RE: A book that can change you: The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
The communist international revolution is but an extension of that first revolt of the ignorant against their legitimate rulers: the Revolution of 1792 arose the Channel. All the terror tactics of the Russian communists are but derivatives of the Reign of Terror and their ludicrous "Declaration of Rights of Man and of the Citizen," which virtually negates all their wish lists when the interest of the state is in conflict with that of the individual. 1792 France was the birth place and date of such concepts as "thought crime," "counter-revolutionary," "mass levy," "religion is superstition," "tradition is irrelevant," etc. These are the arrogant who redefined measure (metric system), time (10 day week), and established customs (traveling on the right side of the road).
During the Terror, a man could be killed for cheering too loudly, cheering too softly, attending too many functions/gatherings, attending too little factions/gatherings, speaking negatively about the glorious revolution, speaking too positively about the glorious revolution, and so on. That merciful invention of execution - the Guillotine - failed to lop-off the heads of the sacrifices of the Revolution by mid-day because the blade became too dull, due to the sheer number of men killed.
The French repeated their orgy of blood in 1871 Paris commune revolt, which was the inspiration for that most evil of all men - Karl Marx - to write his poison to corrupt generations of men into participating in his hatred for humanity and creation. When recalling the Russian civilization's dissolution into madness of communism, we should also remember that the birth place of the insanity is just across the Channel, where the ignorant continue to unthinkingly sing La Marseillaise.
Thanks for your brilliant, informative comment, Soo!
I remember reading a bit about the French Revolution some years back, but not enough. OMG: the dull guillotine blade! Can you recommend any good books?
Ah, Karl Marx. When I was a teenager, I got involved with the Militant Tendency for a couple of years. My eldest son is called 'Karl' because of my brainwashing. Get them while they're young, enthusiastic and angry! Anyway...
I definitely need to read more on the French Revolution.
cheers
Hilaire Belloc's French Revolution would be a good read.
One of the main reasons for the young leaning towards communism may be because intelligence does not equal wisdom. Young, intelligent people tend to believe that their external reality can be easily changed and all problems have easy solutions. Once these ambitious, eager youths encounter reality and recognize that their idealism, intellect, and hubris have little impact on the world's problems that has plagued humanity since the dawn of consciousness, then they can "evolve" into mature, wise men who recognize and accept their limitations and their proper place within the universe. The few petulant youths who continue to reject the hard lessons life (or God) attempts to teach, become social reformers, producing such travesty as the recent BBC 1 show Troy: Fall of a City prominently featuring a black Achilles, which in effect pisses on Homer, the ancient Hellenes, entire classics departments in universities throughout this world, as well as sensibilities of any thinking, rational human being.
Thanks for the book recommendation. And bonus -- it's free online in The Guttenberg Project.
Yes, encountering reality tends to smash that youthful dream of being in a position to change things. This quote supports it:
Churchill said something similar too.
I haven't seen that BBC show but past experience has taught me to avoid their dramas :P. They are quite liberal with the facts and with original author intentions, bending material to suit their agenda.
God? That's a big topic. I've yet to find one that teaches anyone anything. Apparently, he's written a few books with various pen names, jiggling the plots, names, places a bit :D
The Western conception of God is the god with personhood. Most of humanity and history perceived god or gods as impersonal force of the universe, given a conceptual image. In my experience, many in the West conceptualize God, and their relationship with God, as idealization, magnification, and myth of their childhood experiences with their parents. It is difficult to engage in conversation regarding a personal god because the experiences of human interactions seem to always cloud such discussion.
We tried to help another family regarding their finances, but was met with extreme hostility. Apparently, earning money using financial investment vehicles is "dishonest." The ingrained childhood experience regarding their perception of the world prevented this couple from understanding the reality of the world. And so with God and religion. It is quite true what the Christian God says, when he declared that He will hide truth from men, in order that "they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven."
In the modern world, most so-called Christians I've encountered either perceive God as Santa Claus or an accountant, divorced from sociocultural history that is Europe. Their personal God is reduced to some imaginary rabbit's foot to be called upon when they want something from life. For few others, God is mere intellectual exercise to "debate" with others; though, if God can be reduced to mere logic exercise, He would be quite unimpressive as a god.
That's interesting. Lol, yes, God is Sky Daddy, rabbit foot or Santa. I once asked God to function as a pimple remedy before a first date (it didn't work). Seems a bit silly to me and I can never understand why adults subscribe to it. It's all so obviously contrived.
Wow, that family sound pretty ungrateful. Yes, they let their so-called morals get in the way of a leg-up out of their misery. That reminds me of the joke...
There's a massive flood. A religious guy is standing on the roof of his house, already the water is lapping at his heels. The water keeps rising. He prays to God for help. Soon, a boat chugs towards him. The crew throw him a lifebelt but he says, 'No thanks. I've prayed to God. He'll rescue me.' The boat chugs away. Soon, the water is up to his chest. Then comes a helicopter. The crew throw down the rope ladder but he says, 'No thanks. I've prayed to God. He'll rescue me.' All the time the water is rising. He drowns. When he gets to heaven he asks God why He didn't rescue him. God says, 'I sent you a boat and a helicopter; what more do you want?' :P
I think it's true that humans will always have difficulty understanding; there's so much we don't know about the universe. It's a big mystery for the most part.
God as a logic exercise: yes, it's difficult to translate ideas of what is a god into language or communicate it successfully to others, hence the embarrassing attempts we've seen so far. The same can be said for 'spirituality' or 'the soul' or anything else beyond our limited brain power. If it can't be described or understood or it doesn't shape our reality, it's as good as nothing. Maybe god is nothing, whatever 'nothing' is. It's impossible to know that too.