I have said it before and I will say it again and I will not stop until the people of the United States understand one basic fact. TRUMP IS FOLLOWING HITLERS PLAY BOOK. Do you want to live through Nazi Germany all over again? Are you willing to see American people in concentration camps. It starts innocently enough. Just those people we will put in the camps. Then one day it starts. If you open your mouth they throw you in a camp also. Then it becomes a bigger solution. Then they start rounding up other undesirables. Then one day it is your neighbor who has done nothing wrong in his life, except he belongs to a certain group which the government says is not a recognized group. Then another person you know who complained about the government was picked up by a new group that works for the President but you have never heard of them. But this time the person they got did not get to any camp or jail. They say he resisted arrest and now he is dead. And so it goes. Little by little one person at a time until they come for you. But now no one will speak up because they do not want to get arrested. And so it goes until one day you realize this is the same climate that was Nazi Germany, and you realize you are living through it yourself. But it is too late to say or do anything because the camps are everywhere and they are overcrowded with people. They are overcrowded with American citizens whose only crimes were they said something or did something or belonged to a group that the President did not like. Now it is too late. Because they just came for you.
If you don't do something now to stop Trump this is something you might see soon. If the least of us are not protected then the rest of us are not protected and freedom dies. Do something before it is too late for you.
"Why not love, peace, compassion." .... Such manifestations require putting others, indeed all else, before one's self. Natural instinct of life forms appears to lie contrary to that. Indeed, the major 'life force', if I may use that term, is one of survival, generally individual survival and, less frequently, plus only when it serves to enhance the chances of the individual, collective survival.
As resources are generally scarce, there will inevitably be competition for them and the degree to which they are shared, stolen, fought over or in some other way distributed will benefit some and detriment others. The scarcer are the resources, the greater will a sense of caring, trust, sharing or even 'self-control' be abandoned for actions aimed at obtaining resources, regardless of the needs of others.
"Love, compassion, and self-control are constructive attributes of a healthy democracy". ... That may be the case and I would consider it desirable, however such attributes are not a necessity for "a healthy democracy."
Democracy is a flawed and misunderstood concept. It is a political system, i.e. a process or organisation of society such that a population is controlled and ordered according to rules or codes or laws, commonly assumed to reflect the will of the whole population but in reality, that notion never having been the case. Democracies have always been political systems in which the mass of the population are controlled by elites. In most if not all cases, they also have always excluded some from any participation or representation.
Equality and equity, (not uncommonly juxtaposed) have never existed as a holistic characteristic of democracies or, indeed, any other political system. Human beings are social animals and so tend to congregate in groups. Science has shown us that once a group reaches a population of around 30 members, it necessitates some form of hierarchy if it is to continue to function and grow.
"Love" is largely a euphemism for a variety of feelings, emotions and relationship behaviours. It no longer has any real meaning, if indeed it ever had. "Empathy" is a far more useful term to describe what many consider to be the wholesome idea expressed by 'love'. Unfortunately, empathy is rare and the illusions, delusions or perversion, (whether intentional or accidental), of 'love' in a materialistic, self-serving, greedy and manipulated world does not promote 'empathy' but detracts from it, hence the obnoxious ethnic, gender, class and other prejudices, not least that of the ever continual diminution of the status, role and freedoms of girls and women in society.
"Compassion" requires putting others before one's self. As I indicated earlier, there are human instincts which mitigate against this, regardless of human intelligence and/or intellect which can and does, for some, allow them to recognise the importance of overcoming the very selfishness of that instinct.
"Peace" is valued probably by the majority of the general populace. However, there are many for whom 'might is right', particularly in relation to desirable aspects of masculinity, is more important. Indeed, competitive instinct and desire for more in order to facilitate a perceived, (yet usually delusional), greater level of control over one's life, virtually guarantee that conflict, including physical conflitc will be a fact of life.
When one adds the pre-eminence of Hierarchies, inequities, desire, greed and accidents of birth, parentage, geography, geo-political conditions and natural aberrations or deficiencies, let alone resentments, feuds, remembered or actual wrongs, etc. and the stories of oral tradition, dance, art, literature, drama and the ubiquitous writing of history by the victors, it is not surprising that undercurrents of suspicion, mistrust, dislike, even 'hatred', continue in groups (populations or parts of them), in spite of what may appear to be friendly and peaceful relations on the surface.
So, the absence and unlikelihood of "love, peace and compassion" becoming the ubiquitous nature of even one population, let alone the whole world community, is neither hard to understand nor likely to eventuate.
Given the white-washing of arch criminals such as Netanyahu, the demagoguery and self-aggrandisement of Trump, Putin and others and the continuously increasing disparity in the size of the gap between the materially wealthy and the the materially poor - and all that implies for their status and participation and vulnerability - the models presented to society are predominantly disgraceful, perverted and unhealthy - whether in democracies, theocracies, autocracies, oligarchies or dictatorships. That they benefit those within the controlling cadres, virtually guarantees that they will not change for it is not in the interest of those with control that they do so. Given either the inability or unwillingness of these controlling people to recognise that they are destroying the world and humanity itself, it is doubtful that humanity will survive past the end of this century, let alone see another millennium.
Indeed, the notion of 'people power', although having some merit and evidence that it can accomplish change at some level in the short term, is absent of serious evidence that it has ever produced, for any significant length of term, let alone permanently, a more equitable, morally sound, compassionate and caring society.
Having said all that, as a nobody who know nothing, I can only suggest that each of us will benefit from building empathy by sharing, caring, exercising compassion and as well as we can, resisting temptation to indulge acquisitiveness, entitlement, fame, status, control or wealth. - These supposed attributes of 'success' are not such. They are the delusions fed to the mass in order to keep them at least minimally satisfied and, when in conflict it being with one another rather than with those who control.
Peace will be found in kindness and in nature, in compassion and in caring. In service rather than privilege. In the tiny action of help and good spirit towards another. Not by allowing the delusion to fool you.
Thanks for your thoughtful comments, Roger. I generally agree with you.
Consider the following— that the concept of "scarcity" is driven by fear. When we examine the planetary resources, what makes for poverty is greed and the seeking of comfort. We desire and consume and waste far more than we actually need for survival. This is evident in the widespread income and wealth disparity. Humanity's success as a specie has been based on collaboration. Each of us depends on resources harvested or made by someone else— and that is evident in every field, such as health, food production, and technology.
As for the rest of your entry, I think that we are close to alignment if we acknowledge the role of semantics and nuance in terminology inherent in human communication.
The things that you and I are discussing are the product of the continuing development of our compassion. It seems that progress is 2 steps forward and 1 back. But in my opinion, it is up to us, even in our ignorance, to continue to dream and work to build a more compassionate and, indeed, loving society. If we believe and pursue this vision we become a force to counterbalance power and greed.
One final thought: even a flawed democracy allows the expression and pursuit of a variety of viewpoints that take us asymptotically closer to the truth. In that journey we must proceed open-minded and with humility— we are far from perfect and omniscient.
I look forward to further exchanges with you, Roger.
I have said it before and I will say it again and I will not stop until the people of the United States understand one basic fact. TRUMP IS FOLLOWING HITLERS PLAY BOOK. Do you want to live through Nazi Germany all over again? Are you willing to see American people in concentration camps. It starts innocently enough. Just those people we will put in the camps. Then one day it starts. If you open your mouth they throw you in a camp also. Then it becomes a bigger solution. Then they start rounding up other undesirables. Then one day it is your neighbor who has done nothing wrong in his life, except he belongs to a certain group which the government says is not a recognized group. Then another person you know who complained about the government was picked up by a new group that works for the President but you have never heard of them. But this time the person they got did not get to any camp or jail. They say he resisted arrest and now he is dead. And so it goes. Little by little one person at a time until they come for you. But now no one will speak up because they do not want to get arrested. And so it goes until one day you realize this is the same climate that was Nazi Germany, and you realize you are living through it yourself. But it is too late to say or do anything because the camps are everywhere and they are overcrowded with people. They are overcrowded with American citizens whose only crimes were they said something or did something or belonged to a group that the President did not like. Now it is too late. Because they just came for you.
If you don't do something now to stop Trump this is something you might see soon. If the least of us are not protected then the rest of us are not protected and freedom dies. Do something before it is too late for you.
Thank you, Daniel. You are totally correct. We must vocalize our resistance each day.
"Why not love, peace, compassion." .... Such manifestations require putting others, indeed all else, before one's self. Natural instinct of life forms appears to lie contrary to that. Indeed, the major 'life force', if I may use that term, is one of survival, generally individual survival and, less frequently, plus only when it serves to enhance the chances of the individual, collective survival.
As resources are generally scarce, there will inevitably be competition for them and the degree to which they are shared, stolen, fought over or in some other way distributed will benefit some and detriment others. The scarcer are the resources, the greater will a sense of caring, trust, sharing or even 'self-control' be abandoned for actions aimed at obtaining resources, regardless of the needs of others.
"Love, compassion, and self-control are constructive attributes of a healthy democracy". ... That may be the case and I would consider it desirable, however such attributes are not a necessity for "a healthy democracy."
Democracy is a flawed and misunderstood concept. It is a political system, i.e. a process or organisation of society such that a population is controlled and ordered according to rules or codes or laws, commonly assumed to reflect the will of the whole population but in reality, that notion never having been the case. Democracies have always been political systems in which the mass of the population are controlled by elites. In most if not all cases, they also have always excluded some from any participation or representation.
Equality and equity, (not uncommonly juxtaposed) have never existed as a holistic characteristic of democracies or, indeed, any other political system. Human beings are social animals and so tend to congregate in groups. Science has shown us that once a group reaches a population of around 30 members, it necessitates some form of hierarchy if it is to continue to function and grow.
"Love" is largely a euphemism for a variety of feelings, emotions and relationship behaviours. It no longer has any real meaning, if indeed it ever had. "Empathy" is a far more useful term to describe what many consider to be the wholesome idea expressed by 'love'. Unfortunately, empathy is rare and the illusions, delusions or perversion, (whether intentional or accidental), of 'love' in a materialistic, self-serving, greedy and manipulated world does not promote 'empathy' but detracts from it, hence the obnoxious ethnic, gender, class and other prejudices, not least that of the ever continual diminution of the status, role and freedoms of girls and women in society.
"Compassion" requires putting others before one's self. As I indicated earlier, there are human instincts which mitigate against this, regardless of human intelligence and/or intellect which can and does, for some, allow them to recognise the importance of overcoming the very selfishness of that instinct.
"Peace" is valued probably by the majority of the general populace. However, there are many for whom 'might is right', particularly in relation to desirable aspects of masculinity, is more important. Indeed, competitive instinct and desire for more in order to facilitate a perceived, (yet usually delusional), greater level of control over one's life, virtually guarantee that conflict, including physical conflitc will be a fact of life.
When one adds the pre-eminence of Hierarchies, inequities, desire, greed and accidents of birth, parentage, geography, geo-political conditions and natural aberrations or deficiencies, let alone resentments, feuds, remembered or actual wrongs, etc. and the stories of oral tradition, dance, art, literature, drama and the ubiquitous writing of history by the victors, it is not surprising that undercurrents of suspicion, mistrust, dislike, even 'hatred', continue in groups (populations or parts of them), in spite of what may appear to be friendly and peaceful relations on the surface.
So, the absence and unlikelihood of "love, peace and compassion" becoming the ubiquitous nature of even one population, let alone the whole world community, is neither hard to understand nor likely to eventuate.
Given the white-washing of arch criminals such as Netanyahu, the demagoguery and self-aggrandisement of Trump, Putin and others and the continuously increasing disparity in the size of the gap between the materially wealthy and the the materially poor - and all that implies for their status and participation and vulnerability - the models presented to society are predominantly disgraceful, perverted and unhealthy - whether in democracies, theocracies, autocracies, oligarchies or dictatorships. That they benefit those within the controlling cadres, virtually guarantees that they will not change for it is not in the interest of those with control that they do so. Given either the inability or unwillingness of these controlling people to recognise that they are destroying the world and humanity itself, it is doubtful that humanity will survive past the end of this century, let alone see another millennium.
Indeed, the notion of 'people power', although having some merit and evidence that it can accomplish change at some level in the short term, is absent of serious evidence that it has ever produced, for any significant length of term, let alone permanently, a more equitable, morally sound, compassionate and caring society.
Having said all that, as a nobody who know nothing, I can only suggest that each of us will benefit from building empathy by sharing, caring, exercising compassion and as well as we can, resisting temptation to indulge acquisitiveness, entitlement, fame, status, control or wealth. - These supposed attributes of 'success' are not such. They are the delusions fed to the mass in order to keep them at least minimally satisfied and, when in conflict it being with one another rather than with those who control.
Peace will be found in kindness and in nature, in compassion and in caring. In service rather than privilege. In the tiny action of help and good spirit towards another. Not by allowing the delusion to fool you.
Thanks for your thoughtful comments, Roger. I generally agree with you.
Consider the following— that the concept of "scarcity" is driven by fear. When we examine the planetary resources, what makes for poverty is greed and the seeking of comfort. We desire and consume and waste far more than we actually need for survival. This is evident in the widespread income and wealth disparity. Humanity's success as a specie has been based on collaboration. Each of us depends on resources harvested or made by someone else— and that is evident in every field, such as health, food production, and technology.
As for the rest of your entry, I think that we are close to alignment if we acknowledge the role of semantics and nuance in terminology inherent in human communication.
The things that you and I are discussing are the product of the continuing development of our compassion. It seems that progress is 2 steps forward and 1 back. But in my opinion, it is up to us, even in our ignorance, to continue to dream and work to build a more compassionate and, indeed, loving society. If we believe and pursue this vision we become a force to counterbalance power and greed.
One final thought: even a flawed democracy allows the expression and pursuit of a variety of viewpoints that take us asymptotically closer to the truth. In that journey we must proceed open-minded and with humility— we are far from perfect and omniscient.
I look forward to further exchanges with you, Roger.
Cheers to love, peace, compassion, self-control, and a healthy democracy
Thank you for your support.
Good question at the end. Hopefully no more than 2 years but hopefully by April 1, 2025 ( an appropriate day for what we are seeing.