tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post4898886162925096851..comments2023-10-25T05:30:54.507-04:00Comments on Oh Get A Grip!: The Monster In UsAshe Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03390519279886657608noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-17187096107260711262014-04-12T14:26:57.426-04:002014-04-12T14:26:57.426-04:00Amen.Amen.Jean Robertahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08805088081675965859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-59910892813158816812014-04-11T13:33:57.176-04:002014-04-11T13:33:57.176-04:00Hi, DX,
Excellent post and the title really is th...Hi, DX,<br /><br />Excellent post and the title really is the summation, as well. Some people are already close to the edge and it doesn't take much enabling to push them over into the abyss. The monstrous leaders, such as Hitler and Stalin, and so many others, had a good number of more-than-just-a-little willing acolytes and a cascade effect ensued. People can learn to do monstrous things when they have a monstrous example to follow and the fear of consequences of doing those things is removed.<br /><br />The "Twilight Zone" episode, "The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street" (written by Rod Serling) is a fine literary and literate example of that "monsters in us" scenario.<br /><br />It's so easy to point at the "big" stars of the monster show, such as Hitler and Stalin, but the news every single day has little stories tucked away (for the most part unnoticed, by the mainstream media, except for the immediate locales in which the stories occur) about the monstrous things that "unknowns" do. These are monstrous people, who, often enough, were created by other monstrous people, who in turn themselves were created by monstrous people. They perpetrate their monstrous "little crimes" upon their immediate family members, and that is how their own offspring learn to behave. How many of us have a "monster" inside us, which, given half a chance, will break out and take over, if we are not vigilant about our own behaviour and take steps to avoid allowing the monster free rein. Easy enough to point out the monstrous tyrants in the history books and on film, but those guys all started somewhere and were babies, toddlers, children... once. Whether they were the result of nature, or nurture, or a combination of the two, they were enabled, in achieving their monstrous goals, by many.<br /><br />And that's why it isn't a really good idea to "remove all regulation, and let the ‘Market’ take care of itself,” because the people who are running the show have already been enabled plenty, which is how they got to where they are... by not caring how much havoc their freed monsters have wreaked. It's the same reason it's a good idea to teach your dog to walk on a leash, even if you do let it run free around the house.<br /><br />Thanks for an insightful post, DX.<br /><br />Rose <br /><br /> Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17191883309943995363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-62220225828183030432014-04-10T10:53:29.866-04:002014-04-10T10:53:29.866-04:00No, haven't seen Garce's story. Where coul...No, haven't seen Garce's story. Where could I find it? Garce?????<br /><br />Any faith based on a foundation of fairy tales *should* crumble, once facts are considered. What they don't get is that the texts they swear are facts are simple metaphor, not gospel. They never learn that part. The faithful remain open to manipulation that way. Daddy Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12927663248424944119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-39832032789265892092014-04-10T10:01:20.552-04:002014-04-10T10:01:20.552-04:00Amen.
Have you read Garce's Muslim terrorist ...Amen.<br /><br />Have you read Garce's Muslim terrorist story? I don't remember the exact title - something like "How Paradise Comes to the Blind". <br /><br />It's a fascinating look into the mind of this kind of fundamentalist, and shows how when those beliefs unravel, the individual is left with nothing at all.<br />Lisabet Saraihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05162514190572269660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-29181513306406346742014-04-09T19:22:16.923-04:002014-04-09T19:22:16.923-04:00Ah, Daddy, you're making me reveal my politics...Ah, Daddy, you're making me reveal my politics again.<br /><br />You wrote: Now, the capitalist “Market” has acquired the authority of a god. “Remove all regulation, and the ‘Market’ will take care of itself,” they tell us. “Just have faith,” they say.<br /><br />I've been nervous for quite some time about this exact thing. Partly because that "just have faith" talk makes me queasy no matter which way it's directed, and partly because I don't see ethics and compassion built into the market. <br /><br />I like that you got so philosophical with the Monsters topic.Annabeth Leonghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07455191827664110878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-63618268990364132942014-04-09T18:25:55.416-04:002014-04-09T18:25:55.416-04:00In some ways those who push their faith on you out...In some ways those who push their faith on you out of genuine concern for you and your soul are even more annoying. As Daddy X points out, people acting on the certainty of doing good are the most dangerous.Sacchi Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10801164916418570059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-58246402160296479352014-04-09T17:32:00.605-04:002014-04-09T17:32:00.605-04:00My late father used to warn me to beware of zealot...My late father used to warn me to beware of zealots. Anyone who believes in anything enough to want to die for it, sure as hell doesn't feel bad about killing others to go along with him/her. <br /><br />You're so right about true believers accepting both parts of their beliefs...not only are they right, but anyone who is a disbeliever MUST be forced to accept their truths. I think the very presence of unbelievers threatens their absolute belief, and that can't be allowed. They don't want to accept that others can have happy lives without their beliefs, or they begin to doubt themselves. A dead unbeliever can't put forth convincing arguments against your own faith.<br /><br />Fiona McGierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13495707848048468428noreply@blogger.com