Retired Editorials

Editorial #2 - April 26, 2003

"The love of money is the root of all evil things" 1 Timothy 6:10.

This site is devoted to serious social concerns, in particular to understanding the causes of our problems and how these can be eliminated. We have no time for useless complaining and wallowing in exposures of what 'they' are doing to us. Also we don't want to waste a lot of time on the 'so called war' but there are points still to be made.

1. Should not a real war have combatants which at least have a chance of defending themselves; in sports fishing the fish have a chance of life: it is not just a matter of "shooting fish in a barrel". When the attacker has overwhelming superiority, either by technology or numbers, then it becomes either invasion or massacre or both.
2. To be moral a war must be justified and the common justification is "self defense". If the Iraq war was to be justified as self defense by "pre-emptive strike" then, as with civil law, minimum force only, is justified: see the April 12th editorial.
3. Another thing that struck me was an inability to take seriously our leaders when giving their version of events on TV. They appeared to me more like incompetent actors reading from a script and trying very hard to appear sincere. They had no passion and no spontaneity and could not remember their lines without constant use of the prompt. Still they did not hesitate to send troops into needless danger but leaders cannot escape responsibility for what is done or consequences yet to appear.
4. Another constant irritation was their incessant emotional use of "weapons of mass destruction". Alongside this was their incessant repeat of "democracy" as if we have it and want to teach it to the world. It is hard to believe that any one of our 'esteemed' 'leaders' is not well aware that there is nothing resembling true democracy visible in the world today and most certainly not in countries they claim to represent.

A Nazi propagandist is reported to have said; "If you repeat a lie often enough people will believe it." Unfortunately for those who copy him, he did not say; "If you repeat a too obvious lie too often then people find it sickening." It is certainly sickening to think that people nurtured in our communities, educated in our schools and claiming our values will lie so blatantly while pretending to serve us. Our finest offer their lives in defense of our highest ideals; it is to our shame that we allow our most despicable to betray them

I hold no brief for Saddam Hussein but today honesty is our vital need. Hussein caused the death of innocent thousands but this hardly compares with the enslavement of millions of minds to lies in service to promoting suffering, terrorism and despotism.

Actions speak louder than words! If, over the years, we hear words claiming to be in the cause of justice and humanity followed by acts in service to promoting hates and fears, we must then believe the truth is in the actions not in the words. When we find the power behind the words masquerades as the voice of those who oppose the action, then we understand the words of Thomas Jefferson; 3rd President, USA; quote: "Single acts of tyranny may be ascribed to the accidental opinion of the day; but a series of oppressions, begun at a distinguished period, and pursued unalterably through every change of ministers, too plainly prove a deliberate systematical plan of reducing us to slavery". Jefferson's words referred to "acts of tyranny" that were occurring in his time and continue still. We continue to ignore this at our peril.

The natural urge for power combines naturally with a self-defense urge for unity with those who hold power. It is gratifying to see that "The Stockholm Syndrome" is our most popular file. This file gives a brief account of why people support a brutal (or in dangerous times any) leader. But, as The Stockholm Syndrome file does not address the nature of the urge for power an opening for discussion on that may now be useful.

The urge for power/life is a very basic animal imperative! Bird or beast, from babyhood the power struggle begins and the weakest rarely survive (survival of the fittest).

Humans live in animal bodies and until their human intellect is sufficiently developed as can control animal instincts, they will behave more as animals than as humans. The developing human quickly sees that brute force is not the best way to go and good parents (before they were seduced by humanist philosophy) made natural efforts of just discipline that helped their children to adopt their human potential.

In the early era of human development it was common for humans to see accumulation of possessions or money as a suitable substitute for the accumulation of power. However those of weaker human development, having accumulated (by diligence, luck or trickery) more than they really need, quickly see that money gives power. These may then turn happily back to their 'animal domination' instincts.

So we see therein the justification for the Biblical statement that "Love of money is the root of all evil things"

Cultural dominance by the religion of Chance Creation could not have happened had some, in love with money power, not sought to manipulate humanity to gain world ownership. Such atrocities as the Iraq war would not have come to pass had people been allowed to achieve a more honest attitude to the Christian Bible and looked to science for the evidence that the creative intelligence is reflected in "the things He has made" (Romans 1:19-20). Had this been allowed we would have set ourselves on the road to truth.

Had we not been misled by the poisonous serpent hidden in humanist philosophy all religions would, by now, have been coming together rather than pulling apart and rational humanity would be coming of age.

We can break this spiral of disaster by exposing that the theory of chance creation is a mishmash of wishful thinking, deformity of science and an ideological misrepresentation of truth in service to Globalism. As we do that we will also see that we need to take control of our political system if we are to have law based on justice and social order based on the development and achievement of our human potential.

A quote in "The Stockholm Syndrome" very well states one of our most debilitating weaknesses; let us recall the wisdom of Thomas Szasz; quote: "Every act of conscious learning requires the willingness to suffer an injury to one's self-esteem. That is why young children, before they are aware of their own self-importance, learn so easily; and why older persons, especially if vain or important, cannot learn at all."

It is so difficult to face the sacrifice of ideas to which we have adapted our lives. But it may become possible, even easy, if we understand that it is our human ability of self-sacrifice that grows the food of wisdom and builds a healthy mind. Self-sacrifice (of belief to better understanding) is the fuel of enlightenment.

To aid discussion on the forces influencing our developing humanity, the file "Slavery by Law" was recently added to the Discovering Humanity Files (see below). Today we add another; "Blind Freddie in the 20th century:." As this is a short editorial you may like to look at that file now and, if you have not already done so, why not pick up the short and very popular Stockholm Syndrome file as well.

Thanks also to all those who help promote this site. Our site grows mainly by person to person recommendation. Growth is meeting needs but the fight for truth, justice and democracy is just beginning, so keep up the good work and - thank you again!
Editor.

Remember: For past editorials see "Retired Editorials"
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