The horror that is Israel continues unabated. My dear Jewish friends here in the states have nothing to say about the destruction of gaza. It is very very hard to continue holding them as friends when they are witnessing the horror of Destruction of a whole people and have nothing to say. I do not now, nor have I ever, understood how Isr…
The horror that is Israel continues unabated. My dear Jewish friends here in the states have nothing to say about the destruction of gaza. It is very very hard to continue holding them as friends when they are witnessing the horror of Destruction of a whole people and have nothing to say. I do not now, nor have I ever, understood how Israel can commit atrocities that any other country would be condemned for doing by the United states.
I think it is due to, what I call the three Ps, Power, Profits, and Prophets. Many analyses address the first two, but the last one is also very important, and is based on irrational forces. In order to understand it, we need to develop a new approach, strategy and tactics to address it. I'm not seeing much of that.
It's vital to understand that the religious roots of Zionism go back centuries prior to the more recent development of political Zionism, all the way back to 16 Century English Protestantism, including, of all people, the Puritans!
Christian Zionism, whether from the start, or more recently, has become obsessed with bringing on the Armageddon, i.e., total annihilation. That is an important element of what we are dealing with. If they are trying to bring on total destruction, then what's a few thousand or million along the way?
We need a paradigm shift in how we understand the nature of the problem, and how to deal with it.
Agree here. The Christian Zionism lobby uses New Testament Book of Revelations to preach the return of god Jesus in an apocalyptic war scenario centred on the "reclaiming" of Israel. They call this agenda prophesy but it's actually a supremacist political agenda which shows no mercy to "others", ie Palestine and supporters. John Hagee who founded Christians United for Israel in America has preached and written extensively in this genre IMO spreading hate, narrow minded intolerance, sexism, racism etc since the 1970's. There are many other writers pushing the agenda. The political manipulations and focus of end times messaging depends on the war being fought, ie it was obvious against Iraq. They often openly discuss who should control resources, gas and oil and maintain cold war mindset to China and Russia.
I'm older and grew up in an atheist household with antiwar parents. What's happening in Palestine with its long history has gone on far too long.
Some excerpts below from a Quillette review of a book about the irrational side of human nature. The last one says: “One comes away with the sense that civilization operates on narrow margins and is always on the verge of collapsing into irrationality.” That sure is the truth. Are we in a “Dark Age” where reason is in retreat? Certainly does seem so.
“Mackay makes the case, often in gory detail, that episodes of collective mania seem to be an inevitable consequence of human nature. Humans in every time and place have cast aside their better judgment and allowed themselves to be caught up in all manner of irrational hoopla.“
“His chapters on the Swabian Peasants’ War and Anabaptist uprisings are terrifying depictions of the end-times frenzy that wreaked havoc on northern Europe throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. The distance between these events in the German-speaking world and, say, the Reign of Terror in France or the Chinese Cultural Revolution is not that great. And the speed with which apparently reasonable people moved from the embrace of a new theological idea to a willingness to torture those whose own theological ideas diverged even slightly is startling.“
“There is plenty to recommend about The Delusions of Crowds. It is laden with great anecdotes and the writing is always engaging. One comes away with the sense that civilization operates on narrow margins and is always on the verge of collapsing into irrationality.”
Now, how do we counter this? My hope is that, If enough of us have a clearer understanding of this aspect of what we’re facing, we may find some better answers. Thanks for the reference.
The horror that is Israel continues unabated. My dear Jewish friends here in the states have nothing to say about the destruction of gaza. It is very very hard to continue holding them as friends when they are witnessing the horror of Destruction of a whole people and have nothing to say. I do not now, nor have I ever, understood how Israel can commit atrocities that any other country would be condemned for doing by the United states.
I think it is due to, what I call the three Ps, Power, Profits, and Prophets. Many analyses address the first two, but the last one is also very important, and is based on irrational forces. In order to understand it, we need to develop a new approach, strategy and tactics to address it. I'm not seeing much of that.
It's vital to understand that the religious roots of Zionism go back centuries prior to the more recent development of political Zionism, all the way back to 16 Century English Protestantism, including, of all people, the Puritans!
Christian Zionism, whether from the start, or more recently, has become obsessed with bringing on the Armageddon, i.e., total annihilation. That is an important element of what we are dealing with. If they are trying to bring on total destruction, then what's a few thousand or million along the way?
We need a paradigm shift in how we understand the nature of the problem, and how to deal with it.
Agree here. The Christian Zionism lobby uses New Testament Book of Revelations to preach the return of god Jesus in an apocalyptic war scenario centred on the "reclaiming" of Israel. They call this agenda prophesy but it's actually a supremacist political agenda which shows no mercy to "others", ie Palestine and supporters. John Hagee who founded Christians United for Israel in America has preached and written extensively in this genre IMO spreading hate, narrow minded intolerance, sexism, racism etc since the 1970's. There are many other writers pushing the agenda. The political manipulations and focus of end times messaging depends on the war being fought, ie it was obvious against Iraq. They often openly discuss who should control resources, gas and oil and maintain cold war mindset to China and Russia.
I'm older and grew up in an atheist household with antiwar parents. What's happening in Palestine with its long history has gone on far too long.
Some excerpts below from a Quillette review of a book about the irrational side of human nature. The last one says: “One comes away with the sense that civilization operates on narrow margins and is always on the verge of collapsing into irrationality.” That sure is the truth. Are we in a “Dark Age” where reason is in retreat? Certainly does seem so.
“Mackay makes the case, often in gory detail, that episodes of collective mania seem to be an inevitable consequence of human nature. Humans in every time and place have cast aside their better judgment and allowed themselves to be caught up in all manner of irrational hoopla.“
“His chapters on the Swabian Peasants’ War and Anabaptist uprisings are terrifying depictions of the end-times frenzy that wreaked havoc on northern Europe throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. The distance between these events in the German-speaking world and, say, the Reign of Terror in France or the Chinese Cultural Revolution is not that great. And the speed with which apparently reasonable people moved from the embrace of a new theological idea to a willingness to torture those whose own theological ideas diverged even slightly is startling.“
“There is plenty to recommend about The Delusions of Crowds. It is laden with great anecdotes and the writing is always engaging. One comes away with the sense that civilization operates on narrow margins and is always on the verge of collapsing into irrationality.”
“The Delusions of Crowds-A Review.”
Quillette. Feb 8, 2021
https://quillette.com/2021/02/08/the-delusions-of-crowds-a-review/
Now, how do we counter this? My hope is that, If enough of us have a clearer understanding of this aspect of what we’re facing, we may find some better answers. Thanks for the reference.