tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3808394751443360145.post1033399134056667015..comments2023-06-09T06:09:49.209-07:00Comments on Stress Management and Other Things: I continue to be amazed!Tea N. Crumpethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16399889311375477109noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3808394751443360145.post-75730979174440647572008-12-02T13:03:00.000-08:002008-12-02T13:03:00.000-08:00"I love how they say that we are meant to be outra..."I love how they say that we are meant to be outraged, that understanding breeds complacency,"<BR/><BR/>It depends on whether you take this in a religious context or biologically.<BR/><BR/>Theologically "Meant to be" I assume means, by God. The understanding would be what? Some version of "It's God's plan, you can't understand." or "It's evil"? I don't know.<BR/><BR/>But biologically you could say outrage is an instinctual reaction that pours adrenaline into you so you can fight back or run like hell. In that sense, outrage, at least in the world when such instincts meant survival, help people survive. But outrage in today's society. where everyone has a gun or other lethal weapons like cars, often has terrible consequences.<BR/><BR/>Understanding, for me, is not a short term response. But if you understand why something has happened, you have a chance of changing the situation so that it can't happen again. <BR/><BR/>I read that original quote as "it's better to do something than nothing, even if that something has no effect, or even makes things worse." (Westerners don't do 'nothing" well. We can't wait. We have to act.) "Don't talk to me about understanding - I know these guys are evil - I just want to take revenge, now."<BR/><BR/>That makes life simple, and leads to the kind of horrific cycle of killings that is going on in the Middle East, particularly between the Israelis and Palestinians. <BR/><BR/>This is not to say that action shouldn't be taken. But you need to understand against whom to act and how to do it effectively. Otherwise you just kill some 'representative' Pakistanis so you feel you've got your revenge. <BR/><BR/><BR/>And why is it that with a small percentage of the deaths being American, that is what our press focuses on? There were far more Indians killed, but Indian lives don't matter to us.Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10498066938213558757noreply@blogger.com