From: Mark Steven Heyman (markheyman@infoproconsulting.com)
Date: Sat Aug 07 2004 - 18:54:40 BST
Hi,
Thanks for your proposal.
In poking around your website, I've read many interesting ideas. The
first one to catch my attention was this:
"Today we find ourselves terrorized by a horde of suicidal fanatics
bent on destroying Western Civilization in the name of a deity that
shows no regard for the value of human life."
And I thought to myself, yes these fanatics might very well destroy
Western Civilization but, for the last few years at least, their
brutal fanaticism has been focused on mass destruction in the Middle
East and Central Asia, specifically in Iraq and Afghanistan,
resulting so far, in the slaughter of maybe 30,000 innocents.
Then I thought, in defense of those who are comforted by
Christianity, it seems unfair to attribute to the Christian God no
regard for human life, just because these fanatics, who claim they
are acting in his name, have none.
But then I read this, and saw the light:
"Those entrusted with the security of our land look to public polls
for the issues and judgments that will determine its future."
Hand-slap to forehead. Damn. He's talking about Muslim extremists,
not the Bush administration! And then was wafted my way the sickly
scent of jingoism. But I kept reading anyway.
I then turned to your sixth essay, on Freedom, and was greeted by
wonderfully waving American Flag. Here I read:
"In the interest of America's future, I would add a caveat of my own:
A free society is not immune to the laws of gravity; left to its own
devices it runs downhill."
Yes, I thought. And this would be the perfect place to mention the
most recent attacks on freedom in America, such as the Patriot Acts,
and other legislation. But I was disappointed. Instead there's
this:
"History has shown that establishing and maintaining a free society
is typically a hard-won struggle led by enlightened individuals who
appreciate its value and are ever vigilant to protect it from those
who through public apathy, geopolitical envy, religious fanaticism,
or the abuse of power would allow its downfall."
This is the myth of the enlightened leader as the catalyst of
freedom. The reality is that freedoms are won, and maintained,
through the combined efforts of countless individuals, almost all of
whom struggle, and often die, and remain nameless.
Then comes:
"The legacy of secularism has fostered a generation of morally
bankrupt dependents who worship at the altar of Celebrity and submit
only to an ethic of "political correctness", as if existence had no
other purpose."
I'm always concerned when so much negativity is blamed on poor old
secularism. So now, it's clear that you not only have a nationalist
agenda, but a religious one as well.
I then hopped to your "Value In The Balance" page where I'm treated
to another waving American flag, and I get a chance to see your two
agendas coalesce with a third, political agenda: Anyone who might
suggests that terrorism is not the greatest danger we face is one of
those "liberals" behind the "Hate Bush" campaign.
All in all, you offer a pretty neat little tripartite package: God,
guns, and country, not necessarily in that order. You'll enjoy a
great affinity with the views of at least one of this lists regular
contributors.
As for me, I find unattractive and malignant any value-based
philosophy that fails to reveal the extremely low-quality underlying
nationalism (or tribalism of any kind), which fails to identify the
highly artificial and violently enforced nature of the world's nation-
state system, and which, apparently, assigns different levels of
value to beings based upon their geographical and religious
circumstances.
Regards,
Mark Steven Heyman (msh)
--
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