RE: Does the positive side of tribalism/racism outshine the negative side?
August 12, 2020 at 9:47 am
(This post was last modified: August 12, 2020 at 9:59 am by The Grand Nudger.)
I don't think that gives a fair shake to fantasy as a narrative vehicle for truth. Fantasy as instrumental good. We have a habit of telling a larger truth with a collection of small lies. We tell kids about talking rabbits and turtles getting into a footrace - this is blatant misinformation - but we do it so that they understand why slow and steady wins the race.
The underlying (true) message of christian superstition and fantasy is that there is some inextricable part of human being that causes meaningful evil to substantiate in the world. That we, as creatures, simply will find bad things compelling. Today, we call that a compromised agency dealing with exclusively suboptimal decision fields, and we don't need to refer to souls or curses or value setting gods to explain it...
...and if your eyes glassed over when you read "compromised agency dealing with exclusively suboptimal decision fields" - then you can probably see why we chose to couch that message in stories about a mud man and a rib woman and a dragon and a martyr.
The underlying (true) message of christian superstition and fantasy is that there is some inextricable part of human being that causes meaningful evil to substantiate in the world. That we, as creatures, simply will find bad things compelling. Today, we call that a compromised agency dealing with exclusively suboptimal decision fields, and we don't need to refer to souls or curses or value setting gods to explain it...
...and if your eyes glassed over when you read "compromised agency dealing with exclusively suboptimal decision fields" - then you can probably see why we chose to couch that message in stories about a mud man and a rib woman and a dragon and a martyr.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
