tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13593902.post3900114044300398645..comments2024-02-11T09:55:50.468-08:00Comments on The Eastside View: We hold these truths…Charles Sherehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10480432901356490235noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13593902.post-32082866146394959792015-02-05T12:35:57.122-08:002015-02-05T12:35:57.122-08:00There are days I'm just as glad I'm not th...<i>There are days I'm just as glad I'm not that far from getting off the world myself — but not too many. I think we (if by that you mean "we Americans") worship both selfishness </i>and<i> guilt; guilt akin to survivor's remorse, because materially we have it so good in this country — to an extent, of course, because of our willingness to exploit the labor and resources of people less fortunate than ourselves.<br /><br />As to globalism: humans have wandered and traded for millennia; the only difference in the last couple of centuries is speed. I think global trade and cultural interpenetration can be separated from materialism and exploitation.<br /><br />What I find striking in the Declaration of Independence is the measured logic and reasonableness of its writers. The Enlightenment was a very optimistic time; I think our worst enemies at present are negativism, pessimism, cynicism, and fear. The Founders would be amazed at our pusillanimity.</i>Charles Sherehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10480432901356490235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13593902.post-81994722048686933352015-02-05T00:29:58.078-08:002015-02-05T00:29:58.078-08:00I see the current popular paradigm of "global...I see the current popular paradigm of "globalism" as being an expression of the unregulated entrepreneurial spirit of exploitation and continous "growth" as applied to everything that we do and think.<br /><br />Humans have transformed the planet, covering the earth with their kind, dominating the landscape, pushing aside nature and other creatures when it suited them, and generally raising havoc with the rhythms and processes that existed prior to our ascendancy. That success is an expression of successful reproduction, and it will doubtless be moderated in the sudden and catastrophic way nature deals with such hubris--through mass die-offs and convulsions. The only question is which of the various tipping-points will happen first, or in what order.<br /><br />Nations may be one platform in the historical evolution of this expansion. Before the age of exploration, mankind was isolated into myriad pockets and regional "provincialities" such as language, religion, technologies, etc. <br /><br />The profoundly destructive effect of "globalism" upon the vast variety and "diversity" of these provincialities can be seen everywhere. <br /><br />In the meantime, we are still a world of nations, and nations are only authorized to dictate within the terms of their extent (or borders). No nation can be all things to all men, and no nation can presume to dictate to its neighbors. <br /><br />We can be a shining example to the rest of the world, and we can lend a hand when it serves a higher purpose. But it is not our immediate responsibility to right all the world's wrongs, or to fight in every cause, or to be the world's baby-sitter. The prosperity which drives our optimism is a fragile thing, and we should not pretend that our generosity and idealism are unlimited. They are not. We have not perfected human existence, we have a long way to go.<br /><br />I would like the world to get "bigger" again. The idea of a constantly shrinking planet does not interest me. I don't want everyone to be the same. I don't want to talk to people in China on the telephone. I want Muslims to stay in the Middle East. They shouldn't be coming here. Everyone is better off resisting the call to uniformity and homogeneity. <br /> <br /><br />Is it selfishness, or guilt, that we worship?<br /><br />Stop the world, I want to get off!Curtis Favillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06213075853354387634noreply@blogger.com