Time
for my monthly data dump. Here are some more ideas that I put aside
for later use that, now that I'm facing reality, I'll never have a
chance to develop. I think of things I want to say faster than I can
say them, and I don't want to increase the rate at which I publish my
blogs,i
so I leave it to you. Let me know if you use anything.
-
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Martyrs
– Last week
(from when this was written, not from when it appears) 148 university students were killed in Kenya. They were murdered for
no other reason than they were Christian. They were martyred by
Muslims from Somalia.
Muslim
groups, on the other hand, declare any of their coreligionists who
dies in one of his group's actions a martyr. The designation applies
even if the individual soldier is killed while acting as a suicide
bomber in the midst of killing as many enemies as possible. (An
enemy is anyone who disagrees with the killer in terms of religion or
politics.) Other martyrs are Muslim children forced to be in the
line of fire when actual soldiers are fighting.
Who
is a martyr? Does anyone who dies as a result of religious wars
qualify? The concept and the term require clarification.
If
you can't stand the humidity, get out of the shwitz.iv
– The paraphrase of Harry Truman brings up visions of politicians
playing “hardball.” We're faced with images of competition and,
even moreso, by the ability to ignore sensitivity: both by the one
who deals out the “humidity” and the one at whom it is aimed. If
either of them lacks a “thick skin,” he'd better look for another
line of work.v
Dealing
with pressure is an important part of almost any enterprise. The
ability is vital not just in politics, but in competitive sports,
business, and school. In fact it's critical wherever there's a
deadline.vi
In addition, I sometimes think that there's always competition,
whenever two people are interacting there's an urge to do better than
the other – or at least to one-up him. There's no easy way to deal
with life's pressures. Or is there?
Religious
rights and discrimination – The brouhaha over the religious
rights act in Indiana and the federal law on which it's based can't
be viewed as any more than an extension of our decision to outlaw
“hate speech.” I've expressed my reservations about that policy
many times (see especially “Boy Scouts Lite” – August 25,
2013).
It's
worth exploring where religious rights trump laws against
discrimination and the reverse. Does the government have the option
and authority to dictate what people believe and how they will put
their beliefs into action? Does it have the right to prohibit
“discrimination” of citizens, or do individuals have leave to act
in an offensive manner? Does rite make right? I've weighed in on
the subject before and I'd be interested in the views of others.
Feel free to speak your mind. As long as you don't harm me
physically, I can take what you dish out. At least I think I can.vii
Peace
and war – I'm against peace. I'm
sick and tired of it – at least as expressed by its voluble
advocates who accuse those who might not mindlessly fall in line with
their beliefs of being war-mongers. I'm dismayed by those who
propose it. It's not that I favor war. I'm opposed to that as well.
But, sadly, there are those who use their power to impose their
views on others looking for a “cause,” and rely on the immature
and those who advocate “peace at any price” to intimidate their
opponents. They employ those who follow their teachings as “useful
idiots.”viii
Their shills are so caught up in the rhetoric and the slogans that
they don't stop to analyze what they're repeating. It's a form of
populism – the form that allows a demagogue to frame the
conversation and then fill in the picture himself. Actually, it's
fanaticism. Eric Hoffer wrote about the phenomenon,ix
and I cannot rid myself of the fear that he was right and thought
will ultimately give way to charisma. Who knows how it will play
out?
-
- - - - - - - - - - - -
There's
nothing very original here, but these are issue that have been on my
mind. I'm sure I'm not the only one bothered by them, but there are
other things on my mind as well and, for the moment, they take
precedence.
Next episode: "Present
Perfect –
Now Is The Time"
–
Now is
the time.
I Lest
I lose the one or two readers I have.
ii It
seems so recently.
iii Freud
and Oedipus are not to be denied.
iv Steam
room.
v Not
just the receiver, because the roles will be reversed soon enough.
vi It's
not my problem. I write these essays long in advance, and I'm a
hermit and retired. So I don't have to watch my back.
vii The
Little Engine That Could is
the story most associated with this statement but, according to what
I've read, it first appeared in 1902 in a journal, and was penned by
an unknown author. There were many tellings of the tale, but the
most famous had, on its title page, “Retold
by Watty Piper from The Pony Engine by Mabel C. Bragg's copyrighted
by George H. Doran and Co." [Watty Piper was the pen name of
Arnold Munk, owner of Platt & Munk.]
viii The
term was coined by Vladimir Lenin. He employed many of them to
popularize his teachings.
ix The
True Believer, 1951.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I know you agree, but you can leave comments anyway.