Heh, the only thing missing is the Black panthers, Acorn and a Fox Logo.

Change can be scary, and I'm sure it feels like a mortal threat to many establishment figures, regardless of religion or national origin. This thing is playing out on a global scale from North America, to Europe to Asia in the form of a resurgence of the far-right.

Entrenched interests are not going to just graciously step aside and say, "Oh, okay, it's your turn now. Is there anything we can do to assist in making the transition smoother?"

Our biological evolution hasn't caught up with our technological evolution, and I think this is one of our main problems. Our modern technological successes have rapidly created advanced methods of travel, communication, warfare, etc. but we're still hard-wired for the the challenges & dangers of, say, 50,00 years ago.

It's sort of like showing up at a Formula One race in a horse & buggy. I think we have the mental capacity to overcome this as a species, but it will take a sustained and conscious effort of group will. Whether or not we are able to learn to cooperate instead of being selfish may very well determine our future long-term viability as a species.

Technology has made social Darwinism a very dangerous ideology, IMO.

re: #2 CuriousLurker

Brilliant!

The brilliant one is Robert Ornstien. The stuff about evolution comes from reading his books. The ideas I was regurgitating above are from New World New Mind: Moving Toward Conscious Evolution, and/or possibly from Evolution of Consciousness: The Origins of the Way We Think (I can't really remember which).

Another fascinating read is Multimind: A New Way of Looking at Human Behavior. I think it was in that one where he points out that even those of us who fancy ourselves to be highly rational are actually still quite superstitious & primitive in our perceptions.

All of the books are pretty sobering and a offer a bitter pill to swallow, especially for those who are loath to admit that they're not among the most rational & enlightened members of society. Our "civilized" veneer is pretty thin and has holes in a surprising number of places. ;o)

re: #4 CuriousLurker

Wow, thanks for the reading recommendations. I'm very happy to have arrived at LGF.

As for our native irrationality, this is all, all too true. The key to fighting our inheritable insanity is to develop a sense of self-awareness and realize how ridiculous we really are.

Considering his repudiation and outright contempt for anything approaching being called "social", it is very interesting that the voices being heard from an avowed enemy of America echo Glenn Beck and his views on anything. Who put them up to this? Why do they say this? What is the purpose? Where is Glenns' outrage? His denunciation? His brain? Twit.

re: #5 OrionXP

I'm happy you've arrived here too.

I'm a firm believer that self-awareness brings humility, and it's only when we've become humble that real learning can commence. But, hey, that's just me and I'm still pretty much clueless. Heh.

re: #6 nines09

Considering his repudiation and outright contempt for anything approaching being called "social", it is very interesting that the voices being heard from an avowed enemy of America echo Glenn Beck and his views on anything. Who put them up to this? Why do they say this? What is the purpose? Where is Glenns' outrage? His denunciation? His brain? Twit.

Locker posted an article by a writer who pointed out that Beck's opposition to Soros includes accusing him of fomenting anti-government rhetoric. This is how schizophrenic and insane the Right has become.

re: #8 OrionXP

Exactly. When Glenn Beck can call out the Bible Glenn Becks Dark Mind for his twisted logic how can he stand himself speaking as the Iranian clerics do? Glenn is ill alright. Very,very, ill. I would call it sociopathic.

Let's not come down too hard on irrationality. Many important, indeed necessary, human traits are irrational.

Memory, imagination and intuition are not rational. But we need them.

My favorite non-fiction author argues that our raising of Reason, that is rationality, to a supreme spot to the exclusion of other traits is a major cause of the problems we now grapple with. He posits that a balance of the various human traits would be a better choice for us.

It's the same in Russia. National-patriotic types (from Commies to right-wing nationalists) see Soros as a Jewish (or, at best, simply American) meddler. Sure enough, his foundation promoted liberal democracy in Russia and these people hate it or any hint of "Western", "American influence".

Here's just one example from an interview at the site of the Communist party:

[Link: kprf.ru...]

"If Soros is giving money, if the West disburses grants, then there is a hidden ideology behind them. Society is not told about a high art exhibition, but all the TV channels will show how to icons are hacked, or naked people running around, or something else like that ... They say this a new form of creative expression. But in reality, this is the destruction of our human souls. For money our souls are taken, and, first of all, our Sovietness [sic] is destroyed. The money pays for the ideology of destruction."