tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post411391484324908627..comments2024-03-29T06:03:45.545-07:00Comments on One Cʘsmos: Premodern and Postmodern: Extremists MeetGagdad Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14249005793605006679noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-4859528115539384732014-12-23T06:26:33.226-08:002014-12-23T06:26:33.226-08:00"I don't want to repeat Siedentop's e..."I don't want to repeat Siedentop's entire argument, but he demonstrates how the ancient family was a kind of barrier that had to be overcome, or broken out of, in order for the individual to emerge from it. It "constrained its members to an extent that can scarcely be exaggerated." "<br /><br />I often think about the dichotomy between individualism and the community. Some of the more interesting left-leaning thinkers (Charles Eisenstein would be a good example) seem to focus on the loss of community and the pain and unhappiness that that appears to cause - were one to look - in the modern world. There is an aspect of human nature that is deeply communal, but on the other hand modern free people now have an unprecedented amount of choice and life potential at the expense of community ties.<br /><br />I speculate that there is a teleological nature to the trend towards individualism in the west. And I wonder further if the next step is a deeper synthesis between individualism and the community.<br /><br />Great post and that looks like a great book. Thank you for writing about it.<br /><br /><br />DougieFranklinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-10533004190377652182014-12-22T08:32:16.528-08:002014-12-22T08:32:16.528-08:00My personal experience of 5 years in Mexico City i...My personal experience of 5 years in Mexico City is that 1. Translation is never completely horizontal. Yes, one can make themselves understood with some basic words and phrases but genuine communication requires one to come out of their own culture mentally. 2. There is a big difference between being friendly and being a friend. After 5 year we found that most everyone was friendly and helpful but in a city of 30 million only 5 or 6 have become friends.Rogelio Buenohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12290262102213332850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-67720415316831134502014-12-21T23:02:46.108-08:002014-12-21T23:02:46.108-08:00This is, by far the best article I have read irt t...This is, by far the best article I have read irt the Cuba fiasco:<br />http://sultanknish.blogspot.com/2014/12/saving-comrade-castro.html#comment-formUSS Ben USN (Ret)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07492369604790651538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-2391692338540721662014-12-21T12:28:42.166-08:002014-12-21T12:28:42.166-08:00I have never been able to rrrroll my R's. Exce...I have never been able to rrrroll my R's. Except when I'm typing.USS Ben USN (Ret)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07492369604790651538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-54001693453279686902014-12-20T19:27:02.698-08:002014-12-20T19:27:02.698-08:00I see that Siedentop also wrote Tocqueville (Past ...I see that Siedentop also wrote Tocqueville (Past Masters).<br />As well as some other interesting looking books.<br /><br />USS Ben USN (Ret)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07492369604790651538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-76795206709574837032014-12-20T15:33:59.433-08:002014-12-20T15:33:59.433-08:00Man is a rrrrrrrebel.Man is a <i>rrrrrrr</i>ebel.Gagdad Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14249005793605006679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-74595349242020444412014-12-20T15:09:56.997-08:002014-12-20T15:09:56.997-08:00I just spent the last 20 minutes watching this 197...I just spent the last 20 minutes watching <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vbydx95tVQ&index=167&list=WL" rel="nofollow">this 1970 interview of Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones</a> and was blown away. It wasn't so much what he said that was so new, but how it was said. He was definitely in touch with the flame.tedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07354048695798015131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-90772846870440269152014-12-20T13:26:12.458-08:002014-12-20T13:26:12.458-08:00Still blown away by Inventing the Individual. Now...Still blown away by <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Inventing-Individual-Origins-Western-Liberalism/dp/0674417534/ref=as_sl_pc_tf_ssw?&linkCode=wss&tag=onecos-20" rel="nofollow">Inventing the Individual</a>. Now up to p. 250. Head-spinningly good. Gagdad Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14249005793605006679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-52086435472145449532014-12-20T13:08:38.774-08:002014-12-20T13:08:38.774-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.USS Ben USN (Ret)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07492369604790651538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-31582948417715724342014-12-20T12:28:20.483-08:002014-12-20T12:28:20.483-08:00Argh "own reasons"-> "own reacti...Argh "own reasons"-> "own reactions"Van Harveyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08470413719262297062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-39534563806350404942014-12-20T12:26:42.762-08:002014-12-20T12:26:42.762-08:00Ben, maybe to translate the traveler/stranger into...Ben, maybe to translate the traveler/stranger into terms a leftist could understand, they could judge their own reasons on meeting folks they'd not meet before, by:<br /><br />"Hi, I'm an agitator here passing through with Jesse & Al's race pimping coalition, can you help me out? "<br /><br />Or,<br /><br />"Hi, I'm a conservative passing through discussing the Constitution with the Heritage Foundation, can you help me out? "<br /><br />See? Travelers to be welcomed, vs strangers to be beaten. You don't know either individual, but you know what to do with them based upon their relative collective. Van Harveyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08470413719262297062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-19922545873650514152014-12-20T11:26:23.064-08:002014-12-20T11:26:23.064-08:00Julie, I cooncur, don't mess with the Orthodox...Julie, I cooncur, don't mess with the Orthodox Church. USS Ben USN (Ret)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07492369604790651538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-39479919719839418662014-12-20T11:23:41.172-08:002014-12-20T11:23:41.172-08:00Van, that's good points.
I've been in some...Van, that's good points.<br />I've been in some places where that translates to ganger danger.<br />Of course, in ancient times brigands were the gangs, and they were not isolated geographically. They were everywhere, which is why prudent travelers travelled in large groups, with armed escorts.USS Ben USN (Ret)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07492369604790651538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-66464472468280995532014-12-20T11:10:55.743-08:002014-12-20T11:10:55.743-08:00Rick, bravo zulu, LOL! Rick, bravo zulu, LOL! USS Ben USN (Ret)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07492369604790651538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-40435803248401118802014-12-20T09:26:10.252-08:002014-12-20T09:26:10.252-08:00"...one might say that the essence of our pol..."...one might say that the essence of our political differences revolves around this question of collective vs. individual ..."<br /><br />My guess is that's where Siedentop is driving towards, that without having developed the Christian depth, that the individual was seen as a representative of the collective, rather than as an Individual. The traveler was seen as a Traveler, and it was the group Traveler, that hospitality was due to.<br /><br />And with the stranger, their thoughts didn't make it down to <i>'I don't recall seeing this person before, I wonder if the fellow needs help?'</i>, it was still circling around the surface of <i>'here is Stranger, guard against or kill if can, Stranger Danger!'</i>.Van Harveyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08470413719262297062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-76559726625897335422014-12-20T08:58:20.049-08:002014-12-20T08:58:20.049-08:00Most of the ancient western cultures, the Greeks, ...Most of the ancient western cultures, the Greeks, Romans, Celts, even the Norse, had elaborate rules about giving hospitality to travelling strangers, one of the possibilities a bad host feared, was that the traveler was a god in disguise, and then <i>Zot!</i><br /><br />There's a bit on that guest-host tradition, xenia (same root as xenophobic I think. Natch.) in the Iliad, where the two warriors Diomedes and Glaucus meet on the battlefield, and in their pre monk-slap boastings, it slips out that Diomedes' grand father once hosted Glaucus' grand father, making them <i>still</i> obligated as guest friends, and so <i>obviously</i> they couldn't kill each other. Duh. That sets off Diomedes quickly offering his bronze armor as a gift, and with the help of Zeus, wheedling Glaucus' more valuable gold armor in return. Beware Greeks wheedling gifts.<br /><br />However, I don't think that - the injunctions about hospitality to travelers - applies to, or in any way reduces Siedentop's point about general hostility to strangers or harms the point. It might seem odd to us, but the two would have been thought of as differently as night and day to them and baffling to even consider. <br /><br /><i>"Whu? Whaddya mean? Feed the guest, kill the stranger. What?"</i><br />Van Harveyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08470413719262297062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-8884292124718111032014-12-20T07:46:32.208-08:002014-12-20T07:46:32.208-08:00Incidentally, assuming the video there is at all r...Incidentally, assuming the video there is at all real, I kind of suspect that wasn't so much "lightning bolt" as "rocket strike." Which makes me wonder just what they took. Maybe it's just a super bad idea to piss off the Orthodox on their home turf...<br /><br />juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15975754287030568726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-43577505325037432902014-12-20T07:31:27.396-08:002014-12-20T07:31:27.396-08:00Speaking of Kaboom!.
In Russia, apparently, robb...Speaking of <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2881287/Gone-flash-moment-car-explodes-pieces-LIGHTNING-allegedly-hits-high-speed-police-chase.html" rel="nofollow">Kaboom!</a>. <br /><br />In Russia, apparently, robbing churches is right out. juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15975754287030568726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-56924284390122006382014-12-20T07:24:19.639-08:002014-12-20T07:24:19.639-08:00kaBOOM!
Here we have the pimp slap. There they...kaBOOM! <br /><br />Here we have the pimp slap. There they have the monk slap.Gagdad Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14249005793605006679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-77531361758750366112014-12-20T07:04:12.440-08:002014-12-20T07:04:12.440-08:00Rick, you almost owe me a new keyboard. And yeah, ...Rick, you almost owe me a new keyboard. And yeah, I did wonder what he was wearing. Figured maybe he was going for the "aging rock star" look.juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15975754287030568726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-86464681374535721292014-12-20T06:37:42.969-08:002014-12-20T06:37:42.969-08:00If your traveling clothes are a pink shirt, Capri ...If your traveling clothes are a pink shirt, Capri pants and flip flops, you might deserve to be monk-slapped.Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13720790978632771716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-55530165767001399382014-12-19T17:35:40.037-08:002014-12-19T17:35:40.037-08:00Didn't Churchill once say that the "Arab ...Didn't Churchill once say that the "Arab is either at your throat or at your feet." Makes me leery of some cultures that are too friendly right from the start. Reminds me of a borderline ex-gf too much. tedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07354048695798015131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-43503028424185773192014-12-19T16:47:18.422-08:002014-12-19T16:47:18.422-08:00Iwas just talking about this with Mushroom a few d...Iwas just talking about this with Mushroom a few days ago.<br />Buddhist Monks can be very violent, but usually it's against Monks from different temples.<br />Apparently, they have long running feuds among many of the monasteries there, <br /><br />This monk obviously has an anger management problem.USS Ben USN (Ret)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07492369604790651538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-38190901624250755332014-12-19T15:56:36.409-08:002014-12-19T15:56:36.409-08:00Are all Thais this friendly, or only the monks?Are all Thais <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-2874372/Angry-monk-slaps-expat-face-train-Thailand-victim-offered-double-seat-two-women.html" rel="nofollow">this friendly</a>, or only the monks? Gagdad Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14249005793605006679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-48753381159506385822014-12-19T13:52:51.811-08:002014-12-19T13:52:51.811-08:00http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/12/18/west-harlem...http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/12/18/west-harlem-residents-are-fed-up-with-aggressive-raccoons-terrorizing-neighborhood/<br /><br />Origins of personality, from the collective. Mythical bandits ate my homework. And bred in public. There ought to be a law.nealnoreply@blogger.com