Oligarchy of Greed
The English Parliament, established in 1322, was a natural development from the "King's Council" of noblemen and prelates, a custom of monarchs in time of war. The goal was to raise funds and armies from the affluent few.
Sound familiar? I read "noblemen and prelates" as "US Government and Wall St". And wars are fought for economic reasons ... those southern valleys grow better food, that little peasant country is a prime seaport, that Middle Eastern nation has lots of oil. In short, greed.
In my book, greed is the worst of human sins. Where Jesus and the Dalai Lama teach compassion, the Devil fosters greed in all its manifestations. Men sell their souls in exchange for something they want. There's no measurable material gain in compassion.
Except that St. Bernie of Vermont thinks compassion would yield gains for all concerned, if all concerned were concerned for all.
Our Stone Age ancestors needed greed to survive and maybe in some ways we still need it, perhaps more than ever in this complex modern world. But this complex modern world will only work with at least an equal measure of compassion.
...
"Only when the war had dragged on through a generation, and had burdened even the rich with taxes, did the national conscience raise a cry for peace."
This quote from Durant's The Reformation refers to Edward III's attempt to conquer France. Doesn't it apply as well to the US's attempt to conquer the Middle East? Would the Devil's Trumpet lead us that far, to taxing the rich for war instead of offering opportunities for yet more filthy lucre? When The Bomb has decimated the unprotected, where else would the monarch get his funds and the rich their lucre?
Disclaimer: I'm out of practice writing and thinking. This is just an exploratory note for myself, something I ought to put in my private journal. I'm trying to get rid of paper, though, and since no one follows this blog, I'm probably safe.
Sound familiar? I read "noblemen and prelates" as "US Government and Wall St". And wars are fought for economic reasons ... those southern valleys grow better food, that little peasant country is a prime seaport, that Middle Eastern nation has lots of oil. In short, greed.
In my book, greed is the worst of human sins. Where Jesus and the Dalai Lama teach compassion, the Devil fosters greed in all its manifestations. Men sell their souls in exchange for something they want. There's no measurable material gain in compassion.
Except that St. Bernie of Vermont thinks compassion would yield gains for all concerned, if all concerned were concerned for all.
Our Stone Age ancestors needed greed to survive and maybe in some ways we still need it, perhaps more than ever in this complex modern world. But this complex modern world will only work with at least an equal measure of compassion.
...
"Only when the war had dragged on through a generation, and had burdened even the rich with taxes, did the national conscience raise a cry for peace."
This quote from Durant's The Reformation refers to Edward III's attempt to conquer France. Doesn't it apply as well to the US's attempt to conquer the Middle East? Would the Devil's Trumpet lead us that far, to taxing the rich for war instead of offering opportunities for yet more filthy lucre? When The Bomb has decimated the unprotected, where else would the monarch get his funds and the rich their lucre?
Disclaimer: I'm out of practice writing and thinking. This is just an exploratory note for myself, something I ought to put in my private journal. I'm trying to get rid of paper, though, and since no one follows this blog, I'm probably safe.
posted by wonderbunny at
12:00 PM
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