Index 
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Sacrifice That’s a big one. Giving away something of value, perhaps to help others, perhaps to waste, as the lamb on the altar. Sacrifice is generally considered a “good”, especially if the value is given to good causes, usually “community” causes: a penny for a beggar or a life for a child or country. Giving of “self” to “others” or even “otherness” (God) almost always now to “community”, secular of religious. But, “What’s in it for me?” Lots and lots, actually, which mostly just reduces to feeling good, since sacrifice “pleases God and others”, so maybe they will like me better or at least despise me less, IF I show I “care” by my sacrifice, care for their “cause”, of course. So of “selfish” and “sacrificing”? which rests where on the good-evil teeter totter? ISTMRN it really doesn’t matter, because, as I said in my senior theses in HS, it’s ALL selfish. The selfish gene, you know. However, IF you can sell the desirability of sacrifice, perhaps even making the law (taxes), it’s a great way to get others to give you things. Most chose money, some power as tokens on both ends of the “giving”. Because it is proper to sacrifice for the community, but not to enrich one’s self or friends (that’s not sacrifice), one must step forward, sacrificing his private time or life to dutifully represent the community to which our sacrifices are given or required. But understand, of course, they do not do it for self-glorification, but as your humble, sacrificing servant. Yeah, right! Alphas ISTMRN that deep below public superficiality, it’s more like, “Who’s the Alpha?” and “I LOVE the power to make other people do my bidding, use their talent to twist and bend and mold and ever so delicately etch physical things to my suiting, usually expressed as bowing or money. I LOVE IT! But I hate obstructionists, or least the obstructions, especially if they challenge my Alpha status.” The battles ensue. It just takes a glance. Sometimes I win, mostly I lose. Some rejoin the fight: stronger, smarter, scrapping up the alpha chain, one encounter at a time. There was a while when I won a lot of Alpha battles, but after a while I lost too many to rise much farther. Loyalty or rebellion then are the only options. I stopped, looked for a different way around the obstructions rather than plowing through them. But others soldier on. Some continue to win most glances and become, local alphas, company leaders, governors, fathers, valedictorians, star athletes, etc. A cardinal rule of alphas is, “Protect you brood”, possibly an evolutionary corollary of “because they can out-me at any minute” accompanied, probably, by thoughts of “and they’re plotting it right now”, thoughts that are probably true. Because “obstructions” are constantly challenging alphas, sons challenging fathers, underlings challenging kings, and the other party challenging presidents, gang leader feigning an insult to “his girl”. All puffery of alphas and challengers is based on insults, real or perceived to the community or one of its members, commonly sacrificing honesty for retention of power. As John Locke said, the brood gives away its power to you, they then “sacrifice themselves for you, the greatest sacrifice of all." Good – Evil – Community – Sacrifice – etc. all get rolled up into a thoroughly mixed dough of unbridled selfishness of “protect me and mine” (my brood) less so but augmented by people obsessively addicted to “Like me, PLEASE!!” and our lust for power to tell other people what to do. Each encounter is an alpha encounter. Alpha, beta, gamma etc. don’t matter one iota (pun intended). Just one or zero, off or on, me or you, “Who’s the boss?” Hierarchies form from the sifting out of myriad encounters. |
Anthropologists, sociologists and others map such hierarchies, which are just the result of a whole bunch of “Who’s boss?” encounters. Sometimes the answer changes even among the same individuals, especially in situations where A ► B ► C ► A, which are common. Time, loss of brood support, formal hierarchical structures, or any number of reasons can affect the encounters. Sometimes, perhaps often, alphas feign submission, politics, you know. President listens intently to a waitress describing her child, or a mother lets a 12 year old daughter stick pins in her body for show like earrings, or in social situations where we might mingle with people below our alpha abilities, as well as above to whom we may even be permitted to speak ….. and …. “Maybe she’ll like me”. Though women play a different game, much more based on appearances, to stereotype, ISTMRN. Abstraction and generalization and the ability to manipulate them, somewhat accompany “progress” up the “alpha chain”, i.e. finding fewer and fewer challenges around you, in eye contact, or its paper or electronic surrogate. Greater numbers, greater diversity must be accommodated in the brood, so broader symbols of allegiance are in order: patriotism, believers, flag, cross, Chicago Bulls, and trademarked icon, images, “America”, freedom, equality, democracy (America’s sub-symbols or some say super-symbols in a country with more authoritarian rules, regulations, restrictions compelling behavior than any society in history. “Democracy” in a country where political “leaders” are chosen based on tightly controlled image management, expensive image management, greatly aided by expensive electronic communication to reach large audience instantly with general symbols. Packaged, advertised, bought and sold. Obama and Ophra, two Chicago images. Romney too but not successful; he lost the ultimate alpha encounter). Sermon on the Mount I just reread some of Matthew 5 and tears welled up in my eyes and even spilled out. I said to myself, “Welcome home!” I see an interpretation I can live with instead of the usual Christian take on the chapter (and next two as well, the Sermon on the Mount of Jesus). It a little diffent take, sort of like Cain’s “Am I my brother’s keeper?” interpretation that resonates with me, and, ISTMRN Lao Tzu, Epictetus, and the teacher of Ecclesiastes, David Hume, and others. It seems, to paraphrase: “adultery is fine, but if YOU don’t think so, then stop doing it; don’t condemn it while practicing it; in fact don’t condemn anything ‘cuz God made it that way, so worship everything and forget condemning others who, in God’s eyes are just like you, perfect.” The meek and obnoxious, even those overly so? Sure, of course – everyone – the rich, the famous, the successful too. So neither do the meek or bold hold special places in God’s eyes; all humans do. I think the beatitudes were just a “come one, come all” announcement to the Sermon on the Mount that followed. The beatitudes are the most familiar part of the speech, often ignoring the rest of the sermon, the part of “pray in your closet”, “love your enemy”, “don’t judge others”, etc.. Added August 21, 2016 To clarify, “Awareness is the light God gave us, and WOW, what a light. Thanks, big guy.” My vanity must point out I am in my closet, but it’s so hard to overcome the urge to shout, “FUCK YOU, you uncaring killer of my awareness. But no; I understand, a little; but I don’t have to like it too, do I? Well, no, it ain’t perfect but pretty damn close, as least so Plato said." I guess I disagree. It IS perfect and aware, right now, which is redundant, of course. He also said, “When you pray, don’t ask for things, God already knows what you want" and even more importantly what you need; exactly what you have (Matthew 6:8). Though in 6:13 he does ask for something, sustainance; no he DEMANDS it of God (at least it’s in the imperative mood in my King James version). Doesn’t fit. I’ll bet verse 6:8, and I suspect the whole lord’s prayer was added later. |
To continue paraphrasing, “Quit nagging everybody. Thank God, my Dad (God), you’re alive, aware, but if you don’t take my advice, I suggest you won’t be as happy as you want to be.” Your choice. Most, ISTMRN choose unhappiness, pain, hate, despair, worry, anxiety, etc., etc. Though you don’t have to, continuing, “but since Dad made it that way, who are to wish it were otherwise. Praise the lord for what is; don’t curse him for what is not.” Am I on track here, Jesus? Just asking (pun intended). In 7:14 he claims “narrow is the way” because, I guess, “few there be that find it.” I think the way is wide open, available to everyone for grasping even an inkling of the Sermon on the Mount or Ecclesiastes or David Hume. And 7:19? So are trees that once bore good fruit. To paraphrase many Christians: "A critique of God’s word? How arrogant, how sinful, how so very wrong. THAT is the word of GOD. I mean look, it’s printed in red. We don’t criticize God’s word, we memorize it, repeat it, and try to live by it, fucking up all the time but asking for God’s ever-loving forgiveness and grace; but we DON'T critique it or even think about what it means. Sometimes we don’t fully understand the word, but we don’t question it. God will reveal his meaning to each of us in his own way and own time. We don’t critique God’s word. We don’t and you shouldn’t either.” It seems I get similar thoughts about the religion of “America” which is so intimately intertwined with Christianity. But it’s not the “church” now. It’s: good, perhaps God-given, values of love, nurturing, nourishing, and other feminine stuff, with a big dose of masculine bravado to protect the values provided by the brood, the “homeland”, To paraphrase the mob: “We must guard the brood and its value with our lives if necessary; the lives of our beloved sons (and daughters, now, equality you know, one of those values). Protect against even a hint of a suggestion that our 21st century, Germanic race, Christian overprint, Enlightenment overprint, WW II overprint, might in ANY way, shape or form be wrong. Women’s rights, racial rights, gender rights or death – you choose.” Maybe it’s a good thing I remain in my closet, some might consider my views treasonous, punishable by death in our constitution. Perhaps they are right; but I don’t lobby for change, I just describe what I “see” and think, but I do often point out the “other side’s version”. The other side's "values" often reflect our values better than our own actions. I would put on your uniform at the end of a gun, a risk I don’t worry about now, don’t think I ever did, even when I was drafted at the height of the Vietnam war, (classified 4F for asthma). Que sera, sera. At the time if it I been drafted I would have been the “best soldier I could be”, the best in camp. That didn’t happen due to the intervention of friends who encouraged me to ensure my medical record of asthma were in my files during my qualifying physical exam. Asthma is “too expensive” to cover medically. Pain, suffering, discomfort, and death, especially death is ISTMRN commonly seen as evil, to be done away with by medicine or belief, as if we could. I just read a little about Theravada Buddhism. They too say the path is long, narrow, and hard; only achieved by much striving. I disagree. It’s easy, so easy, just thank god for being alive and quit trying to change his artwork; it’s fine, just as it is – death, suffering, pain, evil, ignorance, all of it: just the way it is. Partisanship ISTMRN Republicans are all wrapped up in “us vrs “them”; while Democrats are all wrapped just in “us” We keep telling people how hard “the path” is, and then wonder why most people keep running away. Duh! But, you see, if we tell them it’s easy. They don’t need a teacher, “us”, to paraphrase again: “Our kids will not have to suffer deprivation and hardship like I did, and do". Are you telling me that my pain was all in vain? Think again, buster.” .... Yes, and I have. |