I think thats a common sense article, Is Terrorism a Mortal Threat?,
with good, almost obvious, yet sadly not obvious (to many) points.
I am guessing many readers may have not noticed the author: Patrick
J. Buchanan. Whom most here, and throughout many liberal enclaves, if
said, hey, listen to this piece by Pat Buchanan they would receive
sneers, rebuke, and ridicule. Pre-judging something by some
overly-broad generalizations. In common parlance, its also called
prejudice and bigotry. Not foreign attributes of many political
persuasions, ethnic groups, social strata. Albeit, silently, never
acknowledged, always shunned hypocritically via lip service.
Cognitive Therapy (CT), is actually a therapy used to heal or help
people overcome this disabling challenge. As well as arbitrary
inference and selective abstraction. I am not sure of the
effectiveness of cognitive therapy, and I would be interested from any
learned or experience opinions.
A side observation (of mine) is that those tending towards
Enlightenment -- that is those there, thinking they are there, close,
to what ever they define as that state -- are far from immune to
overgneralization and the other maladies for which CT is used as
healing therapy. Should there perhaps be an E2 category -- those who
are enlightened, and then via CT, inquiry, ritam, or whatever, have
healed most all cognitive disabilities?
Of course that raises the possibilities of And E3 an E4 state. Hey, I
think we may be able to out label Ron Hubbard.
Several over-generalizations, implied or explicit, today and often
everyday, here, there and everywhere. Turq, I think you are
over-generalizing about Americans from a few, or several dozen,
traveling Americans. Vaj and Dixon, I think you are overgeneralizing
about muslims. Others appear to be overgeneralizing about Jews. And of
course, I may be overgeneralizing here.
Speaking of Muslims (and perhaps Arabs), I saw an interview this
weekend with Nassim Nicholas Taleb on book TV (on CSPAN all weekeds)
-- my favorite TV of all. (how can Heroes compare to THIS!).
His first book, Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in
Life and in the Market, I have partly read and love. His new bool, The
Black Swan -- about highly unlikely events -- and their impacts on
individuals and society, appears, far-reaching, deeply connected, and
highly insightful. A major theme of his is that things are way more
random than most suppose -- an that people draw all sorts of causal
relations inappropriately -- and too their detriment. A great read for
all here, and FFL booklist, candidate.
Back to Taleb. Hardly an expousing religious kind of guy, he did hint
of his Islamic and or Arab background. To equate some of the
overgeneralize, perhaps implied, islamic slurs here recently, and in
the past, is quite laughable. Puts such expousers in glorious
perspective. YMMV.
Back to Pat, if America ends, I won't go th the funeral. I will toast
of some good and great things at its wake, though. Amercia is not
important, IMO, in the long span of history, relative to attributes it
tries to enoble and live by -- an often fails miserably. We can all
make our lists -- and the may even have some Venn type overlap.
If I woke up tomorrow to find the new nations of Pacifica,
Mountaintonia, Zealotecha, Snoberossa, etc, I would not shed a tear.
Each seperatley may be able to fulfill the dream of many noble
qualities for which America is currently failing, or faultering in.
Some of the new nations would enoble some of these qualities better
than others. Those that like those qualities an migrate wowards there
and live in a society tht suits them. Those with bettr overall
qualites will tend to flourish, those with less qualites, or
floundering with all through inept administration and/or leader
selection processes -- will lose favor -- an have pressure to change
and evolve.
If Dixon wants a nation strongly adhered to a particular brand of
Christian priciples an doctrine, go for it. If Vaj wants to live in a
nation that disallows work, tourist or any entry to any muslim, or
racial groups with which Islam is associated, then go for it. If Turq
wants a society or only hip non-americans, kewl. Create and strive to
build these new nations, on the ashes of America. See how well these
societies work. That would be the American spirit renewed in the
American pheonix arising form those ashes.
Overgeneralizing about terrorism, ethic and racial groups, persons of
various faiths -- what good are they?
Over claiming causality of terror to national demise, various
practices with particular inner (darshan and spectacular experience)
an outer (YF or BK and world peace) -- or even way under evidence
correlations of enlightenment with any improved positve attributes --
what good are they?
In New_Morningna -- a blissfull alpine country, on the coast, with
georgeous mountains 14,00) foot mountains, and nearby coastal white
sandy beaches (its one helluva a road
