Where is the :forehead slap: emoji? I looked everywhere!
I know I'm small potatoes around here. Most of you are well accomplished and well known to each other. But having read this thread, I wanted to share my tuppence with you.
The thread is named "in memoriam", so let me start by expressing my heartfelt condolences for all those that have suffered because of this tragedy; the dead, the wounded, the traumatized and their surviving family and friends - no matter their beliefs. The survivors and their family and friends will be dealing with the aftermath of this senseless act long after the sensational and salacious headlines, the timely sound-bites and well-rehearsed sympathies have faded from the newspapers, the political blogs, the tactical blather of news-show talking heads and the incessant crawls that parade across the bottom of our TV screens.
Concerning all the blame-placing and so-called facts I have read, I only have this to say: Follow the money and use a little common sense. Governments and Religions can only go as far as their budget allows. Wars cost money, a lot of money; religious wars, ideological wars, drug wars, all wars. Believe it or not, most countries cannot finance a prolonged conflict of any nature without outside help. The median wealth of the average citizen does not present a substantial enough tax base for that purpose. Corporations and wealthy individuals own most of the natural resources of any real value on this big blue marble and everything political is quid pro quo.
On the subject of religion, there are only two perspectives that matter; 1) Religious organizations use their doctrines dogmatically to motivate their blind followers to judge everyone else and 2) true believers use those same doctrines to judge themselves - instead of anyone else. Wanna guess which is more dangerous?
The United States of America, the 'Land of the Free', the purveyor of the democratic ideal, isn't even a 'democratic republic' anymore according to the multi-variable statistical analysis of public policy decisions summarized in a recent study Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens, by Princeton University Prof Martin Gilens and Northwestern University Prof Benjamin I Page. It is a corporate oligarchy and btw, it incarcerates more of it's citizens per capita, than the most despotic and repressive governments of any ideological bent - in the whole world.
For those that blame 'The West': You may have to wait until it gets out of it's own privatized and corporate owned prison system. Gilens and Paige report that the median voter in the US, even when banded together in large special interest groups, has a ZERO probability of getting ANY public policy measure passed into law, unless it is also supported by the wealthy elite.
We think we know who the ultra-wealthy are. After all, the 'independent' media keeps us abreast of such things, right? But all major media outlets are now completely owned by corporate interests. So they aren't so 'independent' anymore.
If you had that kind of wealth and power, would you want to forego your privacy and anonymity or would you rather pull strings from behind the scenes? Personally, I don't think we have a clue as to who the real movers and shakers are or their motives. Nor do I think that they would subscribe to any nationalistic, religious or idealistic cause that did not directly relate to their love of power and sense of entitlement. Politics and conspiracy theories have a lot in common: A little truth, a lot of fabrication and plenty of drama to spare. Therein lies the real opiate of the masses. The Truth, much like 'Elvis', has left the building.
I would much rather be considered a good neighbor than be known as a political leader, no matter the retirement plan or health benefits. I would rather be considered a kind and moderate person than an ideological zealot. I would much rather be thought of as a caring believer rather than a religious paragon. Who is it that shows up with sustenance and encouragement, long after the cameras, the leaders, the zealots and the purveyors of religious 'truth' have moved on? The good and caring neighbor; the real friend. How is that for truth?
In memoriam? This seems well considered...
A small excerpt from Lord Alfred Tennyson's "In Memoriam"
@unknownuser said:
I held it truth, with him who sings
To one clear harp in divers tones,
That men may rise on stepping-stones
Of their dead selves to higher things.
But who shall so forecast the years
And find in loss a gain to match?
Or reach a hand thro' time to catch
The far-off interest of tears?