In the discussion under the Money And Interest post, Pascal challenged Ronald because Ronald was saying "We" should do this and that about global problems. Pascal asked "who is 'we'?" and "are you really in a position to do something?"
Ronalds answers by singing the praises of each of us personally owning even big problems, and I want to back that up.
Sure, we all sometimes feel small in the face the problems of the world. But the world is changing all the time, and those who make the changes are those who say "we" and "I", not "they" and "you".
I personally feel that just the ownership alone will actually change things in the real world, even when we don't do anything. We are creating the world, and the more we own it the more we influence it.
Allow me to presume I can help eolake frame this better.
ReplyDeleteI'm a peaceful anarchist. That means I have no confidence in any "we."
Still, if we could have a firm grasp on reality, then positive progress would happen faster. BTW, progress in many spheres of society is happening. Someone may want to look at the work of Julian Simon which backs me up.
That said, a frustration for me is that we seem blind to wrong turns "we" have already made. We seem to be too willing to play the hand we were dealt rather than to plug the dealer between the eyes with our six-shooter for stacking the deck.
My prime example of what I'm saying is the War on Drugs. We continue to soldier on even though we miraculously managed to repeal Prohibition not that many years ago, and that brought the likes of Al Capone's, and his ilk's careers, to a screeching halt.
That said, a frustration for me is that we seem blind to wrong turns "we" have already made.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean, "we" are blind? Speak for yourself, buddy!!
Just kidding - of course you are right - one more reason to get more people into the boat!
"WE the People" doesn't exist anymore in the United States of America. I call it, "The Divided States of Ameica."
ReplyDeleteWe the people are GW Bush Jr and cohorts that are running a new Gestapo area in America where illegal occuption of a country is Godly (hoarding and stealing Iraqis oil and pretending its about terrorism. Please. Stop this foolishness GOP thugs.)
Sell your lies to Satan, he's buying.........Bin Laden is the culprit not Saddam. Iraq HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH 911.
Now we are living in George Orwell's 1984 and half the population are buying into it over common fear. Pathetic.
Bush has broken so many laws under the "Name of God" it isn't funny. He makes me ill. I won't waste my electricity on him. He has alienated the US from the world. But he runs amok still breaking the constitution daily.
It's the first time in my life that I'm ashamed to be called an American.
Right you are, Ron and Eolake. This is the only explanation why the world has managed to miraculously evolve to the point we've reached today, in spite of the constant and huge dark forces dragging it below (or trying to).
ReplyDeleteIt cannot be scientifically explained, I think, but the fact that it seems to be happening indeed warrants belief in this notion. A wise faith can be an awesome power, perhaps the greatest in the universe.
"a frustration for me is that we seem blind to wrong turns "we" have already made."
Have faith, David. This is precisely the kind of "miracle" I was talking about. Somehow, things seem to manage to find a way to improve. Like the "sterile" dinosaurs in Jurassic Park found a way to breed. "Life always finds a way." If you can't see it doesn't mean it can't exist.
This reminds me of that egg story a few posts ago...
Terry,
ReplyDeleteAllow me to comfort you : thanks to the holy efforts of our brothers in Jihad, the infidel American crusaders are having a very hard time pillaging the oil.
Jesting apart, I'm really not sure how much oil profit is really being made, in that situation of complete madness they have in Iraq. The hairy chins are proving quite efficient saboteurs, aren't they? Same goes for the Halibutonized contracts (which the Polish and Bulgarians musn't regret much at this point). Just how much of the job can you pull when you can't even have your people moving around without getting ambushed, killed or kidnapped?
Every time I feel like getting disheartened by the so-called life we have in Lebanon, I comfort myself with this magical and very powerful mantra : "At least it's not Iraq. At least you're not in Iraq."...
Speaking of "We the people". You've all heard of the historical demonstration in Lebanon on March 14th, 2005. Well I was there. First time ever I went to a demonstration. "We the people" really accomplished something that day. Not on our own, sure, but Syria withdrew. Alas, the lebanese politicians that got to run things, and on whom we had to rely to pursue the change, just don't give a bloody damn. How surprising. So, now, the whip is in the hand of my brother. Who stole 60% of the international help sent by the world to rebuild after that little unpleasantness with Israel... Sometimes, just sometimes, it feels that the people can't change things much. The worst part perhaps is, the people today seem to have given up. There was a unity, a fantastic elation, on 03/14/05. But it seems there is no more people to move for change. Funny how this reminds me of Georgia. And Ukraine. And Poland...
This is perhaps the biggest grievance I have against today's D.S.A. : if the part of the world where there was some amount of real progress (relatively) is now going backwards, what's left to hope for the rest? I fear the "democracy" Mr Bush claimed to want to instate in Lebanon will be nothing more than another allied oppressive police state. Please to Vishnu that I be wrong!
"Bin Laden is the culprit"
Yeah. And just who, may I ask, trained and supported and financed agent "Tim Osmin" all these years, when the common enemy was the heathen communist occupant of Afghanistan? And who probably got Little Big Bush, Jr, re-elected with a well-timed media appearance? We know B.L. is the culprit, but Mr B.S. is the accomplice, whether willing or just unwitting (same difference).
"Bush [...] has alienated the US from the world."
I read you. I admire and love the USA. It's a great country. Or at least it was, and improving. Not any more. Been going nowhere fast this century.
Over here, it's "fashionable" to hate the guts of everything even reminding of abhorred America. Not to me. I believe every country has its qualities and potentials, and today Uncle Sam is getting his screwed by Nephew George. Correction : by Nephew George's puppeteers. ):-P
I'd be ashamed to be an American today too. Not that I'm particularly proud to be a Lebanese... :-(
Well, at least, I still have my French citizenship! :-)))
There was a unity, a fantastic elation, on 03/14/05. But it seems there is no more people to move for change. Funny how this reminds me of Georgia. And Ukraine. And Poland...
ReplyDeleteMe of Germany (of course there was also Czech, but in Germany I happened to be around when it happened) - not only did the bring down their government and the wall, they also stormed the secret services and secured much of the evidence held there. (I'm not sure if that's purely a good thing but in any case these "services" are permanently discredited and disabled).
But after the pressure was quite spectacularly released, the same people were content to cast their votes for a conservative politician who made them a lot of promises and basically leave it with him. He used that opportunity and now we have the situation that many in the old East want their wall back, and of those who don't quite a few have even more drastic ideas about where they want to go back to.
So I guess it's always the same thing: mobilising and uniting forces against something is one thing, maintaining the thrust to create something new and better, or even getting people to work together towards a common goal from the start, is much harder. But it also seems more sustainable because if the movement is against something it's much easier to divide and conquer them than if there's a goal to be achieved.