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oops, messed up , sorry, need
forgiveness
Tommy
Yes, I saw the apology! A wise political move of
Robertson's part! It is telling that Robertson's comment was not condemned
by the administration, since it is a political comment, but then, they
might lose their fundamentalist voting base (Rove is practical). Perhaps
the apology had political encouragement and prompting. I didn't (forgot to) overtly refer to Pat Robertson below,
but clearly his actions were meant to be interpreted through Becker -
any fundamentalist (Christian or Muslim (or other) - they actually have
more in common with each other than they do with moderates of their
own faiths) is devoting himself to a non-transcendent "causa-sui," though
clearly mistaking it for a transcendent one.
Eric Rudolph was just convicted yesterday in
Atlanta (the Olympic bomber, also abortion clinics and gay nightclub
bombings) of life X several lives in prison - he showed no remorse, despite the
loss of innocent lives due to his actions. He felt he had a "cause" - and
that history, if not the truth, will eventually exonerate him. Percy's
Lancelot operated under the same assumption - of all Percy's heroes, Lancelot
was the one who was the most "off."
There is a T-shirt for American travelers:
KP
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, August 24, 2005 6:39
PM
Subject: Re: [percy-l] U.S. : Terrorist
SuperPower?
Dear Karey,
Thank you very much for your most detailed
and lucid analysis.
Needless to say, I fully agree with you.
(By the
way, my grandfather on my mother's side lived most of his life
in the U.S.,
was an American citizen and is buried in Irvington, N.J.,
and I grew up in
Spain believing, perhaps somewhat naïvely, that the
U.S.A. was what he said
it was, 'the greatest country in the world').
Also by the way this is
"Reverend" Pat Robertson's last -but probably
not final- word on Mr.
Chávez's assassination proposal and AP's
"misquote":
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/08/24/robertson.chavez/index.html
With
all best wishes,
Julio
On 8/24/05, Karey <karey AT kareyperkins.com>
wrote:
>
> As you all know, Percy, in his younger days,
visited Germany - in the early
> 1930's I believe? Correct me on
this if I'm wrong - (a simple check in
> Tolson or Samway would tell me,
but I'm much too comfortably ensconced at my
> desk to get up right
now!) At any rate, as you also all know, while he was
> there,
Percy met and was much enamored of the "Hitler Youth" for their
>
loyalty, devotion, sense of purpose, sense of meaning and direction in
life.
> And Percy was an intelligent, clear-thinking man - he must
have had a real
> reason to feel that way - real concrete evidence that
these youth had
> something that stood out. Then WWII happened,
and one can only imagine what
> he felt inside about his earlier
misguided admiration for the Hitler Youth.
>
> The
Iraq war has been declared by the Pope to be an unjust war according
to
> Catholic Just War doctrine. (A guideline used not just by the
church, but
> by the government and the military as well, by the
way). Jimmy Carter
> declared it an unjust war - right up into the
night before we attacked, when
> he reneged in a front page article in
the Atlanta Journal and Constitution,
> I can only imagine due to
political pressure. What makes it unjust? On
> almost every
point of the doctrine, including what Julio Rivas-Pita states
>
below: The United States was an aggressor - and, worse, it was
an
> aggression built on lies. Today, it is not only extreme
leftists such as
> Michael Moore who will question whether WMD were in
Iraq. Evidence
> continues to be uncovered- that the Karl
Rove political genius-machine was
> extremely effectively at
manipulating public perception and spinning the
> message to hide the
real situation... that in itself is a dissertation too
> lengthy
to document here, but articles such as "Follow the Uranium" in the
>
July 17, 2005, New York Times only begin to scratch the surface of it.
In
> fact, most people acknowledge that a false link was made between
9/11 and
> Iraq - the only question up for debate was how knowingly
false (on the
> administration's side) was it? In fact, the Iraq
war has sidetracked us
> from the real 9/11 cause (the hunt for bin
Laden in Afghanistan) and
> increased terrorist activity, as well as
further incited hard feelings
> towards American - even our allies are
starting to hate us! Since when did
> France become a country to
despise? Hence, I find Julio Rivas-Pita's e-mail
> not at all
unusual, rather, it is very much the norm overseas, and rather
> than
asking him to take a drink of Early Times, I think a far better course
>
of action is for Americans to put down their own bottles of Early Times
and
> take a close look at themselves and the actions of their
government and
> think very carefully before they cast their vote in the
next election.
>
> Then we have the Abu Ghraib
prison scandal - a gross and unapologetic
> abandonment of the Geneva
Convention - and while scapegoats are being used
> (the MP reservists
involved) to take the blame, in fact, it was not an
> isolated incident,
it was sanctioned from above (how far above?), and these
> enlisted
reservists were merely part-timers whose real career was something
> far
different - they learned such torture techniques because they were
>
trained (by the CIA and the military) in such techniques, and the higher
ups
> have said what to this and to similar practices in Guatanamo Bay
(and who
> knows where else)? That the Geneva Convention is
"antiquated." This by the
> way is just what we know - we were
never shown the "worst" abuses; those
> pictures were withheld from us,
and do you think that just because playful
> digital cameras have not
caught other events, they do not exist?
>
> By
contrast, I am incredibly impressed with Anthony Principi, Chairman of
>
the Military Base Realignment and Closing Commission (www.brac.gov). He was
> on C-SPAN
last night. The integrity shone - with Principi vowing (and
>
delivering) "honesty and transparency" in all the commission's
deliberations
> and decisions. By the way, Rumsfeld's recommended
base closings more than
> doubled the recommended closings in 4 previous
rounds of base closings -
> combined. Why? Financial reasons. The
Iraq War has not strengthened the
> United States from future attacks,
it has weakened us - and our economic and
> military strength -
considerably.
>
> The American people accept this
because of they are being "spun" - the
> logical fallacy "appeal to
fear" - which by the way, is a characteristics of
> fascist states - the
building up of nationalism and military fervor through
> inciting fear
in the people. In fact, terrorism has gotten worse since and
>
because of the Iraqui war. You get what you give. But, as part of
the
> package and by necessity to accomplish the objective, a sense of
loyalty and
> group camaraderie (patriotism) is incited - but not one
that is examined
> carefully, logically or critically. We are
swept along with the emotions of
> the moment, like a winning crowd at a
college football game or the Hitler
> Youth. (Ahh, Percy's "totemism" no
less.) We don't even WANT to think
> critically about it, for it
satisfies a deep need inside of us - but
> insidiously so.
>
> The answer to Percy's Hitler Youth question can
be found in Ernest Becker's
> Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Denial of
Death. What compels us most,
> what determines our actions and
motivations and neuroses and desires most,
> is our sublimated terror of
death - our individual deaths - which we all
> know is coming, yet
rarely think about consciously (or most of us rarely
> think
about). So one answer is to find a "causa-sui" - a cause larger
than
> ourselves for which to live. To quote Becker: "it is
a world-view, some
> kind of affirmative collective ideology in which
the person can perform the
> living drama of his acceptance as a
creature. Only in this way can the
> neurotic come out of his
isolation to become part of such a larger and
> higher wholeness as
religion has always represented" (Becker, 198-1999).
> Out of this,
comes meaning, purpose, comfort, identity, self-actualization.
> The
problem is this - if the purpose for which we live is not transcendent
>
(and not even religion is transcendent; religion, as in religious
>
denominations - Protestant, Catholic, Muslim, etc.,- is not, only God
is),
> then we must logically be on the other side of something else -
we have
> enemies. (The defeat of our enemies gives us meaning and
purpose.)
>
> But, more
importantly, if we devote ourselves, find our meaning in life, to
> a
non-transcendent cause, our cause is false. Just like the Hitler Youth.
> Has anyone noticed the great purpose and conviction with which Bush
and his
> cronies proceed forward? Little reflection, lots of
purpose. That has been
> spun as positive - in fact, it's quite
insidious. Kerry's globalism (a
> foreign wife no less) and
thoughtful reflections were spun as a detriment,
> when it was just what
America needed.
>
> Today, even our friends
(allies) are becoming enemies - (even our own
> citizens are "enemies"
to the administration - we are closely monitored and
> have lost many of
our rights to privacy). Nationalism, most obviously, is
> never
transcendent. The patriotism in America today - at the expense
of
> others' (yes, even prisoners') rights and humanity - smacks of
that. Julio
> Rivas-Pita is on the money, in my opinion. We
Americans can't see it.
>
> But whether
anything I've said here is true or not, we would do well to act
> with
humility, to not pompously scoff - to pay careful attention to what
>
others - Europeans, Middle-Easterners, South Americans, Asians - feel
and
> think about our country. In a global economy, to act as
though we are
> cowboys from Texas - claiming what we want through might
and force - is to
> act as though we are brutes and boors. It is
also to eventually fail
> because the might and force we think we have
is, quite simply, not there.
> Our days of global supremacy are coming
to an end - the Euro is now higher
> than the dollar, Japan is more
economically successful than the U.S.,
> China's economic growth and
promise has been compared to America's in the
> 19th
century. The Bush administration has done nothing to consider any
of
> that - it is not a forward thinking administration, it is a
backward one.
>
> Gas prices are $3 a gallon in
Atlanta - I've heard they're $5 in California
> (any Californians care
to comment?) Has no one made the connection?
>
> Karey
>
>
> ----- Original
Message -----
> From: J Rivas-Pita
> To: Percy-L: Literary and
Philosophical Discussion
>
> Sent: Wednesday, August 24,
2005 6:36 AM
> Subject: [percy-l] U.S. : Terrorist SuperPower?
>
> Dear friends,
>
> In a quite Percy-vein, let me ask
those of you (the majority, I
> suppose) who live in the U.S.: Do you
realize that you may be living
> in a terrorist superpower, by
now?
>
> Not only in the sense that Mr. Bush, à la Hitler,
invades countries
> using fake arguments, but also in that people like
this
> "televangelist" Pat Robertson -who clearly belongs into some
nuts
> asylum- can get away with TV appeals to assassinate
Venezuela's
> President without even blushing, saying that Venezuelans
supossedly
> are within U.S.'s "sphere of influence"?
>
>
And all Mr. Rumsfeld and the State Department can say is that
>
Robertson is "a private citizen" entitled to his views... Owning a
>
large fundamentalist "Christian" TV network that reaches a vast
>
audience, by the way (which both Rumsfeld and the State Department
>
conveniently forgot).
>
> What would you say, for instance, if
someone here in Caracas ventured
> a similar proposal to "take out" Mr.
Bush -assuredly a far greater
> risk for all of us than President
Chávez, if only because he has
> control over thousands of nuclear
warheads?
>
> With all best wishes,
>
>
Julio
>
> PS. Not a Chávez fan, by the way...
>
> --
> Be Happy! (Fr. Benito Ballesteros, OSB, 1924-1996)
> Sé feliz!
(P. Benito Ballesteros, OSB, 1924-1996)
> --
> An archive of all
list discussion is available at
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/percy-l/
>
> Visit the Walker Percy Project at http://www.ibiblio.org/wpercy
>
> --
> An archive of all list discussion is available at
>
http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/percy-l/
>
> Visit the Walker Percy Project at http://www.ibiblio.org/wpercy
>
>
>
--
Be Happy! (Fr. Benito Ballesteros, OSB,
1924-1996)
Sé feliz! (P. Benito Ballesteros, OSB, 1924-1996)
--
An
archive of all list discussion is available at http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/percy-l/
Visit
the Walker Percy Project at http://www.ibiblio.org/wpercy
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