What does civilization really mean?
DK:
"The question of how the United States and the other nations of the world should respond is, in my opinion, a very challenging one to which there is no simple answer. It is easy enough to argue that ISIS represents a great evil and thus must be destroyed. Some are already willing to argue that to destroy its leadership, we should even ignore the human rights of the population of Raqqa and other ISIS strongholds, just as we did the populations of German and Japanese cities during the Second World War. Even President Obama has identified ISIS as a threat to world civilization that must be "degraded and defeated"--but he insists that the United States can play only an auxiliary role in that process, and his own military steps have been relatively cautious. The recapture of Ramadi by Iraqi government-supported forces, assisted by American air power, suggests things are moving in the right direction--but very slowly.
"ISIS does undoubtedly represent a threat to civilized values as serious in character--if not in scale--to those posed by Germany and Japan in the Second World War, or by Communism under Stalin and Mao. Two of those four regimes were destroyed by allied coalitions; the other two survived for decades and collapsed, or changed, mostly because of internal pressures. Other at least equally serious threats to western civilization in earlier periods include the Mongol and Ottoman Empires. History does not, in short, support the idea that we must attempt to destroy certain regimes simply because of their evil nature.--or that we can do so. We need a broader kind of test for action."
"...The real challenge for the governments of the West is in many ways an intellectual one: to accept that their values have not, and will not, prevail in large parts of the world for some time to come....." DK
I will let you guess what he thinks the term civilization means.
BOOMERBUSTER
OLD CELLO
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
RE DK SITE
To follow up on my comment elsewhere, the problem for Islam is not radical Christianity (how, by the way, the New England colonies got started), but rather liberal universalist mainstream Christianity.
DK post
"Although the media still avoids talking about this very much, ISIS descended directly from Al Queda in Iraq, which did not exist until George W. Bush, with very little idea of what he was getting into, decided to invade that country in 2003."
In my judgment, Desert Storm had been just as misguided, civilizationally, and in a sense had set the stage for the invasion of 2003, and for many other bad things in between.
In my judgment, Desert Storm had been just as misguided, civilizationally, and in a sense had set the stage for the invasion of 2003, and for many other bad things in between.
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
Sunday, January 3, 2016
VERY ILLUMINATING
to see the 6 books Bill Gates likes best.......
Brooks' book is there, a book I haven't read, but readers of this blog will guess my suppositions about its meritoriousness.
Terms search this blog: brooks
Brooks' book is there, a book I haven't read, but readers of this blog will guess my suppositions about its meritoriousness.
Terms search this blog: brooks
RE E P SANDERS THE HISTORICAL FIGURE
He seems to me to get the answer to the question, re reform or alternative society, wrong.
He leaves the question, of alternative sects, untouched.
He leaves the question, of alternative sects, untouched.
Saturday, January 2, 2016
I HAVE SOME BONES TO PICK WITH HIS ACCOUNT BUT THAT IS ANOTHER STORY
"One can read, for example, E P Sanders' book, The Historical Figure Of Jesus, to get some details on why I suggest this."
RE CIVILIZATIONS
We in the West (the US is not really deeply in the West though) will pay an enormous price for not having kept industrial growth mainly within the West, to the extent possible, and for as long as possible.
For me, still one of the best, though very late in the game, treatments, of how this process rolled out with respect to US Japan trade history, was Trading Places.
Development has created enormous civilizational rivals, and a race to the bottom of available resources amid uncontrollable population growth. Population growth itself is a great militarizer.
For me, still one of the best, though very late in the game, treatments, of how this process rolled out with respect to US Japan trade history, was Trading Places.
Development has created enormous civilizational rivals, and a race to the bottom of available resources amid uncontrollable population growth. Population growth itself is a great militarizer.
Friday, January 1, 2016
RE GREAT IMPROVISERS A TASTE FOR CHAOS
I have been reading Randy's book.
It has started me thinking along these lines myself.
Accordingly, although I am certainly not the first person to suggest this, I just want to say it here now.
Among great improvisers, even with the limited knowledge we have of details of his life and ministry, one can put Jesus' Ministry more or less at or near the top of a list of talented improvisers.
There are a lot of reasons for saying this. I don't want to go into a long list of them here.
Jesus was sort of a Luther of late Temple Judaism. He was dealt with by Caiaphas more or less in the way Luther would have been dealt, had the Vatican been able to lay hands on him without opposition.
One can read, for example, E P Sanders' book, The Historical Figure Of Jesus, to get some details on why I suggest this.
It has started me thinking along these lines myself.
Accordingly, although I am certainly not the first person to suggest this, I just want to say it here now.
Among great improvisers, even with the limited knowledge we have of details of his life and ministry, one can put Jesus' Ministry more or less at or near the top of a list of talented improvisers.
There are a lot of reasons for saying this. I don't want to go into a long list of them here.
Jesus was sort of a Luther of late Temple Judaism. He was dealt with by Caiaphas more or less in the way Luther would have been dealt, had the Vatican been able to lay hands on him without opposition.
One can read, for example, E P Sanders' book, The Historical Figure Of Jesus, to get some details on why I suggest this.
RE MULTICULTURALISM AMID CIVILIZATIONS
The US has always been based on utopian universalism, transcending cultures and civilizations as well as nation states including the US itself.
In this sense, it has had, at best, an ambiguous relationship to Western Civ. Huntington's discussions makes this apparent.
This has had, and will continue to have, tragic consequences.
In effect, we became the first Pariah State of Modern Western Civ. Revolutionary France became the second.
We have continued to play that role, and I see no indication that that will change.
In this sense, it has had, at best, an ambiguous relationship to Western Civ. Huntington's discussions makes this apparent.
This has had, and will continue to have, tragic consequences.
In effect, we became the first Pariah State of Modern Western Civ. Revolutionary France became the second.
We have continued to play that role, and I see no indication that that will change.
Sunday, December 27, 2015
RE CHINA'S NEW SILK ROAD
Guess what?
Mary Poppins will have a much harder time setting down there along that road than, say, in the SCS, or the Pacific.
Mary Poppins will have a much harder time setting down there along that road than, say, in the SCS, or the Pacific.
CHINA MINE OWNER KILLS HIMSELF
This should become a model for American entrepreneurs.
The fewer entrepreneurs of this kind we have, the better.
The fewer entrepreneurs of this kind we have, the better.
Friday, December 25, 2015
CLASSIC CARTOON BLAST PAST
http://bozonbloggon.blogspot.com/2010/11/mise-en-scene-maverick-executive-free.html
CLASSIC PAST BLAST
http://bozonbloggon.blogspot.com/2010/11/re-spanish-prisoner-eu-and-us-real-road.html
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
classic past blast
http://bozonbloggon.blogspot.com/2010/11/re-spanish-prisoner-eu-and-us-real-road.html
Friday, December 18, 2015
Thursday, December 17, 2015
RE DEBATE OVER MULTILATERALISM
The internet should never have been globalized up front.
Huge mistake.
Huge mistake.
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
UNFORTUNATELY THE ISSUE OF GUN CONTROL OR RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS
this is just the most momentarily visible example of a multitude of longstanding, and deeper, structural and constitutional disquietudes.
They were mostly created, and or left totally unaddressed, at the time of the founding, and certainly those few fought over during the Civil War were not at all brought to a reasonable resolution or solution by it.
The Civil War, frankly, only dealt, badly, with certain few problems, which we always had had, not by any means all or even most of them.
They were mostly created, and or left totally unaddressed, at the time of the founding, and certainly those few fought over during the Civil War were not at all brought to a reasonable resolution or solution by it.
The Civil War, frankly, only dealt, badly, with certain few problems, which we always had had, not by any means all or even most of them.
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