I'm in the middle of about five essays and reviews in relation to the End Of Faith. To start off, I am reading Engles' Ludwig Feuerbach and the end of Classical German Philosophy. I am too sickly right now to delve deeply, but my favourite phrases so far:
"...the tedious notion of personal immortality." (Isn't it, though?)
"Matter is not a product of mind, but mind itself is merely the highest product of matter."
"In the second place, we simply cannot get away from the fact that everything that sets men acting must find its way through their brains..."
It looks like Mosley will have to wait. Ah well.
It's also one of those times when I wish I'd read all this before now, as I think a lot of things would make a lot more sense.
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Coxey's Armies and memories of DC
I did a little research (very surface) on Coxey-in doing so, I of course stumbled accross an interesting report about Internal Interventions by the US military, which included a mention of "battling" Coxey's Armies.
http://www.culture-of-peace.info/intervention/chapter3-6.html - sorry I don't have the clean linking thing down yet.
Coxey himself was Jacob S Coxey, a sandstone quarry operator from Ohio. Here is his speach (which he intended to read on May 1, 1894, but which he was unable to deliver until May 1, 1944, due to being imprissioned for "trespassing" on the White House [People's House, right?]) lawn in 1894. It was entered into the Congressional Record by sympathetic members.
--------------------
The Constitution of the United States guarantees to all citizens the right to peaceably assemble and petition for redress of grievances, and furthermore declares that the right of free speech shall not be abridged.
We stand here to-day to test these guaranties of our Constitution. We choose this place of assemblage because it is the property of the people, and if it be true that the right of the people to peacefully assemble upon their own premises and utter their petitions has been abridged by the passage of laws in direct violation of the Constitution, we are here to draw the eyes of the entire nation to this shameful fact. Here rather than at any other spot upon the continent it is fitting that we should come to mourn over our dead liberties and by our protest arouse the imperiled nation to such action as shall rescue the Constitution and resurrect our liberties.
Upon these steps where we stand has been spread a carpet for the royal feet of a foreign princess, the cost of whose lavish entertainment was taken from the public Treasury without the consent or the approval of the people. Up these steps the lobbyists of trusts and corporations have passed unchallenged on their way to committee rooms, access to which we, the representatives of the toiling wealth-producers, have been denied. We stand here to-day in behalf of millions of toilers whose petitions have been buried in committee rooms, whose prayers have been unresponded to, and whose opportunities for honest, remunerative, productive labor have been taken from them by unjust legislation, which protects idlers, speculators, and gamblers: we come to remind the Congress here assembled of the declaration of a United States Senator, “that for a quarter of a century the rich have been growing richer, the poor poorer, and that by the close of the present century the middle class will have disappeared as the struggle for existence becomes fierce and relentless.”
We stand here to remind Congress of its promise of returning prosperity should the Sherman act be repealed. We stand here to declare by our march of over 400 miles through difficulties and distress, a march unstained by even the slightest act which would bring the blush of shame to any, that we are law-abiding citizens, and as men our actions speak louder than words We are here to petition for legislation which will furnish employment for every man able and willing to work; for legislation which will bring universal prosperity and emancipate our beloved country from financial bondage to the descendants of King George. We have come to the only source which is competent to aid the people in their day of dire distress. We are here to tell our Representatives, who hold their seats by grace of our ballots, that the struggle for existence has become too fierce and relentless. We come and throw up our defenseless hands, and say, help, or we and our loved ones must perish. We are engaged in a bitter and cruel war with the enemies of all mankind—a war with hunger, wretchedness, and despair, and we ask Congress to heed our petitions and issue for the nation’s good a sufficient volume of the same kind of money which carried the country through one awful war and saved the life of the nation.
In the name of justice, through whose impartial administration only the present civilization can be maintained and perpetuated, by the powers of the Constitution of our country upon which the liberties of the people must depend, and in the name of the commonweal of Christ, whose representatives we are, we enter a most solemn and earnest protest against this unnecessary and cruel usurpation and tyranny, and this enforced subjugation of the rights and privileges of American citizenship. We have assembled here in violation of no just laws to enjoy the privileges of every American citizen. We are now under the shadow of the Capitol of this great nation, and in the presence of our national legislators are refused that dearly bought privilege, and by force of arbitrary power prevented from carrying out the desire of our hearts which is plainly granted under the great magna-charta of our national liberties.
We have come here through toil and weary marches, through storms and tempests, over mountains, and amid the trials of poverty and distress, to lay our grievances at the doors of our National Legislature and ask them in the name of Him whose banners we bear, in the name of Him who plead for the poor and the oppressed, that they should heed the voice of despair and distress that is now coming up from every section of our country, that they should consider the conditions of the starving unemployed of our land, and enact such laws as will give them employment, bring happier conditions to the people, and the smile of contentment to our citizens.
Coming as we do with peace and good will to men, we shall submit to these laws, unjust as they are, and obey this mandate of authority of might which overrides and outrages the law of right. In doing so, we appeal to every peace-loving citizen, every liberty-loving man or woman, every one in whose breast the fires of patriotism and love of country have not died out, to assist us in our efforts toward better laws and general benefits.
J. S. COXEY
Commander of the Commonweal of Christ
Source: Congressional Record, 53rd Cong., 2d sess., (9 May 1894): 4512.
-----------------
I will freely admit that the fires of patriotism and love of country have long since died out in this internationalist's breast. Even still, I stand in admiration of Coxey and his Army. They asked for what any government worth its position owes its people.
Memory Lane:
I moved to DC in late July of 2001.The summer of the shark attacks, so no surfing that year. I was feeling kind of tense.
My friend and I walked everywhere- we lived on 16th ave. between Euclid and Fuller, not such a hot area, but close to a lot of things. One of the places we'd frequent was the White House and its environs. You can't do it any more, but we used to cut through the side street next to the White House to get back from the museums and Lincoln Monument. You could look right in and see the goings on, the many squirrels on the lawn, and all that. I think we were about 50 yards from the House itself. Obviously things have changed.
The Sunday before 9/11/01, we went to Arlington National Cemetary to see if we could find Dashiell Hammett's grave. We did. From Lee's old porch at the top of the hill you can look down onto the Pentagon. I said at the time that they'd do well to plant more trees, since it was so open and presented a target to anyone flying by or even in the upstairs of Lee's house. My friend laughed. "No one's going to get this far inland!" He said we'd learned our lesson after 1812. Odd fact; Soon after I arrived, my co-worker, a long-time resident of the area, said jokingly that the Pentagon was called "Ground Zero" because "that's exactly where anyone would try to hit first in a nuclear war".
Tuesday proved him wrong and my co-worker sort of right.
Previously we'd seen Army One (I think- the Presidential Helicopter) land on the elipse many a time. Pomp, circumstance, the chance to throw a tomatoe on the way back from the farmer's market. No gawkers are allowed any more.
The days right after were a bizzarre time. We lived in the top floor,and so were on the flight path of the president's helicopter, so suddenly also on the flight path of a lot of heavily armed helicopters, too. They flew low enough for us to see the visors over the pilots' eyes, as well as the rocket launcher-type things underneath, of course. There were armed troops everywhere. The riders on the Metro sat for days in silence, even the gangsta guys were quiet.
When I visited NYC my one and only (so far) time, the weekend of the 30th, I saw scrawled on a wall: Now that we have been attacked as one, can we please live as one?
People like to say that everything changed after 9/11 for various reasons. I think that, yes, everything did change in that the mask finally dropped. Things done in secret before and denied are now done in secret or in the open with a brazen "So What?" In the false name of safety, all bets are off, all is fair in the war on terrorism. Even terror to stop terror is viewed as rational.
Someone said that trauma brings out the real- cuts through Ego straight to the Id. It has brought out some real ugly this time.
http://www.culture-of-peace.info/intervention/chapter3-6.html - sorry I don't have the clean linking thing down yet.
Coxey himself was Jacob S Coxey, a sandstone quarry operator from Ohio. Here is his speach (which he intended to read on May 1, 1894, but which he was unable to deliver until May 1, 1944, due to being imprissioned for "trespassing" on the White House [People's House, right?]) lawn in 1894. It was entered into the Congressional Record by sympathetic members.
--------------------
The Constitution of the United States guarantees to all citizens the right to peaceably assemble and petition for redress of grievances, and furthermore declares that the right of free speech shall not be abridged.
We stand here to-day to test these guaranties of our Constitution. We choose this place of assemblage because it is the property of the people, and if it be true that the right of the people to peacefully assemble upon their own premises and utter their petitions has been abridged by the passage of laws in direct violation of the Constitution, we are here to draw the eyes of the entire nation to this shameful fact. Here rather than at any other spot upon the continent it is fitting that we should come to mourn over our dead liberties and by our protest arouse the imperiled nation to such action as shall rescue the Constitution and resurrect our liberties.
Upon these steps where we stand has been spread a carpet for the royal feet of a foreign princess, the cost of whose lavish entertainment was taken from the public Treasury without the consent or the approval of the people. Up these steps the lobbyists of trusts and corporations have passed unchallenged on their way to committee rooms, access to which we, the representatives of the toiling wealth-producers, have been denied. We stand here to-day in behalf of millions of toilers whose petitions have been buried in committee rooms, whose prayers have been unresponded to, and whose opportunities for honest, remunerative, productive labor have been taken from them by unjust legislation, which protects idlers, speculators, and gamblers: we come to remind the Congress here assembled of the declaration of a United States Senator, “that for a quarter of a century the rich have been growing richer, the poor poorer, and that by the close of the present century the middle class will have disappeared as the struggle for existence becomes fierce and relentless.”
We stand here to remind Congress of its promise of returning prosperity should the Sherman act be repealed. We stand here to declare by our march of over 400 miles through difficulties and distress, a march unstained by even the slightest act which would bring the blush of shame to any, that we are law-abiding citizens, and as men our actions speak louder than words We are here to petition for legislation which will furnish employment for every man able and willing to work; for legislation which will bring universal prosperity and emancipate our beloved country from financial bondage to the descendants of King George. We have come to the only source which is competent to aid the people in their day of dire distress. We are here to tell our Representatives, who hold their seats by grace of our ballots, that the struggle for existence has become too fierce and relentless. We come and throw up our defenseless hands, and say, help, or we and our loved ones must perish. We are engaged in a bitter and cruel war with the enemies of all mankind—a war with hunger, wretchedness, and despair, and we ask Congress to heed our petitions and issue for the nation’s good a sufficient volume of the same kind of money which carried the country through one awful war and saved the life of the nation.
In the name of justice, through whose impartial administration only the present civilization can be maintained and perpetuated, by the powers of the Constitution of our country upon which the liberties of the people must depend, and in the name of the commonweal of Christ, whose representatives we are, we enter a most solemn and earnest protest against this unnecessary and cruel usurpation and tyranny, and this enforced subjugation of the rights and privileges of American citizenship. We have assembled here in violation of no just laws to enjoy the privileges of every American citizen. We are now under the shadow of the Capitol of this great nation, and in the presence of our national legislators are refused that dearly bought privilege, and by force of arbitrary power prevented from carrying out the desire of our hearts which is plainly granted under the great magna-charta of our national liberties.
We have come here through toil and weary marches, through storms and tempests, over mountains, and amid the trials of poverty and distress, to lay our grievances at the doors of our National Legislature and ask them in the name of Him whose banners we bear, in the name of Him who plead for the poor and the oppressed, that they should heed the voice of despair and distress that is now coming up from every section of our country, that they should consider the conditions of the starving unemployed of our land, and enact such laws as will give them employment, bring happier conditions to the people, and the smile of contentment to our citizens.
Coming as we do with peace and good will to men, we shall submit to these laws, unjust as they are, and obey this mandate of authority of might which overrides and outrages the law of right. In doing so, we appeal to every peace-loving citizen, every liberty-loving man or woman, every one in whose breast the fires of patriotism and love of country have not died out, to assist us in our efforts toward better laws and general benefits.
J. S. COXEY
Commander of the Commonweal of Christ
Source: Congressional Record, 53rd Cong., 2d sess., (9 May 1894): 4512.
-----------------
I will freely admit that the fires of patriotism and love of country have long since died out in this internationalist's breast. Even still, I stand in admiration of Coxey and his Army. They asked for what any government worth its position owes its people.
Memory Lane:
I moved to DC in late July of 2001.The summer of the shark attacks, so no surfing that year. I was feeling kind of tense.
My friend and I walked everywhere- we lived on 16th ave. between Euclid and Fuller, not such a hot area, but close to a lot of things. One of the places we'd frequent was the White House and its environs. You can't do it any more, but we used to cut through the side street next to the White House to get back from the museums and Lincoln Monument. You could look right in and see the goings on, the many squirrels on the lawn, and all that. I think we were about 50 yards from the House itself. Obviously things have changed.
The Sunday before 9/11/01, we went to Arlington National Cemetary to see if we could find Dashiell Hammett's grave. We did. From Lee's old porch at the top of the hill you can look down onto the Pentagon. I said at the time that they'd do well to plant more trees, since it was so open and presented a target to anyone flying by or even in the upstairs of Lee's house. My friend laughed. "No one's going to get this far inland!" He said we'd learned our lesson after 1812. Odd fact; Soon after I arrived, my co-worker, a long-time resident of the area, said jokingly that the Pentagon was called "Ground Zero" because "that's exactly where anyone would try to hit first in a nuclear war".
Tuesday proved him wrong and my co-worker sort of right.
Previously we'd seen Army One (I think- the Presidential Helicopter) land on the elipse many a time. Pomp, circumstance, the chance to throw a tomatoe on the way back from the farmer's market. No gawkers are allowed any more.
The days right after were a bizzarre time. We lived in the top floor,and so were on the flight path of the president's helicopter, so suddenly also on the flight path of a lot of heavily armed helicopters, too. They flew low enough for us to see the visors over the pilots' eyes, as well as the rocket launcher-type things underneath, of course. There were armed troops everywhere. The riders on the Metro sat for days in silence, even the gangsta guys were quiet.
When I visited NYC my one and only (so far) time, the weekend of the 30th, I saw scrawled on a wall: Now that we have been attacked as one, can we please live as one?
People like to say that everything changed after 9/11 for various reasons. I think that, yes, everything did change in that the mask finally dropped. Things done in secret before and denied are now done in secret or in the open with a brazen "So What?" In the false name of safety, all bets are off, all is fair in the war on terrorism. Even terror to stop terror is viewed as rational.
Someone said that trauma brings out the real- cuts through Ego straight to the Id. It has brought out some real ugly this time.
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Life Out of Context- W.Mosley paperback
I was very excited to find this on my post-dentist trip to Powell's Books yesterday. Mosley is one of the best writers we've got right now and I look forward to reading this. It's pretty short, but the few pages I've read offer the depth of thought which I've come to expect from Mr Mosley.
He always leaves me wanting to talk to him, which I don't think many authors (past or present) do. I missed my chance and have been kicking myself ever since and am on the lookout for him to appear somewhere where I am so I can see him.
My chance was this mystery writers' workshop at one of my old bookstores. We had him as a speaker/teacher and I just remember him walking around, looking both alert and thoughtfull. I don't thnk his eyes miss much. I was too shy to approach him.
He's mostly known for his mystery books, which are pieces of work indeed. His other writings, though, are equally absorbing and observant.
So. As I said, I look forward to this.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
On The Way Home- Laura Ingalls Wilder- Musings of a random nature
A little while back my Dear Friend visited the Little House Bookstore in Mansfield, MO, which is where the Little House books were written. She brought back a couple of the later and less-well-known books for me. I'd loved the series as a child and have re-read bits of them more recently (when I was at Dear Friend's house, as I don't have them anymore).
A couple of things before we start on this one.
While re-reading Little House in the Big Woods (I think, could have been On The Prairie, read them both anyway), I was struck by the portrayal of the "indians". Wilder's account was fairly even handed, which is great, as we see the reaction of Ma and Pa to the people- Ma's reaction is one of unmitigated fear, while Pa wishes he spoke French so he could communicate with them. Laura herself is just fascinated. It's an interesting study and I highly recommend it.
This book, On the Way Home, is Laura's diary of moving from South Dakota to Missouri in the middle of 1894. Her daughter, Rose, provides a simple introduction to what was going on in the country at the time- which was pretty harsh. There had been years of drought and crop failures, and so many people were losing their land when they had to mortgage it to pay taxes, and then failed on the mortgages in the viscious cycle of borrowing and drought. In the seventh year of drought, the banks failed worldwide. Factories were shut down, and business ceased. "This was a Panic." Writes Rose.
Of course, on Page 2 I found something worth further study (which I've not had time to do)- Rose tells:
"All the way from California Coxey's Armies of the Unemployed were siezing the railroad trains, jam-packing the cars and running them full speed, open throttle, hell-for-leather toward Washington [DC]. They came roaring into the towns, yelling "Justice for the Working Man!" and stopped and swarmed out, demanding plenty to eat and three-day's rations to take with them, or they'd burn the town. People gave them everything to get rid of them. In all the cities, Federal troops were guarding the Government's buildings."
In time there were no trains on the tracks, having been dispatched to the farthest East yards to keep them safe from Coxey's Armies. The Armies took to their feet, "robbing and raiding and stealing and begging for food as they went."
Golden Age my ass.
What gave me hope in these passages was that these people did something. As I read more and more about the UAW and the situation at Ford and Delphi, with the Workers' wages being halved (as agreed to BY the UAW) and factories closing, I wonder how long it will be before Coxey's Armies are back among us. Once again, they'll face a railcar shortage, as Amtrack's funds are gutted. This time they might car pool, like the Viet Nam Vetrans for Peace did. I know it is, as someone remarked, only a matter of time before people stop saying "But I have a family to support" as they realise that there's no way they can support their families on what they're offered, and take to the roads, to the streets, to DC.
It's only a matter of time before they realise that voting in more Democrats is not the answer, as budget by budget by Bush is approved by them (even as they claim to not like the budgets, to dissapprove of the Supreme Court Appointees or Cabinet member appointees- "I don't like you, but I guess I'll vote for you, if I must.").
I think it could go two ways, really. Either there will be a call for a Workers' Party, or there will be rioting. There could be both. I'd rather call for the Worker's Party, since I don't run very fast.
I know in some places (including Oregon), laws have been passed making it neigh impossible for an independent candidate to gain ballot access (it's also difficult for a small party to gain access) so much for Petitioning for Redress of Grievences.
The big two (no, they do not deserve capital letters) do all they can to silence dissent. Let's not forget that it was the *democrats* who challenged Nader hardest (not that I want him in the Oval Office, mind you).
Blah blah about "stealing" votes- OUR votes do not "belong" to anyone but ourselves- we give it to whom we see fittest, not to those who feel entitled by dint of *saying* they're the people's party. The People's Party would vote down the tax breaks for the wealthy, the cutting of VA funding (in the middle of a freaken WAR yet!), the slashing of medical coverage for children (and their parents), and on and on and on.
JUSTICE FOR THE WORKING MAN!!
A couple of things before we start on this one.
While re-reading Little House in the Big Woods (I think, could have been On The Prairie, read them both anyway), I was struck by the portrayal of the "indians". Wilder's account was fairly even handed, which is great, as we see the reaction of Ma and Pa to the people- Ma's reaction is one of unmitigated fear, while Pa wishes he spoke French so he could communicate with them. Laura herself is just fascinated. It's an interesting study and I highly recommend it.
This book, On the Way Home, is Laura's diary of moving from South Dakota to Missouri in the middle of 1894. Her daughter, Rose, provides a simple introduction to what was going on in the country at the time- which was pretty harsh. There had been years of drought and crop failures, and so many people were losing their land when they had to mortgage it to pay taxes, and then failed on the mortgages in the viscious cycle of borrowing and drought. In the seventh year of drought, the banks failed worldwide. Factories were shut down, and business ceased. "This was a Panic." Writes Rose.
Of course, on Page 2 I found something worth further study (which I've not had time to do)- Rose tells:
"All the way from California Coxey's Armies of the Unemployed were siezing the railroad trains, jam-packing the cars and running them full speed, open throttle, hell-for-leather toward Washington [DC]. They came roaring into the towns, yelling "Justice for the Working Man!" and stopped and swarmed out, demanding plenty to eat and three-day's rations to take with them, or they'd burn the town. People gave them everything to get rid of them. In all the cities, Federal troops were guarding the Government's buildings."
In time there were no trains on the tracks, having been dispatched to the farthest East yards to keep them safe from Coxey's Armies. The Armies took to their feet, "robbing and raiding and stealing and begging for food as they went."
Golden Age my ass.
What gave me hope in these passages was that these people did something. As I read more and more about the UAW and the situation at Ford and Delphi, with the Workers' wages being halved (as agreed to BY the UAW) and factories closing, I wonder how long it will be before Coxey's Armies are back among us. Once again, they'll face a railcar shortage, as Amtrack's funds are gutted. This time they might car pool, like the Viet Nam Vetrans for Peace did. I know it is, as someone remarked, only a matter of time before people stop saying "But I have a family to support" as they realise that there's no way they can support their families on what they're offered, and take to the roads, to the streets, to DC.
It's only a matter of time before they realise that voting in more Democrats is not the answer, as budget by budget by Bush is approved by them (even as they claim to not like the budgets, to dissapprove of the Supreme Court Appointees or Cabinet member appointees- "I don't like you, but I guess I'll vote for you, if I must.").
I think it could go two ways, really. Either there will be a call for a Workers' Party, or there will be rioting. There could be both. I'd rather call for the Worker's Party, since I don't run very fast.
I know in some places (including Oregon), laws have been passed making it neigh impossible for an independent candidate to gain ballot access (it's also difficult for a small party to gain access) so much for Petitioning for Redress of Grievences.
The big two (no, they do not deserve capital letters) do all they can to silence dissent. Let's not forget that it was the *democrats* who challenged Nader hardest (not that I want him in the Oval Office, mind you).
Blah blah about "stealing" votes- OUR votes do not "belong" to anyone but ourselves- we give it to whom we see fittest, not to those who feel entitled by dint of *saying* they're the people's party. The People's Party would vote down the tax breaks for the wealthy, the cutting of VA funding (in the middle of a freaken WAR yet!), the slashing of medical coverage for children (and their parents), and on and on and on.
JUSTICE FOR THE WORKING MAN!!
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Between books
So now I'm just reeling. Having read this when I did- with all the manufactured hubbub about Danish cartoons, I am seeing a growing demonisation of Islam. Now, I am not in favour of Faith-Based thinking, what with liking facts and all, but I am also against Faith-Based killing. Be it killing because your faith says to kill, or being killed for being of a faith. What I see happening has overt similarities to the cartoons published by the Nazi regeime in preparation for the holocaust.
I know people like to say "he who first makes a comparrisson to Nazis lets themselves out of the argument"- which is handy in silencing speaking out about....similarities to nazi tactics (or fascist tactics in general). But look now, if you see the beginnings of a trend, you have a duty to say something. Why wait until the concentration camps are built, and the railroads are laying tracks to the oven doors?
Some would argue that some concentration camps are already here- or in Cuba, anyway, what with Guantanamo. They would so far be right. Some would argue that these cartoons are just freedom of the press- they would be almost right- except that the paper in question was not the last stop on this printing spree- no, the cartoons were printed and reprinted for months until the desired anger was whipped up. This, after an apology was requested by the Muslim leaders (leaders of the majority, not the fringes). They were told - I paraphrase- "You have no control over our free presses. Deal."
There is a good article at [url=http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/feb2006/cart-f15.shtml]wsws[/url] as usual. Harris says that in relation to Islam politics can be considered only to be dismissed- well, obviously, politics are what we live with every day. It is a typical bit of obscurantism to insist on not looking at what is there. What Muslims live with in Denmark is a constant sense of disenfranchisement- getting the worst of both sides: You are not allowed to assimilate VS You have not assimilated, it's your own fault. This bears remarkable similarities to what European Jews went through for centuries.
No, it's not helped by religious isolationism, but they are given precious little choice in the matter.
I know people like to say "he who first makes a comparrisson to Nazis lets themselves out of the argument"- which is handy in silencing speaking out about....similarities to nazi tactics (or fascist tactics in general). But look now, if you see the beginnings of a trend, you have a duty to say something. Why wait until the concentration camps are built, and the railroads are laying tracks to the oven doors?
Some would argue that some concentration camps are already here- or in Cuba, anyway, what with Guantanamo. They would so far be right. Some would argue that these cartoons are just freedom of the press- they would be almost right- except that the paper in question was not the last stop on this printing spree- no, the cartoons were printed and reprinted for months until the desired anger was whipped up. This, after an apology was requested by the Muslim leaders (leaders of the majority, not the fringes). They were told - I paraphrase- "You have no control over our free presses. Deal."
There is a good article at [url=http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/feb2006/cart-f15.shtml]wsws[/url] as usual. Harris says that in relation to Islam politics can be considered only to be dismissed- well, obviously, politics are what we live with every day. It is a typical bit of obscurantism to insist on not looking at what is there. What Muslims live with in Denmark is a constant sense of disenfranchisement- getting the worst of both sides: You are not allowed to assimilate VS You have not assimilated, it's your own fault. This bears remarkable similarities to what European Jews went through for centuries.
No, it's not helped by religious isolationism, but they are given precious little choice in the matter.
Oy, It's done. The End of The End of Faith
Finally. I feel very dragged out by this whole thing. What is most dissappointing is that I was really hoping for a resonable book. What is really frightening is that it is in places very reasonable- which more on later.
The upshot: It would serve well as a companion volume to The Protocols of the Elders of Zion- this time construed as The Protocols of the Bombers of Islam. It's a complex screed filled with half-truths (or, half-presented facts) interspersed with really otherwise useful things.
The conflation of Islam with Qutbism (for lack of a better term) does no one any good- it paints Islam with a broad ugly brush, it engenders fear and it calls for retaliatory- or even pre-emptive violence. Hmm. There could not possibly be an agenda here.
Let me state for the record here: I am a socialist. As such I do not believe that religin is a force for good- though I cannot deny that it has been used as a force. I think it demands a disregard for science, fact, and critical thinking and that it has been used, as Marx pointed out, as an opiate of the people. Except that I would update it to be more along the lines of crack cocaine. Few opium addicts have the gumption to blow things up. This goes for suicide bombers as well as invading forces.
That said- I entered into this book in search of something usefull- not expecting a gentle denunciation of faiths here, but something rational and an offer- maybe, just maybe- of a replacement in the form of reason. This is not to be found here.
Harris' methods are dangerous- meant to appeal to the more liberal element, it offers an excuse- founded on a twisted and selective history- to be afraid of and angry with Islam in particular. Though he goes through an almost perfunctory history of the uses of religion to oppress, he mis-identifies the oppressor as Religion Itself. He breezez through the Holocaust, the witch hunts and etc. At one, brief, point he says that a lot of the land seized by the Inquisition made it into the hands of the Church. And, yes, that is bad. It's also a bit familiar these days, with people being denounced as terrorists and their property or rewards being given to the denouncers whether the person is proved a terrorist or not.
It would not be so alarming if he did not, after the chapter "The Problem with Islam", continue to point out Islamic examples of violence and etc at every turn to the exclusion of the horrors of other faiths.
The Afterward should really be an Introduction, as it is only here that we see he started the book on Sept 12, 2001. Obviously, this colours things. It is unfortunate that Harris never quite pulled out of the trauma this inflicted on him - though he claims to have returned to reasonableness and that some of the more extreme parts were edited out. I hope never to stumble across those writings, if this is his moderate side.
The upshot: It would serve well as a companion volume to The Protocols of the Elders of Zion- this time construed as The Protocols of the Bombers of Islam. It's a complex screed filled with half-truths (or, half-presented facts) interspersed with really otherwise useful things.
The conflation of Islam with Qutbism (for lack of a better term) does no one any good- it paints Islam with a broad ugly brush, it engenders fear and it calls for retaliatory- or even pre-emptive violence. Hmm. There could not possibly be an agenda here.
Let me state for the record here: I am a socialist. As such I do not believe that religin is a force for good- though I cannot deny that it has been used as a force. I think it demands a disregard for science, fact, and critical thinking and that it has been used, as Marx pointed out, as an opiate of the people. Except that I would update it to be more along the lines of crack cocaine. Few opium addicts have the gumption to blow things up. This goes for suicide bombers as well as invading forces.
That said- I entered into this book in search of something usefull- not expecting a gentle denunciation of faiths here, but something rational and an offer- maybe, just maybe- of a replacement in the form of reason. This is not to be found here.
Harris' methods are dangerous- meant to appeal to the more liberal element, it offers an excuse- founded on a twisted and selective history- to be afraid of and angry with Islam in particular. Though he goes through an almost perfunctory history of the uses of religion to oppress, he mis-identifies the oppressor as Religion Itself. He breezez through the Holocaust, the witch hunts and etc. At one, brief, point he says that a lot of the land seized by the Inquisition made it into the hands of the Church. And, yes, that is bad. It's also a bit familiar these days, with people being denounced as terrorists and their property or rewards being given to the denouncers whether the person is proved a terrorist or not.
It would not be so alarming if he did not, after the chapter "The Problem with Islam", continue to point out Islamic examples of violence and etc at every turn to the exclusion of the horrors of other faiths.
The Afterward should really be an Introduction, as it is only here that we see he started the book on Sept 12, 2001. Obviously, this colours things. It is unfortunate that Harris never quite pulled out of the trauma this inflicted on him - though he claims to have returned to reasonableness and that some of the more extreme parts were edited out. I hope never to stumble across those writings, if this is his moderate side.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
End of Faith Pt 3- Islam in particular.
First I have to say that my bookseller/collector friends would kill me if they saw all these pen marks in this volume. Sorry.
I am still trying to figure out the whole Islam thing, but what I have so far is this:
The chapter on Islam is one which has me troubled for a number of reasons- one of which is that I kind of agree with his assessment, though *not* his solution (his asessment is that it is an inherently violent religion- which seems very surface, but which can also be said about any number of other religions wherein the "punishment is death"). The martyrdom aspect is more prevalent in Islam- as it is applied currently- than in many other faiths, but still. His solution is to kill them all, it seems.
This is a cry which has come up a couple of times in the book so far- "they cannot be resoned with", which may well be the case, but he does present it as a kill or be killed situation, which strikes me as a justification for current policy and really, nothing more.
So- yes, I do think Islam as it is being played out now, is a dangerous thing. (I also think Christianity, Judaism, or any other faith which blinds the believer to the human-ness of the non-believer and drives the believer to violence is a dangerous sort of faith). But I take issue with his singling it out so.
While he puts forth in the book that *faith* is dangerous, he is concentrating on Islam unduly. I am inclined to wonder if, had he been born in the 14h century, he would have called for the killing of all christians, in view of the Inquisition going on then.
A number of his observations (and observations borrowed from Bernard Lewis) are that Islam is a religiously imperialist entity (I am thinking particularly of " for Muslims, no piece of land once added to the realm of Islam can ever be finally renounced." The Gaza strip comes to mind (as does any area of concession in Israel), but with 'Judaism' replacing 'Muslim'. (**for the record, I am Jewish, Reform and somewhat lapsed, but still**). NO group wants to give up their land.
I am trying to take this all with the knowledge that he started the book on September 12, 2001, but I do wonder - whither the editor? Also- where is the historical perspective? If someone shoots you on a Monday, you are not going to be looking for their finer points on a Tuesday. This is not to say there aren't problems- obviously there are. I take issue with his solution, which sounds a bit...final, if you will.
I am still trying to figure out the whole Islam thing, but what I have so far is this:
The chapter on Islam is one which has me troubled for a number of reasons- one of which is that I kind of agree with his assessment, though *not* his solution (his asessment is that it is an inherently violent religion- which seems very surface, but which can also be said about any number of other religions wherein the "punishment is death"). The martyrdom aspect is more prevalent in Islam- as it is applied currently- than in many other faiths, but still. His solution is to kill them all, it seems.
This is a cry which has come up a couple of times in the book so far- "they cannot be resoned with", which may well be the case, but he does present it as a kill or be killed situation, which strikes me as a justification for current policy and really, nothing more.
So- yes, I do think Islam as it is being played out now, is a dangerous thing. (I also think Christianity, Judaism, or any other faith which blinds the believer to the human-ness of the non-believer and drives the believer to violence is a dangerous sort of faith). But I take issue with his singling it out so.
While he puts forth in the book that *faith* is dangerous, he is concentrating on Islam unduly. I am inclined to wonder if, had he been born in the 14h century, he would have called for the killing of all christians, in view of the Inquisition going on then.
A number of his observations (and observations borrowed from Bernard Lewis) are that Islam is a religiously imperialist entity (I am thinking particularly of " for Muslims, no piece of land once added to the realm of Islam can ever be finally renounced." The Gaza strip comes to mind (as does any area of concession in Israel), but with 'Judaism' replacing 'Muslim'. (**for the record, I am Jewish, Reform and somewhat lapsed, but still**). NO group wants to give up their land.
I am trying to take this all with the knowledge that he started the book on September 12, 2001, but I do wonder - whither the editor? Also- where is the historical perspective? If someone shoots you on a Monday, you are not going to be looking for their finer points on a Tuesday. This is not to say there aren't problems- obviously there are. I take issue with his solution, which sounds a bit...final, if you will.
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