[Ideologies] Right-Minded Individuals

This Post Is Rated: M for You will probably be Mildly offended. But you won’t be able to explain why.

A while back Bryan Ferry was quoted in The Grauniad about his comments praising Nazi aesthetics.

“I apologise unreservedly for any offense caused by my comments… I, like every right-minded individual, find the Nazi regime, and all it stood for, evil and abhorrent.”

I found it interesting he referenced right-minded individuals (no, I don’t mean politically). I find it interesting because it causes me to wonder, do right-minded individuals really find the Nazi regime abhorrent? I think to verify that, we would need to know who would be considered a ‘right-minded individual’. We also need to establish what exactly was abhorrent about the Nazi regime?

Nazism, defined by Wikipedia is:

• National socialism
• Totalitarian ideology and practices
• A loose collection of incoherent postions including anti-parliamentarism, ethnic nationalism, racism, collectivism, eugenics, anti-Semitism, opposition to economic and political liberalism, a racially-defined and conspiratorial view of finance capitalism, and anti-communism
• Positive Christianity
• Nationalism
• Influenced by Nietzsche

I haven’t listed every single reference on Wikipedia (one hotly disputed section argues that Nazism was anti-capitalist which is a joke), nevertheless these are the main associations with Nazi ideology. You will notice that ethnic nationalism, anti-liberalism, anti-communism and nationalism are on this list. Strangely enough, you can find examples of large groups of people who support these ideologies alive and well today (particularly in regards to the American government).

So is it really right-minded to oppose these ideologies? I suspect that many ‘right-minded individuals’ were caught up in the Nazi rhetoric before we could look back in hindsight knowing it was all evil and abhorrent. After all, how else would Hitler rise to power if he was not charismatic and good at blending a patriotic and religious message?

Perhaps being ‘right-minded’ is not enough… or perhaps it’s not about being ‘right-minded’ at all. The problem with using a term such as ‘right-minded’ is that it can only be defined in relative terms. Instead of acknowledging what is essentially evil or abhorrent, we define it as evil and abhorrent only as long as the majority of what we consider ‘right-minded individuals’ find it evil and abhorrent.

See how easy it is to fall into the trap of circular reasoning?

Why am I making such a meal of this? Because it’s quite apparent to me that “I, like every right-minded individual” is a rhetorical statement.

It’s important for us to analyse what makes an ideology evil, and to stand against it as a matter of principal. We should not stand against an ideology simply because someone we dislike believes in it, or everyone agrees it’s wrong – otherwise we will not recognise true evil when it stares us in the face.

[The Christians Nightmare] Ray Comfort Is Bananas

Why as Christians (and I’m looking at you, youth leaders in particular) do we constantly feel the need to follow the latest cultural trends. Why is it every time a successful brand develops in the world, we can’t resist going ahead and make our own Christianised brand version of it? A “Christian” version which more often than not is an appalling insult to the intelligence of people outside the church. Do we really expect our children to be real leaders and have an impact on the world by protecting them from groups and ideas that are not intrinsically Christian?

[Rhetorical Right] Big Brothers Charter

The American rhetorical right has published a new Big Brothers charter, and encouraging fellow fascists and Neo-Nazis to sign up to snoop on fellow citizens and report any behaviour which is deemed to be liberal or constitutional.

The charge is being led by Michelle Maglalang (for it is she, beneficiary of being born under a work visa, being of Filipino immigrant descent). Here is a copy of the Big Brothers charter:

Dear Suspect/Fellow Citizen/Liberal,You do not know me. But I am on the lookout for you. You are my enemy. And I am yours.

I am Big Brother.

I am traveling on your plane. I am riding on your train. I am at your bus stop. I am on your street. I am in your subway car. I am on your lift.

I am your neighbor. I am your customer. I am your classmate. I am your boss.

I am Big Brother.

I will continue to exploit the example of the passengers of United Airlines Flight 93 who refused to sit back on 9/11 and let themselves be murdered in the name of Islam, to futher my politics of hate.

I will never forget to exploit the example of the passengers and crew members who tackled al Qaeda shoe-bomber Richard Reid on American Airlines Flight 63 before he had a chance to blow up the plane over the Atlantic Ocean, to further my politics of fear.

I will never forget to cite the alertness of actor James Woods, who notified a stewardess that several Arab men sitting in his first-class cabin on an August 2001 flight were behaving strangely. The men turned out to be 9/11 hijackers on a test run.

I will spy on you when homeland security officials ask me to ‘report suspicious activity’.

I will embrace my local police department’s admonition: Big Brother is watching you.

I am Big Brother.

I will accuse you of Jew-hating and America-bashing.

I will accuse you of hate-mongering.

I will raise my voice against religious minorities.

I will indoctrinate your children into the politics of hate and fear in our schools.

I will spread violent propaganda on the Internet.

I am Big Brother.

I will support law enforcement initiatives to spy on my neighbours, cut off their funding, and accuse them of murderous conspiracies.

I will attempt to undermine immigration laws and obstruct justice for immigrants.

I will impose my politics of hate and fear in my taxi cab, my restaurant, my community pool, the halls of Congress, our national monuments, the radio and television airwaves, and all public spaces.

I will not tolerate alternative points of view.

I will not be cowed by your Beltway lobbying groups in moderate clothing. I will not cringe when you shriek about ‘profiling’ or ‘Islamophobia’.

I will put my family’s safety above sensitivity. I will put my country above multiculturalism (under which Michelle Maglalang prospered, being of Fillipino descent).

I will not submit to your will. I will intimidate with my politics of fear and hate.

I am Big Brother.

[Godless Republicans] Change The Reality!

“Remember those history lessons at school where you learned about how Hitler manipulated the media (radio and magazines) to convert the country to Nazism? We are now witnessing history brought back to life”

I really wanted to blog on the topic of shamed Republican (R-FL) Mark Foley, but after the last few days I’ve ran out of energy. This was a combination of 6 hours working on the last post, being out clubbing Friday evening as part of my work leaving thing- then having to get up early on Saturday morning to go to the dentist about a large hole in my tooth (filling dropped out in the week). I felt like shipwreck this morning and my throat was sore (shouldn’t have smoked that second cigar). I didn’t really drink at all but after leaving the club at 2.30am, one of the guys persuaded us to go for curry. We left Birmingham at 3.30am and got to my friends by 4. Stayed there till 4.30 then drove home and got in at 5am.

So I’m glad to see that Josh has posted something on his blog, Silent Speaking:

“His [Newt Gingrich] statements just rub me the wrong way, and they are very telling of many politician’s refusal to humbly admit wrong without pointing the finger back at their enemies somehow; always blaming someone or something else … This is like the instictive argument of a child who tries to somehow cover his fault by saying ‘But he started it!’ or ‘but so-and-so did this’ implying ‘this’ was much worse than what he did as if that nullifies the fault somehow.

…the problem is Republicans certainly first found it advantagous to use Bill Clinton’s unscrupulous behavior to draw a distinction between themselves and the Democrats based upon ‘morals’ and ‘character”. And as Matthew 7 goes on to say in verse 2, For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Josh, Silent Speaking: But he started it!

The thing that has most impacted me about the affair is how the propaganda arm of the GOP, Fox News, showed video cuts on The O’Reilly Factor with a label running across the screen declaring him a member of the Democrats (D-FL). Remember those history lessons at school where you learned about how Hitler manipulated the media (radio and magazines) to convert the country to Nazism? We are now witnessing history brought back to life:

Source: The BRAD BLOG

This kind of thing should disturb anyone. The O’Reilly Factor is a pre-recorded show, this seems like a blatant attempt to subconsciously get it into the less discerning voters head, that it’s just another sexually immoral Democrat. I’m not going to go any further on this as plenty of other blogs have covered the issue in more detial, however I will leave you with Jon Stewart’s analysis of the blame game, and the shameful attempt to pass it onto (pass it off as) the Democrats:

Tags: Abandon All Fear T-Shirts Mark Foley Democrat Republican Change the Reality Scandal Jon Stewart Propaganda Blame Game Fox News O’Reilly

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[Reader Response] The Israel-Lebanon Crisis

Teaching children to burn flags, paint bombs, or kill indiscriminately without ethical and moral objectives is a spiritual abuse. It removes the meaning and purpose behind the conflict and replaces it with hate and suffering.

Last week I posted briefly on the Israeli-Lebanon crisis and my views. You can read it here.

I received a couple of comments from Kath, who is one of the friends I’ve never met, author of In Training. Kath is an American engaged to a British Royal Marine, so she knows what its like to be in a relationship in 2 different countries, as I am. We don’t share many of the same views on war or politics, but I read her blog and find it interesting what she has to say, occasionally finding some common ground! It’s always good to hear a viewpoint different from what you believe so I never take offence, and I’m pretty certain Kath doesn’t either. The comment that Kath made is as a follows:

“I wonder if you’d heard the actual background of those photographs with children. Might want to check out this site to get the story: http://www.sandmonkey.org/2006/07/18/the-fucked-up-pictures-explained

Also, I find it interesting that you are going after Israel for what you call “brainwashing” of children, (without knowing the story) but say nothing of Hezbollah or the Palestinians using them — which is well documented.” – Kath

[Hate Cleric] Coulter Attacks Jesus Over Liberal Agenda!

Americas new Witchfinder General, Ann Coulter, has lambasted Jesus Christ in her latest book “Haters Get More Publicity”. In the book she compares Jesus to the Godless liberals in America who love sinners and prostitutes, stand against the death penalty, war and earthly empire.

“This self-appointed Messiah is a liar and a blasphemer” says Coulter of the Lord. On his stand against the death penalty for the woman caught in adultery, she calls him an “enemy of family values”.

She goes on to question Jesus’s reputation, linking him to sinners and prostitutes. “All his respectable colleagues have deserted him.” she claims. “He is also know for being soft on crime.”

Coulter has even attacked his war record. “When Jesus came to this earth, he promised a new Kingdom, he was pro-war and pro-empire, now we are expected to believe when he says ‘My Kingdom is not of this world‘?”

Finally, she accuses Jesus of treason, and being un-American when it comes to his views on how to treat our enemies. She cites Jesus as saying,

“But if you are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Pray for the happiness of those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.” Luke 6:27-28

She ends with “The evidence speaks for itself, Jesus is not a patriot”.

We asked Jesus what he had to say in his defense:

“Count yourself blessed every time someone cuts you down or throws you out, every time someone smears or blackens your name to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and that that person is uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens skip like a lamb, if you like! For even though they don’t like it, I do . . . and all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company; my preachers and witnesses have always been treated like this.” Luke 6:22-23

Tags: Dark Side of the Light Christian Satire Ann Coulter Religious Right Liberal Jesus GodGodless Liberals Church of Liberalism politics War Against Terror Forgiveness Enemies Family Values Sinners Blasphemer Prostitutes Crime Witchfinder General

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