Doomsville? I think not ... it's human insanity

A new reader daintily calling himself dreamer idiot had a succinct comment on the unrest raging for the past few weeks in several suburban centres of France, and following my reply, had an updated opinion, and we shall continue the thread today with several events in other parts of the world.

Before that, I reprise here a fellow blogger's (yancorner.blogspot.com) contextual look on the madness -- desi terms it the infamous insanity of Homo sapiens -- going on:


"***Yan said...

Hi, Desi,

Charles Swindoll also says, "We occupy common space, but we no longer have common interests".

I was in the conference (Singapore) with some 6000 participants last week. I don't know anybody there, not a single one. The elevator was crowded with people. We occupy common space, right? We go to the same destination, right? But, no one talked, no one smiled, no one made eye contact. I looked around, there was no sign that read - No talking or smiling or eye contact allowed in the lift.

We are losing touch with one another. The desire to help and to encourage is waning. What more to say to serve our fellow men?

Yet, these are things that form essentials of a fulfilled life, and a life full of joy.***"



"***dreamer idiot said...
Thx for yr reply. There r reasons why I call myself dreamer idiot - a dreamer and idiot all rolled into one.

Anyway, with regard to the alienation in modern life, it was already felt years ago by writers like Charles dickens during the Age of Industrialisation.

Besides, I personally feel that a lot of signs point to an impending doom for humanity, no matter what we try.

As you r a Christian (which I read you mentioning somewhere; and of which I am not), you would have many reasons to believe that the despair and desperation shown (whether overtly or in disgused form as blind materialism or hedonism) are silent cries from a gaping emptiness within the 'souls' of men.****"

Before I continue the discourse, I pull some NEWS HEADLINES from the papers this morning right in front of my nasi lemak BF -- thank Almighty we still can afford RM5 for a decent meal in peAce with my tehtarik1 or 2!:

IFrom THE STAR page 4:

PM slams blasts in Jordan
We condemn in the strongest terms these cowardly and sinful acts'

- The attacks in Amman appear to bear the hallmark of terrorism, Pak Lah said of the bombings which reportedly killed at least 56 people and wounded 150 others.
- The dead included 15 Jordanians, five Iraqis, three Chinese, a Saudi, a Palestinian and an Indonesian
- Al Queda group claims it carried out the attacks.

Closer to home, again from The Star, frontpage:

TERROR
> JI master Dr Azahari Husin is confirmed dead
> His accoomplice Noordin Mohd Top escapes a separate
police ambush and is now the most wanted man in
the region

rom The Star, page 3:
Bomb maker left family for a 'greater cause'
- The report datelined PETALING JAYA, said Dr Azahari left his job, family, and country to pursue a "greater cause" - terrorism.


Desiderata sees the threads of "common space, diverging interests" and "disenfranchisement" and "religious war" in the seemingly "disparate" events going on -- and will go on for years to come -- because certain players, mainly the US, Al-Queada and their respective allies, will be tied to the vicious cycles. The origins date further that what many believe to be the defining 911 attaccks on the American edifices of political and financial power just four years back in 2001. No, the "grounds of contention" could be traced if not further in history, at least to the 1945 ending of the Second World War when through the allied powers via the United Nations Organisation, the Palestinian state was born ... and it had seen an endless battle ground bewtween Muslim nations in one league against the US-led league comprising mostly western nations and a coterie of US-friendly Arab allies. Yet others may want to travle further back in time and account for the roots of the Palestinian-Israel problem to times immemorial ...

I just wish to say one general view to this issue of Islam-Christain divide:
Religious causes are not served by the HERD. It is not a war to be pursued as a group versus group, country versus country basis. It's a battle of an INDIVIDUAL against SELF and his ENVIRONMENT (space) and its competing INHABITANTS. At the end of the day, EVERY INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTS FOR HIS OWN SALVATION -- HE CAN'T DO IT FOR HIS BROTHERS, HE CAN'T DO IT FOR HIS COUNTRYMEN.

Hence, Desi often listens with amusement many adherents of religious faith going around boasting about numbers by the thousands, yeah, hundreds of thousand, conversions at their rallies. My silent question which I often withhold my tongue from speaking -- Does that few thousand conversions ensure YOUR OWN SALVATION? I hope you got the drift. Or have you caught the draft? Cheeky desi (hence I like dreamer idiot moniker, not such idiotic dreamscape eh?:)with his infamous digressions, which a Blogger must once a while,ike his capitalist CON BF, bucketfool of tehtarik, wat? wits-taker chocks? for we can't be forever on SeriousLanding, can we?

To Dr Azahari's parting words to his fmily:"I have a greatr cause in life. It is to serve God." To Desiderata, it is so sad that a man died for his belief -- a belief which through the passage of time would ineviatbly demonstrate the SMALLNESS of man. It is also a lesson I've learnt in my short life on earth -- the FUTILITY of small man trying to achieve martyrdom, because unless it is pre-destined, why would a Malaysian not serve his motherland ahead of his brothren in foreign land?


Which leads me to reader dreamer idiot's DOOMSVILLE comment. The human race since Creation (Darwinian theory of evolution versus biblical Creation in Seven Days versus other versions about how the planet Earth and its inhabitants came about ...let's leave these theses to the scientists and other more-abled debaters alone), my view is that we are paying a price, again and again, for our "human folly". ut history shows us that wisdom always would follow, belatedly maybe, that will check this "madness" and a cease, or ceasefire would come, whether Homo sapiens wants it or wills it, it does not really factor in, because there are more unpredictable and unpredetermined factors at play...


Humans often test the forces of Nature -- to the God-fearing disciples, it's testing the wrath of God -- to their ultimate limits, and then paying the ultiate price.
Total damnation -- as predicted in Doomsville, dreamer i. -- Desi would say it's man's insanity at work which leads to self-destruction. It continues to be the tragedy played out again and again beyond fellowmen's understanding and determination.

I would say there are some parties like our present Prime Minster who can see through the chaos and madness, and I'm relieved by his oft-straight talking worldviews. No extreme religious posturings, a sin often perpetrated by many of the peoples of the world -- and they include of the major religious faiths, which I would not demean my EsteemedReaders to mention them here -- and that marks the statesman of the current millennium.

The sad fact is that there are so few of such leaders, back home in Malaysia,which is of my immediate concern, or abroad, hence my constant laments for OUR COUNTRY.

I won't add, but just repeat some key points from my comment responses to dreamer i. and Yan from yesterday::


desiderata said...
dreamer not idiotic:


You zero in quickly, and aptly in my opinion, that this issue centres aroung "disenfranchsied and discriminated" segments of society -- which exist in almost all countries, esp those which have liberal immigration policies. Desi agrees that the "muslim" factor is incidental to the issue at hand, and it's precisely this point that patently racist bigots (first comment I was forced to remove...) would exploit to fire up already incendiary situations. Thanks to "dreamer" for some discerning thhoughts.
My question about "seeing the mirror" here is to caution some of our nincompoop politicians they stand guilty of using racist/religious hatred to promote their selfish agenda. To such creatures, Plesse cease and desist!Let thinking citizens stay vigilant and let not these "leaders" in wolves' clothings get away with disfigurement, or even, blue murder. *"

"**hi yan:

A telling story from your Singapore conference, but increasingly being told as modern society becomes competitive, and stressful.

This is also discerning in OUR COUNTRY -- and the two factors as discerned by idiotic dreamer -- disenfranchisement and discrimination -- we don't care what the cuases are, have come to roost here. imho, the increasing incidence of ROAD RAGE is just a reflection of the seedbeds of rage, anger and disenchantment felt by "marginalised" groups. If this is not arrested - I think our PM is inetlligently aware of the situation -- Malaysia may not be able to escape similar outbreaks of violence as currently besieging France.

It's all so true -- we share common space, which is becoming increasingly crowded, esp in cities, but our interests diverge on several fronts, some natural, some articially created.
I don't have "easy solutions" proposals -- but the Govt socalled "leaders" better wake up to their wayward ways!

Is Desi sounding a li'l alarmist? Esteemed Readers, you better tell me!**"

A partial answer to BTW observation by dreamer i. whether Desi's a Christian ... Desi had shared that he's been brought up in a Christian environment and tradition -- but I also had workd in journalism for three decades, and would deem myself much inpacted by other religious worldviews on universal issues and values. You know what -- I sum up in an oft refrain here I borrowed from Mother Teresa: " If you profess to be a Muslim, a Christian, a Hindu or a Buddgist -- just be a GOOD Muslim, Christian, Hindu or Buddhist, respectively." Isn't that a goOd dictum to preach for the bortherhood of mankind?

So my Estemed Readers, can I offer thee tehtarik for your 3sen's views. World or worldly or otherWISE?