On Tue, Sep 24, 2013 at 9:44 AM, Jed Rothwell <jedrothw...@gmail.com> wrote:
> John Berry <berry.joh...@gmail.com> wrote: > > Jed, do you believe that if you were in countries that had insane >> governments, and you were raised in that culture and had a normal degree of >> faith in that government. Would you have seen them as insane? >> > > I might. Many Japanese people did think their government was crazy in > Japan in 1941, and many people in Georgia thought the Confederates were > crazy. > Yes, and the same thing can be said if historians look back on the current period, many today do consider the US government to be insane. But if we assume that you are somewhat conservative in your views (not in the political sense) then as you are now, then more likely you wouldn't. > People in general tend to be sane, just as they tend to be healthy. > Trusting leaders is in an evolutionary sense probably a very good idea if they are right or wrong. Fitting into society and not opposing the top dog seems to be safe compared to opposing, doesn't it? It is very very unattractive to consider that your government may be so corrupt as to be dangerous to it's people. So it is very sane to avoid recognition that your own government can't be trusted, is corrupt and basically insane. But just because living in denial might be more comfortable, and even on an individual level safer, that does not mean it is true. If that were not so, our species would have gone extinct long ago. > If people did follow a leader and trust them beyond reason, we would not have gained the organizational advantages that having leaders gives. > Insane governments are rare. > While I may disagree with you there and repeat the factoid I have heard, that more people have been killed by their own government than by all wars, and most wars are pretty insane anyway. , and they usually come to their senses after a while. They seldom go to > the extreme degree they threaten. > Plenty have. But what is your point, we should ignore governmental insanity (or what looks like insanity to us, to them it might be a grand chess match and we are looking at a pawn) because it doesn't always happen? > Many Japanese people assumed their government and their Emperor really > would have the nation fight to the last man, woman and child. That is what > they said they would do. But they surrendered instead, much to the surprise > of many people. Most wars stop long before the population is decimated > (one-tenth killed). (Except in wars of extermination, where it the policy > of the winner to kill or drive off the entire enemy nation.) > > > >> Hindsight is 20/20, you would not fall for that would you? >> > > Many people did not fall for government lies in 20th century Japan, > Germany, Russia > Yes some people, and yet many did. A large percentage of the population did not fall for 9/11, at least not for too long, it took me a few years, initially I would not consider it and I thought that people who considered it were horrible for thinking such a thing. . . . and in other places where the government had far more power to > enforce its ideas than the U.S. government does. > I think you overlook the effect of the media (who is happy to look mostly critical, but will ignore anything significant like 9/11 being a false flag) and hand on your heart patriotism pledges in US schools. John
