To recapitulate and clarify an earlier point i made in regards to the Ukraine war-the world takes sides. Nations do what is in their perceived interest in terms of which side they back. Citizens follow the propaganda mostly. I doubt many are capable of being objective, starting without a viewpoint or a bias. Letting the evidence take us where it might. And as we have explored elsewhere it is not easy to get good reporting and even know all of the facts.
The problem is that we as a species are rats on a wheel. Same old shit. Same old patterns. Nothing fundamental changes. So if we are Ukraine backers then it is obviously a violation of international law and common decency to violate borders and invade. The sovereignty of each nation ought to be sacrosanct. Does not change the equation much or at all whether the invaded nation was once a part of the invading nation.
And then things play out with many predictable consequences of the war. There are atrocities. The propagandists understandably utilize the unspeakable to elicit emotions and confirm the underlying narrative that the so and so (in this case dirty Ruskies) are barbarians and whatever befalls them is what they got comin. Yes, it is a confirmation that the course of action backing Ukraine at all costs was the correct course.
And the supporters of Russia and its invasion point to various facts demonstrating that it is not as straightforward as one might think. I think this side sees itself as more acute. But whatever.
Thus it is a game of unending human folly and governments having too much power to direct the course of history. And each conflict/war in a string of incessant conflicts and wars plays out and the suffering and collateral consequences are horrific. Concomitantly the weaponry gets more and more lethal and at some point it will be used. It will happen suddenly and nothing will ever be the same. And that is just one of our existential threats. We as a species will at most treat things symptomatically. And that is probably a generous characterization. Self-interest, capitalists interests, cabals, dictators direct us, steer us towards our doom.
How many ordinary citizens left to their devices would act as surrogate marionettes of death? In fact humans are so easily led. It is fucking frightening. So i wonder where and why the best and brightest have to my knowledge done nothing to influence the masses against the madness. STOP THE MADNESS!
Humans can be moved to believe and act in virtually any way they are directed. The very fact that we have so many who buy into cultural or moral relativism speaks to the amenability and convenience of morality and beliefs. Just take slavery as an example. All but the most headshaking troglodytes recoil at the notion of slavery. It is so clearly wrong. We don’t have to intellectualize about it. Images alone of slave ships, slave markets, humans in shackles is enough to turn our stomachs. Yet it was every day life. And even putative great minds like Jefferson saw Blacks as semi-human and saw the practice as justifiable.
So isn’t it plausible that a world-wide movement against so many of the ills that bring about so much suffering and existinential risk can be targeted. Can’t we also utilize common issues like clean water, clean energy, climate change to foster international cooperation? The notion of tabula rasa is not so far from true or maybe the metaphor is silly putty-easily imprinted and molded.
Perhaps there is a big role for AI to foster the changes and imprint humanity with better propaganda. Pipe dream. shit aint changing. Full speed ahead. Damn the apocalypse.
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