Existential Ennui

~ Searching for Meaning Amid the Chaos

Existential Ennui

Tag Archives: morality

Violence and Pacifism, An Either Or Proposition?

13 Saturday Dec 2014

Posted by Sherry in Brain Vacuuming, Editorials, Philosophy, War/Military, World History

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

morality, torture, War

04torture_span-articleLargeLet’s be clear. I have no answers here. I have questions and beliefs, and that is all. I’m not suggesting what we should do, other than have this conversation, no matter how unpleasant and uncomfortable it makes us.

Anyone who suggests there are easy answers, or who whats to “leave it to the experts” and sweep it under the rug of “not my pay grade” be damned. You can’t avoid your complicity by refusing to be a part of the issue.

The discussion of war/pacifism, torture, rules of war, and so on, have confronted the human mind since the beginning of human interactions. While a certain defense of one’s personal integrity seems genetically normal, beyond that, we argue through the ages about how much is too much, when, and how?

As I said, there are no easy answers. It is for instance easy for me to come down on the side of pacifism, since it is my natural proclivity to choose life over harm to every and all creatures. Yet as a carnivores, I am immediately confronted with my hypocrisy, though I can respond quickly with “well exactly what do you propose to do with pigs and cattle, turn them out to fend for themselves as easy prey for predator animals?” Not your problem?

The world consists of very few individuals who will willingly stand still in the face of a direct lethal attack, and say, “do what you must,  I will not lift a hand to defend myself.” And by doing so, do you contribute to the violence of another?

Both these are acts of violence whether you accept them or not. A strict pacifist can neither consume meat nor defend themselves against attack.

Trying to cut them out of the mix, and then say, well all else, I come down on the side of no violence is just as fraught with exceptions. One can, and I do, argue that I will not kill 2 to save 10, but figure that fate must be allowed to play out as it will. But turn that figure into killing 10 to save 10 million, and you see the dilemma. Now it looks quite a bit different. Surely Hiroshima and Nagasaki were justified on such grounds.

The Bush Doctrine of pre-emptive strike proved a disaster and surely violates in principle and act, the idea of “just war” theory. The Bush Doctrine might prove workable in the hands of a bright, moral being, but proved horrific in the hands of a stupid man egged on by arguably evil men at his side.

Just war “sounds” right, and surely has the imprimatur of the Catholic Church, but is it really just? How about all that talk of “rules of war”? Does not tidying up the killing to MOSTLY the perpetrators just prolong what would otherwise be so horrendous as to cause cessation? Do we appease the warmongers by pursuing military targets and not civilian? Was not some of the reasoning behind the US entry into WWII the magnitude of the killing? Was it not motivated in part by the inhumanity of the German war machine with its blitzkriegs, and the indiscriminate unfairness of the Japanese “surprise?”  Would it all have been better if they had followed the “rules?”

It is not as ugly to push buttons from Colorado to kill convoys in Yemen, where yes, we allow for “collateral” damage? Would it not be better to force humans to face up to the bodies they produce? Was not part of the argument about pilots the nicety of not having to see the mangled flesh they produced by their bombs?

Torture has been in the human playbook for as long at least as recorded history. We burned and drew, quartered, and stocked, long before waterboarding came along. Technology brought us advances which brought electrodes, cattle prods, chain saws, drills, and a host of other household items to the torture table. We justify all this of course by the need for intelligence.

We do the unthinkable because it is necessary to protect the greater good, so we tell ourselves. Our television screens are full nowadays of “heroes” who regularly break, stab, beat, human bodies in the quest for the information necessary to “save lives” and protect our way of life.

What way of life are we protecting in the end? The life that condones and is willing to survive as a result of such human acts?

Where is the line? And who calls it? Is Jack Bauer the one you want to decide? Or a feckless Congress who measures everything by political leverage and opportunism, all too often limited to their own personal professional lives? Do you want to throw the dice on an individual you vote for when the entire game is now rigged by the rich and powerful whose interests are almost never going to be yours and who live by the credo, that the birds do not consider the interests of the ants they eat?

Are we any better than they when we do what they do in the name of stopping them? Do we want to be better than they? Do we care beyond our own hides in the end? If not, then we need to stop flooding the world with our proclamations that we are moral and they  are not. We need to stop accusing them of violations when we are committing them at an even faster pace.

There is a reason we armed the Taliban against the Russians and then proclaimed them our enemy after 9-11. There is a similar reason interred the Japanese during WWII. We arm the bad guys all over South America because they agree to our long-term goals, while their peoples writhe in agony from the tortures they employ. We enlist countries with “softer” rules to be our locations where we can avoid our rules of law, and mistreat humans in the name of saving democracy.

I say all this and then I sit with my head in my hands because I don’t know where to come down on the oft used scenario: you have in custody the man who knows where the hydrogen bomb has been planted in NYC. You have six hours to find it. If it goes off, millions will die, and the country may well fall. Well? torture him or not?

Perhaps the scenario is unfair, perhaps using the worst-case scenario is unnecessary and unfair. But once you allow for it, then how about Springfield? Or Kalamazoo? How small does the scale have to get before we say, too far?

Does justice demand something else? Does it demand an all or nothing? Or does it ask us to submit to a conclusion unpalatable but possibly real? As long as humans care about living, we have to admit we are natural killing machines, and do it as efficiently as possible with as little collateral damage (innocent death) as possible?

Is there a philosophy that can cut through all this and make it a simple argument that cannot be denied?

I surely wish for one, but so far, I have not found it.

I remain sickened. I know what I would stop, but I can’t give you a logical play it out to the end answer that works for all things in all times.

If you can, please tell me.

But damn don’t avoid the issue, for we all are complicit whether you like it or not.

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Okay God, Give Me the Ratio Will Ya?

28 Friday Sep 2012

Posted by Sherry in Election 2012, Foreign Affairs, fundamentalism, Gay Rights, GOP, Humor, Libya, Mitt Romney, Satire, social concerns, teabaggers, Voting, What's Up?, Women's issues

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

GOP, John Bolton, Libya, Mitt Romney, morality, polls, religious right, teabaggers, Todd Akin

What’s wrong with the type of men that Willard “The Stench” hangs with, is that they are experts at “locker room” talk when nobody is around. You know what I mean. They are the one’s who are so politically correct in public, except when they let it slip that they are quite different with the “boys.”

You can almost hear the snickering about the “masses” that goes on in the country club over lunch as they compare the latest vacation spot in Europe and prattle about the newest investment scheme to “harvest” some profits at low risk.

John Bolton is one of the “boys” to be sure, and a snarly nasty example of neo-con war hawking manliness. You can almost hear the laughter that permeates his macho speech. These are the anti-women, anti-gay, anti-minority men who surround Willard and give him his economic and foreign policy policies. Today Bolton called the President’s Libyan policy as “limp-wristed.” How nice of him to insult a whole segment of America unnecessarily, all to make his point that the President doesn’t live in the bomb- first league with him.

•

A Manhattan storage company is having some fun with advertising boards. Apparently he’s been at it for some time.

The one about Michele “crazy eyes”  Bachmann is the best. We hear that MB is having herself some time in her re-election campaign. We can only hope that the people of Minnesota have finally come to their senses and discovered that she is insane.

But we doubt it.

We do hope though. Hope springs eternal among people my age.

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What’s going on in Republican circles these days? I mean once you ignore the silliness of Krauthammer, Dick Morris, Hannity, and the usual bilge dumpers. The question is “who decided to nominate this guy?” Yep the blame game is already starting up and it promises to be a doozy, once the election is finished and Willard starts ejaculating into the conversation how it wasn’t his fault. Hint: just remember what the other choices were (Huntsman excepted).

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Every day, if you read enough stuff in the old Google reader, you come upon the stupidest jerk on the planet, for the day. Each day, a new one. I can only figure that God has some formula for stupid. As a joke factor he slides us an idiot to keep the game interesting. Just what is the ratio?

Today the idiot meter went off and nearly woke up the house when I found out that there is a guy who is a mayor in Maine who has a lot of Somalian immigrants. Now said idiot says they have to stop living their own culture, and must leave it at the door, and adopt ours. Whatever that means.

His name is Bob McDonald and he ei-ei-ohed off some farm where he was probably sleeping with the pigs (as in sleeping, not that other thing–you potty brain!). Anyway, he is just another one of your colorful clowns who has managed to somehow pull the wool over his community who confoundedly elected him. My dog is smarter.

McDonald is a Republican. He ran against a dead guy. He only managed to win by 7 votes. Sigh. I’m signing up for the first interplanetary shuttle to NewStar when the begin the immigration. I sure hope I don’t have to leave my culture at the door.

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Nate Silver says that the convention bump of Obama did stall as predicted. But when you make God happy, good things happen! The infamous 47% story has got it moving upward again. Or, as we say, gee Mitt, you DID build that!

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This is why the Religious Right falls on deaf ears among rational people: Case in point. One pastor of a mega church in Indiana, Pastor Jack Schapp, has just pled guilty to having a sexual affair with a teen girl. The pastor had been counseling the girl, and was the author of a book for teen girls and dating. His advice? Keep your weight own. It’s not that there aren’t bad people in and out of religion, but it’s always the vocal “moralists” who are doing the most immoral things. They give all believers such a bad name. It’s a shame. They need to shut the pie hole.

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A close runner-up for idiot of the day is our favorite Todd Akin, remember the dude and his “legitimate rape” claims? Well Todd is one stupid man. After debating Senator Claire McCaskill, he called her “not at all ladylike like she was in 20o6.” Todd, shut your pie hole.

Once upon a time, Akin was supposed to finish off the Democrats and turn the Senate into a GOP love land. Well, that is not likely to happen now, and where once (was it so short a time ago?) the GOP was vilifying Akin for his anti-woman remarks, now they are sending him money again, because you know when it comes down to it, women take second place to the chance to get that seat.

There are no principles in the GOP any more are there?

Related articles
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  • Todd Akin wishes Claire McCaskill would be more ‘ladylike’ (dailykos.com)
  • Dick Morris: ‘If the Election Were Held Today Romney Would Win’ (crooksandliars.com)

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Let’s Talk About It

15 Wednesday Feb 2012

Posted by Sherry in Editorials, Media, Psychology, Sociology, teabaggers, The Wackos

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

conservative, Fox News, liberal, morality, Politics, right wing extremism, wacko media

We are all walking pretences. Relatively speaking of course. Some of us more than others.

Politicians most of all? Yes, most would agree.

A retired military man speaking on Morning Joe, suggested that when you get a couple of Democrats and a couple of Republicans in a room together, you can have a pretty reasonable conversation. When you open the door, and the red light comes on, each will spew a very different version of the talk.

Jonathan Haidt, working at U of Virginia, and a psychologist, is exploring morality and politics. You can go there and sign up and help out by taking a number of their quizzes. I referenced him a few days ago regarding his book about the differences between conservatives and liberals. His work suggests that we are quite different from what we think of ourselves.

We create personas, and to a greater or lesser degree, we become them. We may be cynical about it, knowing exactly what we are doing, or we may be largely oblivious to it. In some ways, I’d prefer the cynic to the one who has no clue he is not who he thinks he is. I can confront the first type and, given the right incentives, I can cause a change. The person who buys his own rhetoric? I’m at a loss to change.

While I am quick to point out the relative racist/homophobic/Amerocentricism of a lot of folks, especially those of, shall we say, lesser educational attainment, I am fascinated by them as well. I have come to see that they have incorporated a finely wrought (not by them of course) set of principles that alleviate their guilt, and reassure them of their moral rectitude in the ugly tenets they adhere to.  

My real anger is at those who actually know better, and are nothing more than grifters on a small or large scale, using the opportunity presented to make money, corporate or personal, off the stupidity and ineptitude of people who can’t or won’t think for themselves. My enemies are Fox Noise, Hannity, Limbaugh, Malkin, Beck, and a host of politicians too numerous to list. Most of them, if not all, play to and present a rationale to the great masses that means coin in their coffers or votes or both.

The other day, I linked to Fox regarding a hateful spew of comments regarding the death of  Whitney Houston. When I went there, I found no comment section, found no way to “sign up”, and relied on a couple of websites who printed out parts of the comment section. I’ve since learned that nobody can now see the comments–they have been taken down, apparently without comment. This would be Fox’s way of course–never point out that they were appalled at what they read, but rather simply being appalled that they were “found out” and trying to hide the facts.

Fox is but one of course. The Fifth Column points out in her post, there are plenty more to choose from.

It’s easy to avoid this bilge. And I understand why people, given limited time, would rather spend time with “uplifting” fare, and material that is in agreement with what one naturally thinks. I’m not urging you to abandon me for goodness sakes. I’m just saying one needs to familiarize oneself not so much with the poor souls that listen to the sewage, but those who manufacture the sewage. We ignore it at our peril.

It is one thing to make fun of crazy people who are poised to put on the tricorner hat, tinfoil though it may be, grab the musket and go looking to join the regiment to “get back our freedoms”,  but unfortunately the musket is really a high-powered rifle, and the ammo is suited to kill. These people can be triggered, at least some of them can, and now and then, one of them goes off all by themselves, given their underlying psychosis. They cause a lot of pain. As a group they can cause a lot more.

So do pay attention. And do inform yourselves about what Fox and others of their ilk are saying. Do respond. Do set the record straight. Do speak truth. Something about what happens when “good men do nothing” seems appropriate here. Oh and good women too.

End of rant.  

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Wait for it, Wait for it. See I Told Ya They Would

23 Friday Sep 2011

Posted by Sherry in Budget, Election 2012, Gay Rights, GOP, Humor, Michelle Backmann, Philosophy, Physics, Rick Santorum, Sarah Palin, Satire, teabaggers, What's Up?

≈ 11 Comments

Tags

budget, Einstein, gay rights, GOP, Humor, justice, Michele Bachmann, morality, philosophy, physics, Sarah Palin, speed of light, teabaggers

Yesterday you were invited to watch the debates under a new game rule: look for the inappropriate audience response.

And as expected, those of you who watched saw just that.

That the GOP and the TeaNutz® are morbidly repulsed by gayness, is of course well-known. It’s against their self-serving interpretation of the bible.

Last night, a gay soldier asked the candidates what they would do given that DODT had been ended.

The response of the audience was a very loud bunch of booing, and then the usual Ricky (why won’t you give me a chance) Santorum response which is that “we shouldn’t be doing social experiments with those we need to protect our country.” See a complete transcript of the exchange at Pass the Doucheys on the Right, as well as appropriate biting comment.

Might I also note, that not a single one of the “candidates” bothered to thank Mr. Hill, who is serving in Iraq, for his service to the country, something all the GOP pushes and shoves to be first to say to prove their patriotism.

God, the GOP sucks.

Note also that Chauncey de Vega has a great piece on this event as well.

♦

You know, I’ve often alluded to the fact that our world, especially here in America is deeply out of whack. What I refer to is how we reward people in oddly weird ways over others. Huh? Okay let me clear it up.

We pay actors, who individually may be pretty much stupid as rocks, millions to make us laugh or cry, or applaud a fantasy life or event. We pay CEO’s millions for making a company wealthy, and at least a few stockholders a few bucks. We pay schoolteachers paltry amounts to teach our children whom we claim we worship and want the best for. We pay scientists next to nothing even though they discover the things that make our lives easier, healthier, and safer.

It’s called moral philosophy, and the king of the hill is one Harvard professor named Michael J. Sandel. His lectures were turned into a PBS series, and in Asia have prompted classes to mimic his ideas. His book, Justice: What’s the right thing to do?, has been a great hit.  A NYTimes article about his success is linked here. Might be worth buying his book.

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When does the difference between 299,792,458 and 299,792,454 matter? Why that’s easy. Come on you know the answer. The first is the speed of light. And the second it the time it took some neutrinos to make the circuit. And that means that maybe the SOL is not what we thought it was.

And that means that Einstein was wrong, and somethings (neutrinos) can travel faster than the SOL, and that means something really really big and important, and it probably means that we can go to Arcturus by the end of next week.

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It’s the old chutzpah again. The GOP holds the disaster relief funding hostage unless the Democrats agree to funding cuts to the most job-producing programs going, and then accuses the Dems of holding up FEMA relief!

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I continue to hold out hope that our dear girl Sarah will jump into the fray. Her slavish knuckledraggers are sure hopin’ the same too, and took time after last night’s debate to hit her main target with all they had. From Conservatives4Palin:

Everyone here in Palinville who looks forward to good hard competition will be relieved to know that Gov. Rick Perry was NOT drunk at last night’s debate, all appearances to the contrary. It’s just that before taking the stage he inexplicably chose to receive a Gardasil shot, one of whose known side effects is mental slowness.

Given that our Sarah subbie, Michele (I am frakin’ dumber that her actually) Bachmann is unable to know fact from fiction and has slipped down the hill toward the black hole of oblivion, we have no choice but to wave a flag pin at the Palinator and hope hope hope she joins the increasing circus that is known as the “TeaNutz® on Parade” or “The Last Dance of the Dinosaurs” which ever you prefer.

♦

From Think Progress

On the Stove? Oh a new Chicken Enchilada recipe. I’ll post it if we decide we like it. So far, it seems to meet my objections to most Enchilada recipes: the turning to mush of the corn tortillas. I’m hopeful if this technique works, that it will be my new go-to method for both green and red enchiladas.

 

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I’m Mrs. Johnny Depp!

06 Tuesday Sep 2011

Posted by Sherry in Entertainment, Evolution, Humor, Michelle Backmann, Mitt Romney, Philosophy, racism, Recipes, Rick Perry, Satire, Sociology, teabaggers, What's Up?

≈ 30 Comments

Tags

conservativism, cosmology, Election 2012, Entertainment, evolution, Humor, intellectuals, Johnny Depp, Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney, morality, NAACP, racism, Recipes, Rick Perry, wacko right wing

Oh, yes I am!

And I can prove it. More or less.

It seems that a respectable number of experimental and theoretical physicists believe that there are multiple universes. Not only that, but that there may be an infinite number of them, all of which means, that any thing that can happen, has.

Well, one thing that can happen (I know it might be a stretch but we are talking about statistical probabilities here) is that Mr. Sexy pants could fall in love with me.

Therefore, some where he has. Proved!

That also means that there is an infinite number of me’s. One of me lives in Hawaii in a gorgeous beach house. One of me is President of the US of A, or the United Planetary Association of Andromeda. The options are as they say infinite.

The Contrarian was a bit off-put by this revelation, until I reminded him that somewhere he was married to Halle Berry. That brought a grin.

The Contrarian has some “issues” with the theoretical physicists in the end though. He’s not much in favor of a time “before” time. I myself have no difficult with that concept. However we both noticed that these guys and gals do have a pretty cushy job. I mean they sit in a comfortable office, with a chalk or white board and doodle with numbers and squiggles, and then travel to nice places and sit and “think”. Often at beaches, mountain ranges, and other pleasant places.

It’s not like they ever have to prove anything. As the Rethuglians always say about anything they don’t want to help pay for: “it’s only a theory.”

Best of all, I can theorize about Johnny Depp all I want, cuz who’s to say that he doesn’t figure into some time warpy travel theory? I mean, being a theoretical physicist is so highfalutin’ that nobody can reasonably challenge my claims right? Only others of my kind. And after all, we have a mutual desire not to upset any of our apple carts.

So, I’m applying for my grant money, and hope to set up shop any day now.

♦

Hope you all had a nice labor day. Out of work laborers most assuredly did not I guess. We had a T-Bone, potato salad and some jalapeño poppers. The latter two recipes can be found at What’s on the Stove, which has it’s only little link on the side bar now.

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Ricky “Gosh darn this is fun” Perry is what they call “surging” in the polls. Somebody finally tapped the shyster on the shoulder and told him to act “gubernatorial” and high tail it back to TEXAS where people are losing their homes at an astounding rate due to unchecked wildfires. He’s properly “concerned” now.

Meanwhile Mitt “it’s slipping away” Romney is starting to show the wear and tear of being rejected but once again. Mr. Perpetual Runner whom nobody really likes, stares ever wide-eyed at the audience he addresses, and for all it’s worth you can hear under his breath: “can you morons understand these simple sentences?”

Yeah, actually they can Mitt, and well, they really don’t like you. Can you understand that?

♦

Noam Chomsky writes a very interesting and provocative piece in the Boston Review about the role of the intellectual in today’s murky moral world. He is prompted by the questionable action of murdering Osama Bin Laden and dumping his body at sea without trial.

It’s a most serious read, but one that will benefit you. We seldom spend the time we should thinking of the hard issues.

♦

Michele “damn you Ricky” Bachmann is shakin’ up the team. Ed Rollins is out due to “health” reasons as well as the deputy David Polyansky.

This kinda crap is usual in a campaign going down the crapper. But Michele, it ain’t gonna help. You are simply TeaNutz® lite compared to Ricky “I’m more nutz” Perry.

♦

DCMartin gives us a good old slappin’ story about racism reaction gone amuck. And she has designated herself as the “official spokesperson” for Black America, which sure makes it easy on me. 😛

Go give it a read. She’s very funny and actually makes a fine point as well. Don’t ever Pass the Doucheys. . .”

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I was prompted to visit a site I’ve only briefly looked at. Conservapedia. It’s the “trustworthy” encyclopedia. Isn’t that just wrong on its face? How can something that purports to be “conservative” by “trustworthy”? It’s clearly not giving truth, but a point of view.

My favorite quote from the front page is from Isaiah Berlin:

“Good government in a free society keeps positive and negative liberty in balance. These two forms of liberty are out-of-balance today.”

Now that is interesting isn’t it? I betcha some wacko TeaNutz® would have some interesting ideas of what “negative liberty” are. 

♦

From “Constant Comment”

 ♦

Hey, have you ever seen Wilfred? You should. It’s hysterical at times, frightening occasionally. It’s an import from Australia. It is not for the faint of heart. It is not for mortifiable-prone evangelicals. It’s about a dog named Wilfred, who appears as a human in a dog suit to a neighbor. Wilfred teaches lessons, and humps stuffed animals, and smokes pot by the pail full.

I thought it would be stupid. But it’s shocking, and funny at the same time. Try to find it on your TV dial. Oh crap, that dated me. TV’s don’t have dials any more.

Laters gators!

 

 

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This is Sooooo Unfunny

16 Saturday Apr 2011

Posted by Sherry in Budget, Catholicism, fundamentalism, Gay Rights, GOP, Humor, Individual Rights, Philosophy, poverty, religion, Satire, social concerns, What's Up?

≈ 16 Comments

Tags

budget, bullying, Catholic teaching, Catholicism, liberal/conservative, morality, Paul Ryan, philosophy, religion, wacko religious right

Hey! Mother, the freakin’ Nature! Wake the frack UP!

It’s April 16, well into Spring. Can you pay a bit more attention please. I can tell you with supreme authority that I do NOT like waking up to that ———>

Not funny. Not at all.

Okay, so it is mostly gone already, but the wind is still blowing and it’s dark and dingy outside, and not even 35° and well, if you don’t mind can we get back to something in the 60’s and sunshine?

Geesh, is that asking TOO much?

Not the least of which, it rained on my birthday! I mean, how nice was that of you?

I got me six animals all in varying degrees of pissed off because they had already gotten used to lounging around outside relaxing in chairs and on porches. And you know they think I control all this, so I’m getting all these angry looks, lots of sighs, and every time one wants out, they scurry away from the door as soon as they take ONE look. 

So get on the stick. Get on the stick? What does that even mean? Is Mother Nature a witch?

♦

I ran across this article that reviews a book on secularism and morality. It sounds interesting, and the review itself makes some valid points I think. Worth a look-see. From Prospect Magazine.

♦

Speaking of religion, all of Christendom seems engaged in its own in-house squabbling. Perhaps this has always been the case, but I’m more acutely aware that I used to be. It seems that most denominations are dealing with some sort of battle between the progressive/liberal arm and the conservative element. John Allen calls it “tribal Catholicism.  Allen writes a thoughtful piece in NCR addressing the issue in the Catholic Church. I think his suggestions are timely and I’d sure like to see them instituted. We have too much of the “liberal” church vs “conservative” church mentality. We need to find a way to bridge the gap.

♦

This next article caused me to bolt from my chair, run to the bathroom and look deeply into the mirror. Whew, my head is on straight after all. I was worried. Why is the wacko, crazy, insane, and ever radical right-wing religiosity against anti-bullying measures? Oh, yeah, they think we shouldn’t protect gays. Or anybody else who is the victim of this aggressive behavior. They think it pollutes our gender priorities or something. They are crazy. This makes me crazy. All in the name of Christianist fundamentalism.

♦

I don’t mean to turn this into a religious day of blogging, but this next post caught my eye, because the author really takes a  Catholic teaching and skewers the GOP’s Paul Ryan. He argues that anyone who supports Ryan’s budgetary plan is simply unfit to present themselves for communion along the lines of intrinsic evil versus prudential judgment, as laid out by Benedict in a 2004 letter.  Makes for some interesting reading.

♦

Tis a slow day. Tis a blustery day. Tis not a nice day at all. Going to hide under the bed until it makes nice. Mother Nature. Put up yer dukes!

Related Articles
  • The Catholic Remnant (unreasonablefaith.com)

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Me Tarzan, You Jane, Nobody Knows What the Chimp Thought

27 Thursday Jan 2011

Posted by Sherry in American History, Bush, Essays, Evolution, Foreign Affairs, GOP, Human Biology, Humor, John Boehner, Media, Middle East, Psychology, Satire, Sociology, teabaggers, The Wackos, What's Up?

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

American Exceptionalism, ethics, evolution, Fox News, happiness, History, humanity, John Boehner, Media, morality, Nazism, psychology, religious right wing, Sharron Angle, sociology, teabaggers, the Family

We are a dualist species. We think of most everything in either or, left or right, up or down, in or out. You get the drift.

We are red state, blue state, we are elites, average joes, we are adventurous or skittish. We define binarily, we do it all the time.

Mostly we define us, them. We’ve always done this, in fact those in the know claim they know of no society or people who doesn’t have some concept of themselves versus others.

So, are we to throw up our hands and just give up and in? Are we doomed to any real concept of unity? Are we perpetually at some level of war with anyone not like us?

No. At least so says Erich S. Gruen, in a new book called, Rethinking the Other in Antiquity. Gruen posits that we make that a choice, it’s not an imperative. Basically, he looks at ancient groups and teases out the nuances of their relationships with others. While superficially, they may appear us-them, in practicality such was not really the case.

While perhaps not totally convincing, Gruen at least points to the fact that we are not in a hopeless adversarial situation,  never to be solved. In a world increasingly divided, this is good news.

***

If you are just dying to engage in some deep philosophical thought, (and who isn’t), then pop on over to read about morality and the good life. Can you achieve happiness without living morally? Is morality a virtue for its own sake? Should it be? Now that you are thoroughly all jiggly with desire to know more, go on, get over to read more! (Whew, now I feel like I’ve done my moral duty in presenting you some uplifting material.)

***

Good grief, the most funny stuff seems to be coming from Iowa these days. You better sit down for this one. It seems Sharron Angle, (remember her?) was in Des Moines, IA, no doubt for some teabaggery thing. She admits she’s thinking of running for President! Hip, hip, Hurray! Now just think. The handlers/caretakers of Bachmann, Palin and Angle gather the ladies together for a good old DEBATE. Can you just imagine the fun? Oh Please God, Oh Please!

***

Foxy Noise should leave well enough alone. Some days ago, that idiot Megan Kelly chastised a guest for claiming that Fox regularly used Nazi references to people they don’t like. Kelly said this was untrue, she watches all the shows and Fox NEVER does such a thing.

Of course this was too much for Jon Stewart, who a couple of days ago ran a montage of Fox “Nazi references, including Beck of course, but also O’Reilly. Well Billo couldn’t resist defending himself. You can read it at Crooks and Liars. Somehow, his calling Huff Po Nazis is not the same as some congressman calling the GOP Nazis. Billo—you are an idiot.

***

It wasn’t that long ago. Just a couple of years. Remember? Our foreign policy was in shambles. Bush’s cowboy diplomacy had angered most of the world. He epitomized the idea of “ugly American” and strutted around like we had no need of allies. Nobody could touch our stuff.

Yes, well it seems that most of the GOP potential presidential candidates continue in the same vein. American Exceptionalism continues to rear its ugly head.

This idea that we are the greatest, the best, the God-ordained perfection in the world is troubling. As we become more and more a global economy, and our political and security needs are necessarily entwined, boasting about our superiority is decidedly a stupid thing to do.

But morons like Palin, DeMint and others seem determined to alienate everyone. What’s worse, it’s being tied to a  religious element that is even more unsavory. A blatantly revisionist history, a call for a spiritual renew all seem aimed at reclaiming our rightful place as God’s favored.

To be so blind and obtuse as to not see how ugly this appears to the rest of the world is tragic. To not realize that every country’s people like to think well of their own homeland is short-sighted in the extreme.

Worse yet, these folks are starting to have a negative and embarrassing influence within other countries as they support groups and leaders who are properly Christian, as they see it, although they may be acting in decidedly unChristian ways.

It’s a long article at AlterNet, but well worth your read. (The Family raises its ugly head again.)

***

I admit to a good deal of ignorance. I’m totally ignorant why Tunisia is up in arms. Ditto for Egypt. I think I’m supposed to be for the Tunisian uprising, but not so about the Egyptian. Anybody want to explain it in a nutshell? I’m not so much a follower of international news. My bad.

***

No one mentioned it. But I saw it. I figured John (Eye’s the SPEAKER!) Boehner was most aware that he was on camera during the SOTU. And it put him in a conundrum of sorts. I mean President Obama kept saying things that were universally good, and it would not look good to not applaud.

So John seemed, a good deal of the time, trapped into half-hearted clapping that he really didn’t want to do, but thought would look bad if he didn’t. Then there were other times that his face looked for all the world like he’d been chewing a lemon. How to keep a calm face when he desperately wanted to yell in the best GOP wacko form: “YOU LIE.”

I thought it was funny at least.

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