"The vast majority of Americans just want peace." Well, perhaps most Americans want peace, but I don't think is is a "vast majority." The MAGA (Confederacy rebranded) does not want peace; all its noise and its media outlets are focused on war drum beating, using metaphors of conflict. Everything fro…
"The vast majority of Americans just want peace." Well, perhaps most Americans want peace, but I don't think is is a "vast majority." The MAGA (Confederacy rebranded) does not want peace; all its noise and its media outlets are focused on war drum beating, using metaphors of conflict. Everything from their rhetoric that liberals are trying to force them to be gay, get abortions, and destroy Christianity, to their Christmas cards showing their families armed with assault-style weapons, to their AR-15 pins. One "pastor" (no training, background checks or honesty required) came out recently and said men are losing their testosterone because of birth control pills in the water supply, signaling their next goal of continuing to strip rights from women and their families by banning birth control. They've been pretty open about this goal.
They don't want peace; they want war, which is why they've armed themselves to the teeth.
And watch what happens. The MAGA cannot win a war of battles. But they can win a guerrilla war by allowing people to carry weapons and entice fear. As I said, then watch what happens. Really strict gun control against any but those they need to have them to keep others from using them against the new Authority. If you want the gun issue solved, you've got two choices--a president who ignores the court and enforces gun registration and limits weaponry, or vote MAGA.
Look, the only hope for the extreme "right" is to be "unpopular" enough and create so much controversy that they win from the instability that is created. I don't think for one minute they believe they are doing the popular thing. Isn't morality really about conforming people to obey observances they may not wish to observe? And isn't all immorality trying to force people to observe moral observances. There are an awful lot of immoral actions. Almost all are done in the name of morality. We can go in circles on this issue, if there is immorality. the opposite is morality. But there is something to be said of the Jewish creation myth. Let's skip God, for now, and say something like 14 billion years ago something happened and what happened was good. Well maybe it wasn't, but if it wasn't we wouldn't be having this discussion. Call it creation, or chance, but what occurred is what occurred and let's say that's it good because it is what it is---existence of matter in this universe. It's good because it continues to exist. That's goodness. Around 3-5 hundred thousand years ago hominids evolved as part of that goodness. Then 7-10 thousand years ago somebody bit into the knowledge of good and evil and learned you control people by telling them my way is good and everything else is bad, you throw God in and condemn people to hell, or you just control them and give them a life of hell.
The Jewish myth tells us that the opposite of good is the choice or knowledge of good and evil. Heretofore, everything was good because it was what was---now you have to choose whether to obey and be good or disobey and be bad. And that is morality, and morality is not what is good; i.e. morality is the opposite of what actually is, what was created, or whatever term you choose, morality is the imposition upon what is actual existence into a sphere of obedience to the good or the condemnation of not complying. You can't argue against anyone's morality because that is non-compliant and bad. You can say all morality is bad, or the opposite of actual existence., no matter the definition of good or bad, the definition that there is anything that could be bad only exists because of the definition.
Another spot-on essay, Thom. Thank you.
"The vast majority of Americans just want peace." Well, perhaps most Americans want peace, but I don't think is is a "vast majority." The MAGA (Confederacy rebranded) does not want peace; all its noise and its media outlets are focused on war drum beating, using metaphors of conflict. Everything from their rhetoric that liberals are trying to force them to be gay, get abortions, and destroy Christianity, to their Christmas cards showing their families armed with assault-style weapons, to their AR-15 pins. One "pastor" (no training, background checks or honesty required) came out recently and said men are losing their testosterone because of birth control pills in the water supply, signaling their next goal of continuing to strip rights from women and their families by banning birth control. They've been pretty open about this goal.
They don't want peace; they want war, which is why they've armed themselves to the teeth.
And watch what happens. The MAGA cannot win a war of battles. But they can win a guerrilla war by allowing people to carry weapons and entice fear. As I said, then watch what happens. Really strict gun control against any but those they need to have them to keep others from using them against the new Authority. If you want the gun issue solved, you've got two choices--a president who ignores the court and enforces gun registration and limits weaponry, or vote MAGA.
Look, the only hope for the extreme "right" is to be "unpopular" enough and create so much controversy that they win from the instability that is created. I don't think for one minute they believe they are doing the popular thing. Isn't morality really about conforming people to obey observances they may not wish to observe? And isn't all immorality trying to force people to observe moral observances. There are an awful lot of immoral actions. Almost all are done in the name of morality. We can go in circles on this issue, if there is immorality. the opposite is morality. But there is something to be said of the Jewish creation myth. Let's skip God, for now, and say something like 14 billion years ago something happened and what happened was good. Well maybe it wasn't, but if it wasn't we wouldn't be having this discussion. Call it creation, or chance, but what occurred is what occurred and let's say that's it good because it is what it is---existence of matter in this universe. It's good because it continues to exist. That's goodness. Around 3-5 hundred thousand years ago hominids evolved as part of that goodness. Then 7-10 thousand years ago somebody bit into the knowledge of good and evil and learned you control people by telling them my way is good and everything else is bad, you throw God in and condemn people to hell, or you just control them and give them a life of hell.
The Jewish myth tells us that the opposite of good is the choice or knowledge of good and evil. Heretofore, everything was good because it was what was---now you have to choose whether to obey and be good or disobey and be bad. And that is morality, and morality is not what is good; i.e. morality is the opposite of what actually is, what was created, or whatever term you choose, morality is the imposition upon what is actual existence into a sphere of obedience to the good or the condemnation of not complying. You can't argue against anyone's morality because that is non-compliant and bad. You can say all morality is bad, or the opposite of actual existence., no matter the definition of good or bad, the definition that there is anything that could be bad only exists because of the definition.