Sat 20 Jan 07 - The Golden Rule - Ecosteries

Do not do to one generation what you wouldn't want done to yours.

The "Golden Rule"; which is "the Law and the Prophets"; the principle that you shouldn't do to anyone what you would not want done to yourself; treat others as you would like to be treated yourself; do as you would be done by; "putting yourself into someone else's shoes". This is said to be found in many if not all religions and many philosophies across the world and across time.
It is essentially the same as "love your neighbour/fellow man/fellow human as yourself".

It is closely related to and perhaps the origin of the principle that you are free to do as you will unless your freedom impedes someone else's freedom, which is a principle of many legal and political systems.

This principle - sometimes called the Golden Rule - probably does exist in all religions and is part of many philosophies too. It is very ancient.

If this simple principle was applied, what would it mean?

At the worst it would mean that we should all live in monasteries; at the best it advocates some kind of communal living; or just natural tribal co-operation pure and simple (a bit like in Ramsey Street!)
Maybe Ecosteries - ecological monasteries - are a good idea for saving the planet.
They could be far less restrictive than conventional monasteries. But the thing is communal living is maybe part of the solution.

I love monasteries anyway.

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It is a rule that I myself have not always obeyed. I am sorry. It's an ideal I suppose. And ideal to try for and aspire to.

I think it would maybe be easier to obey the rule if it was more structurally part of life....

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Treat people as ends in themselves, rather than as means to ends...

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http://charterforcompassion.com/

18th January 2007

Everything here is tentative and I am seeing where my logic leads me.
It's like thinking aloud.
Of course I could be wrong about everything I write here.
I am not entirely convinced of some of my own views but I stand by them because they seem as correct as they can be at the present time in my view.
I have taken off some older postings because I am not entirely happy with them.
I will work on them and get them into a form where I think they can be published.

A Poem "At the end of the corridor"

At the end of the corridor

The bargain that you strike with the psychiatrist
No bargain was struck at my end
he signs you off work
you say you are not too bad
you lie when you say thanks for your help
when you know he is the problem
you need him to sign you off work so you can keep your freedom and your benefits
but this precludes you from so-called normal life wage slavery
house car kids mortgage
are you sad?
at the end of the day sometimes
he is just dealing with those
who call society's bluff
and refuse to bluff themselves and blag and pretend
as all must do in capitalist society
pretend you fit in and know what you're doing
he's dealing with someone who never bothered
to get a job because no one made him get one
to get a job because he had no clue what or how
Yes the man left behind seeing the shrink
He's the sane one or at least the one
Who cannot deceive
The psychiatrist what does he want
A quiet life
There's nothing wrong with me really
In sigh key a trick terms
At the end of the corridor
That's my problem
Will I ever be free?
Not have to see the psychiatrist?
Not have to see the headmaster?
Will I ever be free
From the one who lets me be free?
When will I be free of the one who lets me be free?
Once he says you are this or that
He has to see you
Will I ever be cured?
Will I ever be cured of something I never had?
How can you cure me of something I never had?
It is not my choice because the deceit was not mine
Will I ever be cured of something I never had?

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13 January 2007 - "paranoid schizophrenia"

"Nail bomber David Copeland is a paranoid schizophrenic who ran a hate campaign against minorities, his defence lawyer has told the Old Bailey. "

David Copeland is a "paranoid schizophrenic"?
Bollocks!
There is no such thing as "paranoid schizophrenia"!

The term is from the early twentieth century and is of no more scientific use than a phrenology diagram or an astrological star sign.
It is pseudo-science.

There is quite simply no specific condition or illness called "paranoid schizophrenia" and it is a travesty of justice that anyone can use a "diagnosis" of this non-existent illness as a supposed "insanity defence".

The insanity defence for those who have no physiological disability or impairment is a logical absurdity and should be abolished.

"Catatonia", "hebrephenia", "paranoia", all these are observations not diagnoses.
We are dealing with pseudo-science.

It's a disgrace that Copeland can be described as such in the 21st century.

Let's say that paranoia is thinking that everyone is out to get you and that you are very special.
Now absolutely anyone can think these things. So though it may be a well-defined psychological tendency that occurs in many people it can't really be called an illness.

It could be called an illness metaphorically. But a metaphorical illness is a metaphor, not an illness.

Ironically, were Copeland given the meaningless diagnonsense of "schizophrenia" in 1930s Germany he would have been one of the first victims of the Nazis he so admires.


.....

Afghanistan and Iran.

Afghanistan was first destroyed by the CIA.
It was one of the CIA's biggest operations.
In the 1970s Afghanistan was heading towards democracy, development, education, secularisation.
All destroyed by the Cold War, the USA and the USSR.
Islamic fundamentalism was fostered in Afghanistan by the CIA.

The CIA really stands for the Central Iniquity Agency.

The CIA is one of the most evil terrorist organisations in history.


The CIA/USA destroyed secular democracy in Iran in 1953, then supported the repressive regime of the Shah. If it wasn't for US intervention in Iran it could today be a more progressive society.

I can't lie like Abraham Lincoln.

Friday 5th January 2007

Eastenders seems really crap at the moment.

Some say socialism=democracy and freedom=equality

Some say that

socialism = democracy

e.g. Tony Benn:-

"Popular demands for political, economic and social rights have been a constant theme throughout our history. Since these demands were for equality in the control of political power it follows that when that power is acquired the next demand will be to use it to achieve greater equality of treatment in every aspect of life. This is the bridge which links democracy with socialism and merges the arguments for one with the arguments for the other."

"It is not possible to conceive of a socialist society with any future that denies political democracy, nor is it conceivable that real political democracy could fail to lead to greater social equality and socialism."

Tony Benn, p.xii, Preface, "Arguments for Democracy".

and that

freedom = equality

e.g. Anarchists:-

"Anarchists are extreme libertarian socialists, "libertarian" meaning the freedom from prohibition, and "socialist" meaning the demand for social equality."

"Freedom and equality are sometimes represented as antagonists, but at the extremes they coincide. Complete freedom implies equality, since if there are rich and poor, the poor cannot be permitted to take liberties with riches. Complete equality implies freedom, since those who suffer restrictions cannot be the equals of those who impose them."

"Anarchists will not be happy with anything less than complete freedom and complete equality..."

p.10 "What is Anarchism", Freedom Press.


I think they have a point. Though of course it needs a bit of explaining....

I'm a green anyway and have been all my adult life.

At the end of the day, there are humans, (other) animals, the planet, the universe. And that's it.
More or less.

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2nd January 2007 - Topics

Lucky sevens to you.

Quite a horrific end to the year with the Saddam thing. Reminiscent of the demise of Caucescu.
Not much of an improvement on a lynching. But at least there was a pretty civilised trial. If maybe incomplete.
I'm totally opposed to the death penalty in any circumstances.
So I am with the lock him up and let him feed his plants brigade.

I have made some new year's resolutions. I won't talk about them now.

Did you know that Soda and Lime is cheap - in fact I have known it to be free in some pubs - delicious, refreshing, low in calories and non-alcholic? Don't go on about it though otherwise they'll start marketing it and making it twice the price.

Didn't know that the recommended limit for alcohol is so low.
Just checked out a website about drink. A man shouldn't really have more than 2 or 3 strong pints a day. Flip!

I really overdid it on New Year's Eve. I am still recovering. I got to this point where I thought "I am really enjoying this being drunk. I want to get more drunk. I know I can handle it. I have done before." Plonker, Rodney.

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I have realised that there are a few key ideas I am seeeking question in this blog or maybe I should call it a symposium. A word that is related to drinking.

It's not a blog as such at the moment. It's more like a collection of opinions. Self-expression.
So what are the key ideas I am seeking to express here?


There are some key concepts that I want to question and express a provisional view on:

The Gulf "War"
Anti-Semitism and Judeophobia
Jobs and employment
Education funding and universities...
Economics...
Politics
Social Darwinism
Psychology and "mental health"; psychiatry and anti-psychiatry
The Holocaust and the mentally ill
Religion and definitions of religion
...

Actually some are all inter-related.
And they are fluid.
I am still trying to work some of them out as well.
So it's a work in progress.

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Saw this thing by the mayor of London called "World Civilisation or Clash of Civilisations?"

Very interesting. If I have to plump for one it would be World Civilisation.

But I don't mean by that that I believe in a single world culture.

Just some common shared aspects. Maybe.

I always seem to be deciding something. Currently it is whether to permanently publish this blog. And how much of it should I publish.

There are other things too.