Re: MD Bowling for Columbine

From: SQUONKSTAIL@aol.com
Date: Tue May 20 2003 - 14:56:02 BST

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    Squonk - strange you mention this, I watched the film
    on Saturday!

    It struck me as a chilling exploration of the US
    Constitutional 'right to bear arms' and the history of
    the USA described as building on and perpetuating a
    foundation of fear by continually redefining the enemy
    - Native Americans, British, Africans, Communism,
    Drugs, Poverty, Africanised bees (?), Terrorists,
    Islamic extremists.

    Not being from the USA, I do feel limited in what I
    can say about the documentary but I have been thinking
    about it in MoQ terms. I need to think about it a
    little more.

    It came as part of a USA trio for me as I also read an
    interview with Ann Coulter and watched a documentary
    on neo-Conservatives in the White House over the
    weekend.

    Extended to the global context of post-war Iraq and
    the Middle East peace process I see a situation awash
    with conflicting static patterns which I haven't
    figured out, but a deeply unsettling feeling is
    undeniable.

    > Fear is a biological pattern of value.

    That seems like something to start with.

    cheers

    Paul

    Hello Paul,
    Its a bit ironic that a prominent American once said, "We have nothing to
    fear but fear itself."
    Fear may have become the prime tool in US economics. Media advertising adopte
    d and extended research begun by Nazi Germany during WWII with a view to
    manipulating public opinion. (The US creamed off many German thinkers with
    something to offer - rocketry for example.) Fear controls and fear sells.
    What light may the MoQ shed upon this? We agree fear is a biological pattern
    of value. What pattern is economics? I suggest economic patterns are
    primarily social, and as such have a moral precedent over organic patterns as
    the MoQ suggests.
    I don't have a good feeling about using fear to promote social patterns. As
    Michael Moore explored, those countries with a similar level of gun culture
    to that of the US do not suffer as much gun related crime. This may suggest
    social patterns are better when fear is reduced as much as possible?

    I found it alarming to hear members of the Project for a new American century
    referred to as 'leading thinkers' in the US media. (Of course, these
    individuals are closely linked to the US Fox network anyway.) US culture may
    be deliberately allowing people to forget intellectually meaningful words and
    concepts?

    squonk

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