Wednesday, September 8, 2010

I See Your Point; but It Is Like Dropping the Soap In A Prison Shower

There is not question that a double standard exists in any number cases worldwide. One glaring case is the one of what happens if you insult in whatever way any shade of Islam, as opposed to other religions.

The Gainesville guy's grandstanding does make that point. He's a small time nobody in the world of Christianity and America. A congregation of 50. But just the mention of burning the wrong book has made him famous worldwide. And it has brought very real threats that reprisals against any Americans anywhere may result.

Others can burn our flag, the Bible, make fun of Buddha, Hindus, and on and on, with, at most, only a small local reaction. Whether it is the radical element or mainstream, often indistinguishable, the Islamic world tends to overreact. Death frequently results. People died over cartoons that were in no way as over the top as some Jesus type drawings I've seen.

All religions have their radicals. But there are more people who've come out of the woodwork to condemn this guy, and from his own religion, than the entire world of Islam when it comes to contracts on authors etc. Just a thing to note.

That changes nothing. It actually paints a better picture of the reality. For this Terry Jones to actually burn the Koran and get publicity doing it is like dropping the soap in a group shower with one of those weird prison guys who enjoys initiating the innocent into violent homosexuality. Don't drop the soap, and if you do, leave it there. That doesn't make it right that prisons let this hapen or that people do such things. It is the way it is.

So, Terry, the very fact that these people are lunatics, zealots and whatever does nothing but ensure that your plan would endanger people who are already in the shower with them. Doesn't make it right. Not how it ought to be. Wait until we are out of harm's way, then have at it.

Good luck. The powers that be will never let us get free of limited wars and insanity in unworkable situations. Stability requires stable people and those who want it. Will not happen over there. Maybe not here. So, for now, your plan is just not a good idea. People will blame you for what they do. It's like getting blamed for the theft of your car because you did not lock it. It is nuts and wrong, but that is how people think.

Chances are lower that the car gets lifted if you lock it. No guarantee, just odds.

Haunted and Daunted; but not a goner yet

Today I wonder if anything I think makes sense is even remotely valid What haunts me is hard to define, and harder to shake. It could be I am only capable of being a serf. If someone isn't telling me what to do, I have no assigned function, I tend to flounder like a kite when the string breaks. That goes against my entire belief system.

On the other hand, when I am in the feudal mainstream, I find myself often at odds, at least internally, with the decisions, ethics and methods of the ruling entity. Not out of pure oppositional disorder, but based on reason, beliefs and my view of practicality. So, why, when there are no real barriers against taking steps toward self created endeavors do I lose confidence?

Maybe it is easier to be critic than creator because you have a clear starting point. Easier to improve upon a thing than to dream it up from scratch, I guess.

That leads me to wonder if freedom is really the comfortable condition for most of humanity. Maybe most people are not suited for freedom. Just basing it on my own difficulties, and from observing what goes on around me. People like to find some thing to which to be be loyal, obedient. The value and wisdom of such loyalty is a secondary concern, if a concern at all. Just look at it.

It is not uncommon for people to get violent over someone not supporting their sports team. They will also become violent over someone questioning the union's policies, or even their company's practices. The list of ways to choose a team for attaching loyalty is endless. That need for a tribal allegiance even works in the gang mentality. Maybe especially in gang mentality.

One thing all those things do is provide a prescribed belief and behavior. It matters not if there is a point. Really, why would it be worth fighting if I go to Green Bay and say I am not fond of the Packers? (I actually like the Packers--just an example. Call off the hit men). It's fun to pull for a team, but in practice these things go over the line. It s encouraged--blind loyalty based upon something other than actual values or substance. If gives some framework for knowing what to do at any given moment. Doesn't matter if there is a good point. You get a reward, however vague or small.

That's why, if you've been conditioned to cooperate and be obedient, you may find it much easier to be an employee rather than an employer or self employed. Maybe there is a legitimately elite class who are destined to rule, and the rest of us are just not capable of running our own lives. When I look at what I assume to be personal under achievement, I wonder if trying to fight this fact and the fact that I am not likely to escape the mentality of serf have not created great harm and sadness in my life.

Maybe I just have one foot in the conditioning and one in the mentality of self actuated endeavor, and the only hope is to shake one of those mentalities completely. As it is, they clash and leave me stifled, stagnant and ready to cash it in and give up.

Must be a vitamin deficiency.

About Me

My photo
Ballistic Mountain, CA, United States
Like spring on a summer's day

Followers

Blog Archive