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On 6/5/20 6:00 AM, <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:lt-request@lists.liberationtech.org">lt-request@lists.liberationtech.org</a> wrote:<br>
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<div class="headerdisplayname" style="display:inline;">Subject:
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Re: [liberationtech] "The Nine Most Terrifying Words In
The English Language", Pre-dates Reagan... (LT Digest, Vol
30, Issue 1)</td>
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<div class="headerdisplayname" style="display:inline;">From:
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Richard Brooks <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:rrb@g.clemson.edu"><rrb@g.clemson.edu></a></td>
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<div class="headerdisplayname" style="display:inline;">Date:
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6/4/20, 10:56 AM</td>
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<div class="headerdisplayname" style="display:inline;">To:
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<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:lt@lists.liberationtech.org">lt@lists.liberationtech.org</a></td>
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<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">Thanks. I was mainly trying to be snarky, but I kind of
believe what I said there. I would be interested in the
slides.</pre>
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Will drop a link to them, separately... your thoughts/comments are
quite welcome... <br>
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cite="mid:mailman.12.1591351204.5627.lt@lists.liberationtech.org">
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<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">I like supporting human rights, but part of the issue
was summed up by Brecht "Erst kommt das Fressen, dann
kommt die Moral."</pre>
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Thank you for sharing this.... Yes, I have had trouble with
Brecht's ideations, as represented here by the word "Fressen"...
But then, that is my point.... civility.... personal
enlightenment/sophistication are HARD-EARNED qualities, requiring
great personal effort and cultivation. Society cannot be served by
those in echelons of power -- who concentrate their efforts at
providing nothing more than lip-service. The same goes for the rest
of us.... <br>
<br>
It is not just "eating"/"feeding" that comes first, before "things
moral"... we must not forget... the summer home in the country, at
least 2 vacations a year, that new iPhone for the child, induction
into that popular country-club... being made division chair or dean
of something at the college/university.... getting
re-elected/appointed in politics... all such things come before
being moral.....<br>
<br>
To make the point amply clear, I wish to draw your attention to the
"<u>SPLENDOR Across Lafayette Park</u>", which happened on June 1.
Joining POTUS that day were TWO VERY WELL FED people. One of them
was the Secretary of Defense, and the other, Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff. It can be said that the Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs - appeared that day to have been WELL OVER-FED... <br>
<br>
So, perhaps, we could all agree that the "<u>absence of morality in
Milley</u>", or in any of the others who were present then, was
NOT due to any NUTRITIONAL impoverishment.... <br>
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<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">If you are starving, a lot of the rights are luxuries.
I remember a colleague who was horrified when everyone
in Centrafrique was talking about the good old times
under the dictator Bokassa.</pre>
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If the QUESTION is: what kind of society would we like to see
manifest, and be a part of, then, in my humble opinion, that must be
the core question that we ALL must be prepared to focus upon, and
strive to answer. STRUCTURAL life changes in society do not come
without personal and collective SACRIFICES -- in order to orient and
direct societies to a brighter future for all concerned. But, such
needs must be well understood by ALL in societies, and actions
coming out of that understanding must be taken by all.<br>
<br>
In the United States, the notion of "pursuing one's happiness" for
instance, is often considered to be an individual's "right" to
pursue "self-interests" to the fullest, even if it means "a
degrading" society.<br>
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<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">Also, progress is relative in different cultures. I have
noted that for many people, it just means maintaining
their place in the dominance hierarchy.
The USA is a case in point.</pre>
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To your point, it is for THIS, and other reasons, that in my focus
and work, I tend to direction attention to those UNIVERSALLY
accepted principles relating to human rights; absent of any
attachments to cultures or national identities. My personal view
is that in trying to fix problems through incrementalism, and at the
margins, will mean job-security for many, keeping them artificially
occupied for extended periods, and at great costs .... but, it will
not improve societies.<br>
<br>
<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
<font color="#b3b3b3"><i>Dr. Robert Mathews, D.Phil.<br>
Principal Technologist &<br>
</i><i>Distinguished Senior Research Scholar</i><i><br>
</i><i>Office of Scientific Inquiry & Applications (OSIA)</i><i><br>
</i><i>University of Hawai'i</i></font></div>
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