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12 May 03 - 10:59 AM (#951019) Subject: BS: Thought For the Day--May 12 03 From: Amos HUMANITY We must never permit the voice of humanity within us to be silenced. It is man's sympathy with all creatures that first makes him truly a man. Albert Schweitzer I suppose today Schweitzer would insert the politically correct "human", but back in his day, the word "man" described the species as well as the gender -- two different menaings. What is of great interest is the ways in which the humanity within us gets silenced. Back in the 1950's, an overlay of very synthetic social codes was painting American society a strange color of artificial, a sort of antimacassar, post-Victorian way of being. I hated it. One reason was the very point Schweitzer makes here. One of the great redeeming traits of John Kennedy (see Peter T's recent thread about Kennedy speaking on Rober Frost) was that he seemed to be willing to make a clarion call out of this very truth, and refuse to let his voice be silenced in that regard. Unfortunately, the choice was taken from him, which taught us all a lesson about optimism, and human compassion. It has its enemies, obviously. But the truth of Schweitzer's remark is only strengthened thereby. Regards, A |
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12 May 03 - 11:27 AM (#951044) Subject: RE: BS: Thought For the Day--May 12 03 From: wysiwyg Another good one is, "He who blushes is not yet a brute." I wonder if blushing can be recaptured. I think it's the inner voice of humanity speaking to ourselves at issue here.... and perhaps that it is the EAR of humanity we must not lose, to hear that voice from ourselves or any other source. In Kennedy's story, we can take a lesson there about choosing to hear or not hear while the voice is still ready, willing, and able to speak. Sadder than a silenced voice is what happens when people are determined to ignore it, in favor of defending their right to be a complete idiot. ~Susan |
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12 May 03 - 10:51 PM (#951472) Subject: RE: BS: Thought For the Day--May 12 03 From: Amos Renew! |
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12 May 03 - 11:35 PM (#951499) Subject: RE: BS: Thought For the Day--May 12 03 From: Little Hawk I could not agree more, Amos! Kennedy had courage...a whole lot of it...and that's why they killed him. The 50's was a period of philosophical and spiritual emptiness so cloying and soulless that it was no wonder everything went wild in the 60's. We were all Kennedy's children in a certain sense...he helped light the flame, and we tried our best to carry it. I'm still trying, by God, and I will keep on doing so until I die. Humanity indeed! Human beings are the sons and daughters of a divine and holy purpose, a purpose that shines clear in all of Nature, and it will not be denied by the $ySStem...but it will be trampled upon, legislated against, tortured and condemned by the little minds that imagine Nature to be just a primitive thing they can exploit and use up while they play the game of being "successful". "Beauty walks a razor's edge, someday I'll make it mine" - Bob Dylan - LH |
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13 May 03 - 05:24 AM (#951597) Subject: RE: BS: Thought For the Day--May 12 03 From: Wolfgang I suppose today Schweitzer would insert the politically correct "human" No, he wouldn't. The citation is translated from German which already then had two different words for 'human being' and 'man' (50% of them). So he'd use exactly the same words now. But the translation might be different today. A very great man he was, so great that his citations (and life) can be used and are used as role models for extremely opposite positions. The above citation is chiefly used by an extreme German animal rightist party which I personally consider crazy. But I also might have considered Schweitzer crazy and admired him at the same time. Wolfgang |
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13 May 03 - 07:01 AM (#951642) Subject: RE: BS: Thought For the Day--May 12 03 From: Liz the Squeak You wouldn't be the only one considering Schwietzer crazy - it's a sign of the times. If today, a young woman went up to the monarch and said that God had told her to go fight the occupying forces, would that girl become a) a national heroine and saviour of the people: b) a saint, worshipped as a miracle worker by millions of people around the world: c) a patient in the nearest mental health hospital, probably the secure unit.... It is a sad and bitter indictment that the voice of humanity is too often silenced by the human state of territory, personal wealth and material possession. LTS |
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13 May 03 - 08:58 AM (#951693) Subject: RE: BS: Thought For the Day--May 12 03 From: Peter T. d) burnt at the stake as a witch. Wait a minute -! yours, Peter T. |
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13 May 03 - 09:52 AM (#951722) Subject: RE: BS: Thought For the Day--May 12 03 From: GUEST She would be embraced, sent to military school, and fast tracked to being a general. |
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13 May 03 - 09:54 AM (#951724) Subject: RE: BS: Thought For the Day--May 12 03 From: GUEST oh, forgot to add "and you can get anything you want at Alices restaurant" |
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13 May 03 - 09:54 AM (#951725) Subject: RE: BS: Thought For the Day--May 12 03 From: Amos Well, there aren't many places where we have Monarchs these days. But you could probably persuade the President to hark to the vision thing. A |
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13 May 03 - 09:54 AM (#951726) Subject: RE: BS: Thought For the Day--May 12 03 From: *daylia* "There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life -- Music and Cats." -- Albert Schweitzer Meow! |
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13 May 03 - 10:22 AM (#951743) Subject: RE: BS: Thought For the Day--May 12 03 From: Amos YEs but why is life so goddamn rich in miseries in the first place? That's what I want to know!! Talk about design flaws!! A |
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13 May 03 - 11:01 AM (#951770) Subject: RE: BS: Thought For the Day--May 12 03 From: *daylia* Ah Amos, y'know what the farmers have to spread on the fields before good things will grow in abundance. Roll up yer windows and hold yer nose ... :>) |
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13 May 03 - 11:54 PM (#952234) Subject: RE: BS: Thought For the Day--May 12 03 From: Doug_Remley In the land of the blind the one-eyed man is in an instution. In the land of the sighted we choose what we shall see, or in weakness allow others to choose. Last Monday while waiting for my tires to be changed I read the papers while watching CNN and couldn't help but recognize the massive stresses these formats bring into so many lives. All was driven by sales of advertisement, probably, by reporting bad news in the "if it bleeds it leads" category. There were no great thinkers in whom to find refuge. No JFK proclaiming a Peace Corps or the strides made by Habitats for Humanity. No Schweitzer's or Buddha's or Gandhi. If there were, they weren't reported! |
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14 May 03 - 12:00 AM (#952239) Subject: RE: BS: Thought For the Day--May 12 03 From: Amos They are out there, Doug. Have hope. It is just that where the halls of journalism once were naturally served by those with an innate appetite for language and truth, they are now served by those with an innate appetite for sales and profits. So the news is not once it once was, if it ever was! :>) A |
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14 May 03 - 11:22 AM (#952519) Subject: RE: BS: Thought For the Day--May 12 03 From: *daylia* Speaking of the media's role in creating and perpetuating an atmosphere of fear, I watched Michael Moore's "Bowling for Columbine" yesterday. Chilling, informative, quite depressing. The story from Flint Michigan about the 6yr old shot to death in her classroom by another 6yr old had me in tears. I wish I could say I found it incredulous. Oh, and by the way, after listening to Moore go on and on about Canada's wonderfully low murder rates and supposedly non-violent culture in "Bowling for Columbine", the first clip I heard on the news yesterday afternoon was about how the police had found the 10yr old girl who'd gone missing after walking a friend home in Toronto Monday night. Her dismembered body parts were in several garbage bags dumped beside a downtown river. No comment seems appropriate. :>( This is a 5 minute windowsmedia cartoon clip from Michael Moore called "A Brief History of the USA", focussing on gun laws, it's "culture of fear". It's worth a peek, I think. I'd say "Enjoy!" but that seems a bit sarcastic. daylia |