Diversity – there’s word oft used particularly by those who would also shut down voices of dissent. It doesn’t make sense yet the inconsistency is there and receives little attention.
You can’t have diversity if only one opinion is tolerated.
I’ve done like many and signed petitions regarding worthy causes and the causes keep coming. Getup and Sumofus don’t automatically get endorsed just because they’re sure that they’re right, certain of their ground.
A step too far, crossing the line and – thin edge of the wedge. I’d think that each language has such sayings all of which indicate a threshold held dear which is under threat.
‘Take down the statue’ was a prominent voice in America recently regarding Civil War heroes who actually weren’t – depending upon your point of view.
Start erasing history and it’s the thin edge of the wedge. Why not erect another statue alongside the first with explanatory notes as to why the other statue doesn’t portray a hero. History is written and rewritten to suit the purpose of the day – it’s not known for accuracy – but why help the process of rewriting.
Here in Australia, as elsewhere in democratic nations, visas are not granted to those whose point of view is seen as too radical to tolerate. Who decides? Often it’s public opinion or rather the group who shouts loudest whose opinion determines the Minister’s approval or otherwise.
What a sorry state of affairs. Refuse those who espouse violence, of course, but why ban the rest?
Is diversity such a tender flower as to need such protection – perhaps so if diversity is something of a mirage, something to hold dear as an idea but not carried through into everyday life.
Hooray for dissent, hooray for both wings of the fat, flapping bird of political debate when both are heard, find fertile ground or are ignored.
Banning anything doesn’t make it disappear it just moves underground only to resurface at a later time. Resentment burns and if it doesn’t have air it gives off acrid smoke. Is the resentment justified? No idea unless it gets aired.
It’s a perfect late winter day. Deep blue sky and no wind. No smoke - no rain either and that’s an ongoing concern. Towns run dry, the dams near empty, aquifers diminish yet fracking is seen by some as a boon, a green energy. It’s utterly destructive. Coal mines are not known for destruction of the water table, perhaps locally but not to the extent that fracking generates.
Ah .. but there’s money to be made …. The three wise monkeys of ‘see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil’ fame sit there, one of each with eyes, ears and mouth covered and is that because they refuse to see, hear or speak of evil, extraneous or internal … what other meaning apart from the usually accepted meaning, essentially, ‘Be Nice - don’t entertain evil within yourself in any form’ is there to draw from that image. Perhaps they’re wise for monkeys but is that sufficient for today.
Covering the eyes, ears and mouth doesn’t make the evil disappear.
I watch the Brexit events unfold and wonder about the actors involved. What’s their motivation, are their characters believable, do we end up caring … all the elements which make up a good theatrical experience. But it’s not a play, it’s real life.
Enter stage left:
Trump: ‘We could wipe ‘em off the face of the earth in no time but I don’t want to do that ….’
Not a statesman nor a diplomat, a consistent liar and a braggart with no sense of history … and …. knowing something of the Clinton’s history, Trump was seen as either ‘better’ or ‘the better of two evils.’
The Noahide Laws make their appearance in the political domain. Quietly. It’s a Talmudic device – seven laws which superficially pass muster but the hundreds of by-laws added by Rabbis who will decipher cases don’t.
Why do these rabbinical bodies do away with the Ten Commandments which have served well as a template for individual and societal needs? I feel the same unease about Sharia Law being imposed.
Both groups wish to impose their will and aren’t bound or satisfied by national boundaries. Overt, covert and going on by stealth. If only it were conspiracy theory when evidence points to fact.
It’s still a beautiful day, afternoon fading, winter flowers in bloom notwithstanding the night time frost.