I just had a conversation with a person I respect very much. He is one of the brighter minds I have the opportunity to engage in conversation.
We discussed the post below this one, the slippery slope, Terminal Timmy.
He was irritated, offended and without any sense of resonance at all regarding the mythical story of 2025.
I am not sanguine about the human condition. I believe that the heart of man is filled with all kinds of evil. Even Christians sometimes. I don’t ever get too self satisfied with my own personal ability to be righteous. Where do I get all this? Without starting a bible study, that’s where it comes from. We look ourselves in the mirror and see ourselves for who we really are.
My concern is that the man I was talking to believes that humanity can be basically good and could never sink far enough to find themselves in Terminal Timmy land.
OK: Hitler, Pol Pot, Stalin, KKK, Jim Jones, Suicide Pacts in Japan, Moms who drown children (too many to name), Japanese in China 2nd World War, Boxer Rebellion in China, French Revolution, Female Infanticide in India and China, Death Squads in Brazil, Chile, Guatemala, Bolivia, Sudan, Rwanda, and more than I can call to mind right now.
Yes, but some of those are 3rd world, some are not civilized, some are un-enlightened. We in America are good. We are noble. We are civilized. So was the Germany of Beethoven, Wagner, Bach, Goethe, Schiller and hundreds more.
The people who gassed little Jewish Children went home to their houses, paid their bills, played with their kids, loved on their wives, went to church, had tea, listened to music, read good books and saw fine orchestras. The next day they went back to work.
It’s all about valuing life. Valuing human beings. Valuing ourselves.
I have a low belief in the innate goodness of man. I don’t think I am evil but I believe that properly deceived I could be led into evil and believe it to be good. The most haunting person in the Terminal Timmy story is not the mom, dad, grandma, or Timmy. It’s the Pastor figure telling Timmy’s parents it’s OK if they prayed about it. Calling good evil and evil good.
I don’t buy man’s basic goodness. I think we do battle till we die. I believe we must be on guard. I believe the deceiver is out to trick us up. Looking for whom he may devour.
But, if Gallup polling is any effect I will admit to you that I did an email blast on this story as I do when I think it’s important. It had such an impact on me. I usually will get back a certain percentage (10 out of 50) who say, “Very Interesting” or some such. This time I got 1. ONE! OK, I’m out of the mainstream here. I need to be more positive. When I got ZERO response (and I know you read it because I have a counter) it tells me I either hit a nerve or I’m way off.
One dear one said, don’t say things too controversial in your blog, people will think you’re a crackpot. Well if that’s my destiny, OK. I stand by my stand. I believe many persons I know are basically good. It’s people I don’t believe in.
Hope you can still love me. What if I’m right? Do you want to live in that world if it comes? I won’t, you might. Consider yourself warned. I can do no less.
No one believed in 1984. How close are we now??
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