Neither do I. I am sure I will return as a monkey in my next life and then I will steal all of SB's drinks at Pattaya beach. I am now a sell-out too. Good!

I don't give a damn if the white race becomes extinct. (I'm Scotch, Irish and English but still don't give a damn.)

It seems to me that 'ethics', institutional or academic or emotive, come into play when we
discard narrative beliefs that we recognize as conflicting with our ethical values.

Indeed. The challenge, then, is more complex than becoming more educated or observational or more empathically aware of our environment. But the answer, I believe, lies within our nature, our natural instinct for home and hearth. Our ability, though, to dig deeper is, as you say, complicated by our individual narrative beliefs. But it's also made more difficult by the world we live in. A world where the antiquated concept of "the other," once prevalent in Chinese villages, actually exists on a global scale wherein we are all intertwined.

It's actually one of the reasons I like the Hundredth Monkey Syndrome. That is, the possibility does exist that kindness, compassion (all that good stuff) will cross borders and that, yes, to answer your question regarding nationalism, a holistic approach may be one answer, but I of course realize that this is a problem that has existed since leaders became leaders and borders were drawn as the wars dragged on and the people just longed for, again, home and hearth, and that, therefore, nationalism can only be seen as a means by which the people are controlled or, played, to use a more contemporary term.

So, there are sheep and there are puppets and there are puppeteers. North Korea, hmm, are they the only ones who have the people duped? Fervent nationalism only proves that Machiavellianism is alive and well. But worse, it breeds contempt for others and supports, as you say, their own narrative until, with blinders on, they cannot see the antithesis of their unwarranted bias.

The Great Wall in China, just as an aside, was built, literally, on the blood and bones of conscripts. The bones of a million souls support the wall. People no different than you and I torn from their families and forced to build a stupid wall until they dropped dead from poor nutrition and overwork.

But the Chinese have always had a belief and hope for a benevolent ruler. Sometimes it happened. Dynasties rose and fell dependent on which generation it would take to turn to malevolence and lose their "Mandate from Heaven."

But I digress, Your post got me going. Thanks. Wouldn't it be nice, though, if words like nobility and wisdom and benevolence rolled nicely off the tongue of our leaders? Would that be enough to start turning the tide?

"Been There" just posted a picture that says so much it makes my words as nothing. The Canadians hopefully recognize the nobility of their young leader and, also hopefully, the country itself will continue to embrace immigration.

Oh, yeah, the rest of you dudes, those of you who equate the value of a tax dollar to the value of a human life and find the life not important enough, keep counting your pennies and enjoying your pretty little watches and your pretty little whores as children on your own planet suffer because you think they should just hang out where they came from. Because, yeah, that's what's really important - more stuff and more stuff to stuff your gluttonous selves with.

Social Anthropologists who have studied the affects of the current mania for things and the need for individuals in society to be abreast of all things tech, note that a very large portion of the mind, as each minute of the day passes, is devoted to the calculation and self reminders of finances. What a waste. But it shows why there's so little room for what a friend of mind would call "good clear thinking."

Some people seem not to care as much as you do...

Count me as one of those who doesn't care as much as he does. Well, actually, hardly at all.

Fantastic picture. Kudos to the photographer on that one. But even more respect to the PM of Canada.

We can live with all our cranky Christians but these other people will want to change the landscape completely.

If you were around teaching monks in 1963 you deserve
some respect.

I said nothing about 1963.

J. K. Rowling is not just a writer.

I said nothing about "uncontrolled" immigration.

I don't give a damn if the white race becomes extinct. (I'm Scotch, Irish and English but still don't give a damn.)

Several interesting ideas.

Does increased intelligence result in enhanced empathy?

Does "viewing the world holistically" ameliorate nationalism?

An individual's beliefs about the nature of the world will generally find validation in anecdotal events. There are enough materialistic women in China to validate SB's view of Chinese women. There are enough Muslim terrorists to validate Taffy's view of Muslim immigrants. Our 'belief narratives' intellectually 'highlight' and 'cull' both the anecdotal events of our life and our pervasive media exposure to support these narrative beliefs.

It seems to me that 'ethics', institutional or academic or emotive, come into play when we discard narrative beliefs that we recognize as conflicting with our ethical values.

I am emotionally driven to believe that all wealthy, white, conservative, Christian, U.S. men are selfish racist idiots. I have much anecdotal data to support that belief system. But I ethically choose to try to find some empathy for their fear and loathing of the changes in their world.

SB and Taffy have both participated broadly in the world, traveling in China and Southeast Asia. Both have married women of another race. They have seen a much wider spectrum of life than most of my classmates from the U.S. who have never procured a passport but cling to views of American Exceptionalism. I'm confident that if Taffy lived in a Muslim country he would broaden and deepen his views of Islam. I note that SB has positive feelings about Thai women.

Our 'narratives' about the nature of the world truly define who we are. But ethically, we must be wary of these self-constructed belief systems. Their influence on our behavior and our speech does impact the world. When we act with anger and fear, we become the anecdotes supporting the narratives of others.

Better still they shouldn't be allowed in in the first place.

Neither you nor SB seem capable of viewing the world holistically. I often wonder about these lines that are drawn by folks such as yourself. I can't help but feel that the myopic stance you and he take toward immigrants suggests an absence of the ability to think ethically. But of course we could go on for days about what constitutes ethical behavior - or ethical thought for that matter. And I imagine that in the end we would still not agree - not just on the issues at hand but also the broader spectrum of what it really means to exhibit ethical behavior.

The common belief is that the more educated one becomes the more ethical they will become. Of course we can cite multiple examples of how that isn't true; nevertheless, at least from my own observations, said common belief seems to hold up pretty well, but only represents one path that can lead to all the qualities that we generally associate with ethical behavior.

So, when people such as yourself and others, who seem so often to be such hateful bastards, can't express any regard for the well being of others simply because they don't fit your mold, I can't help but be, hmm, shall we say, concerned.

I've worked closely with immigrants. I know their stories. I feel their stories. I've seen the horrors of Pol Pot's Cambodia through the eyes of Cambodian monks who were my students. I've seen the terror of El Salvador in the haunted eyes of others. I saw more than I actually wanted to see. In a way, it's why I accepted a job in China; I was reaching a point where I was overloading on empathy that was approaching burnout. I was glad to be going somewhere where change was rampant and newness could replace what I was feeling.

Get the idea? I will never, ever respect those like you who cannot embrace the bigger picture and by doing
so somehow embrace humanity as a whole. I suppose it's just too much focus on the differences rather than the likenesses, or maybe some gorilla like mentality relative to territory and dominance. Whatever it is, it's amazing it exists in such large numbers, or maybe it is that hate-mongering is just getting more press these days.

Meanwhile, the world is weaponizing and it's trickling down to the common man. Gun stores have long lines. Hate and focusing on differences breeds fear and creates walls both physical and mental. Will kindness and compassion be confined to whispers in the shadows?

“The power of human empathy, leading to collective action, saves lives, and frees prisoners. Ordinary people, whose personal well-being and security are assured, join together in huge numbers to save people they do not know, and will never meet….Unlike any other creature on this planet, humans can learn and understand, without having experienced. They can think themselves into other people’s places….We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.”

– J.K. Rowling, author, philanthropist, and founder of the children’s charity, Lumos

Not as much as all the illegal immigrants and other trash cost.

I think most men know which 10 to 15 per cent they wouldn't like to lose.

Anyway, take it easy, health is important.

Yes, it is important but we can all take precautions to prevent coming to the pretty pass that I did. Although, I seem to have got away with quite a bit.

That Ukip needs to look after himself, he slaves away too hard while others do sod all. On the rare occasion when he presents himself on the shop floor to keep things going you can almost see the sweat pouring from his brow....but he still comes up with something pretty potent..like..."How much is this costing the UK tax payer then!" hahaha!

Any updates watch-wise? Did you order one?

I think most men know which 10 to 15 per cent they wouldn't like to lose.

Anyway, take it easy, health is important.

I should have written the conclusion of my previous post a little differently: You have more control over your body than you think, you know more than the doctors about what is going on in your body (if you are attentive to it), and what you eat is what you will be. Captain of your soul, master of your fate!

Taffy, I am NOT saying anything about your statin.
What I am saying is that there seem to be natural replacements to statin and that you could have a look so you are at least aware that there are natural replacements. Don't allow the pharmaceuticals and their lackeys, the doctors, to make you a slave of their system (unless you like that kind of slavery).

Doing a quick search, I found:
"6 natural alternatives to statin" http://deliciousliving.com/heart-health/6-natural-ways-boost-heart-health
"Are There Alternatives to Statins?" http://www.webmd.com/cholesterol-management/news/20160927/statins-alternatives-cholesterol#1
"Alternatives to Statins for Lowering Cholesterol" http://www.healthline.com/health/high-cholesterol/alternatives-statins
"Safe Alternatives to Statins" http://whitakerwellness.com/health-concerns/lower-cholesterol-naturally/statin-alternatives/

Hi Taffy
I just read 2 posts you posted today on the School Review board and on both posts, you were apologizing.
This is not you!!!
I know you had a scare. I know that in full sight of our mortality, like everybody who goes through it, we revise some of your values. But please remain Taffy. We love you the way you are. And if there is a 1% of you that we don't love, we can deal with it.
Fifi