ACPlayer
01-17-2005, 02:54 AM
[Quote] On a superficial level, both parties have opposite points of view. But on a deeper level, these opposites are a mirror image of each other. This type of relationship is a classic case of what anthropology calls a situation of complementary antagonism, for each side:
... is convinced of the righteousness of its own point of view;
... projects absolute evil onto the other;
... believes the other side initiated the injustice;
... attempts to modify the behaviour of its opponent by any means necessary, including violence;
.. is inevitably frustrated when such attempts, in the long term, fail to produce the desired effect.
[/ QUOTE ]
The foundations of the war on terror, the palestinian conflict, the iraq conflict, Sudan, Indonesia, Tamil Tigers, Kosovo, the list is long and endless.
So are we headed for demise?
Consider the following quote:
[ QUOTE ]
"The myth of power, is of course, a very powerful myth; and probably most people in this world more or less believe in it... But it is still epistemological lunacy and leads inevitably to all sorts of disaster... If we continue to operate in terms of a Cartesian dualism of mind versus matter, we shall probably also come to see the world in terms of God versus man; élite versus people; chosen race versus others; nation versus nation and man versus environment. It is doubtful whether a species having both an advanced technology and this strange way of looking at the world can endure...
[/ QUOTE ]
Now we have advance technology and this strange way of looking at the world.
... is convinced of the righteousness of its own point of view;
... projects absolute evil onto the other;
... believes the other side initiated the injustice;
... attempts to modify the behaviour of its opponent by any means necessary, including violence;
.. is inevitably frustrated when such attempts, in the long term, fail to produce the desired effect.
[/ QUOTE ]
The foundations of the war on terror, the palestinian conflict, the iraq conflict, Sudan, Indonesia, Tamil Tigers, Kosovo, the list is long and endless.
So are we headed for demise?
Consider the following quote:
[ QUOTE ]
"The myth of power, is of course, a very powerful myth; and probably most people in this world more or less believe in it... But it is still epistemological lunacy and leads inevitably to all sorts of disaster... If we continue to operate in terms of a Cartesian dualism of mind versus matter, we shall probably also come to see the world in terms of God versus man; élite versus people; chosen race versus others; nation versus nation and man versus environment. It is doubtful whether a species having both an advanced technology and this strange way of looking at the world can endure...
[/ QUOTE ]
Now we have advance technology and this strange way of looking at the world.