Is the enemy evil?

but, he is a psychopath. Good video. ty

Silas Mercury wrote: but, he is a psychopath. Good video. ty

right - he is one single psychopath; a lone man who had the influence and resources of a single individual, whose survival depended on being unnoticed and unrecognized

imagine that he - or someone whose actions would be similar to his - had a plan to set himself up as the new religious figurehead of the entire world, and that he had an army of loyal-unto-death followers with years of experience in warfare

and that all of this is funded by oil revenues from a middle eastern country

Then we would hunt them down. Arrest them. Bring them all to Justice. This is where my loyalties lie:
1. Justice
2. Democracy
3. The Force and this Temple

Iive been there and done that...the power of the individual needs to be realized. It can change everything...not just laws and silly potty questions.
When will the giant be awaken?

It was asked in an earlier post, “the question is can we coexist?”

That is a simple and complicated answer. First one has to understand the fundamental differences in culture; forget religion. The entire honor system is backwards from ours. An example, and I have used it before in other threads, if person “A” rapes a member of person “B” family then person “B” is shamed and loses honor because they could not protect their family member. Where here, person “A” is shamed and loses honor for committing a horrendous act. And to understand these fundamental differences I would suggest reading “Honor, a history of” by James Bowman. Then there are the moral differences which tie to the honor system. These two groups have vary differing moral systems which split apart a long time ago. Where we would think that it is better and honorable to have a knock down drag out fight, facing your opponent, and the best man will win; it is better for them to win by whatever means possible… even those we would look down on. And that is completely acceptable to their moral system.

Even for those of us that many of our neighbors would call moral degenerates: IE we believe in, support or are pro some objectionable value or view, we would not fall in line with the others beliefs and would still be “the enemy.” So we might be willing to parley, it would be to no avail on either side.

And this is not because of policy. Those policies were written by peoples with differing moral or ethical acceptances. To coexist one party would have to say, (example) it is okay to have sexual relations with an age individual that we do not see that as appropriate levels of attention for someone of that age. And this is even an issue with some groups and countries we are allied with. But we turn a blind eye to it because they have something we want… like cheap labor or cheaply produced goods. But do we coexist? As long as they stay in their area and we are not exposed to what they do. Hypocritical if you ask me.

And, some would say that if you look back they (the Middle East) have been fighting amongst themselves for over five thousand years of recorded history. Well, that is only because they have a history that stretches back that far. Take a good look at our countries. All throughout their histories we have been fighting someone for something. So that is like pot calling the kettle black.

Are they evil? In our eyes they may very well be. Do they think so? No, we are evil to them. Can we coexist? Not unless our moral compass or ethical standing can allow us to turn a blind eye to their ways or them to ours. So… probably not.

How do we fix it? A fundamental, global shift in the paradigm of moral and ethical standing. Who is ready or willing to undergo that? Don’t answer too quickly… remember how hard it is to even consider what someone has written on the threads on this website without being offended, or feeling you need to post louder so that your opinion is heard over theirs.

And it is not policy or governments that will or need to institute the change, it has to start and end with us. The average person.

Do you want super-villains? Because this is how you get super-villains. :lol:

OB1Shinobi wrote:

Silas Mercury wrote: but, he is a psychopath. Good video. ty

right - he is one single psychopath; a lone man who had the influence and resources of a single individual, whose survival depended on being unnoticed and unrecognized

imagine that he - or someone whose actions would be similar to his - had a plan to set himself up as the new religious figurehead of the entire world, and that he had an army of loyal-unto-death followers with years of experience in warfare

and that all of this is funded by oil revenues from a middle eastern country

rugadd wrote: Do you want super-villains? Because this is how you get super-villains. :lol:

I laughed so hard

rugadd wrote: Do you want super-villains? Because this is how you get super-villains. :lol:

Just add a lab accident!

rugadd wrote: Do you want super-villains? Because this is how you get super-villains. :lol:

right

quick bio on the original abu bakr

the current "abu bakr" adopted this name as a means of declaring his legitimacy as the leader of the muslim world

so in christian terms it would almost be like if someone came out and said that they were the next Paul of Tarsus - thats not an exact parallel but it gets the idea across

it would be easy to dismiss them as crazy if it werent for the aforementioned army of combat hardened religious fanatics and the funding of some middle eastern oil fields

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EDIT

in a way it isnt really even that important if "they" are "evil"

can we coexist?
if so, at what cost?
if not, what do "we" have to do to ensure our own safety?

if "we" just ignore it, what will it eventually become? and who exactly are "WE" anyway?

what else?

whats the solution?

OB1Shinobi wrote:

Kyrin Wyldstar wrote: The question you must ask yourself is, are you/we just as evil as our enemy? In the end if we become as evil as that thing we are trying to eradicate we have no more right to exist than they do.

i agree basically and i would add "can we co-exist?"

That is the real question isn't it. Can we coexist?

This should come from a place of moral value just as much as compromise. We must constantly evaluate and judge in our environment the attitudes and actions of others. We need to be able to separate harmless cultural differences and beliefs from the cultural systematic oppression or genocide of another gender, or group based on race, religion or whatever. When it comes to different practices in religion or culture or race we can learn to live in harmony with those. But when it comes to morally reprehensible practices, we need to decide whether or not we will ignore such practices or stand up for those that cannot defend themselves and fight against such tyranny wherever it raises its ugly head.

This is the crux of the issue and it is one that will never go away. We as a species will never attain some nirvana like state of "higher consciousness" where we all can "just get along" and all believe the exact same thing. That state would stagnate us as a species to the point of our eventual demise anyway. We are creatures of emotion and change and drive and those things will always evoke differences in how each of us approach things individually and as discrete groups. It is this process that allows us to learn and evolve. And because it is a process of growth it is also one that produces evil.

And because of that, we as a species should be ever vigilant and always strive for the best version of ourselves as a species. This will never be a state of perfection but one of constant struggle and self evaluation. But when we do clearly see evil we have a moral obligation to others of our kind to do the best we can to end that evil. And yes it is a dirty and damaging practice in itself that should NEVER be entered into lightly. Its also not a perfect process because damage will be done and lines will be crossed on both sides. Because of that not all are capable of taking up that call. But ISIS is evil in its practices because it oppresses and harms others. It needs to be destroyed and those that practice it need to be destroyed. Yes death is a part of life. Its clearly cut and that simple in my mind.

We do the best we can as a limited corporeal species and always strive for the greater good. That's all morality is in the end - an objective view of best practice based on consensus not absolutes.