Mel and group

9 Jan. 

[Krimel] before
> > Aside from being overtly anti-Semitic it echoes the kind of cultural
> > chauvinism one expects to hear from Platt and Ham. Pointing to
> > extreme orthodox Jews as representing Jewish imperviousness the
> > intellect is a bit like claiming the Pat Robinson represents all
> > Christian thinking or that

mel:
> The diversity of Jewish thinking/culture/groups, both now and
> throughout their long history makes any 'critique' problematic.  We
> also have a conditioned response from the twentieth century of being
> overly sensitive to any critique of anything Jewish as a likely
> 'anti-semitism' 
 
> (Several years back my daughter's boyfirend was slamming the Jews in
> one of the Israeli religious parties of their Likud and a woman from
> the next table rounded on him in the restaurant and really got in his
> face about his anti-semitism.  He let her finish her tirade,
> non-plussed, and pulled out his Israeli Passport, then told her she did
> not know much about Jews or Israel if she thought what he'd said was
> anti-semetic. He is Jewish. To him it was slamming a political group,
> like we might hear someone slamming Falwell or Robertson...) 

I like your approach to this sensitive issue. There is secular Israel 
which - in a MOQ light - is as Q-intellect-steeped as any and there 
is the orthodox Jews who are as Q-social (religiously) value 
steeped as such comes. The fact that Krimel accuses me of 
clueless and anti-semitism is OK, he is here to flaunt his great 
orthodox knowledge that sees non-intellect as non-intelligent.   

Krimel:
> > Only the truly clueless would claim that the Muslim world is cursed with
> > lack of intellect. The Muslims were making advances in philosophy and
> > mathematics while Europeans were eating with their hands and fretting
> > about witches. Ever heard of Arabic numerals? The Renaissance you like
> > to go on about was touch off in part because the Crusaders picked up the
> > Greeks from the Arabs who had been studying and commenting on them for
> > centuries. 

mel:
> This is not quite right.  There IS a strong anti-intellectual
> tradition in many Arabic Muslim clerical lines.  This is a significant
> part of the modern unrest within the Muslim world.  Many Muslims want
> to embrace certain western forms and look forward to a rennaisance of
> their own. Others want to do just what they did in the 17th century
> and purge the foreign thoughts and learning from their society and
> return to a fundamental recreation of the 7th Century.  (They succeded
> that time.) 

This is the point of my Jesus talk. He gave intellect a religious 
terminology that pried the Christian branch loose from Judaism. 
This is a huge issue, but the short of it is that he became the focus 
of the later renaissance of intellect. Intellect could not have 
managed it with a direct head-on assault on the social citadel 
"religion" without this secret agent within it. A muslim "renaissance 
of their own" is to be hoped for, but without a rebel with a similar 
cause?? The religious "window of opportunity" seems to be closed.         

> The Muslim golden age was far less Arab, when you examine it closely,
> than what we were left with the impression of in survey level courses.
> (Not to say there were no Arabs involved in it, but despite taking an
> "arabic name" a significant portion of their movers and shakers were of
> other cultures. a la melting pot.) 

This and the rest of your post is excellent, your factual knowledge 
far exceeds mine. I just keep your last paragraph

mel:
> There seems a lot of mutual demonization. Might even think of it as a
> high quality soclal pattern.--One society versus another.  Those who
> want war love extremism, it plays into their hands. 

It's quite a juggling act to keep MOQ and SOM (the intellectual 
level out of its Q context) apart. For SOM there are no levels, just 
the culture/nature distinction (among a welter of other S/Os) and 
as this discussion shows see all suggestions of non-intellect as an 
offense. But as shown there are and IMO the present hot war in 
the Middle East is caused by the two Q-social  patterns orthodox 
Jewdom and Islam who both claim divine "license to kill" . Under it 
runs the intellect vs social frontlines that are infinitely more 
complex. Through the middle of Israel, between the rational-
pragmatic Fatah and fanatic Hamas and in and out every nook and 
cranny of that region.

Thanks Mel ...we are allied until further notice ;-)

Bo




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