A house divided against itself will not stand. That is the answer. If we throw our brothers out of Heaven, we are throwing ourselves out of Heaven. It is completely reflexive.
Was Hitler’s totalitarianism worse than others? Were these ordinary people or were they caught up in something they couldn’t control? It’s not clear to me from this review. My own bias says there was nothing unique about what happened, and given similar circumstances it could easily happen again. Of course the cause might be different, like safety, and the scapegoats might be different, like the unvaccinated. Perhaps the threshold is just the number of people willing to go along with those in charge, and look the other way when bad things happen to other people.
Historians have been debating the type of questions you pose for many decades. History never repeats exactly, but we can learn if we are wise from the mistakes of others. The fact that many are ahistorical is alarming because it means given the right conditions tragedies can be repeated.
Another terrific column that makes one ponder. Great stuff Barry.
Japanese Internment Camps, McCarthyism, The Holocaust, The Pandemic of the Unvaccinated are events that quickly come to mind that represent the worst in people. I often wonder how these things happen but there is little doubt that more of these events will take place in the future. Covid was the most contentious event in my adult lifetime and the behavior of too many people was simpy shocking. As we will learn when we study David K. Reynolds, it is impossible to control our thoughts and our feelings, but we do have control over our behavior and our actions.
How so many people chose (and will choose again) to ignore the basic ideas of right and wrong is difficult for me to understand. Yes, I am an idealist, but I have often believed the golden rule solves virtually every problem there is, and most simply prefer to ignore the rule. I try to treat people the way I want to be treated. It's really not that complicated.
"Yes, I am an idealist, but I have often believed the golden rule solves virtually every problem there is, and most simply prefer to ignore the rule." Absolutely brilliant!
I can't wait to bring Reynolds to our group, most probably this summer.
If it wasn't for you Barry I would never have learned about Reynolds. I will forever be grateful for your introduction to the group. His work is some of the most practical I have ever come across. It'll be a fun summer for sure when we study his ideas.
I’m a huge fan of Jungian’s concept of our shadows. I stumbled upon it just 8 years ago in my Chaplain/CPE work. It revolutionized my way of thinking and behaviors. It helped me tremendously in my ability to love others and become less judgmental (work in progress). I have found it incredibly interesting that so many people reject the concept. In many cases I think it’s cognitive dissonance…so much I could say…
good stuff an' I'm notin' the book recommentation too! to analogize with a culinary simile, the problem is that there's a time gap 'tween when those humans marinatin' in hate douse their particular target-human salad with their vinegar 'before they realize they've just time-release wilted themselfs too... I'd say what we sawr with Nazism was, perhaps, more vile, more heinous, more brutal but... as Hannah Arendt said, more banal too... Today we see it resurface not just with anti-jooish hate but in all areas some "nearly" as disturbin'--TDS is one way, the current ugly ugly against the murdered UnitedHealthcare CEO (however rotten & scammy the system is, I'm just mortified his death would be celebrated?!), an' just today my younger girl saw a website with 30K "follerz" railin' with hate against homeschoolers (tho' we talked bout the fact that this meebbe fake, an agenda, trolls & bots cuz the comm-mints were so stale an' "canned")... That said, I could not imagine that folks would muster hate for kids just bein' schooled "differently" ....
Relatin' ta this "hate" phenomenon that's "back & better than ever," Josh Slocum recently posted a cautionary qualification--we are overusin' "hate" an' so the word loses it's meanin' when it really DOES mean hate cuz people have stopped usin' adjectives far more precise & helpful like havin' a "distaste" for their pollyticks (less strong than the generic "hate") or havin' "concerns" about the trans-agenda erasin' women (vs "hating" that agenda), an' so on (of course he wasn't talkin' about the human that sez "I hate lima beans" kinda casual use but more like hate fer nearly EVERYTHING (we see lots of that!) an' haters bein' defined as anybuddy that disagrees with 'em-- An', too, I DO think he's onta somethin' there--the newspeak dictionary is far thinner than the old one...
Given the lousy economy an' other strife here...the favorite scapegoats are (methinks) bein' singled out once more... an' sadly those that don't care about "wiltin' their own salad" are uncorkin' that ol' bottle of vinegary dressin'! (I'll be duckin' under the closest tomata!)
Ta go with yer baseball analogy--I think while we "think" we're watchin' the game blithely munchin' the proverbial peanuts & crackerjack from the bleachers thinkin' we have our eye on the ball--don't know there are a lotta balls--some in the air--others in the "mitts" of the rogue players hidin' curve balls behind their backs an' they'll be aimed at us...
All who thought they sawr a home run with this (s)election are sadly mistaken because there are players all 'round (not just in the dugout)...an' too many we cannot see... (in fact I do not believe the USA has seen a ballgame quite like this before...)
A house divided against itself will not stand. That is the answer. If we throw our brothers out of Heaven, we are throwing ourselves out of Heaven. It is completely reflexive.
Rogier, thank you for a beautiful statement of an absolute law of life.
Was Hitler’s totalitarianism worse than others? Were these ordinary people or were they caught up in something they couldn’t control? It’s not clear to me from this review. My own bias says there was nothing unique about what happened, and given similar circumstances it could easily happen again. Of course the cause might be different, like safety, and the scapegoats might be different, like the unvaccinated. Perhaps the threshold is just the number of people willing to go along with those in charge, and look the other way when bad things happen to other people.
Historians have been debating the type of questions you pose for many decades. History never repeats exactly, but we can learn if we are wise from the mistakes of others. The fact that many are ahistorical is alarming because it means given the right conditions tragedies can be repeated.
Another terrific column that makes one ponder. Great stuff Barry.
Japanese Internment Camps, McCarthyism, The Holocaust, The Pandemic of the Unvaccinated are events that quickly come to mind that represent the worst in people. I often wonder how these things happen but there is little doubt that more of these events will take place in the future. Covid was the most contentious event in my adult lifetime and the behavior of too many people was simpy shocking. As we will learn when we study David K. Reynolds, it is impossible to control our thoughts and our feelings, but we do have control over our behavior and our actions.
How so many people chose (and will choose again) to ignore the basic ideas of right and wrong is difficult for me to understand. Yes, I am an idealist, but I have often believed the golden rule solves virtually every problem there is, and most simply prefer to ignore the rule. I try to treat people the way I want to be treated. It's really not that complicated.
Thank you, Martin.
"Yes, I am an idealist, but I have often believed the golden rule solves virtually every problem there is, and most simply prefer to ignore the rule." Absolutely brilliant!
I can't wait to bring Reynolds to our group, most probably this summer.
If it wasn't for you Barry I would never have learned about Reynolds. I will forever be grateful for your introduction to the group. His work is some of the most practical I have ever come across. It'll be a fun summer for sure when we study his ideas.
I’m a huge fan of Jungian’s concept of our shadows. I stumbled upon it just 8 years ago in my Chaplain/CPE work. It revolutionized my way of thinking and behaviors. It helped me tremendously in my ability to love others and become less judgmental (work in progress). I have found it incredibly interesting that so many people reject the concept. In many cases I think it’s cognitive dissonance…so much I could say…
Thx for your work Barry!
Merry Christmas!
Thank you, Chris.
Jung's work on shadows and projection is indeed crucial. You're right--many do not want to look inside, so they stay unaware and blame the outside.
I can imagine how much value you bring to others using this lens.
Merry Christmas, Chris!
good stuff an' I'm notin' the book recommentation too! to analogize with a culinary simile, the problem is that there's a time gap 'tween when those humans marinatin' in hate douse their particular target-human salad with their vinegar 'before they realize they've just time-release wilted themselfs too... I'd say what we sawr with Nazism was, perhaps, more vile, more heinous, more brutal but... as Hannah Arendt said, more banal too... Today we see it resurface not just with anti-jooish hate but in all areas some "nearly" as disturbin'--TDS is one way, the current ugly ugly against the murdered UnitedHealthcare CEO (however rotten & scammy the system is, I'm just mortified his death would be celebrated?!), an' just today my younger girl saw a website with 30K "follerz" railin' with hate against homeschoolers (tho' we talked bout the fact that this meebbe fake, an agenda, trolls & bots cuz the comm-mints were so stale an' "canned")... That said, I could not imagine that folks would muster hate for kids just bein' schooled "differently" ....
Relatin' ta this "hate" phenomenon that's "back & better than ever," Josh Slocum recently posted a cautionary qualification--we are overusin' "hate" an' so the word loses it's meanin' when it really DOES mean hate cuz people have stopped usin' adjectives far more precise & helpful like havin' a "distaste" for their pollyticks (less strong than the generic "hate") or havin' "concerns" about the trans-agenda erasin' women (vs "hating" that agenda), an' so on (of course he wasn't talkin' about the human that sez "I hate lima beans" kinda casual use but more like hate fer nearly EVERYTHING (we see lots of that!) an' haters bein' defined as anybuddy that disagrees with 'em-- An', too, I DO think he's onta somethin' there--the newspeak dictionary is far thinner than the old one...
Given the lousy economy an' other strife here...the favorite scapegoats are (methinks) bein' singled out once more... an' sadly those that don't care about "wiltin' their own salad" are uncorkin' that ol' bottle of vinegary dressin'! (I'll be duckin' under the closest tomata!)
Thank you for adding your wisdom, Daisy.
And sadly, the "lousy economy" is just in its opening innings. I fear what's coming later in the game.
ditto tho' wish it wasn't so...
Ta go with yer baseball analogy--I think while we "think" we're watchin' the game blithely munchin' the proverbial peanuts & crackerjack from the bleachers thinkin' we have our eye on the ball--don't know there are a lotta balls--some in the air--others in the "mitts" of the rogue players hidin' curve balls behind their backs an' they'll be aimed at us...
All who thought they sawr a home run with this (s)election are sadly mistaken because there are players all 'round (not just in the dugout)...an' too many we cannot see... (in fact I do not believe the USA has seen a ballgame quite like this before...)