tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2339887325088118562.post7864566470172135052..comments2023-10-08T05:08:17.744-04:00Comments on The Missing Point: Are we courageous enough to face the why?Missing Pointhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04467354109119988365noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2339887325088118562.post-44416659148912948242013-02-10T12:16:44.425-05:002013-02-10T12:16:44.425-05:00All ideologies are false gods; that is what an ido...All ideologies are false gods; that is what an idol is. As for the article, it is well written and gratefully received; but most of us know all this already. The point isn't missed, at least not by my 72 year old self, demonstrating against war since 1968. However, I have come to believe that war is a component part of our multiplicity of human "nature," (intellectual, sexual, rational, survivalist, aesthetic, productive, et al), just as killing is a part of all animal nature that eats any sort of living thing (except perhaps plants.) I think the internet is going to replace most social movements and many ideologies, such as socialism, fascism, etc., with something totally new and unpredictable; it already has. Look at Anonymous, which, besides hacking into valuable information, is wise never to show its real faces. Ideas exist before life, as Plato said. They are essences, and humans only can discover and imitate them with art, merely moving materials and concepts around that already existed, but never approaching the essence, for example, of beauty, except through imitation and representation. We are imperfect, we will always be imperfect, and war will last for as long as humans encourage that part of their nature. It will never vanish, and moralizing about it is a zero sum game. And then there is the planet Earth itself, which has a way of purging itself of diseases. <br />We are told that we should not judge; this is misleading and false, because judgement is part of the reasoning process. Rather, let us teach not to judge harshly. And you are absolutely right: we need to hear completely and understand the Why of all this. People do not blow themselves up for no reason. Thanks for the article.mikehavenar.blogspot.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07460617293025740069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2339887325088118562.post-45539226841534169562012-12-30T09:52:20.010-05:002012-12-30T09:52:20.010-05:00CHERRY-PICKING TRAITS AND EMOTIONS:
Anonymous (De...CHERRY-PICKING TRAITS AND EMOTIONS:<br /><br />Anonymous (December 24, 2012 10:48 PM) writes, “...that is the nature of living things (competing for resources)...”<br />____________________<br /><br />CAPITALISM is all about COLLABORATION.<br /><br />(Capitalism is not about competition, as so many of us believe.)<br /><br />The premise of COLLABORATION as capitalism’s foundation can be discovered in the first two pages of THE WEALTH OF NATIONS, which text is freely and readily available online.<br /><br />You can find it here:<br /><br />[http://www.econlib.org/library/Smith/smWN.html]<br />___________________<br /><br />Adam Smith’s world-view is based on the general HUMAN DESIRE TO DO GOOD.<br /><br />Smith fleshes out this view in his first book, A THEORY OF MORAL SENTIMENTS.<br /><br />You can find this book here:<br /><br />[http://www.econlib.org/library/Smith/smMS.html]<br />____________________<br /><br />According to Smith, we humans thrive on doing good for one another. And collaboration and cooperation, as developed into capitalism, give us the best mechanism for doing the greatest good.<br /><br />Here’s what the Adam Smith Institute has to say about Smith’s first book:<br /><br />“The Theory Of Moral Sentiments...a real scientific breakthrough....shows that our moral ideas and actions are a product of our very nature as social creatures....Self-interest and sympathy. As individuals, we have a natural tendency to look after ourselves....And yet as social creatures, explains Smith, we are also endowed with a natural sympathy—today we would say empathy—towards others. When we see others distressed or happy, we feel for them—albeit less strongly.” <br /><br />[http://www.adamsmith.org/moral-sentiements]<br />____________________<br /><br />Those who believe that COMPETITION underlies and drives capitalism are sadly misinformed.<br /><br />And those who believe that GREED and EXPLOITATION could possibly serve the forces of GOOD are not serving the Creator they believe they are serving.<br />____________________<br /><br />In terms relevant to our Christian brethren, this is about as politely as it can be expressed:<br /><br />Conservative ideology serves a false god.<br /><br />Regards,<br />(($; -)}<br />Gozo!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2339887325088118562.post-65938443844240811212012-12-25T00:02:54.584-05:002012-12-25T00:02:54.584-05:00Thank you Anonymous!
I think I understand what yo...Thank you Anonymous!<br /><br />I think I understand what you are getting at in terms of the historical context of the US - but I tend to think of that context as a construct rather than a given. I wrote more about this construct (independence, competition and the work ethic) in an earlier post: <br /><br />http://whatisthemissingpoint.blogspot.com/2012/08/other-observations-on-for-occupy.html<br /><br />As you might gather from reading that post I don't subscribe to the belief that the nature of living things is to compete for resources (or to respond with violence for that matter - as I have often heard said). There are abundant examples of cooperation in nature, but I believe we are conditioned to focus only on competition because it allows the powers that be to maintain control over us. The more intensely we compete with each other, the less likely it is that we will recognize our common oppression. <br /><br />I'm not sure I understand your reference to "another kind of civil war" - can you elaborate? Civil war between whom?Missing Pointhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04467354109119988365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2339887325088118562.post-10147776422609943082012-12-24T22:48:22.625-05:002012-12-24T22:48:22.625-05:00Very nicely written article. Isn't this all ju...Very nicely written article. Isn't this all just part of the historical nature of the US. The US is a frontier, it was formed through overt violence, revolution etc, people who fled Europe because there was the opportunity to regain control of their lives or create a new life. It is a region of potential opportunity. That is the reason why. The issue is more to do with the lack of certainty for people trying to live their lives. The high expectations for people in the US to achieve is now more competitive than ever. So some end up responding in a primeval way. In someways this could be interpreted as another kind of civil war for the US. Perhaps only time can fix this, perhaps it can never be fixed because that is the nature of living things(competing for resources), it just goes in cycles.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2339887325088118562.post-1151001278156246942012-12-23T20:38:46.919-05:002012-12-23T20:38:46.919-05:00Assuming this is the same "Anonymous," a...Assuming this is the same "Anonymous," are you genuinely interested in having a dialogue? You didn’t respond to my question. To answer yours - you could start with this:<br />http://whatisthemissingpoint.blogspot.com/2012/10/coke-or-pepsi.htmlMissing Pointhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04467354109119988365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2339887325088118562.post-25615659118737263752012-12-23T19:17:23.199-05:002012-12-23T19:17:23.199-05:00"Perhaps we have to modify the voting process..."Perhaps we have to modify the voting process itself in order to allow more truthful candidates to come forward so that we CAN actually vote for them, and/or modify the process so that we are not constricted to voting for the 'better of two evils.'"<br /><br />Modify how?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2339887325088118562.post-38960043299403244032012-12-23T02:37:50.234-05:002012-12-23T02:37:50.234-05:00Thanks for your reply :)
Well - any of the points...Thanks for your reply :)<br /><br />Well - any of the points raised throughout the rest of my post could be a place to start. All of the things that I mention as factors that influence how we think could be reversed and elaborated on, quite possibly to great effect. For example, what would happen if, rather than accepting (and simply complaining about) our politicians telling half-truths and lies, we held them accountable and voted them out? Or if we only voted for politicians that level with the American people and speak to them in a way that is clearly non-manipulative? Perhaps we have to modify the voting process itself in order to allow more truthful candidates to come forward so that we CAN actually vote for them, and/or modify the process so that we are not constricted to voting for the “better of two evils.” And on and on... You can pretty much go through my entire post line by line and come up with these kind of starting points. What I’m getting at is it’s really up to all of us to come up with the alternatives. I'm trying to get the ball rolling by calling attention to some of the things here that I think get overlooked in the rush to “resolve the crisis.” The most “obvious” solutions are often more familiar to us only because someone has a significant stake in them coming to pass, and has therefore gone to great lengths to promote them to us to begin with. These solutions may or may not be in our best interest... So, what alternatives come to mind for you?Missing Pointhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04467354109119988365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2339887325088118562.post-87892073241380544342012-12-22T23:12:04.485-05:002012-12-22T23:12:04.485-05:00Okay, what are YOUR "creative" and "...Okay, what are YOUR "creative" and "sensible" alternatives?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com