The author (Click HERE, The New Yorker Magazine) uses the term "theoidocy", which he defines as the justification of the ways of God in the face of evil. The concept is an intriguing one that bears looking into. If something terrible happens, is it always deserved? If so, wouldn't an act of murder be doing the "will of God"? Surely there must be an obvious flaw in that hypothesis, but right off hand I can't see it.
What strikes me so forcefully is that the earthquake in Haiti seems to have slaughtered more human beings than any international disaster in a great many years, in fact perhaps as much as all of the other high- profile disasters in the last decade. When one says that, sadly we must exclude the deaths from starvation in places like Somalia and Ethiopia. Is it that the death of populations that appear so "other" are of far less concern to us as Americans? perhaps because those dying live lives so foreign to our own that we cannot wrap our heads around their problems and their horrifying suffering? Are we suffering from a form of "third world fatigue"? Rush Limbaugh appears to be, if compassion was ever a part of his nature. Pat Robertson? He remains nuttier than a leftover fruitcake and roughly twice as unappealing.
(Also from Arthur) Head of the GOP?
I think there are parts of this (click HERE) that are worth paying attention to. I think the suggestion that it is less about conviction than making money has a lot of validity. What is also worth remembering is that the Murdock kids, likely heirs to the Fox News empire, trend strongly liberal. Despite his daily drinking of virgin's blood, Rupert Murdock surely can't live forever.
Which reminds me, did you know that there was an Indian Prime Minister who used to drink a cup of his own urine every morning for health reasons? When he was elected he announced that he had stopped, so as to not make foreign guests nervous, but many assumed that was no more than a statement for public consumption (no pun intended).
And yes, the world is a good deal weirder than any of us could imagine. The current vogue in parts of Africa for medicines made from albinos is one example.
I hope the New Year finds you well?
Arthur
What strikes me so forcefully is that the earthquake in Haiti seems to have slaughtered more human beings than any international disaster in a great many years, in fact perhaps as much as all of the other high- profile disasters in the last decade. When one says that, sadly we must exclude the deaths from starvation in places like Somalia and Ethiopia. Is it that the death of populations that appear so "other" are of far less concern to us as Americans? perhaps because those dying live lives so foreign to our own that we cannot wrap our heads around their problems and their horrifying suffering? Are we suffering from a form of "third world fatigue"? Rush Limbaugh appears to be, if compassion was ever a part of his nature. Pat Robertson? He remains nuttier than a leftover fruitcake and roughly twice as unappealing.
(Also from Arthur) Head of the GOP?
I think there are parts of this (click HERE) that are worth paying attention to. I think the suggestion that it is less about conviction than making money has a lot of validity. What is also worth remembering is that the Murdock kids, likely heirs to the Fox News empire, trend strongly liberal. Despite his daily drinking of virgin's blood, Rupert Murdock surely can't live forever.
Which reminds me, did you know that there was an Indian Prime Minister who used to drink a cup of his own urine every morning for health reasons? When he was elected he announced that he had stopped, so as to not make foreign guests nervous, but many assumed that was no more than a statement for public consumption (no pun intended).
And yes, the world is a good deal weirder than any of us could imagine. The current vogue in parts of Africa for medicines made from albinos is one example.
I hope the New Year finds you well?
Arthur
No comments:
Post a Comment