We are all intolerant and ethnocentric. We are all paranoid. All groups reject socially differentiated individuals. All groups are dangerous to individualism. and breed narrow mindedness and bias. Someone once said that "no man is righteous, no not one." He was right about that. He could have gone one to say, "and groups are less righteous and justified by the negative square of the comparative size of the group."
America promoted individualism because it maximized the participation of people in its widely geographically and somewhat ethnically spread society. It promoted what it needed the most in this environment: small, self reliant defensive groups or clusters that were inspired of the greater group by their inherent and freely allowed self- determination. So by promoting the most radical independence amongst states and groups, America was able to achieve the best coherence amongst the alliance of states and groups, and the greatest rebellion against any entity that demanded allegiance to an inherited command, instead of the common weal. They were able to promote loyalty to self and state over the demand of a state of origin, by exploiting natural self interest of the individual. To polarize the people against the parent, Britain, was no mean trick and was one of the better displays of psychological leadership and motivation of people yet seen. The US had very little to rebel against, yet rebelled mightily, as if the people had been sold into slavery. Rebellion, it seems, stems from freedom and power, or weakness of the masters, not from oppression.
It may well be that in order to combat terrorism we need to return to community groups that are well led and advised who will take their security into their own hands to a degree. When police are not doing their job, people have to do it. These days if you want to recover stolen goods you have to do your own investigation and steal them back, the police are no good at all.
Since no weapons are allowed on aircraft it would behoove people to either demand protection of marshals that is sufficient, or to refuse to fly. The plans I have seen of a few on certain flights is obviously not enough. (They should long ago have demanded better safety for aircraft themselves as the slaughter there is worse than terrorism any day.)
EC<:-} |
