Dag...yes, it becomes something of a problem when we pick and choose which international agreements we'll abide by and those which we think inconvenient at the moment (while insisting others abide by the one's we think are peachy, at least peachy for now).
"Peachy for now" is right! Consistency is not one of our best suits. Friend today, enemy tomorrow. c.i.
c.i.
Haven't you noticed that the way of the world. It always has been and no doubt always will be.
"It always has been and no doubt always will be."
Funny, Au, but that resonates with me. I just don't think that's true. We think the world is flat, and no doubt always will. There have always been slaves, and no doubt always will be. Kids will be kids. Men have always gone to war.
Don't we change? Isn't that possibly what is happening right now -- that we are in (as the cliche will have it) a tectonic change?
Tartarin
Human nature being what it is I doubt we will ever change. Who said there is nothing new under the sun?
I'll know change has come when the 'oldest profession' no longer exists.
c.i.
Well, we could start with the ones in the Executive Branch, Cic. But frankly, I think we all have followed that profession at one time or another in our lives, don't you?
And currently, all the leaders of this country are whores! Unfortunately, the piece they are selling is America!
But is there a consensus on what human nature is like? Some believe it is irreparable, some (myself included) believe we learn and progress is possible. Some believe people are essentialy bad, some believe they are good. That's generally what the debate on possibility of progress flows from. Peace and international arrangements too. 'Realists' vs. 'idealist', for centuries and centuries. No use to go that way, right? Belief is a belief.
We can always keep hope alive, but that's because there's nothing else that is positive. c.ii.
I'm gonna have to give this more thought, but my instinct is that people are generally good but that communities (groups, institutions) can turn very very bad. The dilemma for me (not alone, I imagine) is while I think most Americans are damn good people, the US as being a very bad actor right now. Because we can't separate ourselves from our own institutions, that means good people can do some pretty awful things, directly or indirectly. Once we get that straight, we can maybe straighten the rest of the problems out.
Perhaps we need to grow up. It still strikes me as indicative that most French hate Bush but still say they like Americans, whereas most Americans don't even know Chirac's name and say they hate the French. We need, as a country to, stop being so interested in ourselves and get a little more interested in and knowledgeable about the rest of the world!!
an army, any army, is an organized lynch mob with a politician giving directions.
you can quote me on this
Tartar, You're right, you know! I travel extensively around this small globe of ours, and I get a chance to meet people from many cultures and races. When I come home from a trip with a new friend, my life is enriched once again. Before I take any trip to a new destination, I always read up on the history and current information of the countries I will visit. The internet is full of resources, and I supplement that with what I can buy at the bookstore. I haven't visited a country I haven't liked, and I've been to over 75 countries. c.i.
Tartarin
I agree with BillW. That was an excellent post.
If only we would get our ducks in a row -- perhaps we could actually do lots of good. And not "good" like some maiden old aunt who wants to be thanked constantly for the help -- but the kind of help Christians often talk about -- the hidden kind -- the kind that asks for no repayment.
I very strongly do NOT agree that we are unchanging and that progress in social affairs is either not made or is delusional.
This is surely true on a biological level - each of us (as babies) could be swapped with a 60 or 100 thousand year old sapiens and there would be no cognitive misalignment.
Institutions are the thing. We are, in so many important ways, protected from our own worst natures every day. Our justice system is the reason we no longer draw and quarter each other. Our electoral system, such as it is, prevents much abuse and corruption though clearly not all.
When the institutions fail, as they did in Yugoslavia, modern cities and modern cultures witness something truly frightening.
The attack on institutions, on those institutions which have helped us make social progress, is where I most commonly find our baser natures asserting themselves. It is why I so despise this adminstration's attacks on international associations and institutions. blatham, the conservative.
blatham, you go dude. However, I'm in no condition to think tonight - am chilling only! okay?
max, That article upset me a great deal. How insensitive slobs those french. that's disgusting. c.i.
