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Thought Zone - Exercise your mind....
Think. Think again. And then think some more.
Some things are too good (or bad, depending on which way you look at them), not to share. I came across this quote on a mega-conservative American blog. I'm not giving the link because I refuse to give you easy access to the thoughts of this truly frightening man but in the interests of citing my sources, the name of the blog is included at the end of this post.
Just to give you a little background on the writer of this blog- he thinks Bush is doing a pretty good job overall, he thinks the war in Iraq is going well, he thinks all liberals should be lined up and shot for their "crimes against humanity", he thinks Augusto Pinochet was the best thing that ever happened to Chile and America should be congratulated for putting him into power and he thinks all Muslims should be deported from all Western countries immediately.
But that's not what this quote is about. But it's gold nonetheless, so without further ado, I present you with my first ever, crazy conservative quote of the week:
Since I was a child I have heard, read, and seen reports about how much of the world's resources we few greedy Americans consume...So Average Joe American uses as much energy as 370 Ethiopians, so what? What the hell do Ethiopians contribute to the world? Nothing but more Ethiopians who consume the Earth's oxygen, beg us for money, food, and medicine and then bad mouth us for helping them.
We deserve to use more resources. It is Americans who have contributed the most in medicine, physics, and chemistry (38% of all Nobel Prizes); we are the most generous people on this planet; when there is a disaster somewhere the world expects us to help. We contribute more to the world than we get back; if the world was fair we'd be consuming 75% of the world's resources and no one dare complain. When the rest of the world bitches about it it's because they are ungrateful wretches - without America the world would still be living in 1910 (although it should be noted that Muslim countries still live in 632 A.D.).
What's you favourite part of this quote? Is it the sheer unadulterated ethnocentrism? Is it the racism? Is it the callous insensitivity toward the suffering of those millions living in poverty through no fault of their own? Is the disregard for the adverse effect that rampant American consumerism is having on our fragile planet? Or is it the dig that he has against Muslims even though they actually have nothing to do with the subject he is 'discussing'?
Ruby
Quotes from Planck's Constant. No link. Google it yourself if you really feel the need to read more.
It's gorgeous out, a perfect New England spring day. When I walked out my front door this morning I was struck by the scent of fresh mulch and honeysuckle, and for a moment I simply breathed deeply, savoring the newly-budding emerald greenery and the crystalline blue sky. Eyes closed, I stood and just listened to the rustle of leaves and the chirping of birds already well into their day's activity. I love spring and summer with every fiber of my being. The simple pleasures of watching the trees bloom and inhaling the fresh air have not diminished for me in 31 years. It was with great reluctance that I opened my eyes and continued walking to my car to head for work, rather than staying to enjoy such a peaceful, perfect moment. I enjoyed this simple episode despite the fact that I had just read on the news that over 15,000 people in China were confirmed killed thus far due to the earthquake. The toll is likely to rise significantly. 15,000 is a town. Gone, snuffed out. Whether these deaths are attributable to the blind motions of nature or to the whim of a capricious deity makes no difference. The tragedy is absolute. In the face of such calamity, how is it that a spring breeze is able to bring me so much pleasure?
It is not that the people of China do not have my sincere sympathy. It isn't that the populace of Myanmar is not deserving of my fervent wishes for relief. I have been saddened by all the accounts I've heard, as I am by numerous tragic events that occur with clockwork regularity around the globe. Saddened, but not crushed. I am not rendered despondent at the news that many, many thousands of my fellow human beings have been killed by terrible disasters. Would it matter if they were American? Probably, but only to an extent. Would it matter if they were from my part of the country? My state? My town? Each successive step closer to my proximity raises my level of grief/concern. Why? The carnage is equally real and raw in any case. The difference, I suspect, is the the more immediate the problem, the more readily I think, "that could have been me or those I'm close to."
Altruism is one of the virtues of humanity, but it is limited in even the most generous among us. Our nature is one of selfishness; self-preservation is our genetic mandate. While there are compelling psychological and genetic arguments as to why we exhibit empathy and why we help others, even strangers, the fact remains that our own needs and the needs of those genetically closest to us generally trumps all else. The further away the conflict, the further removed the victim, the less dismay we feel. Disaster in China may as well be disaster on Mars. Move the location to Boston, though, so near to my little town, and suddenly my awareness, compassion and fear escalate dramatically. Why? Because I visit Boston, I have friends in Boston. The danger becomes real to me. Without the context of a familiar setting, tragedy is just another picture on a screen, a big font in a screaming headline.
In our new age of mass communication, it is perhaps to our advantage that we are able to be unaffected by the torrent of grief that cascades about us in infinite streams. If I mourned equally for each incident of human suffering witnessed on CNN, or if I were rendered as immobile with despair over the death of a child in Asia as by the death of a loved one, what hope would I have for my life? How could I even bear to get out of bed each morning, only to be endlessly bludgeoned by carnage and sorrow? No, we simply cannot afford to be affected by all the tragedy rampant in the world. In effect we pick and choose our moments of grief, generally reserved for those events that impact us personally, and thus maximize our moments of pleasure and peace. It's common to hear that we have become increasingly desensitized to the violence around us due to overexposure to various media. I doubt this is the case. Our tendency to reserve our greatest outpourings of grief for those instances closest to us is innate. It is simply that our filter is being taxed to a far greater extent now than ever before. In centuries past, people, insulated by their lack of technology, had no knowledge of the hardships of the rest of the world. The fact that we are able to absorb as much dismal information today as we do and continue to function is fairly remarkable. A certain amount of apathy may be necessary for us to maintain our sanity.
So, as thousands weep and cry in China, I smile and admire the beauty of a blossoming tree. As entire families lie destroyed in Myanmar, as market places are bombed in Iraq and children wither away in Africa, I enjoy a glass of wine with my wife. As wildfires destroy homes in California and while hurricanes batter our southern coast, I continue about my day. Heartlessly? No, I am aware of the suffering of others. I've experienced my own incidents of punishing grief, and my heart goes out to those in pain. But I continue on, taking pleasure in the beauty that the world provides in tandem with misery. For now I whistle my way past the graveyard, breathing the fresh air deeply. As do we all.
...when he's a human being
This is the face of Joseph Fritzl, currently the most hated man in Austria and the notorious ‘incest cellar’ man who kept his own daughter locked up as a sex slave in the cellar of his house for 24 years
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In case you thought irony was dead, here is the reason that US Defense Secretary Robert Gates cites as to why the US has yet to deliver humanitarian aid to Burma/Myanmmar:
"I cannot image us going in without the permission of the Myanmar government," Gates said at a Pentagon press conference with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen.
[ Click here to read more ]
Are you a man living in the Democratic Republic of Congo? Do you believe in black magic? Tired of worrying about having your penis stolen by wizards? You're not alone! Supernatural penis theft is on the rise, and unless you know what to look for and how to handle it, it can be quite a big problem.
Here are some handy tips to use in the event that you suddenly find your penis missing
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A humble toothpick? Or an instrument of the devil?
I really wish I was joking about this but I am not. A substitute teacher in Land O’Lakes Florida has been sacked after being accused of practising wizardry. Yes, you read right: wizardry. This is the year 2008. And this man has been accused of being a wizard
[ Click here to read more ]
Yesterday, a post went up that attracted a great deal of attention. The subject matter involved a sort of tribute to a former blogger in this community. In general, the feedback regarding this writer was positive, although there were a few dissenters (myself among them).
The subject of the blog himself made an appearance, and among his comments was a brief critical take of my critical take of his writing. Fair enough, to be sure. Other comments on the blog recently (not involving me) were a bit more heated. All of this got me thinking: who are we and what the hell are we talking about
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94 Posts dating from May 2007
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RubySoho
Winston
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