[liberationtech] "The Nine Most Terrifying Words In The English Language", Pre-dates Reagan... (LT Digest, Vol 32, Issue 1)

[Robert Mathews (OSIA)]

On 6/5/20 6:00 AM, lt-request at lists.liberationtech.org wrote:

> Subject:
> Re: [liberationtech] "The Nine Most Terrifying Words In The English
> Language", Pre-dates Reagan... (LT Digest, Vol 30, Issue 1)
> From:
> Richard Brooks <rrb at g.clemson.edu>
> Date:
> 6/4/20, 10:56 AM
>
> To:
> lt at lists.liberationtech.org
>
>
> Thanks. I was mainly trying to be snarky, but I kind of
> believe what I said there. I would be interested in the
> slides.

Will drop a link to them, separately...   your thoughts/comments are
quite welcome... 

> I like supporting human rights, but part of the issue
> was summed up by Brecht "Erst kommt das Fressen, dann
> kommt die Moral."

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.... 

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.....

To make the point amply clear, I wish to draw your attention to the
"_SPLENDOR Across Lafayette Park_", 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...  

So, perhaps, we could all agree that the "_absence of morality in
Milley_", or in any of the others who were present then, was NOT due to
any NUTRITIONAL impoverishment....

> 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.

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.
 
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.

> 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.

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.

-- 
/Dr. Robert Mathews, D.Phil.
Principal Technologist &
//Distinguished Senior Research Scholar//
//Office of Scientific Inquiry & Applications (OSIA)//
//University of Hawai'i/
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