SPECIES ETHIC

[stilltrucking]

SPECIES ETHIC
Our animal nature, our biological nature is to live in relation to other people. The natural enviornment of humans is primaily culture, not the "natural world," narrowly defined as other species, climate, etc. The sudden and startling growth of The human brain around one million years ago was not in response to saber-tooth tigers, retreating glaciers, nor the intellectual challenge of getting nutmeat out of is shell, but in response to the emergence of culture itself. The brain mechanisms of self-defense, of predation, of territoriality, of sexual and family group affiliation, and of defending offspring have not been supplanted by culture, but raher speak through it in ways that we poorly understand. Culture is not illusory, movie-theater projection of bodily "drives' or "instincts." nor is the body a metaphor; wholly constructed by culture. Culture is as biologically real for humans as the body. Unless in a coma, we are always both culture bearers and bodies at ever moment.

Achilles In Vietnam

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"Support on the home front for the soldier, regardless of ethical and politcal disagreements over the war itself, is essential. This is never easy in the emotionally polarized climate of a war. However, when facing individual soldiers, we must remember that all modern soldiers serve under constraint. "The justice of overall war aims and operational theories—"strategic" bombing of civilians to weaken the industrial capacity to wage war is an example of such a theory—is not within the individual soldier's scope of moral choice, unless he or she is willing to face imprisonment or death by refusing to fight. I cannot hold soldiers to an ethical standardthat requires martyrdom in order simply to be blameless. I am not arguing against the Nurenberg principles which say that no person is absolved of reponsibility for horrible acts by the fact he or she was legally ordered to do them. I am speaking from the pain that I feel when I witness in our veterans the ruin of moral life by the overwhelming coercive social power of military institutionsand of war itself. If wr goals, operational methods and military culture were so unjust that the Nuremerg principles loomed over every Vietnam combat soldier we must recognize that the blood is on our hands too.. If we had exercised Sun azu's virtures of "intelligence, trustworthiness, humaneness, courage, and sterness" towrd our representitives in Washing, from the presidents down, our soldiers in vietnam would not have been in that position. War itself always creates situationsin which physical surival contradicts moral survival."

ibid

A lot of comparisons between Vietnam and Afghanistan. But for me there is one big difference. We are not fighting this war with draftees. There is a choice for a volunteer. Just don't sign up.

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ibid

[SadLuckDame]

Read this yesterday and it brought on a new thought process. Still working out the kinks, but wanted to mention it hit me right.

[still.trucking]

Let's turn the page

Because Oedipus wrecks
but mourning becomes Electra.

[SadLuckDame]

I'd meant to come back to this. I need to go re-read it. Looked up
Oedipus wrecks and well found that it made sense to me. I'm looking around. Thanks Jack.

[stilltrucking]

What ever Oedipus Wrecks means
It is not what I meant
I mean I thought I might have had an original thought but after Googling Oedipus Wrecks I see once again that i have "flair for the obvious". I just playing on the word sounds.

Oedipus At Colonus
The Gospel at Colonus
The Greek tragedy set to negro gospel music.

and I am haunted by suicides
future past and present
thinking about the truth and what cold comfort it can be
worse than cold
cruel comfort.

[mnaz]

A lot of comparisons between Vietnam and Afghanistan. But for me there is one big difference. We are not fighting this war with draftees. There is a choice for a volunteer. Just don't sign up.

This is true. Except if no one signed up they'd probably reinstate the draft. Seems they get their pound of flesh one way or the other. The other problem I have with the volunteer military is the mercenary effect. Kids join to get an education and employment. Tends to perpetuate the poor/powerless doing the murderous dirty work of the super-rich/powerful, and it only gets worse as the economy worsens. "Just another poor man fighting in a rich man's war"-- Neil Young (if I remember correctly).

[stilltrucking]

Human Smoke

[mnaz]

I remember when that book came out. He took shit for it, as I recall. My take on WW2 is it seemed to mark the end of a centuries-long era of nation-states periodically aggressively marching against nation-states for various imperial, dynastic interests. The Bomb (ironically) began to curb this sort of behavior, even as the Cold War brush fires raged on. Even if you decide not to reject WW2 as unjustified, realize its lessons and implications for the species as a whole. And don't distort its history, pimp it to start new elective wars for profit (we better go take out "Hitler" now before he comes over here and gets us).

[mtmynd]

... go take out "communism" now before 'it' comes over here and gets us.

What's the old line... KISS - Keep It Simple, Stupid... the simply stupid will support anything simple enough make stupidity reign superior. This simple support has been a 'sounding success simply because it's so simple to get sucked into.

[stilltrucking]

Easy to get sucked into.
Very easy for me
I was born to follow