Is There Racism?

Everyone assumes there is such a thing as "Racism", we hav elong discussions about how to overcome peoples racist attitudes. But I wonder of it really has anything to do with race rather than just the "other".

In Northern Ireland the hatred is between the Catholics & the Protestants, the same race, almost the same religion but that does not stop them hating each other.

In the Middle East there is hatred between Israelis and Palestinians, different religion the same race. Consider the fighting between the Sunnis and Shias, much like Northern Ireland, different brands of the same religion, or Croats & Serbs, and so on.

Is it that as people we need someone to hate or is it more that we need to belong? Ot is easy to blame the others, in Norfolk it is the Portugese whom people worry about. They take our jobs etc. If we consider race it is something very easily identifiable so leads much more easily to discrimination and hatred. It is also easy to argue that people of a different race are inferior or have different abilities, which is just dressing up the idea of inferior.

Such feelings are universal, all groups have other groups to look down upon.

Sprituality is Vanity

There seems to be a lot of discussion in the media of people seching for their "inner self" or "spirituality" or the "meaning of life". Some even seem to think that there is some connection between these things and religion. But isn't it all just vanity.

Consider the belief in some religions that there is a god and that man was made in his, usually, image. Surely all that is doing is to make us feel important, after all god made us in his image so we msut be important. What about the meaning of life, why should there be any? But to accept that we are just a bunch molecules of no more import than a worm would make us very unimportant.

So there has to be "meaning" to our life or else it all seems a bit pointless. It is hard to accept our own irrelevance, to think that we are as the dust of the earth, which we all return to. Invent a god who has made us and suddenly, wow, we are something very special and we feel good about it. Our life is now worth living.

I am reminded of a character in one of Terry Pratchett's stories the librarian has been turned into an orag-utan. When asked whether he wishes to be turned back he says "No". His reason was that now he knew the meaning of life, where was the next banana coming from! I have praobably got the exact words incorrect but the sentiment is right.

To change the theme slightly there is a "sprituality" which talk about man's oneness with the universe and how we should seek to find our roots in nature. This is a rather romantic notion, a bit like the idea of the "noble savage". It reminds me of people who went off to the desert and drank only water for weeks and had visions. If you are very ill and get delerious, or starve yourself, all sorts of visions will come to you BUT they are delusions. When I was quite young and with some sort of fever I had this sensation of floating above my own body. After recovering I could still do it, that is I could lay in my bed and induce that sensation by thinking that was happening. It was not of course but it was a form of delusion which I could control.

Deep down I do not believe in truth through revelaton which is at the heart of most spirtulaity. If you look into yourself you can find truth. I admit that you might find out something about yourself but that is about all. And even that is unlikely, a more reliable method is to toss a coin. It is odd how often it sharpens your thoughts, if you make a decision by a random process external to yourself. It always works.

One last thought, if you think you are important it is just vanity!

Why do ministers irritate me?

Why is it that whenever I hear a minister on television or radio it makes me irritated. Just listening to Ruth Kelly about the plan to close failing schools after a year if they don't improve. But whenever she was asked she said that if a school has been failing for five or six years then it should be closed. But where does that fit with closing a school after a year?

It seems like they have a pat script and they just say what they want, whether it contains any truth or relevance to the question. Ruth Kelly kept repeating statements like the new academies have worked, some have and some haven't but why keep makeing assertions which are only the partial truth. When challenged with the comments of a head who said that it took five years to turn round a school, she just replied that some schools have done it quicker.

Why are politicians incapable of taking part in a organised simple debate in which there are shades of opinion?