My ancestors didn’t leave behind a codified form of moral philosophy that we can quote like those works of individual philosophers like Plato, Aristotle and others I am too lazy to mention. But reading this article, it does seem to me that my ancestors were right. Sometimes I ask how could a few white men colonize my relatives? I think the grand parents owe us an explanation and an apology.
Happy week everyone
I enjoy Aeon quite a bit, and this was a very interesting article. It DOES deemphasize the whole “rip hearts out of a living enemy to feed the gods” thing, but…..
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Aeon is generally good.
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An explanation would be in order.
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That’s my thinking too
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The large scale colonization of Africa set in after the invention of the machine gun by Hiram Maxim in 1885. That was the key invention, together with the invention of racism. Not the fault of your ancestors, I think.
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You are right. The guns gave the colonizers a great advantage. And the fact that the resistance wasn’t a unified affair also made matters worse for my ancestors
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I don’t think it’s unique to Africa as the colonised or to Europe as the colonisers. “Might is right” seems to be the motto of most cultures throughout history. At that time in Africa, as it was in Aotearoa New Zealand, might was in the hands of a few European nations.
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I always tell my breeder friends…have your grandkids learn Mandarin.
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Of course, we can always hope that history won’t be repeated…
…or ensure that is isn’t
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Might makes right seems still to be the dominating philosophy
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It’s unfortunate we haven’t yet developed views that are more nuanced and deal better with complexities…at least in regular discourse. Check out short essay on Camus – dobetterwithdan.wordpress
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The beings who stay close to nature understand the balance of life and that nothing has to be taken because the universe gives all that is needed. The philosophy of balance.
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