Insights, Snippets, Quotes, Epiphanies & All That Sort of Things

[Karl Henning]

From a friend in Colorado:

A conflict is not
a battle to be won
rather
a problem to be solved

[Florestan]

18 U.S. Code § 592 - Troops at polls

Whoever, being an officer of the Army or Navy, or other person in the civil, military, or naval service of the United States, orders, brings, keeps, or has under his authority or control any troops or armed men at any place where a general or special election is held, unless such force be necessary to repel armed enemies of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both; and be disqualified from holding any office of honor, profit, or trust under the United States.

This section shall not prevent any officer or member of the armed forces of the United States from exercising the right of suffrage in any election district to which he may belong, if otherwise qualified according to the laws of the State in which he offers to vote.

[Florestan]

"The horrors that we have seen, the still greater horrors we shall presently see, are not signs that rebels, insubordinate, untamable men are increasing in number throughout the world, but rather that there is a constant increase in the number of obedient, docile men".

"A Christian people doesn't mean a lot of goody-goodies. The Church has plenty of stamina, and isn't afraid of sin. On the contrary, she can look it in the face calmly and even take it upon herself, assume it at times, as Our Lord did. When a good workman's been at it for a whole week, surely he's due for a booze on Saturday night. Look: I'll define you a Christian people by the opposite. The opposite of a Christian people is a people grown sad and old. You'll be saying that isn't a very theological definition. I agree..."

"Civilization exists precisely so that there may be no masses but rather men alert enough never to constitute masses."

Georges Bernanos

[greg]

"The horrors that we have seen, the still greater horrors we shall presently see, are not signs that rebels, insubordinate, untamable men are increasing in number throughout the world, but rather that there is a constant increase in the number of obedient, docile men".

I was just thinking something like this as I read this.

A natural side effect of building civilization, I think. I'd consider the Nazis to have been obedient and docile, after all ("civilized")- everything they did was with the justification of "oh, I'm just following orders." It's their submissiveness to authority which caused so much destruction. Without compliance, the bad guy in power has none.

Just my perspective, not sure I'll get personally attacked for saying that. 

[Karl Henning]

He who stews in hooch, screws the pooch.

[greg]

Was listening to Slayer's God Hates Us All today.

This part pops out so much, maybe a little corny but also just beautiful IMO.  0:) 

I got my own philosophy
I hate everyone equally
You can't tear that out of me
No segregation, separation
Just me in my world of enemies

[SimonNZ]

"Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat the exam"

[greg]

[SimonNZ]

I'm wondering if you think the history book I'm reading right now is "telling me what to think" or "teaching me how to think".

Which is to say I don't agree at all with that simplistic formulation.

[greg]

I'm wondering if you think the history book I'm reading right now is "telling me what to think" or "teaching me how to think".

Which is to say I don't agree at all with that simplistic formulation.

There's a bit to unpack there.
If we are talking about a history book where the author's intentions are pure (non-propaganda) and just wanted to share their documentation with history, with no additional commentary, then it's no problem.

Depends on what type of thinking you mean by "telling you what to think." I don't consider sharing well-documented historical facts to fall under the category of "telling people what to think," it's just sharing information. I would consider history books having an opinion included alongside the text, derived from those historical facts, presented to the reader, to fall under that category. "Because this happened, this is bad, so don't support this, etc." is just the author's agenda, them trying to get you on their side so you spread the power of their ideology by becoming a new member of it.

[Karl Henning]

Learnt of this last night, via Mark Harvey at the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra concert:

In his eulogy to Strayhorn, Duke Ellington noted that Billy Strayhorn lived by four freedoms: "He demanded freedom of expression and lived in what we consider the most important of moral freedoms: freedom from hate, unconditionally; freedom from all self-pity (even throughout all the pain and bad news); freedom from fear of possibly doing something that might help another more than it would help himself; and freedom from the kind of pride that could make a man feel he was better than his brother or neighbor." (Interestingly, Ellington repeated these words about Strayhorn on his 70th birthday in 1969 when he received the Medal of Freedom at a White House ceremony attended by then-President Richard Nixon. Nixon reportedly "withered" visibly as Ellington described Strayhorn's virtues so pointedly.)

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

"If I had my life to live over again, I would have made a rule to read some poetry and listen to some music at least once every week."
— Charles Darwin

[Wakefield]

Do you agree with Chris Rock?

"Only women, children and dogs are loved unconditionally. A man is only loved under the condition that he provides something."

https://youtube.com/shorts/q-igjq0qOAg?feature=share

[greg]

Do you agree with Chris Rock?

"Only women, children and dogs are loved unconditionally. A man is only loved under the condition that he provides something."

https://youtube.com/shorts/q-igjq0qOAg?feature=share

Mostly true if you're talking about society and marriage/kids.
If you're talking about family/friends, no, not at all true, and that's why they are superior.

[Rosalba]

Do you agree with Chris Rock?

"Only women, children and dogs are loved unconditionally. A man is only loved under the condition that he provides something."

https://youtube.com/shorts/q-igjq0qOAg?feature=share

No, I don't agree. In any case, generalisations as sweeping as that can't be made authoritatively by anyone. Even a huge survey wouldn't really prove anything about love or why you love someone.

It  might be true to say that many people of all sorts, and some dogs, are loved by some people because they provide something.

Other people, who have the ability to love disinterestedly, love people unconditionally, whether they be men, women, children or dogs.

In other words - some people are like this, and some people are like that...

[Rosalba]

Mostly true if you're talking about society and marriage/kids.
If you're talking about family/friends, no, not at all true, and that's why they are superior.

'They' - do you mean family/friends or men, and in what way are the 'they' superior?

Am I missing something, by the way? I don't seem to have come across any other women posting actively on GMG, or are they all using aliases?

[Florestan]

Do you agree with Chris Rock?

"Only women, children and dogs are loved unconditionally. A man is only loved under the condition that he provides something."

No.

generalisations as sweeping as that can't be made authoritatively by anyone. Even a huge survey wouldn't really prove anything about love or why you love someone.

It  might be true to say that many people of all sorts, and some dogs, are loved by some people because they provide something.

Other people, who have the ability to love disinterestedly, love people unconditionally, whether they be men, women, children or dogs.

In other words - some people are like this, and some people are like that...

This.

'I don't seem to have come across any other women posting actively on GMG, or are they all using aliases?

Women currently active on GMG: amw, Pohjola's Daughter, Lisztianwagner

[DavidW]

Hey everyone Chris Rock is a comedian not a philosopher.  He was delivering a standup not a ted talk.

So you can see that he meant to get a laugh and also there is a sense of irony with it, see the whole thing in context:
https://youtu.be/jsOnXSuMXfU

And then while you're at it you can watch a different bit where he said that both people in a relationship have to work at it:
https://youtu.be/KkXpKF4b5yA

Proper context and perspective are kind of necessary.

[Florestan]

Hey everyone Chris Rock is a comedian not a philosopher.  He was delivering a standup not a ted talk.

So you can see that he meant to get a laugh and also there is a sense of irony with it, see the whole thing in context:
https://youtu.be/jsOnXSuMXfU

And then while you're at it you can watch a different bit where he said that both people in a relationship have to work at it:
https://youtu.be/KkXpKF4b5yA

Proper context and perspective are kind of necessary.

Gosh, is he that Chris Rock of Will Smith fame? 

Well, I took the quote at face value --- and at face value I dsagree.

[Rosalba]

Women currently active on GMG: amw, Pohjola's Daughter, Lisztianwagner

Good to know - thanks!