An Open Essay To The Current Protestors of The USA On And Off Campus

Posted on 6th May 2024 by deteremineddespitewp

US protests

Foreword: For those not familiar with my site. Just a brief introduction. British. 73 years old. Christian (slightly heretical- I’ll square it with God when the time comes) . Left Winger but not of a type you would be likely to recognise. 65 years with an interest in and an affinity to the USA. 60 years interest in politics. A possible affinity to Martin Luther of Eiseben without the vitriolic antisemitism common to his time. OK. That’s me. Let’s get down to issues.

Warning
There will be harsh statements, there will be very uncomfortable points of view, there will be a number reminders about The World, there will be questions asked of the reader, directly. And there will no simple arguments or points of view or answers

Overview
It has to be accepted that the current one of the many outbreaks of full scale violence between Israelis and Palestinians has attracted the attention of the world. Emotions are running high as well as broadly justifiable feelings at the violence and the loss of life. Looking out from my allegorical window you must accept me thinking. ‘What a pity such demonstrations had not been expressed in other recent times for other peoples in their own sufferings through violence. The events were on accessible on the news and received sustained coverage on the Internet,’ I am not just discussing Ukraine here. Just check the word ‘Genocide’ and look back over the past twenty years. That said we must move on, for there is a future to discuss. We can learn from The Past. We may act upon The Present. But We must prepare for The Future. Your Future. The Future of Children, Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren.

Next, something about The Past and The Nature of Events.

Events, Reactions and ‘Causes’. The Shadows and Shrouds of History
Political and Social Events which make the news do not have simplistic backgrounds, they have complex histories, and History has a way of extending itself back and back and back. There is no sudden start point. Back into the deep past there will be a gradual build up of a momentum which at some juncture reaches the Deluge or Avalanche or Earthquake stage and from there on those Earlier Events will have a strong resonance in the causes of Subsequent Events, and so on. Each one causing its own set of ripples or fault lines, criss-crossing the Human Geography of Peoples and their Communities, while calling up the echoes and resonances of the Past at a pace and frequency which leaves the observer possibly embracing the notion that Time is not linear or moving in one direction.

To witness October and onwards and put these in full focus requires what some would call an unsatisfactory and arguably heartless approach. Some would in the spirit of outrage at the loss of life simply deny. Usually these opening words of mine would be a conclusion of a paragraph. In this case just take them as warning of where we are going, a place where Death and Ruination have often walked, and the participants comfort themselves with many justifications, which depending on your view can appear strong but reasonable. We start in A Place which will have a focus in History. 7th October 2023. A concerted incursion by Hamas into Israel causing a very heavy loss of Life.

Of those protesting ‘Regrettable’ some might say. Even condemnatory. However they will add, for there is often an ‘However’ in these matters ‘Just look at the way Israel has treated the Palestinians. That is terrible and has been going on for so many years’ . Well in the harsh prism of History, yes that is an understandable, even acceptable outlook. Treat a people badly and there will be a violent reaction. There is a problem though with that line. The Jewish peoples of Europe (Russia gets included whether it likes it or not) for one thousand years or more were subjected to similar treatments and killings. When they finally get back to what they call their lands they have a long history of their own justifications. They learnt from ‘Europe’ (since there still appears to be a majority of American citizens who can trace European ancestry that includes You too). Therefore the tacit acceptance argument which is used for Hamas gets comparably morphed with a bloody swiftness and ease into one of ‘understanding’ the Israeli approach. Still be horrified? By all means be so? Tell me I am distorting the position? Be outraged. Point out that the death toll in Palestine exceeds that of Israel 30 fold. That is your right. Of course.

Now dip into the bloody, wide, deep, tribute river of War, one that ever flows from the larger River History. 350,000-500,000 German civilians in the allied strategic bombing campaign of WWII. 70,000 British civilians in the German aerial campaigns by bomb or rocket. True that is ‘only’ 7 fold. At the time the governments accepted the other sides losses- ‘they started it’. Thus do not be surprised at the Israeli response. It is one that takes place with regularity throughout the world throughout the ages, and no one seems to have a solution which puts an end to it.

You may now, if you wish express more outrage, only please do not accuse me of justifying Israel’s response. I am merely pointing out to you the Horror. This is how it works. I cite a few others. Ask the Syrian’s. Ask those Chechen folk not in a warlord’s pay, ask the Tamils, ask the Uyghurs, ask The Iranian Women and the Afghan Women (although the latter two were not bombed or shelled, just beaten up and locked up, only ‘a few’ died the other thousands upon thousands only live in terror and cohesion, and being locked up ). Ask the Women where Rape is used as a weapon of war. Keep on asking. You should. Keep on asking. For if you have taken up the Palestinian Cause, it does not end there, not in this troubled turbulent dangerous world. Marching on one Embassy, up and down one street is not going to trouble the worshipers at the Triple Altars of Death and Ruin and Oppression

“We can learn from The Past. We may act upon The Present. But We must prepare for The Future.”

Into Tomorrow, and Tomorrow and Tomorrow

Now to you. You who have taken up a Cause. You who have felt the need to protest. What will you do now?
Pack up and say ‘I did my bit’, then go onto the ‘rest of your life’
Continue with the Palestinian Cause
Or sign up for the Great Struggle.-The one where the Oppressors, Merchants of Violence, Hate Mongers, and Opportunists With Guns are legion. The one where the victims are counted in their millions, be they dead, dying, sick, injured, terrorised, brutalised, violated and ever on the move or sitting in hapless squalor. All located somewhere on the inside pages of a newspaper, maybe mentioned as a filler on a news channel, or when some anniversary comes along, or to be found by following a few links on the net. Those dead and those anguished faces, along with those dulled-eyed with the whole horror, forgotten. What comfort do they have? A few dogged journalists? Charities working ever hard?

If you are truly honest, if you truly care, you will learn a lesson from this time in Palestine and in the South West of Israel. You will realise there is no respite, there is no time to congratulate and go home to Sunshine and Lollipops. Hate. Violence. They never rest. They are never cowed permanently. If you are not ever alert, keeping a weather eye, willing to challenge not just your government but the ones who gave the acquiescence to pull the triggers, then somewhere, somewhen Some Folk will be suffering. One episode of protest does not cut it. If you care, you do not get to select the Cause. The Causes will come to you and ask for at least some attention.

Just take some time out and take a lot at the Amnesty site, or Medicins San Frontières’ or UNHCR, or – you just look.

Did you? Will you? When you do, be prepared for the shock and the feeling of absolute helplessness. Be ready to say without thinking ‘But I Can’t Be Everywhere!’.

No you can’t. Nor can those in the charities which work through the world. They try and they spread slender resources. I know how you feel. I challenge myself every day. As I write this the nagging thought burrows deeper. ‘Fine Words. Now What Else Are You, Roger, Going To Do?’ and ‘Do you know you are in danger of sounding like John Bolton. An old guy demanding younger folk sacrifice themselves for your ideals?’

But I am not trying to stir the passive or the complacent or the apathetic. I am addressing You, those who have seen it right and just to take up a Cause, remember it is but one piece of a larger, bloodied ghastly picture where blood, tears and body parts are the paints and the canvas is human skin.

This in Palestine, as it did in Ukraine, in Syria will pass from the headlines, it already has started. At least it made the headlines. Learn then from this which will become the Past and realise there will be more of the same next year and the year after and so on. Unless we all in same way, somehow, some-constantly do whatever we can, how we can, where we can, when we can.

My generation with its flowers, face paints, gaudy clothes and music which at times was over-long and self-indulgent, we quite frankly failed. We went to a music festival or two, we might have marched, most certainly purchased the right albums, and then? We in the UK voted in Margaret Thatcher, You in the USA did likewise with Ronald Regan and two Bushes (the elder Not So Bad, The Younger in Comparison with now…?). And in our later years We welcomed Boris Johnson and Brexit and You let Donald Trump, the Action Toy of MAGA be placed in the Whitehouse. Don’t fall into the trap of complacency or that curse of ageing which tends to set in in the 40s the ‘Huh! In My Day’ response as if what will take place will be nothing to do with us ‘We did our bit’
Yes, about that

One Final Message, Wrapped Up In Fable, A Warning And Even Admonishment

And this year. This possibly fateful year. The one which made decide whether the USA carries on, stumbling as do all nations, or slides off that time-honoured road, down the one where there are always storms and you can only just make out the sign-post ‘Warning. Rock Slides Ahead’. You have seen the intentions of the Right, you have heard the ravings of the spolied Brat who did not forgive for losing the last Presidential Election. To elaborate let me tell you that fable:

There was this guy. A man of simple Christian Faith, who prayed every morning, noon and night. He did not doubt God for a minute.
One day he hears on the radio a severe weather warning, storms are on their way, bringing heavy flooding. At once he gets down on his knees and prays to God to protect and deliver him. The rains start, the worst he has ever seen. He prays. A little later, a knock at the door, a police officer is there ‘Sir. You’re house is in danger of being hit by the flood. You best evacuate,’. The man assures the officer God will protect him, he will pray. The officer doesn’t argue, he’s got more houses, anyhow the fellow will soon change his mind when the waters come. The waters come, his house is cut off. An emergency crew in a boat turn up, hailing him. He tells them the same thing. They get a call on the radio, a woman not far off is in labour. Well she comes first. Off they go. The waters rise. The man is now on the roof, still praying. Along comes a rescue helicopter. He waves them off calling up that God will protect him. The crew have been on a long shift, the storm is getting worst. They can’t hang around, they got kids to save. So the house is swept away and he drowns.
He arrives at Heaven’s Gate, greeted by and angel with a clipboard. The man complains at sound length about how he prayed and yet still was drowned, How does that figure? Why didn’t God listen and help? The angel consults his clipboard.
‘Well dear friend. God sent you a radio warning. God sent you a police officer. God sent you a rescue crew. In the end God sent you a helicopter. What more did you want?’

So then, I ask you, in all sincerity. What is this business about not supporting Biden? Have you not had enough warnings about what the Right has in store for you and the rest of the USA? They’ve made it very clear, give them that. They are going to roll up their sleeves and they are going to do their level best to sweep away liberal reforms. They are going to display their ignorance of socialism, squawk about this ‘woke’ word like crows with indigestion, get hysterical about what other folk do in their privacy, pick bits out of the Bible like stale crumbs and their followers are going to love it, then as a special treat they will throw minorities to the mob.

I would ask you, do you think, not just for one spasm of angry thought, but as a whole agenda that your selective punishment of Biden over Palestine is going to help those folk? Must I remind you that the alternatives are locked into an style of Christian Fundamentalism that is quite content for Israel to do this? If Trump gets back in the Whitehouse and you still stuck with your own fundamentalist agenda then you in part will be responsible for any more Palestinian deaths. Yes. Cause and Effect are terrible twins. In this ever tightening world none of us are actually free of them, but some choices can have more bitter effects than others. You do not get to try and parse your way out of this one. It is Biden or it is Trump. You cannot hide from that brutal truth. This World I have to emphasise is ever complex, nothing is easy, nothing is straightforward, nothing has but one answer. It is all hard work and dirty words like Compromise, Accommodation, Acceptance, Deals, Manoeuvre, Politics and all the rest that get the job done. You might wish for a better one, you might even be working for a better one, but in the meantime, you have this one.
There are other implications to punishing Biden and the danger of letting Trump in. Other aspects you will have to take in part-responsibility. You will have to explain to the LGBT+ community, to women living in fear of getting pregnant, to librarians, to minority groups, to teachers, to the future casualties and families of mass killings how your stance in punishing Biden was the right moral choice.

I am aware I appear cutting, but there is no other way. Implications hang heavy on the shoulders of anyone taking up a cause. They have the challenge of getting the balance right. and the challenge which turns inevitably into a responsibility. There is no way out. Nothing is simple. Ever. You might call me cynical. You are mixing that up with Realism. If I was cynical I would not have taken ten hours over four days out of my time to work on this. (That doesn’t include the thoughts running through my head while doing chores). I would have ‘let them get on with it, they’ll find out in time,’

In Conclusion
You will, I expect be holding fast to your beliefs that your opposition to Israel is the right course for you to take, that this is not a passing phase in the summer of 2024. If this is your choice may I make a plea in these points.

Remember the target is the current Intolerant Fanatical Government, whose brothers in Hate reside in Tehran, who gifted Trump the playbook on how to get The Big Seat. The target is not the Israeli people. And curses upon those who tell you it is the Jews. The target is the government, don’t forget.

Reach out across the distances to those in Israel who are angry at their government and wish to be rid of it. Support them. If they are demonstrating , then you should be in sympathy to. Have them realise there are friends out there, that they don’t have to circle the wagons with the unsavoury fanatics. Israeli politics is another complexity, one shove in the correct direction can bring change.

Research just who are the internal oppositions in Israel, the ones who for long years have tried to preach the creed of accommodation and partnership with Palestinians who also tread that dangerous road of recrimination and violence from within their own communities. For too long The Western Groups supporting Palestinians have not taken that road. When it is the blindingly obvious one.

We must prepare for The Future. Your Future. The Future of Children, Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren.

Of Perceptions, Explanations and more than a few Accusations (On My Faith Part II)

Posted on 29th Apr 2024 by deteremineddespitewp

Foreword: In addition to being a continuation from Part I
There’s Nothing Simple Out There (One Christian’s Declarations Concerning Their Faith and the Subject of Evidence. Part I)
The two together are also an expansion on a post from past August, which some might say. ‘OK that’s all we need to know. Give it a rest already’. That is your choice:
Religion. Another Viewpoint (With Some Assistance From Quantum Mechanics & Cosmology)
The intention of the two parts together is to seek to go deeper, and wider.

This post moves from the questions Physical (both Scientific and Historical) and into the more intangible concepts of the basics of Faith, Belief both in the Religious/Theological and also in the Social…. and also gives more space to a few polemics,

Therefore:
The Theological Perspective
The Social Perspective
Finally a Summary

In this I will mostly restrict my commentary to the Christian Faith. If I do refer to other Faiths, brevity will be utilised and sweeping generalisations avoided in areas which require a more detailed knowledge.

Theology / Religiosity / Faith. All from Within

Retrospect

In Part I I contended that when set against the backdrop of the Scientific Perspective with all the unexplored areas, by the same perspective there was therefore no reason to say a person cannot hold to a belief in a Deity. The non-existence of a Deity cannot be physically proven.

Folk will of course put forth their own arguments for that non-existence but will always come up against the problem that they cannot offer physical proof to support their case. And likewise neither can I point to the place where God is, as one would say a mountain. It all comes down to Belief, or which has equal importance Doubt. Some might argue that in a world which shows so many tragedies and harm upon the Innocent, Doubt is the most honest approach of the Three stances. And others would contend that in my last post I inadvertently produced a case for Agnosticism.

We seek out ways to perceive the Vastness in Space, Time and Reason. A journey we may never complete. Let that be so. However such knowledge should never stop us doing so.

On Some Assertions Concerning Religions / Faiths Etc.

Before proceeding I need to address two commonly made statements which appear to attribute to Theisms certain properties:

Religion Is The Cause of War

And so is Economics, so is Politics, so are Resources, so are Cultural Differences, so is The Desire for Independence, so is the Willingness to Be Led, and so is, so is, so is.
Claiming one cause is an unconscious attempt to let ourselves, that is Humanity off of the hook, the flaw in our natures in which we embrace War and its lesser relative Conflict.
Once more for Brevity’s sake, and using European thinking, of which they may like it or not Russia and the USA have embraced; yes there have been wars in which religion was a foundation. Looking at the European side of history.
Crusades (quickly to turning into a land grab, as well as alliances with Muslim states and wars with other ‘Christian’ states)
The French 16^th Century Wars of Religion (nobles changes sides and beliefs like socks- And Henry of Navarre Huguenot / Protestant turned Catholic – ‘Paris is Worth A Mass’)
30 Years War. One of the more obvious ones. (Except for the fact that Catholic France was in conflict with Catholic Spain and supporting Protestant Sweden)

So whereas it can be argued religion started the ones mentioned above, politics soon became involved and in various forms eased into the driving seat.
There is a line of arguments within professional Historians circles that the term is actually a Western perspective, and is just one facet of a myriad causes.
Basically Humanity is the cause of War, to assume if there were no religions there would be no wars is to assume something very peculiar about the conflicts between 1900 and 1950, to cite glaring example.

Religion Is The Opium of The People

There may have been a time somewhere between The Enlightenment and The Birth of Socialism / Communism that arose the argument for religion being something that the ‘Ruling Classes’ use to keep the population in line and to feel that all would be well if they believed.

Firstly as it will be seen from the experiences under authoritarian and atheistic regimes which entered the lexicon in the 20th Century, Religion was replaced by Party Doctrine as the ‘Opium’. Once more it can be pointed out that Humanity is very inventive in producing its ‘Opiums’. In Post WWII, in the West, Europe in particular religious observance went into a decline whereas materialism and consumerism went upwards ever upwards. In latter years the worship of Celebrity has become a factor, with a new schism of Influencer each bringing forth their adherents and of course nasty disputes between the various ‘belief’ systems.

Another facet of the argument that religion kept the population in check tends to fall apart when matters are exanimated under the microscope of History. Over the centuries there have been a constant list of uprising from the ground level, often targeting the established religious set-up. Far from keeping folk in check once the system is seen to be with its abuses ‘rebellion’ be it in another form of religion or in a secular approach will arise. Reformation. Rise of Communism; just two.

Be honest folks. The problem is People. Always People. It is no use blaming one system or another, WE are the ones who run them.

Religion In General. And Faith. Which Can Be Quite Separate

OK, having tried to get Religion off the hook and shift the blame where it belongs onto People, and with that theme in mind, let us consider that issue.

World Population 8 billion
Christianity 2.4 billion
Islam 1.9 billion
Hinduism 1.2 billion
Buddhism 520 million (0.52 billion)
Judaism 15.2 million (0.152 billion )
Also some estimated other religions 10,000 (mostly local) – exact numbers not available.

We could spend a great deal of time and effort separating those figures by differing approaches, gender, age groups, geographical locations and cultural implications. This would still leave us with a large portion of the population of the planet having a theistic belief. There one question which itself sub-divides and that is.

How much Faith is there in The Religion? When I use the term Faith I am referring not to a confidence in the beliefs I am asking of dedication to those core beliefs which transcend the Social Norms, The Customs, The Ethnicity, and The Political aspects ever present in Life and which also have an influence upon us. Religion contains a dual purpose: To Explain and to Codify behaviour. At the very root, foundation, call it what you will lies essentially a path to embrace community and seek out that ever evasive Better Way.

Now it would be naïve of me to write the above words without knowing full well that there will be a substantial number of folk who would at least shake their heads in disagreement, and possibly howl in outrage, when ‘everyone’ can cite numerous instances or bits of religious works which argue the opposite. And yet imagine if the majority of those believing in a deity took to violence. The world is tragic enough with minorities using religion as their excuse taking up arms. Of course that does attract news commentary, which is only natural. Yet there are folk of Faith, quietly working away to try to make Life Better. Relying on their Faith

I will offer you this, based on my Faith, and on reflection as to the numbers of people with a religious based Faith. I believe that there is room enough for all Faiths. I believe it matters not to me whether a person’s religiously bound Faith is different to mine. If they hold to Compassion, Respect and Tolerance as part of their Faith that is fine. The rest is just not important. We choose different paths, which evolved from myriad reasons. As long as we meet on those three principals. What does it matter? And how does that square you ask? Are there lots of gods then? Well I would say no, just many ways to receive a message.

Yes, I would get into a bit of trouble with the hierarchy. Being Christian and Catholic I am quite aware that ‘The Church’ does not like the concept of Relativism. Yeah, well I square that with God at some stage. That’s where the final say on the matter will be. Though I’m still working out my own personal theological notions. Kind of Quantum? Yes?

The Impact and Reaction to Religion in Society. (Inside Looking Out)

There is a lot that annoys me and saddens me about the divides which are going on. In this case I’m sticking back with Christianity as this is my home turf as it were’. That said I am not allowing this come between me and my good atheistic friends here on WP.

Firstly, I repeat have no time for these quasi-fundamentalists who are only using religion as a convenience to fit their prejudices, their privileges, their hypocrisies, hates, fears and hysterias.

Secondly I would make a general appeal to a section of the atheist Community.
Will you please stop packaging all of us with that aforementioned group. You don’t do that with races, do you? And it does not occur to some that the remarks they make are downright offensive to us as well? I am sure these are mostly directed at the quasi-fundamentalists? But stop to think for a moment? Are you not profiling us all? Mock the hypocrites sure. But lay off basic beliefs will you? Just ask questions. Don’t make accusations or offensive remarks, or mock. That hurts. And by the way says more about you that it does about a moderate believer. Some of the throw away lines I have encountered are mere mirror images of the MAGA style self-identifying ‘believers’ ‘Religious BS’ is a common one? Seriously? Has the accuser ever spoken to a Christian who also embraces scientific teaching, the whole of Cosmology (well as much as we know)?
Sadly this is another fracture line. Society is filled with them.

Currently there seems to be three types of religion. There’s the uncomplicated Faith based one which is down to personal choice. There’s the Community one, in which folk of similar beliefs meet up and share. Those two overlap. And there is, as is usual in Human History the one which is used for Political Purposes and is soaked in Hypocrisy and Self-Service.
The latter has it’s partner in crime in Politics itself, where the political beliefs are twisted through the same processes of suiting the purposes of a party or grouping. Places where Sincerity is a variable commodity. Truth is that which is convenient to the group. And only the Opposition is guilty of Hypocrisy.

Therefore I have to say, all those charges which are placed at the doors of Religion will be equally fitted into Politics, Social Movements, Social Interactions and so on. In short Humanity is Guilty as Charged.

Summary

So, where do we draw the line between types of Belief? A person has a secular belief, be it, say, Social, Scientific or Political. They hold to that belief. They hold to it strongly. They will demonstrate an opinion which others strongly object to, some will say their belief is illusory, and a threat. In the broad scheme, where is the difference therefore between faith in The Religious or The Secular. In the scheme of Human dynamics is there a difference? People hold fast to something.

Think on this one.
Many will say they hold true to Democracy. A laudable ideal.
However….In the disaster that was WWII Two Democracies (well for White folk that is) with colonial mentalities signed up with a violent totalitarian system to defeat two other like-minded totalitarian systems and in doing so allowed their ally to reap unjust rewards and while doing so caused the deaths of millions of civilians. Both those democracies along with other democracies also subjugated and caused large numbers of deaths amongst the populations of nations within their ‘spheres’ of influence. One Democracy had built into laws racial discrimination. Recently through its arcane flummery the same democracy allowed the minority vote holder into its position of president. A fellow of questionable qualities, opening the doors to new waves of Intolerance.

Do just these few examples mean that you hold Democracy to be something to be held as false and even to be despised?

You would prefer one of the other systems? Seriously?

If you set out to target Religion in general along ethical grounds then you had better be ready to target that which you hold close too. Are you ready to condemn it as false?

Finally. This I will assert, repeat to be precise.

You do not criticise a person for having a religious belief without endangering yourself of profiling and with it having a limited perspective. If a person believes in the equality of others irrespective of race, belief and gender; if that person cares about the state of the environment; if that person holds that scientific knowledge to date is to be respected, even celebrated; if that person sees flaws in all systems and ‘We’ could and must do better, while having a belief in a Deity; then why is the latter a ‘mark’ against them? Careful how you answer that; your answer may say more about you than you care to admit.

If you are unqualified targeting Religion as a concept, you are looking in the wrong place. Look around you. Look inwards too. Theists have to do that, everyday, if they do have Faith, that is.

There’s Nothing Simple Out There (One Christian’s Declarations Concerning Their Faith and the Subject of Evidence. Part I)

Posted on 28th Mar 2024 by deteremineddespitewp

Faith

Foreword:

I would like to thank fellow WP blogger Professor Taboo for jolting me out of my ‘I really Must Get Around To Writing That Faith-Based Post Before Lent Ends’ statis state.

In advance, if you are going to read this post you are strongly advised to study his recent posts Paul, Acts, Forgeries & Marcion* Parts I & II

Paul, Acts, Forgeries & Marcion – Part I

Paul, Acts, Forgeries & Marcion – Part II

When dealing with someone else’s position and their case is argued at length, it is my practice to Copy & Paste onto a Word Doc for reference and scale. Please note PT’s posts are 4,400+ & 3,800+ words long respectively. It is likely mine will go into some length too. Neither of us subscribe to sound-bites, emojis, GIFs or any other modern shorthand with such a weighty subject.

If you want to get involved set aside some time.

Warning:

This is not actually a rebuff to the above posts. It’s not even a word by word dispute over the evidence. Some might be disappointed I will not be addressing directly the topics raised. Expressed are words and thoughts and beliefs of mine which have been looking for an inspiration to come out in full flood. And here we are. Just read on

It is only fair to point out, the views you will encounter will be considered by some as heretical, blasphemous or as per Catholic Teaching ‘Relativism’ (which kinda puts me at odd with the current Pope. Never mind God will put me right at some stage). On the other side of the coin as some exasperated atheists said to me ‘You don’t know what you believe!’ or ‘You are just dodging the issue!’ or….To be honest I forgot the rest. They just didn’t like me being open minded Cosmically speaking.

Outline

It can be broadly stated that the first post deals with The Physical Side, for it encompasses Cosmology, History and Quantum Physics. These are all areas which contain elements of physical evidence yet are also with uncertainties and speculations. The second post will involve my views and criticisms of Theological and those Social elements which cross over.

The whole comprises An Overview, Four Perspectives and a Summary. These will break down as follows:

One Theistic Cosmological Overview (Read here)

Historical Perspectives (Read here)

Scientific Perspectives (Read here)

Theological Perspective (Next Post)

Social Perspective (Next Post)

The String Theory Summary. (Plagiarising from Quantum Physics. Tying the four perspectives all together) (Next Post)

One Theistic Cosmological Overview:

My belief is that if you are going embrace a theistic belief you will be in the area of accepting a Supreme Being and Creator. Since you are therefore saying this Supreme Being was responsible for All That Is, Was and Ever Shall Be, then you need to consider dealing with a very, very large concept and be ready to view from more than one direction and discipline. You should also have an outlook which will endeavour to encompass a great deal and be very flexible.

To begin with let us look at one simple request.

Whether you are theistic or atheistic can you take someone of the opposite view to a location in this 14 billion year old, (though there is work out there which argues 26+ years old) 90+ billion light year in observable diameter Universe and say

‘Look this is where My God is. There we are. Case proven’

‘This where your God should be but isn’t’. Case proven,’

Well? Can we, either side of the argument? No of course we can’t. We have garnered a rough idea of the Universe based on a variety of investigations, but neither has incontrovertible proof to answer my request. And that is where Faith / Belief comes in. To walk the indefinable area of Human thought in which a concept is held to in the absence of solid, definite physical evidence.

Some might promptly argue that I will be dodging issues, shrugging and saying ‘I don’t know’ and just repeating ‘stuff’.

Not so.

When addressing a such a vast subject of the belief in a Supreme Deity, the necessity of brining a myriad of disciplines to the discussion is vital, lest we get out of focus. There is the likelihood on this side of Life that parts of this subject cannot as yet and may not ever be proven. Here is where Faith or Belief come in. And on all sides of the argument.

We cannot physically prove, but we can believe.

Historical Perspectives

History is a powerful teacher, also a remorseless one, laying bear uncomfortable facts which do not suit those who prefer matters neat and tidy. The latter aspect is an important facet to keep in mind because at some stage all of us will always try and bend history to suit our ideas. The more objectively minded will to seek out details to argue or question a point of view and deal with the matter analytically. Others will try and deal in bare facts to leave the rest up to the reader, but that is a near impossibility; to repeat we all tend to bring our own thoughts and agendas to the debate.

At its basic Human History works like this. A does something. B reacts to what A did. C gets involved either because of A or B. Then D turns up probably because of what A, B and C are doing. After that it is likely E. F, G, H and so forth get involved. Meanwhile you get alliances such as Ab’s or Ba’s etc, etc. With all this laid out before an observer it is only natural to initially see things through their own eyes.

Yet History is a collection of evidence, and one glorious aspect is that new or forgotten evidence is being constantly uncovered for examination. Even the absence of evidence carries a value all of its own. However, whatever be it evidence or none, that will be open to interpretation. One thing however is certain do not take a dramatisation as fact and tread wary of legends or a folklore. Nor read one historian’s account and say ‘That is all I need to know’. Remember those As, Bs, Cs, Ds and so forth? Who is telling you what A did? And Why? Keep your antenna and radar tuned.

The groundwork is laid out. I will now look at the question of the Christianity and give you my…I repeat MY opinion, and in consequence translation.

Now the original starting point for Christian Belief is contained within the Old Testament, which in turn originates from a Hebrew source and following the New Testament which contain four accounts of Jesus Christ’s Life and Ministry until his mortal death then resurrection. The New Testament also contains the subsequent accounts of the followers of Jesus’ and their writings, ending with the mystical Book of Revelation.

Before proceeding further, again it is necessary, vital in fact to bear in mind the following

The OT is a collection of works. Some are the written versions of oral accounts. Some are commentaries on a particular time with a religious take. Others are the accounts of the experiences, life and times of a prophet. Others are essentially instructions for the time and the circumstances for an orderly society of the time. It should also be borne in mind that within these were poetical approaches in an endeavour to encompass at attempt to understand a cosmic or philosophical issue; while some will be takes on histories. And the whole covers a span of centuries. The OT also differs from, arguably its forebear the Hebrew Bible.

When approaching The NT, it is essential to bear in mind the four gospels are differing approaches. There are three Synoptic Gospels, Mark, Matthew and Luke which are similar in structure and narrative but differ because of their intended audiences. Mark being the earliest, a bare account for others, Matthew intended for a Jewish readership and Luke for a more cosmopolitan readership. John stands slightly more apart as it has esoteric theme and maybe be later. There then follows those accounts of the activities of followers of the new faith and their own letters and that ‘The Book of Revelation’. (not ‘Revelations’)- whosever might believe that is a literal prophecy might well consider the following:

For the purposes of the Historical it should be borne in mind that these works have been through several translations of language before they reach whatever, for the sake of brevity English version you are looking at. Therefore, remember that each translation will have its own assumptions and evaluations as to what ‘that’ word or phrase meant. To go around with a highlighter and sticking bits of paper in selected pages for one purpose or another might be useful for a rebuttal against a view point you disagree with. To use it as a basis for persecution is to me heresy if not downright blasphemy. The literal use of an English version is a few levels below actually studying the inherent messages.

At this stage for the purposes of Faith and Belief the citing of this piece of English or that piece of English as a basis for proving that one side or the other is right or wrong, I would assert ‘Does Not Really Matter’ They are useful in debates on who wrote What, Why, Where or When and for What Reason, and also if ‘They’ wrote it or someone else. Or was it a combined job?

In this, these debates are on the same level as to whether some personality out of History was as Good, Bad, Adept, Inept as they are traditionally painted. Whether they were actually ‘There’, ‘Here’ at such a time. And so forth.

In cannot be argued that such discussions do not add to the layers of circumstances and history is already filled with commentaries one way or another.

When however it comes to the basics of The Christian Faith, the question to ask is. Do they add or detract to the evidence of a Jesus Christ and his activities? This is the basic line for any Christian. Therefore, onto the Historical Evidence of Jesus, most likely born in Nazareth, Palestine at the early years of 1^st Century AD/CE.

To summarise there is evidence of a man out of Galilee who was crucified in what I would call a political expediency between the Roman Authorities, The Court of the Client King and the religious council the Sanhedrin, the latter having the power to bring out a mob at the figurative click of the fingers. What no side wanted was another figurehead for another movement, particularly one who was not preaching armed resistance; the Romans knew how to deal with a call to arms.

In their independent works both Jewish historian Josephus and Roman historian Tacitus, make relative passing reference to Jesus. At this stage of history of the area from Europe to the Middel East the majority of surviving documentation comes from within the Roman Empire’s boundaries and thus would cover a large number of issues, events and personalities. What would happen in one small region of the edges would attract minimal attention at the time. Which is why what we can call historical evidence is so sparse.

It is enough though.

Enough for a Faith you say?

Well, let me place before you the reasoning thus far.

In One Theistic Overview I argued as no one can physically prove there is no God I am at Liberty chose to belief in God. In the Historical Perspectives I can place the Old and New Testaments are documentations which indicate there are bases for the origins of my faith and part of the foundation of that faith. I also cite there is evidence for an Historical Jesus.

Thus upon these the case for my belief is founded.

But you ask. This seems to be slender stuff. You seem to talk of absences of solid evidence and also uncertainties as firm foundations. Are these not paradoxical, and in consequence subject to doubt? There is actually another perspective to bring back into the focus. The Scientific.

Let us continue to share the journey.

Scientific Perspectives

Warning: Not simple. This is long in itself. Convoluted. It’s The Nature of The Concept.

Second Warning. Be prepared for at least one ‘Where is he going with this interlude?’

The Cosmological Overview was an initial introduction to scope and size of the issues involved when discussing Faith and Beliefs. Rather than go straight to Science in more details it seemed neater to take on the Historical approach to establish the next part of the evidence foundation. This done, let us return to address the Scientific side of the subject.

As we know Science is a word which covers a vast number of subjects, all playing their part in the knowledge which we utilise for better or for worse in Humanity’s turbulent voyage. Rather than try and pick through each branch and in turn the associated subjects, a task which would take up at least one year’s worth of at least weekly posts, and that would be skimming the surface I intend to look at two scales.

The smallest, being the sub-atomic and the largest which takes us back to the Cosmological.

Here we encounter the counter-intuitive to our daily experiences, the parallels to the challenges Western folk of the last century have faced regarding the acceptance of a Supreme Deity. The world of Physics and the World of Theistic Belief both contain facets which do not fit into our Daily World. Challenges and reactions criss-cross. I assert there are parallels, there are commonalties.

Let me just throw a few everyday questions out there. Physics first. Religion second.

How can Light be both a particle and a wave of energy? Two aspects at once? What really is this Time-Space thing; we are attuned to Length – Width – Depth, and doesn’t Time just flow in one direction anyway? Things get ‘Old’ don’t they? And what’s this about 11 or 20 dimensions- how does that figure?

Where is this ‘God’? Why doesn’t ‘This God’ stop wars? Why are bad things happening? And to come back to The Science side- how can One Being have complete domination over one galaxy of an average of 100 million stars; that’s before we started on the billions of galaxies concept?

Those are questions which can crop up in the minds of everyday people who chance upon these subjects. There are though no easy answers. It is part of our fate to forever come up against questions whose answers do not seem to be on any horizon.

Just to illustrate what ‘we’ are up against.

(Before I start there is a body of opinion which is dismissive of Wikipedia as an information source. Whatever your views on that topic, Wikipedia it is a good source of illustrating the depth, length and width of a topic.)

Science

I typed in the phrase ‘Unsolved Problems’. The category Natural Sciences was sub divided into seven separate categories: The category ‘Mathematics’ into four. For our collective sakes I will go no further. You should be able to gauge the scope the issue from those details alone, and that’s before we consider the subject of divergent views on how something was ‘solved’

Theism

A search under Theism suggests a vastness of topics. I narrowed it down to Christian – Systemic Theology and also Constructive Theology (which is a relatively new approach.) And the result was Ten different categories. And as with Physics I did look but will go no further. Feel free to do so, but make time.

Yes, since ‘Scientific Perspectives’ was typed out nearly Five Hundred words in and he’s still not got the nub of the matter.

Of course not. Neither subject is simple. Neither subject can be compacted into one small fold-open pamphlet. Normally anything serious on either requires ‘Papers’ as in a ‘Paper On…’ and more likely entire books and you are still skimming the true surface.

Complexity upon Complexity

Volumes, upon volumes of works on both topics. Writers argue back and forth. There are whole trends of developments, re-appraisals, new lines of thought. Admittedly I am not aware of there being a theological version of the Large Hadron Collider, so Physics does have an ‘physical’ edge there. But ‘physical’ edge in Religion? We will return to this issue after we have considered some more issues still open for debate and see how they interact in both arenas.

Creation (as in Of the Universe)

Currently The Big Bang holds sway, whether it was 14 billion years ago, or even more is up for debate. For the majority of folk, the concept of there being No Time No Space just a very compact ‘item’ and nothing else is counter-intuitive. We cannot comprehend the situation. Try and you end most likely up with a ‘Why’ or a ‘Well How…’. And yet we, in the main, accept this sort of.

Since we ‘sort of’ accept this, for some of us the notion that a Being also beyond our imagination effectively said ‘Let There Be Light’ therefore seems a reasonable opinion to hold. After all we all already into the realms of the unimaginable No Time, No Space realm, so what is wrong with believing in ‘Someone’ started it?

Yes it is a type of Creationism. In purely physical / physics terms so is the Big Bang. Creationism as ‘It All Started’

What you might call Creationism in a biblical sense itself is divided into various schools, from the basic Seven, literal Days, along the paths of ‘Seven’ being allegorical, into an area of ‘episodes’ of Creation. The whole displaying sophistication of thought keeping a pace with discoveries. In fact, as with the science of Cosmology, Creationism can be evolving. Bear in mind not so long ago it was accepted in scientific circles that there was just one galaxy, revolving to stop spinning apart into the vastness of space. Now we know more.

Therefore, since we do not know, absolutely, positively, completely everything there is to know, to hold to the belief that ‘God’ created the Universe is a valid opinion. The Hows, The Whys and The What-Exactly is the Universe; well, we are all still working on that, and most likely will be forever doing so.

In The Quantum World and its Cousin in Mystery – Theism.

Quantum Mechanics and Quantum Physics are not new discoveries, albeit it that they made their larger appearance in the Modern Physics of the 20^th Century. Their applications in the modern world move allegorically hand in hand with the advance in computers, one complimenting the other, firstly bringing transistors and by now advances into devices relying on computers until we stand on the edge of Quantum AI and a wealth of possibilities.

The studies of the subject and the explorations are quite a different level. It is here we confront the realm of the subatomic particles and their properties, or their place in the construct of matter. As the search progresses questions arise which are illustrated in complex mathematical equations and references to a number of aspects which in turn have their own mathematics, (illustrated dramatically in films by rapid use of chalk and a very big board). String Theory, M-Theory, Extra Dimensions are but a few concepts which are commonly discussed but leave the ordinary person struggling to grasp their concepts. You can opt for standing back in awe and saying ‘Wow’ though.

Theism has been around for a lot longer and appears to be dogged by a pattern which Humanity follows without learning. In myriad forms it attempted to bring a social code to what would have been an otherwise chaotic situation and has endeavoured to bring a means of comprehension to the mysteries which confound us. And yet flawed creatures that we are, we argue to the point of persecution and war over meanings and supremacy of one belief system over another. Thus, Theism like the rest of Human efforts is tarnished. Which when you consider the misuse computer systems have been put too indicates the problem lies with Humanity. But more about that when in the next post we consider Theological and Social issues. At this stage I am going to make an attempt to consider The Parallel with Quantum.

This being that the further we go into the study of Quantum the more challenges arise, which is very similar when delving into a belief system. In this case Christianity. It is simple enough to believe in a God, a Son of God, and if your beliefs go in that direction A Holy Spirit. The problems arise when you go deeper into those difficult ethical questions such as

How Active is God in our Lives, and thus How?

Why do bad things keep on happening to the innocent and the vulnerable?

If God is suffering with Us, just how does that work. What does that mean?

Where did God come from?

Just what is God’s plan or purpose?

I could go on and on…and on.

Theologians have been battling with these and the objections to their suggestions for centuries (and some of them taking time out to discuss the mysteries of the cosmos. The concept of other worlds has been up for debate for millennia, 1,500 years in Christianity ).

Therefore I contend these two Disciplines which are replete with The Counter-Intuitive mirror each other, often coming along with a ‘There must be a…because this indicates there is….’.

And thus there is no shame in saying ‘I don’t know’ though just leaving it like that and shrugging does not necessarily apply to the entire following of a belief system. WE keep on keeping on. Our religion is not moribund, which stopped somewhere a thousand years ago. Not so.

Miracles

(Possibly the Theistic Version of the Large Hadron Collider?)

In some respects, most of the previous observations and postulations could be construed as a build-up to this. A balanced reason why ‘Miracles’ as recorded in The New Testament can be viewed by ‘The Believer’ as credible acts.

By this point you will be aware that as far as I perceive, within the enormity and complexity of Existence from the smallest particle (currently The Quark?) to the massive walls which are groups of groups of galaxies (eg Great Sloan Wall) to say something ‘Cannot Happen’ is not a Definite. We, Here, Now are nowhere, anywhere close to beginning to know Everything.

In this frame of mindset I consider the following as examples:

The Immaculate Conception (Virgin Birth)- Invoking the biological process of Parthenogenesis is taking a big risk. There would be a lot of complaints and objections. Fair enough, I am just saying Sexual Reproduction is not the only means about. Really I should play it safe, cite general mythical traditions and those of the Abrahamic works. Then consider the various Christian writings on the subject and hint at the allegorical.

Not going to do that. I chose to take the literal option that a divine force caused within Mary’s ovaries conception to begin. I will also look to my brothers and sisters in Abrahamic Faith in Islam to quote from an English translation of the Quaran “So will it be! Your Lord says, ‘It is easy for Me. And so will We make him a sign for humanity and a mercy from Us.’ It is a matter ˹already˺ decreed.” (Please note in Islam, Jesus is a revered prophet). (To brothers and sister in faith as Muslims my apologies for any inadvertent errors or mis-quoting)

I do so, because I can see no specific reason why a Being beyond our own level of existence could not do this. And that is that. There may be some impossible concepts out there, but it seems the more we seek knowledge the more we find That Isn’t So.

Resurrection

Since declaring my belief in the Immaculate Conception there would be an element of inconsistency in not having the same faith in the Resurrection. And naturally taking the same pathway.

For this is where a person takes that Leap of Faith.

Crucifixion was a hideous punishment, a slow death by several means. Imagine trying to haul yourself up by stretched upper limbs just to breath. I could try to stumble through suggestions of a body going into shock and being mistaken for death. I could suggest a type of coma. I could go off on enough tangents to have medical professionals reading this howling ‘It Doesn’t Work Like That!’….’And anyway those legs were broken, legs were always deliberately broken during crucifixion,’

Once more. Not going to. This is where that Leap of Faith comes in. Belief. Irrespective.

Tell me, dear reader. Do you believe in Something? Irrespective of what some might call Evidence to the Contrary. Do you believe in Something you cannot see or hold? Something which at times is hard to hold on to, and yet you keep on coming back to there or here? Just Something.

I’m not going to ask you what that might be. The only time I will have a problem with you is if your belief is used as vehicle for Hate, Oppression, Discrimination, Intolerance, Irrefutable Lies and Distortions and rest of the toxins we try to use to dignify and justify our blatant flaws as we set ourselves down the road to conflict and harm.

Summary at the end of Part I.

So here I pause.

In the next part it is my intention to move into the Ethereal realms of Theology, Nature of Beliefs, Overviews of Theisms and Social Implications. The embracing of Belief and the Condemnation of misuses and abuses in attempts to justify evil.

Thanks for reading this far.

(PS: This looks OK as a post, but I cannot be held responsible for what WP’s various gubbinz will do to the final product)

These Days The World War Comes In Many Sizes.

Posted on 23rd Mar 2024 by deteremineddespitewp

Crocus City Hall

Crocus City Hall, Moscow 22nd March 2024 .It was 14, then 30, then 60 then 93. Dead. Injured? It was many, then a 100. How many escaped? Not known, but they will carry scars. Maybe they will be fearful of being in a crowd, never to go to any event again, fearing they may hear screams and gun shots. Will they ever sleep naturally again. Then multiply by numbers by relatives, friends, associates.

They were going to a concert. To have a good time. Enjoy themselves. Forget the troubles of the World. Maybe ease the pain of the loss of someone sent to Ukraine. Parallels to many Israelis back in October 2023. They were going about their ordinary lives. Just like Americans who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time in 83 mass shootings in 2024 (Up until February that is).

They weren’t in combat. They not were fitted out for fighting. They weren’t even living in dread. Not like folk in Port au Prince. Folk in Gaza. Folk in the Sudan. Folk across the Sahel (look on a map for yourself). In Congo. In Nigeria. In Pakistan. In India. In Philippines. In Malyaia. In Myanmar. In Mexico. In Ukraine. In Yemen. And that list goes on and on and on. World War. Not neat. Not one side vs another. That’s out-dated, washed away amongst the mudslide of agendas and causes, and the debris of alliances; mostly based on Hypocrisy.

Somewhere there is at least one record tallying up the estimates of non-combatants being killed. And someone will be parsing those numbers up into those unfortunately killed in cross-fires. those who were living near strategic targets, those slaughtered in some frenzy of hate and those who starve or sicken untreated because of a lack of resources. As if there is some comfort in pointing out that portions of those deaths were ‘unfortunate’. Like the police chief in To Have and Have Not says laconically about the death of the American tourist caught in cross-fire ‘It is unfortunate’ .But it’s war. What can you do?… Don’t start one? Or is that just a painfully innocent a suggestion.

Nothing worthwhile is easy to solve.

Crocus City Hall, Moscow 22nd March 2024. Dead, dying, injured, traumatised by being there, traumatised by association. Multiply that by the number of wars, rebellions, militias, gangs, mercenaries, authoritarian states, hate-groups. Some calculation. Like one of those massive boards that physicists and mathematicians have to use.

There will be the usual dash to social media to pump out the agenda. Blame this group. Blame that nation. ‘I hate…. I’m gonna blame them’….. ‘Yeah me too’. The keyboards must have been hammered over the last 12 hours.

And there will be those who will justify, or glorify those who walked into Crocus City Hall on Moscow 22nd March 2024 and killed ‘in the name of’. Like the killing of non-combatant folk of a nation is going to make any state think ‘Oh gosh. We were wrong. Sorry,’ Russia, Israel, USA, China. Four classic examples of what happens when you tread on their toes, their majorities. No, they default to ‘Someone has to pay,’ Like any group, any region, any nation with a grudge or agenda really, deep down, worries about the loss of non-combatant life. Like any of those listens to any protest across the world.

Crocus City Hall, Moscow 22nd March 2024. It’s 115 dead now. Four suspects held. Flowers being left at the site, people donating blood. It’s what ordinary folk do. Do something. Meanwhile as expected both the Ukrainian and Russian governments or security services make claim, counter claim and ridiculous assertions abut the other side. At least the ordinary folk are doing something constructive.

World War. As in a world beset by wars in all shapes and sizes, many so deep, convoluted and old that the original reasons were lost somewhere and there’s only The War. You could claim Political Expediency, Culture, Religion, Poverty, Corruption, Old Enmities, New Ones, Suspicion, Communal Hysteria; take your pick; add another, there’s no shortage.

But what to do? No use saying ‘It’s Not my Problem’. USA.Back in the 1990s what was going in The Middle East, Saudi Arabia, ‘The Gulf’ Lebanon was not ‘Your Problem’. Sure the government sent armies and folk got killed, which was a shame. But nothing to do with you. Then came 9/11- direct Cause and Effect and the USA went into several sorts of hysteria which is still plaguing you today.

And why do European nations and the USA wonder why folk from other nations are flooding into their lands. War. Famine through War. Why else should folk be so desperate?

In these days of hyper-travel, hyper-trade and hyper-communication what happens somewhere will eventually find its way in some way to your door, even if it is but an increase the cost of your favourite…..

Crocus City Hall, Moscow 22nd March 2024. It’s our problem. It’s our tragedy. It’s our concern. And that nagging one, deep down inside. The one place where you get into the tangle of Cause & Effect, of Apathy and its distant cousin Selective Outrage, of Disassociation, of Assumptions Without Thought, and the rest. The one where we have to ask ‘Was That Something To Do With Me?’ Hopefully not. Hopefully you started out as innocent bystander who tried to do something constructive, even in a small, small, hardly noticed way, a ripple. Me? Involved in a war? You’d be surprised how far the reach is.

Still, bear this in mind. It takes a lot of folk a long time to make a World War. And there are never simple answers.

One thing though. Those who beat the drums loud, and long. Folk who give you one liners as solutions. People who claim that killing their neighbours is the only solution. Mobs that blame an entire people for the crimes of a government. Ones who claim they have a direct line to a deity who says its OK to kill.

They are liars, wretched creatures. And irrespective of the differences in their politics, religions, races and locations, they are all the same. Hate mongers. Blights. Bloodied hands by deed or association.

Crocus City Hall, Moscow 22nd March 2024. Take some time out today to think of the victims.

It’s a regular event in some parts of the world.

Nothing is Easy. Nothing is Straightforward. Populism is a Mirage. Humanity Does Not Get The Last Say.

Posted on 8th Oct 2023 by deteremineddespitewp

This is another of those complex wandering posts of mine. My defence is in the Title. There are no simple solutions. The script of Life is long and complex and Humanity is not the principal writer either. I thought images were needed too. The news is coming in thick and fast this year, at least it seems that way.

You will see this post contains a number of those images. These are of the consequences of wars and those of Nature’s Environmental activities. They all involve suffering and great loss of life. Those of the latter could have been minimised if the nations involved were not strangled by wars or by governments with fundamentalist, opportunistic or cheap squabbling agendas. Thus they are all linked by actions, reaction or interaction. There are underlying tragic themes of inevitabilities, some because this is how the way The World works, others because of Humanity’s short-sighted and narrow-minded follies, failing to learn that the ‘last war’ was not glorious, but was due to a miscalculation, one which continues to happen over and over again.

We start with War. Because nothing sells so well as War. Right? It’s buried deep into our frameworks. Warning: The Sardonic will be at work here– Every war can be justified, by all sides. It’s so simple. Of course, there are costs. But those can’t be helped, can they? After all ‘We’ had no choice, if We started it; it was because of because of ‘Them’, they were the threats. Look at our histories (well, the ones we wrote; not theirs those are all lies). So Reader let us start by looking at latest headliners in Gaza / Southern Israel

Palestinians Celebrate The Hamas Attack on Israel

Then Suffer The Aftermath

One Way How Israel Would Like Us To See It

Then Reality Came To a Music Festival

Meanwhile another war with ancient roots but with modern implications for ‘US’ (ie The West- these days usually comfortably two-steps removed from conflict but it’s getting closer)

Ukraine….

And lest we forget….

SUDAN

A Picture and its Story: Girl survives air strike that killed her family

YEMEN

MYANMAR

NAHORONO KARABAKH

And this entire region

We didn’t even cover all of the wars. And we have not looked at the inter community violence which springs up in many nations or has festered at the low key for years. So there will be no room here to consider all of the Human Rights, Regional and International Implications, much less the matrix of causes.

Meanwhile there are the constant reminders that despite the Deity complex some folk think Human posses or the antics of The Unholy Faith of Denial the Dynamics of this world has the last say, not us.

Earthquakes – No we cannot tame them. Unavoidable. BUT if there was less spent on wars, and tighter holds on corruption the damage to structure and life could be lessened

Afghanistan

Morocco

Syria

Turkey

Fires – Reading Books by Hack Deniers or Populist Politicians will NOT make these stop. Nor can these events be intimidated by guns. In some cases the luckless can’t outrun even outdrive these.

Smoke billows upwards from a planned ignition by firefighters tackling the Donnie Creek Complex wildfire south of Fort Nelson

Canada

Greece

Hawaii

Floods– Common enough you say. In Libya this one was helped along by a decade long series of wars. Nearly 4,0000 recorded deaths; 9,000 missing, that was at the time of the event.

And we have not considered Famines nor Diseases nor the Serious Poverty that takes lives slowly.

The weighty truth being that none of these events are new by any means, a scroll through history will bring you examples of all these events and similar, even larger losses of life. However what shakes the fatalistic and providing you live in the comfier parts of the First World, complacent view is that TODAY.

We have the countless examples of what does not work

We have the technology to ease the suffering

We have the wealth to invest

We know how Corruption works

We have the scientific knowledge to open our eyes to solutions.

The problems being, aside from the Age Old ones of ignorance, prejudice, greed and so on. We know have a system that can spread lies world-wide at the touch of a button, and We fall for them, or We say the events are nothing to do with or, or What Can We Do. We also can twist technology to make it cause harm, theft, fear and hate. There is nothing corrosive or destructive We cannot do if we switch off our consciences and compassion.

Ah Dear Reader. It all seems hopeless does it not? What can you or I mere small individuals do against such Flaws of Humanity or Forces of Nature?

I’ll offer you this yet again

There are no simple solutions.

The world is a complexity of cause and effect. I’ll give you one example. If cocaine and heroin had not become chic drugs to be indulged in by the comfortable as a recreation or the desperate as an escape and if the use had not be made ‘everyday’ in media and entertainment there would not have been the demand. If there had not been the demand there would not be the proliferation of powerful drug cartels in poverty struck nations. If there were not such desperate circumstances there would not be floods of immigrants. Why the surprise? There has been a northwards drift in the USA for decades? Walls? Border Patrols? You’d need a small border and a Communist style state to cope with the flood of the desperate. I could give you a Cause and Effect in Europe too. Yet….apparently the simple solution is more border patrols and populist governments. That is just a summary of one Cause and Effect and an addition.

We come back to this then:

No populist solution will work to any problem, be it on the Left or the Right, or the Activist. Look at those pictures again, and again….and again. Is any one of those problems going to be solved by a line of spluttering outrage on social media? Is anyone really going to sort it all out in a few months? Do throwing paper towels help? Or suggesting one community moves out of an area? Or denying what is happening? Or blaming just one side?

Neither you, nor I can stop what is happening or what has happened in the above images. What we can do though is adhere to a few factors. Compassion. Respect. Tolerance. Neighbourliness. And turn our backs on those who Deny and Distort. Those who spread Hate and Ignorance. Those whose incompetence and unsuitability is masked by Populism.

Of course nothing will stop The Earthquakes or Volcanoes. Or Extremes of weather. But We can minimise the effects, for there are efforts being made. We can support those, and not listen to those babbling about socialism a subject they evidently know nothing about.

And there is the adage to remember which seems to be have many origins and is still being passed down:

“It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness”

One person’s small efforts then? The intolerant still haven’t got the notion that ‘Snowflake’ is the stupidest insult ever. Why do they they think blizzards are comprised of? How do they think they can’t get their fancy cars out and about? Lots and lots and lots of snowflakes then?

Or lots of folk with little trowels working away, all together.

That’s how you actual drain a swamp.

Assuming draining the swamp is a good idea.

And by the way. If you do hit someone or throw something at them, don’t complain if they return the action. Those who start something don’t always get to be the ones to write the final script.

And to repeat; because some folk just don’t get it. Nothing is easy. And for those completely shorn of sense. Not everything that happens in this world is the result of a conspiracy.

Do something positive, help someone in some way.

It’s a start.

Look at the above. We have to start, somewhere.

9th August 1945 Nagasaki. A Place Where War Can Take You.

Posted on 9th Aug 2023 by deteremineddespitewp

WAR & CONFLICT BOOKERA: WORLD WAR II/WAR IN THE EAST/JAPAN

The remains of a temple overlooking Nagasaki August 1945

There was a time in the USA when if anyone outside of the various Strategic Command units had heard of Nagasaki it would have probably been in relation to a novelty jazz song written by Warren & Dixon in 1928 (and still performed):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagasaki_(song)

After the 9th August 1945 the city would be forever linked to Hiroshima. You may look around the internet and get the impression it has been fated to be an add-on to Hiroshima. A kind of tragic PS when discussing the only (thus far) use of nuclear weapons in a strategic setting. In fact if it had not been for the weather that day Kokura would have been the target. Thus there is always unpredictability in War.

The discussion on the use of the two atomic weapons still generates passion and acrimony. In a grim parallel, debate on the topic carries its own fall out. This comes from all angles and direction, from the Humanitarian to the downright shallow racism of Only America Could Be So Evil. Even some of the historical accounts of the military actions take on a certain subtext of attacking the opponents for being naïve, declaring there was no other option. Actually, there are always other options. Options always come with qualifiers, and your acceptance of those depends on the inherent complexity of your own personal views.

Now does that read as if I am dodging the question? Am I trying to skirt around matters and maybe make a subtle play for a certain point of view? Well, I might be.

Except the intention of this post is to discuss not just one war and to argue the merits or motivations of one side or another in that war. This post is about- The Logic of War.

And there it is. The Logic of War. Yes WAR has its own logic. Not one which works in civilian life and those who try and meld its mores, norms and conventions onto business practices are being very foolish indeed because they are missing out those aspects polite society does not care to dwell on.

The Killing. The plain simple fact that in the overwhelming number of wars the basic intention is to destroy the will or capability of the opposition and that is done by killing. Either in battle, raids on civilians and destruction of capacity, which involves famine by the way and more death. That however is not the first step.

The first step is the strong urge to deliver violence to another. This arises from a myriad of reasons. Acquisition of resources. Differences which come in various guises and have boiled over. Some twisted idea of a destiny. Suspicion of the other and be the first to get the punch in. And all sorts of combinations. The response is normally a violent one. One side might win the first few rounds, but WAR is a long business, even if structurally one side is overwhelmed resistance will continue at lower levels. Even Peace Treaties are but truces, sometimes between once- allies. Often though one side rides the initial blows and begins to dig in deep. By then The Logic of War has taken over, instincts for Survival, of Hatred, of Anger and Determination take hold. The professionals trained for so long naturally have reacted as trained, the part of the population urging war, come forth, others will get swept up in this, some may try and flee, but WAR will seek them out either physically or mentally or spiritually. Death and ruination are powerful emotional actors and WAR has a long reach and it tracks folk down the years.

Amongst its myriad of horrors come the elements of locations, resources and level of industrialisation, herein lie some of the most frightening of factors which will be brought to the field.

If the war is one in which the nations are not neighbours, then to proceed it is likely they will both have strong industrial bases. Thus, the capacities and need to degrade and destroy are ramped up exponentially, as The Logic of War is now in full flow replacing anything which the ordinary day to day societies consider acceptable. After all, the nations say; this is for survival and at this stage to be effective means take to on bigger degrees of scale. Under the remorseless logic, the battlefield expands beyond the places where soldiers fight and draws in the civilians be they producers or within the community of the producers. This is actually nothing new, but the scale to cause harm and the area in which harm can be caused has increased. The Logic dictates The Whole Population are potential targets.

Depending on the structure of the society of one or more of the combatants for wars will include allies (willing or otherwise) there may well be concerns raised about the harm being meted out to the civilians. It may surprise some to read these will be raised by elements of the military, particularly those concerned with the politics of the war and the possible degradation of the moral of the fighting units. These concerns are more likely in nations with a democratic structure; although it should be born in mind that a mistake made by all totalitarian states is that democracies are weak and will fold, this they learn is an error, democracies will be fearfully ruthless in defence of their structures.

As the war moves along, the degradation of the enemy takes on a greater and greater priority, spurred on by the wish to end the war before resources are used up. By now the maintenance of The Will to continue has become a paramount. In democracies the administration is forever looking over its shoulder, in totalitarian states the imposition of The Will is ruthless, even should defeat be obvious. The larger the states at war the greater the pressures across the entire spectrum, military, economic, structural, social and so forth. The Logic again dictates Focus. The Focus is to break The Will of the other side. This will be measured not just on the traditionally measured battlefields. The nations are the battlefields; physically, mental and spiritual.

These therefore are all the dread factors of WAR laid out bare. This is what is entered into. Within the Industrialised Nations since WWII Wars have been in the form of military actions born out of politics and policy, the survival of the nations only take the form of National Prestige. This is a fragile factor. The physical survival of the nation is not at stake. The full potentials have not been called upon or tested. The Blood and Treasure costs may well have been high, but failure is an acceptable risk because the Nation itself is not the issue, only its domestic politics.

The full capacity has not been released.

When that is, one or other parties will suffer fearfully. Because the war will be prosecuted to the fullest extent. By both sides one for victory, one for survival, the roles shifting and changing. WAR is also feeding on the brutal excesses of one side or another against vulnerable non-combatant civilian in unstrategic areas. Those taking part are made to represent the entire population from whence they came. Everyone is demonised. Vengeance and retribution are required by the other side to be meted out.

And very, very few will think they have the right to stop that.

That is how it is.

To return to the opening. Today is the anniversary of the second use of a nuclear weapon. Upon this period this issue much has been written. Two works are leaving impression upon me, because they cover the subject matter of this The Logic of War

The Prompt and Utter Destruction by J Samuel Walker – This deals essentially with the decision making processes in Washington and the issues facing Truman. I respect this book because it unsettle my previous held belief that use of the Nuclear Weapon was inevitable. Remember I mentioned ‘Options’, yes there could have been ‘Options’.

140 Days to Hiroshima by David Dean Barrett – Actually goes beyond the first use of Nuclear Weaponry and into Nagasaki’s bombing and the events following. I admit have not yet finished this book those have reached the post bombing section. It’s themes also cover the Japanese Government’s processes and insights into the rationales of the component groups within. It also deals in chilling detail with the discussions on both sides for preparation for conventional warfare. Those ‘Options’ .And opens with the description of the horrific mass firebombing of Tokyo on the night of the 9-10 March 1945.

These books offer views into the fearful processes which are birthed in The Logic of War. They are to be read with caution because to repeat an earlier point, the ordinary patterns and conventions of Civilian Life as you know are discarded. Frankly they have taken a second place, if considered at all.

You could go deeper into the topic and chose to read from the vast number of works on WWII or simply the wars Japan felt it necessary to start, a large collection in itself. Although some would say you have to go further back into the 19^th century to get a better grasp.

One simple summary. A nation felt inclined to use War as a policy. Other nations reacted. From there the whole remorseless business began. The Avalanche if you like, a force of Nature which has a small beginning but then is unstoppable. But a War is stoppable you say? I would say, no. Not when that path has been chosen. Avoidable, yes. Wars are always avoidable. The art of the task is to ensure one side does not feel there is any point in using WAR.

And the seed? The seed is The Extreme. Beware The Extreme. It is not to be dismissed, not laughed at like in Doctor Strangelove. Walk wary of The Extreme. It leads to ruins, where bodies lie, ripped, torn, burnt, twisted, where the survivors sit screaming, dying, some walking as they do.

What is done is done. The evidence of where The Logic of War drags us. There is enough of it. The Extreme though would have you believe there is always a simple and glorious solution. The Extreme always lies. Therein lie The Crimes.

In comparison WAR is a simple being. What You See Is What You Get.

Barbie or Oppenheimer (The Films) . Choose!….. Why? (And keep out of IT Right-Wing Commentators)

Posted on 1st Aug 2023 by deteremineddespitewp

For those of you who would have other issues which concern you, you may have missed the social media phenomena that is the twin release of the above potentially ‘massive’ (wryly said) films- the publicity and media frenzy is such it has its own name Barbeneimer under which folk write about the two films, and then other folk write about the folk who are writing about the two films and so on. In such a frenetic atmosphere not only are the fans of the two genres (Live Action Fantasy and Serious Historical Biopic) getting involved but those with political or prejudicial axes to grind are weighing in. This is not usual; if you wanted to upset the misogynist or incel inadequates you only had to mention the 2016 all women Ghostbuster’s film; to watch folk air their racism under the shoddy attempt of artistic criticism check out some reviews of Black Panther.

In this instance the matter has reached a whole new level. If you are ‘serious’ about your right wing views you really should be furious about Barbie .I’m not too sure why but a few have dashed to their You Tube or Columns to screech ‘woke’ which these days is an acceptable way of saying ‘I am an intolerant bigot and hate progress-except when it benefits me’. When it comes to Oppenheimer there will be folk in the UK who will boycott the film in the same mindset as when they ranted about Midway(2019) (Go figure. I read the Facebook posts and they didn’t make sense to me. Simply…All America- Bad. Perilously close to racism.) Meanwhile some folk will feel the need to air their ‘serious’ credentials and only see the latter, shuddering at the thought of the former. Most folk will simply choose their preference because they like that kind of film and that is all there is to it, they I approve of. And there will be folk who will not care for either, and will tire of the whole Hoo-Haa, they, I also approve of. Others like me will have done excited little dances (in my case in my head) at the thought of both. As actually going to a cinema is an uncomfortable experience for me (something to do with eyesight) there will be a wait for the DVDs (or streaming if not an over expensive rip-off).

Thus you may be wondering ‘Is he caught up in this Barbeneimer frenzy too’ ? And yes to some degree. In so far as:

I liked a good historical drama and Oppenheimer was a complex character. In the aftermath of WWII he ended up being designated a security risk and not allowed near nuclear research, because he was expressing doubts about the use of using Nuclear Weapons. The plot line, based on the biography ‘The American Prometheus’ seems to run close to historical fact and the ensemble cast playing historical characters (roughly 50) contains a goodly number of quality actors. The story line goes beyond WWII and into the murky Cold War era and its politics both at national level and at that lower level wherein folk scratch and bite for their place at the table. Being a serious ‘biopic’ and in particular one which deals with nuclear weaponry there is nothing happy. Also in similar vein to The Imitation Game, Official Gratitude will be in short supply and short of memory

Barbie on the other hand is another of my favourite types, in which a fictional character is brought to life and placed in a real world situation. This is nothing new. There are Cinderellas ‘a’plenty skipping around the 20th & 21st Century film & TV industry. The initially very clever and successful TV series ‘Once Upon A Time’ tried to cram most fairy story characters into its seven year run. And in animation they run riot. Barbie herself has had a busy and popular time staring in children’s animation over many years. This film takes the whole Barbie-verse and appears to bring it on collision course with our real world even into an existentialist level, something which the original Lego movies and the Wreck-It Ralph two films managed wonderfully in animation. Barbie however goes Live Action and if you are of an SF/ Fantasy frame of mind with a credible plot as to how she gets into the real world.

I will have to stop there because it is not possible to conduct a credible critical appraisal of either film without seeing them first. What I can do however is express my enthusiasm at eventually seeing both. The former will be a very tough watch. but I have faith in the director and the cast; critics of course will not be consulted. The latter will be fun, again there is faith in the director, script and cast.

Also since so many intolerant and insecure male rightist commentators of small talent are against Barbie my enthusiasm is multiplied several times. UK’s very own Piers Morgan who seems to spend an inordinate amount of time looking for things to be offended by dislikes the film because of the lack of male characters and how unfair it is to Ken which since the principal character is a girl makes one wonder about his personal levels of self-image and insecurity. I assume he went to the cinema, thus never will grow old the image of Piers Morgan middle aged (late) well-fleshed and slightly pompous figure sitting in a cinema surrounded by teenage girls who want to see their childhood heroine in action. It will stay with me while I eventually watch my dvd copy.

Returning to the more mature outlook (sorry Piers but someone has to present a positive image of the folk of ‘a certain age’ for the younger generations). It is therefore not just possible but also quite normal to consider two very diverse films to be on one’s ‘Must Watch’ list because we are complex make-ups of lies, dislikes, preferences and so-forths. I understand there are quite a few folk in the uk who are trying to fit both into one day’s viewing. It’s going to be a long time to the end of the year when the dvds come out. And here’s me at 72 who should not be wishing bits of his remaining years away.

Just remember if you want to annoy a right-wing commentator or misogynist just send them a message in support of The Barbe film.

Remember These Words. They Will Stand You In Good Stead In Times Ahead

Posted on 9th Jun 2023 by deteremineddespitewp

JosephNWelch

The face may not be familiar. Nor the name Joseph N Welch (22nd October 1890 – 6th October 1960). These words may strike a chord though:

Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?

These were address to Joseph McCarthy on the 9th June 1954 during 30th day of the Army–McCarthy hearings, one of McCarthy’s several ‘enquiries’ in alleged Communists within US government and wherever else he could think of. Welch was acting on the behalf of the armed forces against McCarthy’s team and had just rebutted Roy Cohn McCarthy’s chief legal counsel. McCarthy interrupted with a personal accusation against Fred Fisher a young lawyer working in Welch’s firm. McCarthy had kept this in his seedy back pocket thinking it would embarrass Welch. McCarthy was not ready for this response, from a prepared Welch:

“Until this moment, Senator, I think I have never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness. Fred Fisher is a young man who went to the Harvard Law School and came into my firm and is starting what looks to be a brilliant career with us. … Little did I dream you could be so reckless and so cruel as to do an injury to that lad. It is true he is still with Hale and Dorr. It is true that he will continue to be with Hale and Dorr. It is, I regret to say, equally true that I fear he shall always bear a scar needlessly inflicted by you. If it were in my power to forgive you for your reckless cruelty I would do so. I like to think I am a gentleman, but your forgiveness will have to come from someone other than me,”

McCarthy tried to bluster with other attacks, and was rebuffed firstly by:

“Senator, may we not drop this? We know he belonged to the Lawyers Guild … Let us not assassinate this lad further, Senator. You’ve done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?”

And secondly by a crushing:

“Mr. McCarthy, I will not discuss this further with you. You have sat within six feet of me and could have asked me about Fred Fisher. You have seen fit to bring it out. And if there is a God in Heaven it will do neither you nor your cause any good. I will not discuss it further. I will not ask Mr. Cohn any more witnesses. You, Mr. Chairman, may, if you will, call the next witness”

This exchange is judged by historians to have been the beginning of the end of McCarthy.

Aside from this day being the 69th Anniversary of this stalwart defence of liberty and dignity, it is also one which should be a timely reminder that those who indulge in undignified verbal brawling, crude insults (like whackjob) and tirades lacking intelligence or comprehension be they from Right or Left are not interested in Democracy or The People. They care only for their narrow views and their own self-aggrandisement. One cannot help but wonder if Welch had been returned to question Trump over his shameless activities during the 2020 Presidential Vote would Trump be even still resident in the USA but sulking in some tax haven.

I admit to having a very short fuse and will resort to a vocabulary which is not family friendly, at my more restrained a very lesser Groucho Marx. Dignity is not is my debating lexicon, shame on me. That does not mean I do not recognise it, admire those who can deploy it to great worth and see its true value, particularly in an era when folk of small character and mean spirit are given far more credence and public attention than they are worth.

Next year will be the 70th Anniversary of the aforementioned debate. Opportunistic folk of lies, dissemination, political ignorance and general heartlessness will stalk the USA during the presidential election process, heedless of the potential strife they are sewing. It will be a time when the spirit of Joseph N Welch should be remembered and his words deployed. Advise those representatives and candidates you wish to see re-elected or elected who care for the unity of the USA as a whole to study the account of that day’s proceedings. Have them sweep away these caricatures of politicians, these Trumps, Boeberts and the like.

It should also be borne in mind that these words and sentiments can be utilised in many other areas of Life. Society has grown over-fond of its little abbreviations when being dismissive or critical, as if one word, expression, piece of slang or some worn-out phrase backed with no explanation or foundation has any true value. Not only does it signify the user is lacking in vocabulary dexterity and thus cogent thought it also intimates they have a short attention span and can be fooled by snake-oil merchant versed in their truncated jargon.

From the 1st January 2024 dwell of the 70th Anniversary 9th June 1954 and its full meaning.

Ethics? Be Warned. All of Us Will Be Tested.

Posted on 2nd Apr 2023 by deteremineddespitewp

ITALY-FRANCE-WEATHER-FEATURE

Folk who write will at some stage cite ‘The Muse’. According to Ancient Greek literature there were nine of them, each with an allotted art, science or as we would recognise it, genre. In this case, for my defence I will cite that Melpomene the Muse of Tragedy has been, for some time, nagging at me to get this done.

The final push was made by listening to an audio book version of Prompt and Utter Destruction by J. Samuel Walker an historian whose subject matter is the nuclear age. Originally published in 1997, and revised in 2004 this is a work that would be in its inception 30 years old. In this the author manages to accomplish the near impossible of balancing the pros and cons of the US use of atomic weapons on Japan in 1945, while at the same time sewing compelling doubt as to whether the reasons given at the time were wholly valid. He also argues that a proposed invasion of Japan was not ‘a given’ as was D-Day, nor that the projected loss of American lives were actually a set in stone documentation, and finally that the Japanese view within government towards a peace accord was in existence. At this stage I would confess to having used the opposites as concrete evidence why the nuclear bombs were used. The author in his balanced arguments, with no railing or emotive language, no blanket condemning of the USA as the usual source of most evils lead me to believe that all which I judged to be hard fact was not ‘necessarily so’ (as the song goes). That said, having listened and respected the writer’s research and questions I was still left with the feeling of the subject of the Atom Bomb attacks ‘They were still going to happen’ . By then the whole dynamic of American, Soviet and Japanese interactions had reached a critical stage in which amongst the milieu of Human Interactions, Reactions, Anticipations, Suspicions and Motivations made the dropping of the Atom Bombs an inevitability.

That assertion will strike some folk as outrageous, some others will believe I am ducking an awkward question on account of being locked into a belief. Both reactions are quite acceptable and understandable. My response would be to read or listen to this book, then put yourself in the position of Truman, those around him, those involved in the Manhattan project and those out in the front lines. The qualifier being don’t just drop yourself in there are you are at this moment, imagine you have been in that war-time atmosphere for a long while, you have been living it, every day and night it has been with you, sets backs, costs, pressures, pains.

And that’s where we stop. For all of this has been an introduction to a thornier topic. Not one where we ask hypothetical questions of historical events which have happened and cannot be erased. Using this measuring stick let us look into the Present and the Future, which is where we dwell and where we have a say in the shaping of, being that say small or even large.

I am guessing from the politically inclined blogs I subscribe to and the vast majority of replies to those blog posts that most folk involved are of liberal and what you would call tolerant outlooks. They don’t think wars are inevitable, they have a great dislike of privately owned firearms, they believe in the general freedom of adults to associate with other adults in whatever mutually respectful relationships there are, they have no problems with folk of any race, they accept a person’s right to religion, belief system or absence of belief systems, just so long as those do not promote hate or intolerance, they feel the same way about politics. They do have very strong views about those who promote intolerance, lack compassion, and who assume they have a mandate to impose their will on others while being hypocritical about their own ‘rights’. In short the folk ‘around here’ are what I would call ‘The Nice Guys’. Angry, frustrated, incandescent even, but ‘Nice’, because you want all folks, every where just to live unfettered by pressures of hate, intolerance and injustice. Right?

Just suppose then

There is some prominent hatemonger or conspiracy snake oil merchant in town. One who is supporting the very heavy political hitters you loath, this person is one of the rising stars in that movement, and just by some chance, you happen upon the sight of a shooter, obviously intent on targeting that person you hate. So what do you do? You have five seconds. No real time to reflect on the pros and the cons. You do raise an alarm? Try to stop them. Or do you steal away back into the shadows let ‘What will be will be,’ or whatever phrase you think suits your frame of mind. After all you are not actually pulling the trigger, you don’t know the shooter. The target is such a loathsome, you think dangerous person, implicated in such hateful stuff as to be at least complicit in violence. And does not ‘The Good Book’ say ‘Those who live by the sword shall die by the sword’ (or something like that). Do you let the bomb fall?

Here’s another one…

By some chance you find yourself by a couple of degrees of separation in the company of folk whose general views you might share, but you are a bit leery of some of the language, maybe a bit too ‘rich’ for you. Some are talking about meeting violence with violence if necessary and so forth, hoping some figure on the Right gets shot. Someone might in a roundabout way even cite the IRA as an example of what might happen; in a way which suggests they would not mind. It wouldn’t take a security analyst to reckon some of these folk might step beyond just shouting off steam. Would you feel you should notify ‘someone’ or would you just back off, sever all links because you don’t want to get involved, that’s their outlook, not mine. Nothing to do with me. And stifle that mischievous ‘but good luck guys’

Turning to something more plausible…

Someone you think as offensive on the Right dies, maybe not in a dramatic way. Perhaps through an accident or ill-health. And after all that time of witnessing their behaviour which offends you, in that instant you say or think – ‘Yeah. They had it coming. Boo-hoo. Like I cared’. There. That was easy wasn’t it? You didn’t do anything. You are not responsible. You are unsullied. You just spoke your mind, that’s all. Well, yes, you couldn’t help but feel just a little twitch of joy. But that was only natural. Because, after all- they had it coming. Well, yes, that’s fine. Isn’t it?. Let’s move on. And you wish to be spared the hysterical eulogies from their followers or the throw away commentaries from the pundits, etc, etc.

Be honest dear reader. None of us are saints. None of us come close to ‘Pure of Heart’. We take our stance and we have our views. In the scheme of things we may, have not so much a moral high ground, but have the least worst options in one case which in this mess which is Humanity. We may be on the ‘good’ side, well in The Big Picture of The Welfare of Humanity. We may celebrate a cause. Currently you may be cheering on Ukraine’s stand against Russia. So ask yourself this very hard question. Do I accept the losses of tens of thousand of Russian soldiers as a necessity? You can grieve their deaths of course. You can wish they had not happened. But are you accepting them? And if not, then what do you say to Ukrainians, today?

Some choices made are so obviously bad, so filled with a hateful or callous vibe they are repellent to most folk. Then there are the rest where the two, maybe three of four or more sides of the argument come into a jarring kaleidoscopic panorama, that if stared at for too long could tip you off of your allegorical feet. Reaction? What sort of Reaction? Constructive Reaction? When does that tip into Destructive Reaction? Then there is No Reaction? Just what does that mean? Apathy? Or quiet acquiescence, soft enough not to give you guilt by association, you hope. Or maybe paralysed by exasperation- that’s a common affliction, maybe the most understandable and acceptable for most folk, of course it may not be the correct one; there is always the anguished ‘But. What can I do?‘. Who can claim, tired from their ordinary days, they’ve not gone there?

Once more this is not the place where I present you with a tidy Ethical Solution to fit all situations. After all, this post is about Human Nature. Just when was that ever straight forward, neat, simple to package up in a snappy paragraph?

When faced with various levels and themes of Human Disputes, Transgressions and Conflicts, the individual rarely has the same measure of response based on one Ethical Stance, because in addition Emotions play a part and they will be a variable. Yours might be the correct one at the correct time, the unstable place where your previous views of Right and Wrong just do not seem to suit. Your choice. Your reaction. This is not History where you have the opportunity to sift the evidence of what had been and you have no responsibility in the participation. This is happening now, or will happen.

And here I conclude.

Sorry that I have no neat answers or a tidy ending.

Oh, just one last thought hit me.

Watch out for those Inevitabilities, they sneak up on you.

In Memoriam

Posted on 11th Sep 2022 by deteremineddespitewp

Twentieth anniversary of 9/11 terrorist attacks is observed at the Memorial Plaza

The National September 11th Memorial and Museum in New York

Lay aside your views on The Hows, The Whys, The Blame, The Cause, The Effect and above all the social media clutter.

Remember 2,977 died. 25,000 were injured. Then there were the losses of pregnancies, the subsequent deaths and severe anguish of relatives and friends, the abuse heaped on the innocent. The resonances remain raw.

People were and still are suffering.

One stark reminder for us all, one bitter symbol of an avoidable world-wide blight.

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Category Archives: History