Spiritual/Political/Philosophical Blog on the Nature of Truth and Falsehood and Heaven
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| Sunny Days in Heaven Spiritual/Political/Philosophical Blog on the Nature of Truth and Falsehood and Heaven |
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Thursday, April 15, 2004 The way of the world Someone recently characterized Iraqi culture as that of gangs of mafias. That is, the tribal, clannish, nature of such culture (not restricted to Muslims, Arabs, or Middle Easterners) is like that of having gangs of mafias at large. Even when there is a governmental structure, these mafias operate as various fiefdoms carving out bureaucratic territories to exploit and ravage by means of patronage, cronyism and nepotism. Imagine a situation where an extended gang of families exist simply to survive against other similar gangs. There is a fixed pie of goods and resources, and all gangs compete for ascension. All alliances are temporary and a bit haphazard. There is no trust. Children are brought up to serve the gang. Nothing really exists of importance outside the gang. There is no possible identity apart from the gang. Individual curiosity, creativity, or interest is always secondary or tertiary. Innovation only matters in so far as it advances the gang's interest. Cunning is valued, but not true intelligence (inquiry). Under such circumstances it is impossible for a real government to form, let alone something as advanced as a republic. Yet, we have not begun to see how stunted and narrow Islamic civilization truly is. In a culture of competing mafias, it is impossible to plan a future since all interest must be devoted to daily survival. All the members -- men, women, and children -- are worried. Nothing is truly stable. Death or hunger is always next door, not from failure to prepare, but from competitors eager to take what you have. It is life where it is the law of the gun or sword. This is not the wild West which was never that wild. This is a world where such things as disinterested science, technology, experimentation is forbidden. Not because it is useless, but because all the energy of a people is devoted to survival and ascendancy. When mafias rule, goodness and decency are hopeless. In the West, we had Greece, Rome, Venice, Florence, Holland, Switzerland, England, and America as places where science made progress, and art flourished and developed because people formed republics -- communities that broke down tribalism for a time. Islamic nations cannot hope to form viable nations or a culture so long as tribalism exists. They can have no general unity or purpose so long as they are competing against each other for a limited set of goods, rather than learning how to expand wealth. For Arabs, life is a zero sum game. How does one transform the Mafia? It is impossible. You can only imprison or kill its members. You cannot persuade anyone of it to change when his whole being is formed from fear of failing such a group. Other groups around the globe can learn that their success or prosperity depends on co-operation between numerous peoples, but Islam is a special case. It dooms itself on a message of evil, hate, fear, and competition which makes it impossible for individuals to inquire or thrive. Oddly enough, liberals, socialists, and communists adhere to a similar philosophy about life. They believe that wealth is limited and that someone always prospers at the expense of another. In California, for example, the politicians actually believe that money is constant and that it is their job to make sure they can confiscate enough money to serve the needs of those who don't have it. They operate under the assumption that jobs are always there, that income will always exist, and that the State's needs out weigh that of the individual. This is simply another form of Mafia. They have the machinery of government in hand with which to steal the labor of others for their own benefit. In this case, the benefit is Office, largess, and the feeling of moral superiority. Our Democrat politicians are all saints in their own eyes. So long as they can be Robin Hoods who steal from the rich to give to the poor, they are certain of their divinity. But this kind of cronyism will eventually implode. People like me will eventually form their own associations which will violently reject their enslavement. Thus, we begin a new cycle of separate groups seeking their own great advantage, and the republic is lost. posted by Mark Butterworth | 11:39 PM | |
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