Jim,
I'm not commenting on the individuals and their own pain
either from physical issues or psychological ones such as
your and Joe's relatives or my own mother whose serious
operations and pain have been blamed on NSAID's by the
specialists. The psychological reference is to the people
who suffer also but not from direct physical cause and
effect.
I am saying though that the behaviour you refer to is
witnessed throughout history in most documentation. That is
humanity spends part of its time accomplishing great things
that seem to seperate us from the other animals; but,
we also spend a lot of time touching ourselves and coveting
our neighbours' what-have-you.
There is no doubt in my mind that the liberals have lead us
away from the brink of third world status through some
serious committment to fiscal responsibility - just as there
is no doubt in my mind that Jean's time has passed and he
hangs on now like grim death.
It is the human plight. Jean does not see things as many
Canadians now do and cannot distinguish his interference
with Mr Mills in Ottawa with the nepotism so common in small
dictatorships.
If questioned, HC will argue passionately that it is working
hard without sufficient resources. They will believe this
with all their hearts and minds.
The alternatives are equally appalling. Facism's extreme
tactics and lifeless fanaticism for instance. Or communism
and its ultimate hollow core where 'for the people by the
people' kills all passion.
There aren't any long term solutions because we have met
the enemy and they are us.
From the teenager flipping burgers dreaming of the next
social encounter to the scientist working at unlocking a
key regardless of social consequences to the police forces
that by their nature draw sadists to them - we are doomed
in our lives and institutions to be ruled by our nature.
Human nature is ruled by self interest and the sufficiency
of how we see ourselves, what we have and want, and how
we believe we are perceived by others. Below every dutch
clean, neat as a pin surface is fear and doubt.
If this sounds gloomy it is not. I will give one example.
50 years ago the globe was on the brink of destruction.
If you think that's overstated listen to the argument.
For 10,000 years (using the city states of Ur, Uruk, etc
as the baseline) humans overwhelming preoccupation was with
empire building. Kill your neighbour take their stuff and
their land. Every student of history knows this is true.
This continued unabated until the faceoff between the USA
and the USSR with some 10,000 nuclear weapons between them.
Sufficient to radiate every square kilometer of the earth
several times over.
For the first time in 10 milleniums, both sides backed off
and the biggest single empire building opportunity was not
pursued.
Assured mutual destruction ended the longest preoccupation
in history for the most powerful. In the same century that
technology and information exploded.
The small fry continue in their frothy and useless pursuits,
but, the preoccupation of the powerful changed in the 20th
century. The USA is too smart to let anyone catch up and
their presidents will continue to push their weight around
as they see fit. This is not the same as killing your
neighbours en masse. The world has changed. Where we go
is not clear. Because human nature did not change.
We need more of what has always added the value to life
along the whole timeline. Advocates who get involved for
principles (religion is not a principle it is a dogma).
Sharing is a principle. Thanks Joe and Jim for one of
those moments.
Wolf |
