who take over mosque after mosque. It is the fanatics who
zealously spread the stoning and hanging of rape victims and
homosexuals. It is the fanatics who teach their young to kill and to
become suicide bombers.
The hard, quantifiable fact is that the peaceful majority, the 'silent
majority,' is cowed and extraneous.
Communist Russia was comprised of Russians who just wanted to live in
peace, yet the Russian Communists were responsible for the murder of
about 40 million people. The peaceful majority were irrelevant.
China's huge population was peaceful as well, but Chinese Communists
managed to kill a staggering 70 million people.
The average Japanese individual prior to World War II was not a
warmongering sadist. Yet, Japan murdered and slaughtered its way
across South East Asia in an orgy of killing that included the
systematic murder of 12 million Chinese civilians; most killed by
sword, shovel, and bayonet.
And who can forget Rwanda , which collapsed into butchery. Could it
not be said that the majority of Rwandans were 'peace loving'?
History lessons are often incredibly simple and blunt, yet for all our
powers of reason, we often miss the most basic and uncomplicated of
points:
a.. Peace-loving Muslims have been made irrelevant by their silence.
b.. Peace-loving Muslims will become our enemy if they don't speak
up, because like my friend from Germany , they will awaken one day and
find that the fanatics own them, and the end of their world will have
begun.
c.. Peace-loving Germans, Japanese, Chinese, Russians, Rwandans,
Serbs, Afghans, Iraqis, Palestinians, Somalis, Nigerians, Algerians,
and many others have died because the peaceful majority did not speak
up until it was too late. As for us who watch it all unfold, we must
pay attention to the only group that counts--the fanatics who threaten
our way of life.
Lastly, anyone who doubts that the issue is serious and just deletes
this email without sending it on, is contributing to the passiveness
that allows the problems to expand. So, extend yourself a bit and
send this on and on and on! Let us hope that thousands, world-wide,
read this and think about it, and send it on - before it's too late.
So they're going to make a film of it! Still, I suppose its much like our ancestors making up songs about heroic exploits, or great disasters. Even so, it gives you an uncomfortable feeling, doesn't it?
Either Bg is cleaning up its act now or there's that much corruption that its spilling over into the public domain> Lets "watch this space for further attractions"!
I've got a slight disease I picked up from the internet. Its called appomitis. But don't worry chaps, I've got some tabs from the docs. Soon be cured (when I've worked this Amplify app out!)>
Once more, bankers, politicians, top executives, dictators; all have creamed the top off the wealth created by the labour of many, & in an evermore overcrowded world. Which facts, of course, leave the poor sods at the base of the pyramid of shite, even less to starve on. Not that robbing the fat-cats & redistributing their wealth amongst the poor would make more than a few days difference of life to the latter; but for sure, it would make dying easier, Knowing that those bastards were either coming on the same train, or following on the next one! (Which is probably a major motivation to the Libyan protesters marching & dying as I write).
Once more, bankers, politicians, top executives, dictators; all have creamed the top off the wealth created by the labour of many, & in an evermore overcrowded world. Which facts, of course, leave the poor sods at the base of the pyramid of shite, even less to starve on. Not that robbing the fat-cats & redistributing their wealth amongst the poor would make more than a few days difference of life to the latter; but for sure, it would make dying easier, Knowing that those bastards were either coming on the same train, or following on the next one! (Which is probably a major motivation to the Libyan protesters marching & dying as I write).
There's nothing new in any of this, of course: greed is a perennial weed (& there's the start of a rap, if ever there was one!). But every so often, it raises its shitface & becomes obvious. & so: 2008 to 2011 & beyond!
& there isn't a damned thing to do about it! Change the world? It's been tried, by religion, by isms, by hippies, etc., etc., etc.. & every time, the purity at the start soon gets sullied by that peculiarity of the human condition: greed; both personal & social. Us humans: a mixture of the herd & the hunter; we herd together, & hunt each other!
& the humanists among us hope fondly that we will evolve into a more moral species? Maybe; but evolution is a bloody long haul, chaps! Desperate times, indeed!
Even so, we have evolved sufficiently onward & upward(?) to invent good red wine! So, maybe, there's hope on the far horizon! Red wine in tablet form, at least!
As an Aussie conman said to me, by email, recently: Gooday!
In my 68th year of life, & in shamefully rude health (although a light,4 a day, smoker, but a moderately heavy, 1 bottle a day, red wine drinker), I nevertheless muse occasionally on how I'll finally cock my clogs. In common with all us old fuckers, I hope to go quickly when satan knocks, & remain healthy until . So it was with some faint stirring of panic(?) that I listened to R4 Today this morning, & the horrific tale of someone's mum, & the awful lack of care she received at her demise.
Now the only personal experiences I have had so far of hospitals & nurses are 1) a morning in hosp. when I had my wedding tackle disabled (insofar as its procreative abilities lay), & 2) an instructive dalliance with a nurse in Newmarket in my late 20's. But those 2 clashes may not be the last! & so I offer the following as "ideas for perusal" for those wiser & mightier than I; (assuming any buggar reads this at all, at all).
1. Nurses in geriatric wards.
Should not be under, say 35/40 years old. After all, I would not consider it reasonable to ask a young woman to perform personal hygiene services on me, now; let alone at 92!
2. Drinking & eating.
Surely to god we have the technology to semi-automate these functions to some extent without a human having to be present. To which latter, if we can effectively surveille hoodies in shopping malls surely we can a poor old soul in a bed! So is increased technology part of the answer to staffing & its efficient use?
3.But lastly: Cocking one's clogs.
Since we can't all afford a short holiday in Switzerland, & since also the NHS is as poor as the proverbial, can the govt. get its ass into gear regarding euthanasia? After all Dave, you're running round in ever-decreasing wotsits now trying to find services to cut. Have you thought of life itself?
Onward & upward Dave, to your big society in the sky! & I hope I get there before you! In order to prepare the way for you, of course!
