I left an excessively generic comment on someone's blog a day or two ago that evidently caused some confusion about my overall objectives. Here's the problem as I see it:
There's an old story in Plato's Republic that involves a magic ring which allows its wearer to become invisible. Sound familiar? You can get the details by googling "Ring of Gyges" but the story has been used over and over in contemporary fiction. Plato argued that men who behave in a moral fashion do so not out of a deep seated sense of obligation to civilization but simply because they lack the power to behave immorally and escape punishment. The Ring of Gyges tells the story of a simple shepherd who acquires the power of invisibility and quickly uses it to improve his own quality of life at the expense of others.
Enough about Plato. He's still dead.
I wouldn't recommend holding your breath while waiting for magic rings and invisibility cloaks to be developed, but we are faced with a problem. Technology is creating a situation where a growing number of otherwise insignificant individuals are acquiring an increasing ability to cause harm to others with little chance of being punished. Today you worry about visiting the wrong websites because of computer viruses. A few decades from now your grandchildren will be worried about real viruses. Should they open that direct mail advertisement, or even touch it? Should they touch that doorknob or accept that offer of leftover cookies in the company breakroom? You get the idea.
The sort of people who create today's computer viruses are the product of the same social processes as those who will be creating tomorrow's real viruses. They are the product of a society that proudly displays a corrosive level of depraved indifference toward others. Read almost any post in this weblog for an example. Anyone with the technical ability to gain something, even if what they gain is as petty as a temporary thrill of empowerment by causing harm to others is much more likely to use that ability if their value system developed in a social environment like ours. In America, virtually every public school student learns that cruelty is rewarded and victims of cruelty are shamelessly blamed for what others do to them. In many schools, the adults in authority simply ignore complaints from victims of cruelty. The Columbine Massacre was not a mystery. It was an embarrassment. What a toilet.
I don't expect to change much of anything simply by writing a blog, but doing nothing would only make me feel as ugly and lacking in character as those who enable the criminals described in this weblog.
If this explanation is insufficient, leave a question and I'll attempt to provide a suitable answer.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Chicken Soup with sociopaths who reproduce...
Terrorists must love the American Family.
Remember George Huguely, the all American male who bravely defeated his girlfriend Yeardley Love in unarmed combat? His father, also rumored to be a really wonderful guy was recently arrested for drunk driving.
It's never been a secret that bigots, bullies, and batterers are like human feces. They emerge from the orifice of family character and they're welcomed with open arms by their moral peers in the cesspool of community character.
Our civilization would be much better off if sociopaths avoided reproducing, but don't hold your breath waiting for anyone in America to admit it. That's a taboo subject and it's considered a third rail in American politics. As a result of everyone's refusal to admit the ugly truth, the world's terrorists will continue to have an unlimited supply of evil characters they can refer to when building up the necessary hatred to attack.
Sleep well everyone, and whatever you do, don't look in the mirror.
Remember George Huguely, the all American male who bravely defeated his girlfriend Yeardley Love in unarmed combat? His father, also rumored to be a really wonderful guy was recently arrested for drunk driving.
It's never been a secret that bigots, bullies, and batterers are like human feces. They emerge from the orifice of family character and they're welcomed with open arms by their moral peers in the cesspool of community character.
Our civilization would be much better off if sociopaths avoided reproducing, but don't hold your breath waiting for anyone in America to admit it. That's a taboo subject and it's considered a third rail in American politics. As a result of everyone's refusal to admit the ugly truth, the world's terrorists will continue to have an unlimited supply of evil characters they can refer to when building up the necessary hatred to attack.
Sleep well everyone, and whatever you do, don't look in the mirror.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Chicken Soup with Mike McQueary, former Penn. State hero...
Terrorists are familiar with corruption and injustice. That's why they become terrorists. This story should sound very familiar to them.
In a follow up to the embarrassing revelations about the sort of characters who infest the institution of football, Mike McQueary took the stand Friday and testified about what he saw. You can read the article yourself but one point stands out for me.
Defense attorneys pointed out that McQueary didn't act like a man who saw a young boy being molested. In other words, McQueary didn't immediately rescue the victim or report the crime to the police. I suppose they'll try to use this as a defense, hoping that jurors will be fooled into believing that cowardice and depraved indifference is equivalent to innocence.
It isn't.
McQueary is a member of an institution (football) with a long history of covering up even the most heinous crimes of its participants. His first impulse upon seeing Sandusky plowing his manliness into a small boy may have been to intervene, but upon realizing that the offender was a high ranking member of the institution he served (football), he became immediately intimidated. He was so intimidated he called his father for advice. His father was also intimidated. He told his son to report what he saw to another, higher ranking member of the holy fraternity of football.
Keeping it in the family and all that.
From the viewpoint of terrorists and those considering entering the field, most of the people they'll be killing, injuring, or otherwise imposing harm upon are the sort of people who wouldn't dream of demonstrating a significant degree of civility by boycotting the institution (football) most responsible for enabling criminals (alleged) like Sandusky.
From the viewpoint of the average American, victims don't matter.
If anyone wants to explain why terrorists should value the lives of Americans, feel free. Try to pick a more imaginative name than "Anonymous."
In a follow up to the embarrassing revelations about the sort of characters who infest the institution of football, Mike McQueary took the stand Friday and testified about what he saw. You can read the article yourself but one point stands out for me.
Defense attorneys pointed out that McQueary didn't act like a man who saw a young boy being molested. In other words, McQueary didn't immediately rescue the victim or report the crime to the police. I suppose they'll try to use this as a defense, hoping that jurors will be fooled into believing that cowardice and depraved indifference is equivalent to innocence.
It isn't.
McQueary is a member of an institution (football) with a long history of covering up even the most heinous crimes of its participants. His first impulse upon seeing Sandusky plowing his manliness into a small boy may have been to intervene, but upon realizing that the offender was a high ranking member of the institution he served (football), he became immediately intimidated. He was so intimidated he called his father for advice. His father was also intimidated. He told his son to report what he saw to another, higher ranking member of the holy fraternity of football.
Keeping it in the family and all that.
From the viewpoint of terrorists and those considering entering the field, most of the people they'll be killing, injuring, or otherwise imposing harm upon are the sort of people who wouldn't dream of demonstrating a significant degree of civility by boycotting the institution (football) most responsible for enabling criminals (alleged) like Sandusky.
From the viewpoint of the average American, victims don't matter.
If anyone wants to explain why terrorists should value the lives of Americans, feel free. Try to pick a more imaginative name than "Anonymous."
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Chicken Soup with the South Fulton Fire Department in Obion County, Tennessee...
The world's terrorists must be sleeping very soundly indeed; free from moral quandaries.
I thought that nothing could top the depraved indifference of America's health insurance system until I read this cheerful story about the behavior of the South Fulton Fire Department.
In a previous post I compared the barbaric behavior of America's health insurance system to the highly civilized behavior of the fire department. At the time I was unaware that any of our nation's fire departments would dream of standing by while someone's home burned down. Apparently I was wrong. Moral depravity knows no limit in America.
If I come across a word that accurately describes the depths of depravity demonstrated by the South Fulton Fire Department I'll let you know. Until then, readers should consider the fact that those who drive airplanes into buildings, mow down their classmates in a hail of bullets, or park truck bombs in front of federal buildings are being made to seem considerably less evil when compared to the routine behavior of ordinary Americans.
Sleep soundly meatheads.
I thought that nothing could top the depraved indifference of America's health insurance system until I read this cheerful story about the behavior of the South Fulton Fire Department.
In a previous post I compared the barbaric behavior of America's health insurance system to the highly civilized behavior of the fire department. At the time I was unaware that any of our nation's fire departments would dream of standing by while someone's home burned down. Apparently I was wrong. Moral depravity knows no limit in America.
If I come across a word that accurately describes the depths of depravity demonstrated by the South Fulton Fire Department I'll let you know. Until then, readers should consider the fact that those who drive airplanes into buildings, mow down their classmates in a hail of bullets, or park truck bombs in front of federal buildings are being made to seem considerably less evil when compared to the routine behavior of ordinary Americans.
Sleep soundly meatheads.
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