Dear Giorgio and All, You have quoted me - "What is it that an individual basically seeks in this world? It is fulfillment". You have described 'fulfillment' as a cultural artifact; it is true. However it is better considered as an artifact depending on the time, place and person.
I have stated in my previous post that - ".... Democracy, if it is to be true should provide every individual with this most basic need of spiritual fulfillment. This can occur if the feelings of the people are taken into consideration in all matters of governance". This statement is still meaningful notwithstanding the fact that 'spiritual fulfillment' itself is an artifact, meaning different things to different people. However the sum effect when everyone in the society attains fulfillment would be positive, since the human nature is basically positive.
WDDM itself is the best illustration of this. We have Georges expressing his not so positive feelings. Yet it widens the discussion and deepens our understanding of the things we believe in and also occasionally provides us with comic interludes like his statement of somebody's opinion going into the trash. I understand that you are not exactly enthused with his attitude but I enjoy reading his posts.
Martin's post gives insight on how exactly the holocaust happened. The sequence of events described is quite plausible. It does not matter if Georges chooses to put it into the trash. Georges says that DD is the most complex matter for human beings to tackle. However it is the simplest matter that can be tackled if the capacity to feel for others is utilised. The ability to think is much more developed for Georges than the ability to feel. Which is why he applies his mind to the exclusion of his heart while considering the problem of DD.
However, Truth will establish itself when everyone remains true to his/her opinion (even if it is negative and sarcastic). The important thing is everyone should have the means to express oneself. That is the wonder of the True Democratic (or Direct Democratic) process. Each individual will find fulfillment according to his peculiarity. There is opportunity to learn and evolve for everyone, while the society as a whole benefits. This reason for DD goes beyond the individual (and his ego) and considers the society as a whole.
Regards,
PVR
On Mon, 12 May 2008 11:26:55 0200 wddm@world-wide-democracy.net wrote Georges Metanomski wrote:
>Giorgio Menon goes unread to my trash >Georges. > > This is the worst example of bipolar thinking i have ever met. Either with me or against me. Kill the different, he might harm your thinking.
Let's see Georges precious historical /sociological/military comment: " Just one example of self-fulfillment: 3-5% of kibbutz population provides 90% of fighter pilots. Now, the selection of Israeli fighter pilots is by far the toughest in the world both physically and psychically."
How does such fullfilment translate into reality?
Over 33 days, Israeli jets killed up to 1,200 Lebanese civilians and bombed houses, hospitals, ambulances, refineries, and roads [ sample video and pictures here and here ]. Some four thousand Lebanese were wounded and nearly a quarter of the country's four million people were driven from their homes.
"... if you nevertheless want to know what I feel when I release a bomb, I will tell you: I feel a light bump to the plane as a result of the bomb's release. A second later it's gone, and that's all. That is what I feel." -Dan Halutz, interview with Ha'aretz, 21 August 2002. (During the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war, Dan Halutz, head of the Israeli military, orchestrated a policy of indiscriminate aerial bombardment that entailed widespread war crimes)
Extensive onsite investigations by Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International (AI) found that the pattern of bombings and civilian casualties could not be dismissed as accidents nor excused by alleged "human shielding" by Hizb Allah fighters (though both AI and HRW have extensively criticized Hizb Allah as well). Both organizations concluded that Halutz's forces were bombing without regard to whether they were hitting civilians or fighters, and in some instances targeted civilians and civilian objects directly, both of which are war crimes under international law.
I think this explain quite well the relationship kibbutzim-fighter pilots. But i want to go further. Asks PVR: "What is it that an individual basically seeks in this world? It is fulfilment in life." Fullfilment is a cultural artifact. Similar cultures attach similar meanings to the word "fulfillment". I can therefore imagine that for a young male born and educated in a kibbutz "fulfillment" has something to do with bombing civilians without questioning too much. Is this a valuable practice of DD? And is a valuable practice of DD refusing to read the messages of someone who disagrees?