Apologies
There was once a lion in the forest. Once a thorn pierced its foot. A bird removed the thorn but there are always aftereffects associated with such serious operations. The lion was in a bit of pain. The neighborhood jackal saw this as a good chance of getting back at the lion. He stepped on the lion's foot and made it believe that it was an accident. The lion was furious.
The jackal had good survival instincts. He said "Sorry" and matters were sorted out.
Why did the jackal apologize?
Was it because he was scared of the lion and didn't want to be eaten up?
Or was it because he felt genuine repentance and thought to himself, "Stepping on the feet of recently operated people is wrong and I shall never do it again."
It is the second kind that must be induced by those in power.
Then one day the jackal stepped on a thorn and this time, it was the lion presented with two options.
There was once a lion in the forest. Once a thorn pierced its foot. A bird removed the thorn but there are always aftereffects associated with such serious operations. The lion was in a bit of pain. The neighborhood jackal saw this as a good chance of getting back at the lion. He stepped on the lion's foot and made it believe that it was an accident. The lion was furious.
The jackal had good survival instincts. He said "Sorry" and matters were sorted out.
Why did the jackal apologize?
Was it because he was scared of the lion and didn't want to be eaten up?
Or was it because he felt genuine repentance and thought to himself, "Stepping on the feet of recently operated people is wrong and I shall never do it again."
It is the second kind that must be induced by those in power.
Then one day the jackal stepped on a thorn and this time, it was the lion presented with two options.
Thanksgiving
We would die out of confusion if not for stereotypes. He is a "Right wing, tunnel loving, frat boy, football loving" individual, allows us to place many a person and breeds a sense of comfort. You like Monty Python. Well then I am sure you watch Fawlty Towers on PBS, clap excitedly every time the Queen sneezes, and No, I would not like to have dinner with you.
You can qualify most of the above people with adjectives such as annoying. The truth is that we are all lonely people and go out of our way to hide this fact. Some people watch ice hockey and shout "Huge". Other people cough four times and answer Yes when you ask them a long question. Some people say, "Yes I have climbed every mountain in the world" when you tell them that it is 30 degrees today on Mount Kilimanjaro.
Still some people create marvelous buildings. Multi layered paintings. Or songs you want to hear more than once. These are works of art and are beyond criticism. It is for the existence of such artifacts that I say "Thanks."
We would die out of confusion if not for stereotypes. He is a "Right wing, tunnel loving, frat boy, football loving" individual, allows us to place many a person and breeds a sense of comfort. You like Monty Python. Well then I am sure you watch Fawlty Towers on PBS, clap excitedly every time the Queen sneezes, and No, I would not like to have dinner with you.
You can qualify most of the above people with adjectives such as annoying. The truth is that we are all lonely people and go out of our way to hide this fact. Some people watch ice hockey and shout "Huge". Other people cough four times and answer Yes when you ask them a long question. Some people say, "Yes I have climbed every mountain in the world" when you tell them that it is 30 degrees today on Mount Kilimanjaro.
Still some people create marvelous buildings. Multi layered paintings. Or songs you want to hear more than once. These are works of art and are beyond criticism. It is for the existence of such artifacts that I say "Thanks."
Tall buildings with excellent food
I went to the UN building today. Not as a messenger of peace, but more as a delivery boy carrying an award in a rather ordinary looking wooden box for a top ranking UN official.
I fall in love with the buildings every time I walk past them. Ah, to glance on their perfectly content rectangular shape. Within them they have the most excellent canteen offering a range of world food at subsidized rates. A paycheck that does not have tax taken from it. Oodles of bureaucracy to choose from, if you want to hide any supposed incompetence. My friend who worked there used to file M&Ms according to their color, for lack of work.
It is my dream to work there one day. For some of the reasons mentioned above and also because it is truly the only organization capable of making a change. Other NGOs may do a lot of good work, but the UN is the only world body capable of inducting democracy into a country. Without a democracy, no change is long lasting. In repressive dictatorships, many NGOs are unwittingly feeding hungry people with the right hand and corrupt dictators with the left. A few like OXFAM are excellent in terms of advocacy and in this sense are as important as the UN.
It would be a truly wonderful day on which the number of people that believed in the UN and that are knowledgeable as regards its mission exceed the number of employees that it has.
I went to the UN building today. Not as a messenger of peace, but more as a delivery boy carrying an award in a rather ordinary looking wooden box for a top ranking UN official.
I fall in love with the buildings every time I walk past them. Ah, to glance on their perfectly content rectangular shape. Within them they have the most excellent canteen offering a range of world food at subsidized rates. A paycheck that does not have tax taken from it. Oodles of bureaucracy to choose from, if you want to hide any supposed incompetence. My friend who worked there used to file M&Ms according to their color, for lack of work.
It is my dream to work there one day. For some of the reasons mentioned above and also because it is truly the only organization capable of making a change. Other NGOs may do a lot of good work, but the UN is the only world body capable of inducting democracy into a country. Without a democracy, no change is long lasting. In repressive dictatorships, many NGOs are unwittingly feeding hungry people with the right hand and corrupt dictators with the left. A few like OXFAM are excellent in terms of advocacy and in this sense are as important as the UN.
It would be a truly wonderful day on which the number of people that believed in the UN and that are knowledgeable as regards its mission exceed the number of employees that it has.
The Experiment
I have had occasion to mention in the past that I love dogs. As mentioned in this forum before, I am taking care of one till Wednesday. So after all this theorizing about non-violence, I decided to conduct an experiment.
This dog has one trait that could under extreme circumstances trigger off a small spark of dissent. It follows you wherever you go, like Mary's little lamb. If you walk North North East, it walks the same way. If you sleep on a bed, it snores over your pillow. Not that I mind this in the least; it is one of the most lovable dogs, I have had the pleasure of making acquaintance with.
However, I decided to change the context somewhat. I starved myself starting Friday evening. On Saturday morning I ran seven miles. I was exhausted by Saturday afternoon and wanted to sleep, only the dog would not allow me to. By evening, the pangs of hunger were acute. Did the dog get on my nerves?
I am ashamed to say, "yes." The hunger was extreme and so was the tiredness from the run. I could not tolerate the dog's presence anymore and left the house for a brisk walk and some food.
So, if I who loves dogs more than wine or song and as much as women, could experience these feelings of resentment towards a noble Buddha like being, I can totally empathize with human beings who live hungry for many days at an end and have to walk seven miles a day to get "clean" water. This sort of existence is not good for the temperament and can result in violent behavior. Though there is no reason to condone terrorism, there is no reason to forgive not understanding its causes.
Anyways, one characteristic of this blog has been to run away from the individual and speak at macroscopic levels. Let me not take this easy way today and ask myself as to what I could have done to avoid the build up of bitterness towards the poor dog?
I could have eaten. That is not an option for many people of the world and this conundrum certainly poses food for thought.
There is no single answer and we can test many a hypothesis. For now, "I don't know" shall suffice.
I have had occasion to mention in the past that I love dogs. As mentioned in this forum before, I am taking care of one till Wednesday. So after all this theorizing about non-violence, I decided to conduct an experiment.
This dog has one trait that could under extreme circumstances trigger off a small spark of dissent. It follows you wherever you go, like Mary's little lamb. If you walk North North East, it walks the same way. If you sleep on a bed, it snores over your pillow. Not that I mind this in the least; it is one of the most lovable dogs, I have had the pleasure of making acquaintance with.
However, I decided to change the context somewhat. I starved myself starting Friday evening. On Saturday morning I ran seven miles. I was exhausted by Saturday afternoon and wanted to sleep, only the dog would not allow me to. By evening, the pangs of hunger were acute. Did the dog get on my nerves?
I am ashamed to say, "yes." The hunger was extreme and so was the tiredness from the run. I could not tolerate the dog's presence anymore and left the house for a brisk walk and some food.
So, if I who loves dogs more than wine or song and as much as women, could experience these feelings of resentment towards a noble Buddha like being, I can totally empathize with human beings who live hungry for many days at an end and have to walk seven miles a day to get "clean" water. This sort of existence is not good for the temperament and can result in violent behavior. Though there is no reason to condone terrorism, there is no reason to forgive not understanding its causes.
Anyways, one characteristic of this blog has been to run away from the individual and speak at macroscopic levels. Let me not take this easy way today and ask myself as to what I could have done to avoid the build up of bitterness towards the poor dog?
I could have eaten. That is not an option for many people of the world and this conundrum certainly poses food for thought.
There is no single answer and we can test many a hypothesis. For now, "I don't know" shall suffice.
Einstein
I saw the Albert Einstein show at the Museum of Natural History today. In the exhibit they explain how Einstein redefined gravity after imagining the weightless feeling a painter would get while falling from a building. I didn't understand all of the show, but I took away this much. While Newton's laws are largely wrong, they are still applicable because of the "smallness" of our beings. In the grand scheme of things, like Newton's laws, our momentum to maintain conquests amount to very little.
So every terrorist should perhaps be given a course on how little the piece of land he is fighting for means in the space-time continuum. Perhaps that will give him food for thought. And every leader should follow Einstein's philosophy of demilitarization. While Einstein encouraged the US to beat the Nazis in building a nuclear bomb, it was a decision that he regretted for the rest of his life.
So can we realize that terrorizing is as futile as moralizing? Einstein has shown that nothing is. Everything is changing. I might be wrong, but I estimated that you can put dinosaurs in a fast moving spacecraft and they can appear in the future that is now. So if we can't perceive the nothing that is all, let us try first and try to perceive that nothing. And then worry over some and all things.
On a different note, I had an interesting experiment on non-violence with a dog. I failed, but more on this tomorrow: a day that will dawn in the frame of reference of normal, human speeds, miniscule as compared to that of light.
I saw the Albert Einstein show at the Museum of Natural History today. In the exhibit they explain how Einstein redefined gravity after imagining the weightless feeling a painter would get while falling from a building. I didn't understand all of the show, but I took away this much. While Newton's laws are largely wrong, they are still applicable because of the "smallness" of our beings. In the grand scheme of things, like Newton's laws, our momentum to maintain conquests amount to very little.
So every terrorist should perhaps be given a course on how little the piece of land he is fighting for means in the space-time continuum. Perhaps that will give him food for thought. And every leader should follow Einstein's philosophy of demilitarization. While Einstein encouraged the US to beat the Nazis in building a nuclear bomb, it was a decision that he regretted for the rest of his life.
So can we realize that terrorizing is as futile as moralizing? Einstein has shown that nothing is. Everything is changing. I might be wrong, but I estimated that you can put dinosaurs in a fast moving spacecraft and they can appear in the future that is now. So if we can't perceive the nothing that is all, let us try first and try to perceive that nothing. And then worry over some and all things.
On a different note, I had an interesting experiment on non-violence with a dog. I failed, but more on this tomorrow: a day that will dawn in the frame of reference of normal, human speeds, miniscule as compared to that of light.
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