Thursday, 18 August 2016

A THOUGHT FOR NOW - THE 'MARTYRING' OF THE ANJEM CHOUDARYS OF THE WEST?





Humans are probably more likely to get into conflict when the become preoccupied with religions and the gods. Keep it on our human level and peace can be achieved.



People strive to attain significance in the world, for good or for evil, or both.  It seems to be part of our essential attributes, as human beings, that we should want to make a difference, to be taken note of and be noticed by others, as somebody of value of significance. Although the majority of us humans are, indeed, ordinary people and, probably, might never rise above the ordinariness which characterises us, we still have the aspirations and dreams to rise above that point.

Consider the attraction which Europe and the United States have for hundreds of millions of poor people all over the world, which is probably the main reason why Europe and America are currently feeling somewhat under attack by migrants and immigrants wanting to move there to work and enjoy the good life? So, there is that evidence that, although the majority of us humans are fated, it would appear, to realise only an 'average' and 'below average'  lifestyle, the aspirations to achieve better is more widely represented amongst the general population.

Of course, there is the issue of the nature of the 'significance' which we aspire for. For some of us, it will be to earn or possess vast amounts of wealth. For others, it will be to become notable politicians and be able 'to help people.' For still others, it might be to become medical practitioners, so that we can improve the health of those suffering the adverse effects of ill-health and diseases or being at risk of doing so.  Or it might be to become teachers, so we can increase the opportunities which are available for children to learn, and thereby improve their life chances and graduate from the clutches of deprivation and poverty.



And then, there are the others, the religious mercenaries and false prophets, like the Anjem Choudaries of the west. The men and women who chose religious and political demagoguery as their chosen vehicle to achieve significance in the world.

And how do these demagogues of the West, of Europe, the Americas, the West Indies, the U.S, et al endeavour to achieve the status of 'significance'? Yes, by endeavouring to influence and gain power over the more gullible and vulnerable sections of the population; the young, searching for and developing a sense of who they are and what they should be doing. The mentally vulnerable, whose more tenuous hold on 'reality and reasonableness' might be less than that of the rest of us. 

The more deprived and alienated members of the community who might be feeling that they have noting to lose - but their lives and freedom. The politically and religiously disaffected members of the community, from whichever social class, who are failing to appreciate the fact that, the advancement of the west, is a direct consequence of its more enlightened socio-political societal model, with the removal of religion and social orthodoxy being major factors in how these societies are structured and function.



While the demagoguery of the Anjem Choudaries, the false prophets, and lesser 'Hitlerites' does represents a threat to social and political stability of the countries affected by their actions, there is a risk of them being seen as a bigger threat than they really are.  The fact that these demagogues are out there in the open, enable people to see them for what they are and to challenge their illogical arguments or, probably more accurately, highly questionable dogmas.

Of greater threat are those within some sections of Muslim communities, who, due to how the community is organised, say, around its religious orthodoxy, and the role of the Imam, are afforded the opportunity to, deliberately or otherwise, help to promote the pernicious aims of the Anjem Choudaries.

In endeavouring to live a relatively free and enjoyable living, and promoting others to do so, which is really what counts most in living, have and exercise a health mistrust of the gods, religions and those who set themselves up as authorities on religions and the gods. This is especially so when living within the dominant societal models of the west.  

Strive for equality and peaceful co-existence between you and your fellow humans, which seems to be the model of the natural world.




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