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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: michael97123 who wrote (251305)	12/12/2007 12:21:15 PM
From: one_less	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

The conventional wisdom under which we are socialized dictates who the pig is. It is quite normal to adopt the guidance of conventional wisdom of your culture, once you have been socialized sufficiently into the values and mores of the established realm. The conventional wisdom in most times and places tells you it that loving your brethren requires a struggle against threats to ‘those or that within your culture, which you care most about.’ It would be nice but it’s hardly practical to make every learning experience an exciting and enjoyable adventure. So, school teachers love to get jobs in a community where the children are mostly obedient and compliant to the guidance of a competent instructor. This happens in some schools where children are socialized to enter classrooms possessing a strong sense of family, community, and educational values … an increasingly rare phenomenon in public schools. Conventional wisdom generally speaks well of the establishment, while requiring some compromises with regards to the treatment of outsiders. So in our own history we have willingly gone along with some regrettable practices to protect ‘those and that which we most care about.’ Conventional wisdom convinced us there was a war against the ‘red’ race in America at one time. We committed genocide against Native tribes of America and called it the American-Indian ‘wars.’ Though there were some actual battles, the overwhelming reality was often one of unnecessary subjugation and/or extermination. Conventional wisdom convinced us for a while, certain people were so subhuman, we could enslave them as property. Conventional wisdom convinced us at one time, that nuking cities of innocent people, is a glorious act of honor. You are old enough to remember the word ‘gook’ that we used in the 50’s and 60’s. Conventional wisdom used that objectified word to convince us, there was no difference in shooting a Vietnamese than a duck off a fence post. (I actually heard someone proudly make that declaration once in the 60s.) The conventional wisdom of an exclusive culture always acts to dehumanize outsiders. Dehumanizing labels is only the start then you gotchyer, allegations of inferiority, stereotyping, objectifications, and demonizations. Filtering mechanisms like propaganda, racism, bigotry, denial and exploitation are employed to eliminate compassion for the dehumanized outsiders. Conventional wisdom classifies a human demon, with ethnic slurs to the point where torturing and killing them along with a broadly defined ‘their kind’ becomes morally acceptable, even something to value. All well and good for those who never question the conventional wisdom under which they were socialized. Currently conventional wisdom is certain that there is only good in torture when done on behalf of 'those and that which we care most about'. Anyone want to question that?