Poirot,
thanks for your exegesis, which is spot on!
Arnold provided the template for F R Leavis and Raymond Williams radicalised it--I'm still not sure altogether for the better. It does seem to me civilization should be predicated on some higher purpose--even in an indifferent universe.
I would ask the cohort here, what is the great raison d'être of the modern West?
Anticipating a barren (rather than pregnant) silence, shouldn't we have one?
Is the human race based on nothing more than the gratification of the moment, of the present generation?
If so then perhaps I am a dark green.
I can see why people turn to God.

Hey Squeers, "…and I’m surprised if you’re persuaded by this transparently neoliberal trash" I'd only be surprised if you could draw a conclusion about my opinions from my comments so far… I only drew your attention to the article – its publication by the CNA was an amusing coincidence given your recent interest in popery and earlier support of anti-humanism.

I'm too much of an idealist to want to succumb to reality and too much of a realist to rely on idealism – which gets really confusing when I'm coping with being an idealistic realist. My spirit guide, though, reassures me that I'm not a metaphysicist.

History demonstrates clearly that the more people comprising a 'civilisation' the more chaotically complex the interactions. You don't need Hari Seldon's psychohistory to know that, but you do need the fiction of it to imagine 'we' can effectively influence our society's current circumstances.

Put simply, I prefer wishful thinking treatises to include a how-to manual – or it least an appendix.

When you say, "It does seem to me civilization should be predicated on some higher purpose--even in an indifferent universe" you identify the problem because unless everyone agrees on the same predication you'll end up with "nothing more than the gratification of the moment".

I look forward to when humanity fully adopts the credo from the gospel of 'Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure' to "Be excellent to each other, and party on dudes!"

My confidence is buoyed by the fact the West seems to have adopted the second half of it already.

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Dear David G.

.

You indicate in your previous post:

"The Americans are the world's greatest barbarians closely followed by the British and the French. Collectively, they lead the West towards ever greater killing and destruction".

The total number of deaths in the two World Wars is estimated at approximately 102 million.

Of course it was Germany who played the lead role on those particular occasions.

Perhaps you have other statistics and projections you may wish to share with us relating to "killing and destruction" by whatever means.

Many thanks in advance.

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Banjo,

Don't let the screwballs get to you. They have made it abundantly clear that they want desperately to believe in Nirvana, and that facts just get in the way.

They want to believe that America and the UK are the most barbaric countries, and will happily ignore the tens of millions that died at the hands of communist tyrants to enforce "equality" and keep their citizens pure from capitalism. But then, those that cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

The best thing to do is not to challenge their fragile dreams but leave them alone to play in their imaginary sandbox.

sm. who are "they"? i've only equated barbarism with wealthy capitalists. get back to when possible.

Banjo, I am pleased to present to you the following:

" Historian William Blum last year wrote that, since 1945, the US has attempted:
- to overthrow more than 50 governments, most of them democratically elected.
- to suppress a populist or national movement in 20 countries.
- it has grossly interfered in democratic elections in at least 30 countries.
- it has dropped bombs on the people of more than 30 countries.
- and it has attempted to assassinate more than 50 foreign leaders."

Banjo, let me also present this information to you:

“I heard too many lies spewed out by Ronald Reagan and the State Department to justify these killings. And by the time I was in Gaza, looking at the twisted limbs of dead women and children and listening to Israeli and U.S. officials describe an Israeli airstrike as a “surgical” hit on Islamic militants, it was over. I knew the dark heart of America.

I knew who we were, what we did, what we actually stood for and the terrifying and willful innocence that permits most Americans to think of themselves as good and virtuous when they are, in reality, members of an efficient race of killers and ruthless profiteers.”

Chris Hedges. American Journalist and Pulitzer Prize Winner.

I hope you find these extracts helpful and if you visit Information Clearing House.org you will find plenty of information that spells out the true nature of 'America' as opposed to its propaganda-based image.

Cheers!