Subject: From Tessa (2 of 2) -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 >From Tessa Rose: More thoughts on the subject of “Innocents Betrayed”: Something that really struck me about that movie was a common thread running through every mass atrocity: the obedience of the victims and the brutality of the murderers in the face of helpless innocence. It seems to be in the nature of humans to meekly obey, and to trust those who deserve trust the least. It has long been said that “power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” If everyone knows this, why don’t we live by it? Why, century after century, do we continue to give some people power over others when we know it makes them into monsters? And why do people trust those monsters, time and again? It seems to me that there must be something evolutionary here. Perhaps in Australopithicine society, authority and obedience had strong survival value, and this behavior is encoded forever in our genes. Humans seem to have a propensity to worship something, to give their total trust and devotion to something larger or stronger than themselves, and this propensity is fairly impervious to reason. People who see the origin of government in some kind of rational social contract may be missing an important point. Government has never been anything so benign or useful as a contract or a tool. Rather, government springs from deep emotional, perhaps biological, needs for domination and surrender. People do not surrender themselves to government for rational reasons. If you doubt this, just listen to what people say: Government represents the people; it IS the people; it is the best of ourselves. Government leads us all into the future; it gives us our goals and values; it cares for us. We belong to it. Our very lives are a privilege granted by it. Government is god and parents all rolled into one. We owe it our love, our devotion, our trust, and our lives. But there is a problem with giving such devotion to an earthly institution comprised of human beings, and that is that the human beings who become a part of it are corrupted by the worship and power given to them. Megalomaniacs rise to the top of the power structure. People who lack identity and self-esteem flock into the ranks, finding identity and esteem as part of a larger-than-life organization. Those who possess an anti-social lust for domination of others find a socially-sanctioned outlet for this socially destructive lust. The more time people spend being part of government, the more they are corrupted by it. As part of an institution that owns and dominates people, they begin to see themselves as the rightful owners and the rightful dominators of others. As part of an institution that is worshipped, they begin to see themselves as deserving the worship of others. Humans outside of government seem less and less human to them. It is important to note that people in government are likely to have very little sense of self; that is often why they are there. Consequently, they may feel intense hatred toward those who DO have a sense of selfhood, purpose, and meaning apart from government. When such unfortunate people are granted a holy mandate to destroy the lives of those others, they will do so, as viciously as possible. They care nothing for law, except as a weapon against those they hate. (I speak from personal experience here.) It is vitally important to understand that these people will go as far as society allows them to. I truly believe (and this movie graphically demonstrates) that the only thing standing between us and genocide is the presence of firearms in a vast number of American homes. Ultimately, however, these peons are not the enemy, and armed resistance is at best a temporary and tragic solution. The real enemy is the concept of authority and authority-worship itself. If authority-worship is indeed ingrained in our genes, our ultimate survival as a species may depend on our ability to understand and resist this propensity. The moral and civic education of our children must stress the high value of every individual life, and utmost respect for the “otherness” of others. They must learn that both sides of the authority coin - meek obedience as well as the lust of domination - are the deadly enemies of this value, enemies which must be fought within each and every one of us. Only in this way can we build a society that is truly social, being a network of mutually beneficial relationships between millions of human beings. Love to All, Tessa Rose Must see: Innocents Betrayed (Aaron Zellman) http://shop.jpfo.org/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=8 Must read: How to be a Successful Tyrant (Larken Rose) http://www.tyrantbook.com Must pester Larken to finish writing: The Most Dangerous Superstition? -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Note: This signature can be verified at https://www.hushtools.com/verify Charset: UTF8 Version: Hush 2.5 wpwEAQECAAYFAkbnhCEACgkQGmVFo/iGj32aXAQAiaKDnXYaxLOkU9EptczGqUJu5dVW 02eXx/jg5riceAD1JLM0pV7k3Ml7eUBv+r/QKik+ZLk8Bise0Wcr5cLvnn9fD+uUhrea fOcTum2pJSTQ4OMcQbd2dtbO7imYwgKPOUJhGiU7MIpxR/5TTPBTrRdh/Mfr8o0QjEDv lR0gL1U= =u+Ll -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -- Click here to increase your salary by earning an online degree. http://tagline.hushmail.com/fc/Ioyw6h4eS5xIDLD5OQqJUeydKR21fpS2KpVVh0XSDYsuLsLNoIMLU4/ --------------------------------------------------------------------- To subscribe, send a blank message to tmds-on@mail-list.com To contact the list owner, send your message to tmds-list-owner@mail-list.com