Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Islamic dominoes
On Sunday night I watched the BBC's review of the week's news. It showed the presidents of Afghanistan and Pakistan along with Barack Obama showing their solidarity and talking about the need to suppress the Taliban in these two countries. And of course there is the suggestion that is so often raised that if the Taliban take control of Pakistan they will have access to Pakistan's nuclear weapons. The thought is planted in our minds but no one seems to want to take this suggestion any further. We are left with the thought to do what it will in our minds.
I want so much to give Barack Obama a chance. He talked about the need for change and he talked about withdrawing from Iraq. Is this man sincere? I hope so, but...
And then it dawned on me. Change? Nothing has changed.
I cast my mind back to the late 60s and early 70s, to the time of the Vietnam war. The justification for that war was the domino theory—if one country fell to communism all the others would fall too like a row of dominoes. We were inculcated with the fear of communism to entice us to accept that war just as now we are inculcated with the fear of al-Qaeda and extreme Islam so that we support today's wars.
Did the communist dominoes fall as we were told they would after Vietnam won the war?
'If you want to shrink something, you must first allow it to expand.
If you want to get rid of something, you must first allow it to flourish.
If you want to take something, you must first allow it to be given.
This is called the subtle perception of the way things are.'
Ajahn Sumano Bhikku
Monk in the Mountain
I want so much to give Barack Obama a chance. He talked about the need for change and he talked about withdrawing from Iraq. Is this man sincere? I hope so, but...
And then it dawned on me. Change? Nothing has changed.
I cast my mind back to the late 60s and early 70s, to the time of the Vietnam war. The justification for that war was the domino theory—if one country fell to communism all the others would fall too like a row of dominoes. We were inculcated with the fear of communism to entice us to accept that war just as now we are inculcated with the fear of al-Qaeda and extreme Islam so that we support today's wars.
Did the communist dominoes fall as we were told they would after Vietnam won the war?
'If you want to shrink something, you must first allow it to expand.
If you want to get rid of something, you must first allow it to flourish.
If you want to take something, you must first allow it to be given.
This is called the subtle perception of the way things are.'
Ajahn Sumano Bhikku
Monk in the Mountain
Labels: Barack Obama, Buddhism, Islam, propaganda, religion, terrorism, US, Vietnam
Friday, November 14, 2008
Is he really stupid?
The tables in the dining room at Ivy Bank Guest House are fairly large. If you want to be heard by the person opposite, you need to raise your voice a little. It's not easy to have a private conversation. So I couldn't help hearing the voices at the next table.
The elderly American gentleman was quoting someone as saying that George Bush Jnr just had to be the stupidist (or was it dumbest?) US president ever. He must have agreed with this assessment or he wouldn't have bothered repeating it.
I don't.
I think George Bush Jnr is very shrewd.
The stupid ones, in my opinion, are all those American citizens who voted for him eight years ago. They proved to be even more stupid when they put him in again four years later.
I remember reading when I was a younger man that the way to have power over people is to convince them there is something they should fear and present yourself as being able to control or defeat that which is feared. (Sorry, I don't remember who said this, just remember the concept.) Dictators have been using this principle for centuries. Adolf Hitler used it well. The Chinese government used it recently to convince Chinese people not to listen to what the rest of the world was saying about them.
It works in democracies too. Just convince a majority of voters that there's something out there to be afraid of and that you'll do what is necessarly to protect them and they'll vote for you. Sadly it seems that so often so many of the people are too stupid to realise that what they need to be protected from is their would-be protector.
You may not be able to fool all the people all the time but if you can fool enough of the people some of the time, you just might get to be president of the United States and ruler of the free world.
The elderly American gentleman was quoting someone as saying that George Bush Jnr just had to be the stupidist (or was it dumbest?) US president ever. He must have agreed with this assessment or he wouldn't have bothered repeating it.
I don't.
I think George Bush Jnr is very shrewd.
The stupid ones, in my opinion, are all those American citizens who voted for him eight years ago. They proved to be even more stupid when they put him in again four years later.
I remember reading when I was a younger man that the way to have power over people is to convince them there is something they should fear and present yourself as being able to control or defeat that which is feared. (Sorry, I don't remember who said this, just remember the concept.) Dictators have been using this principle for centuries. Adolf Hitler used it well. The Chinese government used it recently to convince Chinese people not to listen to what the rest of the world was saying about them.
It works in democracies too. Just convince a majority of voters that there's something out there to be afraid of and that you'll do what is necessarly to protect them and they'll vote for you. Sadly it seems that so often so many of the people are too stupid to realise that what they need to be protected from is their would-be protector.
You may not be able to fool all the people all the time but if you can fool enough of the people some of the time, you just might get to be president of the United States and ruler of the free world.
Labels: communication, fear, George Bush Jnr, politics, US
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Do we need a miracle worker?
Congratulations to Barack Obama on his decisive win in the recent US presedential election.
To the rest of us I say: Please be patient. Barack Obama is an intelligent man. Hopefully he also has integrity and seeks what is best for the US and the world. But he is not a miracle worker.
The US (and through it, the world) has been badly mismanaged for the past eight years, perhaps longer. It has been exploited by bankers and others with more money than they need but not enough to satisfy their greed.
What can this man do? I don't claim to know.
What can we do? First, let's not put Barack Obama on a pedestal. He alone can not fix the problems of the world. Perhaps he will make mistakes. He is, after all, human. But if his intentions are good and he is prepared to acknowledge and correct his mistakes, we can all learn and move forward.
The world can only move ahead if we all work together. That doesn't mean we have to agree with each other. I'm talking about intention. What are your goals? Are your goals about working towards making the world a better place for everyone? Or are they about making it better for you? I believe the world has got where it is because too many people chose the second option. I hope Barack Obama is choosing the first option. And I hope you are too.
To the rest of us I say: Please be patient. Barack Obama is an intelligent man. Hopefully he also has integrity and seeks what is best for the US and the world. But he is not a miracle worker.
The US (and through it, the world) has been badly mismanaged for the past eight years, perhaps longer. It has been exploited by bankers and others with more money than they need but not enough to satisfy their greed.
What can this man do? I don't claim to know.
What can we do? First, let's not put Barack Obama on a pedestal. He alone can not fix the problems of the world. Perhaps he will make mistakes. He is, after all, human. But if his intentions are good and he is prepared to acknowledge and correct his mistakes, we can all learn and move forward.
The world can only move ahead if we all work together. That doesn't mean we have to agree with each other. I'm talking about intention. What are your goals? Are your goals about working towards making the world a better place for everyone? Or are they about making it better for you? I believe the world has got where it is because too many people chose the second option. I hope Barack Obama is choosing the first option. And I hope you are too.
Labels: Barack Obama, news, politics, US
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Real democracy
Do you ever feel that the democracy promoted by the USA is a bit of a farce? Their president gets to rule the world but the rest of us don't get a say in who becomes that president. Would the world community have elected George Bush Jnr? It's time we got to have our say. And while they're not going to give us a vote we can at least tell them what we think through an organisation known as Avaaz.
Avaaz took an online poll of members asking what points they would like made to the next president of the US. They came up with 1) commit to a strong global agreement on climate change; 2) rededicate the US to universal human rights and 3) reject the Bush doctrine of pre-emptive warfare.
If you agree with these objectives sign the petition here. It will be sent to Senators Clinton, McCain and Obama, one of whom will most likely be the next president of the US. At the time of writing almost 100,000 people had signed. I hope you'll join us in this democratic activity.
Avaaz took an online poll of members asking what points they would like made to the next president of the US. They came up with 1) commit to a strong global agreement on climate change; 2) rededicate the US to universal human rights and 3) reject the Bush doctrine of pre-emptive warfare.
If you agree with these objectives sign the petition here. It will be sent to Senators Clinton, McCain and Obama, one of whom will most likely be the next president of the US. At the time of writing almost 100,000 people had signed. I hope you'll join us in this democratic activity.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
I don't like labels but...
I like to keep up with the news back in my home town so from time to time I read the Courier Mail online. As I also like to keep up with developments on the internet I opened their technology>internet page. One of the articles described many tests that can be taken on the net to assess different aspects of your personality.
Political compass is a site that finds your place on the political spectrum and compares it with others. This spectrum has four sides. The way you answer the questions will register your position from left to right and from authoritarian to libertarian.
Mine came out almost in the middle of the libertarian left corner. They describe me as a libertarian socialist. Interesting, I accepted that label as a young man from reading George Orwell. I thought I'd mellowed with age and travel but there I am in the middle of this corner. Perhaps I was even further left when I was younger.
What is left wing? To me it means caring for those who are less fortunate than yourself. I believe most of the union movement in Australia has lost the right to be called 'left'. If you compare Australian workers to the world spectrum they already have good wages and conditions. If unionists were truly left, instead of campaigning for more for themselves they'd be fighting for the workers in countries like Cambodia, those whose conditions and pay are a fraction of what workers in Australia have.
How do I (or you for that matter) compare with some leading political figures? The political compass people have taken the trouble to answer questions on behalf of some leading world figures and give them a rating. They rate the Dalai Lama in much the same position as I am. I have no complaints with that. I admire the Dalai Lama greatly and am honoured to be compared with him.
Like to see how others rate? Here's how they rated the parties at the time of the recent Australian election. As you can see I'm not going to be represented too much by these guys. Even Labor is in the authoritarian right corner. And yes, I did vote Green.
Interested in the candidates for the forthcoming US presidential election? Most of them, including the front runners, are in the authoritarian-right corner. I guess that's the way it is. Mike Gravel might be a really cool guy but if the Democrats ran him I think he'd scare the US public too much. They'd vote for the Republican and keep America in the war. Better that Barack or Hillary becomes the Democrat candidate. The odds are that one of them will win and hopefully end the war.
I just find it ironic that the so-called 'free' world is run by so many authoritarian right wingers.
Political compass is a site that finds your place on the political spectrum and compares it with others. This spectrum has four sides. The way you answer the questions will register your position from left to right and from authoritarian to libertarian.
Mine came out almost in the middle of the libertarian left corner. They describe me as a libertarian socialist. Interesting, I accepted that label as a young man from reading George Orwell. I thought I'd mellowed with age and travel but there I am in the middle of this corner. Perhaps I was even further left when I was younger.
What is left wing? To me it means caring for those who are less fortunate than yourself. I believe most of the union movement in Australia has lost the right to be called 'left'. If you compare Australian workers to the world spectrum they already have good wages and conditions. If unionists were truly left, instead of campaigning for more for themselves they'd be fighting for the workers in countries like Cambodia, those whose conditions and pay are a fraction of what workers in Australia have.
How do I (or you for that matter) compare with some leading political figures? The political compass people have taken the trouble to answer questions on behalf of some leading world figures and give them a rating. They rate the Dalai Lama in much the same position as I am. I have no complaints with that. I admire the Dalai Lama greatly and am honoured to be compared with him.
Like to see how others rate? Here's how they rated the parties at the time of the recent Australian election. As you can see I'm not going to be represented too much by these guys. Even Labor is in the authoritarian right corner. And yes, I did vote Green.
Interested in the candidates for the forthcoming US presidential election? Most of them, including the front runners, are in the authoritarian-right corner. I guess that's the way it is. Mike Gravel might be a really cool guy but if the Democrats ran him I think he'd scare the US public too much. They'd vote for the Republican and keep America in the war. Better that Barack or Hillary becomes the Democrat candidate. The odds are that one of them will win and hopefully end the war.
I just find it ironic that the so-called 'free' world is run by so many authoritarian right wingers.
Labels: Australia, Cambodia, politics, US
