Inexplicable Vandalism / Beware of Darkness

I read this morning about an incident in which perpetrators unknown have destroyed and burned scores of beehives.  People are baffled by this illogical act, which seems to raise concerns about the sort of person who would do such a thing.  Some thoughts come to my mind, and I'm going to give it a shot to put the incident in perspective.  (Once I get too unmotivated to do this sort of thing, I hope others will fill the need; it has to be done.)

[Added later: It turned out that the culprits were a pair of teenagers.  But this tells us little; who inspired these fellows to carry out their act of vandalism?  Most of the discussion below probably still applies.]

(1) First of all, bear in mind that this might just be disinformation, and the photograph might be one of either an incident in the distant past (In the killer bee days, perhaps?) or an altered photograph.

(2) Such a thing could actually happen; try not to be too shocked.  The first reason is: ignorance.  Not everyone knows that bees are essential to agriculture, and to the environment in ways too many to count.  This is why education in the broadest sense is so important, especially education in the home.  (We know that some parents work too hard to 'waste' time chatting to their offspring about things that seem so irrelevant to their lives as the importance of protecting bees.  We can excuse them, to a certain degree.  The problem of earning enough to support a comfortable lifestyle in the face of serious obstacles to it from the 1% is daunting.)

(3) It could have been that someone who hates bees, or is allergic to bee-stings, decided to go on a rampage in a fit of rage.  This is, again, a sort of ignorance.  Educated citizens do not lose their temper at the slightest thing.  We're talking about education in the broad sense, again.  Lots of students have learned their lessons well enough to answer their examinations very well.  But teachers are also learning, to focus their questions very narrowly, not to stray into concepts that might be politically sensitive.  This is not education.  We have to find good, mature, wise people to be our teachers, and then cut them a bit of slack and not micromanage the curriculum too much.  But unfortunately, school boards are notoriously filled with uneducated conservatives (or superficially educated folks), who have a deep distrust of book learning.  We have to live with this.  This is the price we pay for giving up elitism, and embracing universal education.  Remember, No Child Left Behind-type initiatives are broadly in line with the liberal agenda: we do not want weak students marginalized, because weak students are often (but not invariably, witness the leadership of the Education branch of the administration) minority students, and underprivileged students.  Conservatives want elitism the way it was when America Was Great, which is where these voucher programs are headed.  If you think it's complicated, it is, That I can tell you.  This country might not be great enough to do all we want its education system to do.

(4) Lastly, and I hope this is not the case, it (the vandalizing of the beehives) might have been done to put certain people in trouble.  Let's not focus on that possibility.  This is now not just ignorance; it is criminal.

As you can see, it comes down to a broad view of education.  Education is so important because, ironically, the size of the population, the influence of the twisted economic principles we live under, and the diverse population we have in the US puts great strains on the thinking of all adults, and some are just not up to the job.  This is why, on the one hand, the Christian Right is anxious for Christian moral principles to be spread widely; they hope that the fear of hell will make people think twice about burning bees.  This is also why some people want to reduce the diversity of the population (by deportation, by violence, and by creating an inhospitable atmosphere).  In the administration, it is not a matter of gut-level hatred; it is a calmly thought out policy.

It's easy to lose one's temper.  That's a form of self-gratification.

Rabia of Basra

One of the earliest Sufi women about whom knowledge has been passed down to us is Rabia al-Adawiyya, associated with the city of Basra in Persia (modern day Iran).  Sufi-ism is a movement on the fringes of Islam, considered heretical by conservative muslims, but of great value to to those of us interested in the concepts of Islam unobscured by its laws and rituals.  One story recounted about Rabia of Basra is as follows.

"Running with fire in one hand and water in the other, Rabia explained, “I am going to burn paradise and douse hellfire so that both veils may be lifted from those on the quest, and they will become sincere of purpose. God’s servants will learn to see Him without hope for reward or fear of punishment. As it is now, if you took away hope for reward or fear of punishment, no one would obey."

As you know, I have not made a secret of the fact that I am essentially an atheist.  But this does not mean that I reject all teachings of all religions, because most religions have core teachings of value to everyone.

One aspect of theistic religions, especially those in the Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition, is the conviction among believers of lesser intelligence and perception that it is the very principle that Rabia addresses, namely that it is fear of punishment that keeps the faithful in the law, and it is the hope of reward that urges the faithful to acts of charity that go beyond the minimum expected by the law.  However pathetic this condition is, in the mega churches in the USA, their enormous revenue is based on the hope of the congregation for reward in heaven, which results in their ministers and preachers living quite a comfortable lifestyle in public, and sometimes quite Trumpesque lives in private.

Rabia's words can be interpreted as follows.  Take away the punishment and the rewards, take away the carrots and the sticks, and then we will see the true believers and those who love god by their actions.

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George Carlin

Greetings to all!!

Well, this seems a strange topic to begin the New Year with, but I have to catch these opportunities as they come, because my memory is not as good as . . . What was I saying?

Oh, George Carlin.

Just this morning, my stepson happened to have left his tablet on the table open to faceBook, and someone had posted a link to a George Carlin clip on YouTube.

My stepson was quick to declare that he did not take these sorts of links seriously anymore, because he was getting a lot of conservative spam.  I assured him that George Carlin was anything but, and he looked at me uncertainly, and I repeated my assurance, and went off and indulged in an orgy of George Carlin, which kept me chuckling for a whole hour!

Introducing a twenty-something young liberal to the late George Carlin might not be a kindness.  I will elaborate presently.

Not everyone is familiar with George Carlin enough to be able to recognize all his moods, and the background to some of his comedic "pieces" -- for lack of a better word--and some might not know about him at all.  If our species survives this generation, we could hope that Carlin recognition is built into the genes by Darwin, or whoever is in charge of evolution these days.

I have it in for Capitalism.  I tolerate the Capitalism of the old Pre-Reagan days, but the most recent flavor of uncompromising Capitalism is evil and misguided.  George Carlin explains why it is so.

I have it in for Nationalism.  Nationalism made sense in the world when new nations were struggling against colonial powers.  Today, emerging nations are still fighting against paternalistic restraints--c.f. Catalan politics--but to say that America is fighting against colonial powers is so funny that whoever says so should not be allowed to speak henceforth.  Carlin explains this beautifully.

Carlin described fake news long before fake news was cool.  If you learned to recognize it then, you would know how it has evolved to what it is today, and how fake those who habitually use the phrase today are.

Advertising is a pet peeve of George Carlin, as it is mine.  It isn't very different from fake news; in fact, it is the friends and relatives of fake news mongers who craft and disseminate advertising copy.  I would nuke Madison Avenue (or whatever is the address of contemporary hype), and if George Carlin were alive, he would probably nod approval.

He opposed stupidity.  He opposed US militarism.  (Oh, you should definitely check out his video clip on American military adventurism; one listens with amusement, and anger.)  Golf courses.  Religion.  Materialism.  The Real Estate business.  (It isn't obvious, but it is there, hidden in his commentaries on modern US culture.)  Racism.  I'm not sure he was particularly close to blacks and people of color, but he could certainly spot racism at any distance.  Economic inequality.  Education.  Parents.  And finally: politicians.  (But he lays the blame squarely where it belongs: on the electorate.  That is, the US Public.

Unexpectedly, or rather, not unexpectedly, if you knew the reason: George Carlin is cynical about the environment.  He laughs at Save the Planet rhetoric.  The planet, he says, is going to be around long after we're gone.  This is undeniable, but how are we to think about both our anxiety to preserve the environment, and George Carlin's shrugging it off?

Well, what exactly do we mean by preserving the environment?  We mean to keep the planet the way it is, as much as possible.  Why?  So that future generations can enjoy it (or that we can enjoy it a little longer).  But Carlin takes the view that the human species will not last forever.

One doesn't need to think too hard to conclude that this is absolutely true.  While we may not embrace the rapid deterioration of human living conditions with great glee as Carlin does, we have to realize that, from an objective point of view, our ecological efforts are merely a desperate rearguard action against the inevitable.  As modern Ecological agnostics must believe, saving species from extinction for a few more decades in the face of their vanishing habitat is an exercise in futility.  Whether or not the GOP thinks that way, it makes it easier for them to balance the budget without raising taxes, and as we all know, what the GOP loves is money, far more than the beauty of nature!  Gotta love 'em.

How did George Carlin get this way?  If you watch enough of his videos on YouTube, he explains it.  It is a psychological defense mechanism.  The best way to avoid soul-eating disappointment is to give up all expectations.  He says that he never voted; he just stayed home.  Cynicism, in the end, is a crude form of self-preservation.  This was not Carlin's invention; it is the main principle of Buddhism!  More about that another time.

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