The days of Genghis Khan are gone. The bad guys no longer skewer people on poles and make mountains of skulls...at least, not in the northern hemisphere. Yep, the world is pretty civilized these days...
Why did Genghis Khan kill millions of people? So that he could be rich. Become an emperor. He also had a lot of job satisfaction, as shown in this quote:
"The greatest happiness is to vanquish your enemies, to chase them before you, to rob them of their wealth, to see those dear to them bathed in tears, to clasp to your bosom their wives and daughters."
The wide-eyed person in me wonders how a person could be so pitiless - and, worse, revel in the destruction and pain they cause. The more cynical side of me realizes that a part of us loves destruction. We are morbidly drawn to it...may even want to cause it...
There are still people like Genghis Khan out there. They tend to be small-scale these
days: the occasional Ted Bundy, perhaps. At times these people become leaders and start genocides. More often than not, though, the most destructive individuals in our world are no longer military figures or homicidal maniacs...it's the men working on Wall Street and the Los Angeles highrise, watching stock numbers and worrying about their overseas assets.
These men start wars.
7 years ago
9 comments:
That is a very creepy quote by the Chevron CEO. A very interesting comparison between Ghengis Kahn and Chevron...but true nonetheless. What boggles the mind is how nobody seems to be paying enough attention to do anything about it!
sigh. have you seen the documentary "the corporation?"
as for nobody doing anything about it, i don't think that's true. i think there are a lot of people working to change at grassroots levels, step by step. i think we have to start with ourselves. we are the consumers who support these people. we need to research where we get our gasoline, avoid purchasing brands like kraft and dole, and make more educated decisions about the products we consume. it requires a huge and daunting lifestyle change. we need to be growing and storing our own foods....become more self-sufficient.....supporting the local economy rather than the corporate economy. we need to support leaders whose foreign policy is fair, rather than manipulative (to the advantage of our own American empire).
If you want to read a good book about this stuff, try "12 Myths of World Hunger." Its got a lot of great information from political and economic perspectives...
Glasnost, I agree that there is nothing inherently wrong with trade. The problem is, as with so many other things, it's been perverted over time.
Sure, it's cool that Wal-Mart offers low, low prices. But what is the human cost? Horribly underpaid, underage workers in other countries. Hell, the Wal-Mart rank and file is horribly underpaid here in the States, too.
What is the cost of our oil-driven society? In many cases, ecological devastation. (Once again, though, it's largely not in America, so we don't necessarily notice it.) Even in cases where Middle Eastern countries strike lucrative oil agreements with the West, it is a priviliged elite that gets all the wealth while the populace at large gains nothing.
The vast disparity between wealthy Western nations and the impoverished masses in Africa suggests that something is seriously wrong with the current system.
I wish I felt like I could do something about it.
My sentiments exactly, Dan.
I would argue that wealth IS finite. History has not given us any reason to believe that it is otherwise.
All I read in your comments, though, are excuses: they are barbaric and that's why they can't improve...3rd World countries are ungrateful ... "[corruption] is nothing new". And, your final point: We are the chosen few...Enjoy it.
I didn't see any arguments saying why we are right or just in our actions. You either fight evil or you're a part of it.
Honestly, I don't think my post did that good of a job of tying Mr. Khan and Mr. Derr together...but I'm pleased to see the amount of discussion it generated. And kudos to Glasnost for being the only Conservative in the discussion.
Sorry about the label. I shouldn't had done that.
Wow. I hadn't gotten back to this blog for a while so I just BARELY noticed Glasnost's last few comments...
...two in particular:
"And why continually ask me for proof when none is offered by the contrary opinion to begin with? Most of this stuff is subjective anyway. And statistics are usually (if not always) biased."
I'm sorry if my comment came across as an attack against you. There was a co-worker of mine who was very conservative in his views and we once had a discussion about American globalization and how it affects the world community. This guy was also LDS and the discussion actually began when I said that it was funny that so many Saints are Republicans (btw, I also consider myself a Republican) when - in a lot of respects - Democrats are much more "bleeding heart": focused on poverty, the environment, etc. They're stereotypically a bit more consciencious.
This guy really did just offer up a bunch of excuses - with no moral backing to his arguement. He never came out and said: I believe this way because it's the moral thing to do! He came across as saying: This is the way it is.
And you can't really change the world if you embrace the status quo.
So I guess I associated some threads of your argument - perhaps wrongfully - with threads of this friend's argument.
I understand that the idea of what is right and what is wrong is subjective. I also know that I can't prove that we went to war for oil. All I CAN say is that: IF we did go to war to make a profit, then we are in the wrong and God help this country.
Your second commment:
"I just want to be treated fairly and want my words to be taken at face value."
Once again, I apologize if you felt attacked. Really, my viewpoints on politics don't usually jive with anyone else's. In fact, Chrissa and I hardly see eye-to-eye on politics at all. Dan and Shasta and I about the same. It just so happens that the political posts I make are usually things I feel strongly about that fly in the face of majority opinion or my religious opinions.
I bring them up to see what other people think. In fact, I enjoy being proved wrong or forced to reassess my own logic. I'm always pleased when you or anyone else has the guts to post against what I said. Chrissa, Dan, Shasta and you do it quite often. Which is cool.
Dan also commented: http://www.underwhelmstudios.com/?blog=200510140257
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