“Fascist”, it appears, is the go-to epithet for characterizing nationalists and racists we don’t like. “Nationalist” is apparently the go-to epithet for characterizing fascists we do like.
The Western media is coping with the conspicuous and undeniable presence of fascists in the Ukrainian paramilitaries by rebranding them. A recent case in point was in a Reuters article celebrating the doughty defenders of Mariupol i.e. the Azov Battalion, which discommodes Kyiv-friendly observers by unapologetically marching under the fascist “Wolfangel” banner:
Many in the Azov Battalion have unabashed Ukrainian nationalist sympathies, prompting rebels to label them neo-fascists.
From time to time, Azov fighters in Shyrokyne greeted one another with ironic Roman salutes and then grinned at their own humor. That kind of idle larking and the battalion's flirtation with neo-Nazi symbolism is seized upon as confirmation of their critics' worst fears.
The infamy appears only partly deserved, however.
Some embrace fervent Ukrainian nationalism as a repudiation of the heavily Russian-dominated Soviet legacy, all while serving with fighters from a wide array of political and ethnic backgrounds. Chit-chat switches casually from Ukrainian to Russian and back again.
Let me offer my back-of-the-envelope guide to discriminating between “unabashed nationalist sympathizers” and “neo-fascists”. Nationalists let their fervor, their bigotry, and enthusiasm play out in the quotidian realm, along the spectrum from vociferous Internet commentator to soccer hooligan.
Neo-fascists do something about their nationalist convictions, by joining an armed fascist formation which considers implementing a national or racial political and social agenda, by violence if necessary, an existential national imperative beyond state sanction. That’s been a powerful strain in Ukrainian political thought since the 1930s that flourishes today, and not just in the Azov Battalion.
Trying to submerge “fascism” in the mushy nomenclature of “nationalism” is an exercise in self-delusion that, in my opinion, balks understanding of trends throughout Europe and not just in Ukraine.
A classic German film by Fritz Lang, Die Nibelungen, provides an opportunity to reflect upon the difference between unabashed nationalism and meat and potatoes fascism.…
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Sanity intermission .......
ReplyDeleteWhich part of a human being creates more answers than questions, more unity than separation, more harmony than trouble?
The book that I shall make (?) people read is the book of the heart, which holds the key to the mystery of life [Meher Baba]
And we are put on earth, a little space, so that we may learn to bear the beams of love. [William Blake 1800]
Self-knowledge is the best of all forms of knowledge; through it, one attains immortality. [Upanishads 1500BC]
# ... but dust still remains dust (jr..)
Inner peace creates outer peace. [Remez Sasson]
Love is wisdom’s law on earth. [Ingmar Bergman 1950]
I have walked this earth for thirty years, and, out of gratitude, want to leave some souvenir. [Van Gogh 1850]
Ask the heart the right question. You will get the right answer.
You have fallen in love with war, why not peace?
You have fallen in love with doubt, why not clarity
You have fallen in love with hate, why not love?
You have fallen in love with death, why not life?
You have fallen in love with knowing when the time is up; why not when Time stands still? [Prem Rawat]
I read today it can take up to 500,000 years for light to escape the Sun, 8min 20sec to reach the earth, and makes my existence possible for seventy laps around its light-giving body; every one of which, if I have my head screwed on properly, I can enjoy!
Humans who turn this planet into a warzone or factory, and kill or make their own kind suffer - are already dead (incapable of enjoyment and appreciating existence; and I'm not the only one to notice that)! The rest are asleep or trying to ignore an incredible itch. We have to wake up to being alive!
After 200,000 years on the road, what does it mean to be human? "Inner peace creates outer peace" If we were conscious, that would be our human Priority. Then we would know exactly how to build a peaceful, just,enjoyable, humane society. I have never thought the question of what constitutes a good life in a good society is all that hard. The heart already knows. Mind needs to catch up ....
Good one, JR.
ReplyDeleteHere is an addition:
"The meaning of our whole life and existence is love," Putin told his audience at the 15th Congress of the Russian Geographical Society. "It is love for the family, for the children, for the motherland. This is a multifaceted phenomenon; it lies at heart of any of our behaviors."
Yes - I believe a giant sleeps, (awakens) in Russia, and (s)he is human!
ReplyDelete"... it lies at heart of any of our behaviors". [Putin]
At least somebody is (hopefully) looking at what is most important to humanity.
Those gamma rays generated in the Sun would vaporise our cells instantly. Instead they are held back by the Sun's plasma, and lengthened to Xrays, UV and IR, before leaving the surface. The ones most harmful to life on earth are deflected by the earth's living magnetic field, the thin skin of the earth's atmosphere absorbing others: - the life-giving light arriving in just the right quantity and quality, so that Russian hearts can pulse, and aspire, and love their country and people too.
From the article I was reading:
Earth's atmosphere is essential to life. This ocean of fluids and suspended particles surrounds Earth and protects it from the hazards of outer space. It insulates the inhabitants of Earth from the extreme temperatures of space and stops all but the largest meteoroids from reaching the surface. Furthermore, it filters out most radiation dangerous to life. Without the atmosphere, life would not be possible on Earth. The atmosphere contains the oxygen we breathe. It also has enough pressure so that water remains liquid at moderate temperatures.
Only visible light, some radio waves, and limited amounts of infrared and ultraviolet light survive the passage from space to the ground. Studying the radiation that reaches Earth's surface is like listening to a piano recital with only a few of the piano's keys working.
Only the heart can appreciate, the unparalleled gift of existence - without it, mind makes a mess of it all!
JR and Tom,
ReplyDeleteImo you two were unfortunately born in the wrong eon....
You are both > 1,000 years ahead of your time....
This is "the present wicked eon" (Gal 1:4) and "man's day" (2 Cor4:3)...
The warriors among us will be warring, we doubt because mankind reasons, the wicked among us will be hating, and finally death is the institution on which all mankind sin like this in the first place..
None of this is going away (permanently) for over 1,000 years plus... when death is finally abolished. ..
Rsp
I'm 66 now Matt and figure I can say whatever I want, that is true for me. :-)
ReplyDeleteTime is a river into which everything is thrown. We are like little kids building sandcastles on its shore, and Time comes, and takes them all away. We don't see things in the same frame rate as Time. In Time, whole continents rise and fall, drift around, clash with each other on an earth forever changing. We cling to our little life-rafts, seeking certainty. We are actors (dare I say pretenders)! There is a place inside of each and every one of us, where Time cannot go. So, I don't know about being 'ahead of time or behind time' but thank you for the thought ….!
For the human consciousness there is only the moment Now, in which we are stuck. We too are a part of Time. Mind travels back and forth. This life I have is MyTime, my forever for as long as it lasts. I want to be fulfilled – what else is there worth pursuing? Each of us is a little package: ” …. if the need for contentment arises from within, then the best place to look for it is within.” And yet the whole world pursues what is on the outside. Nobody thinks they will die or go to the grave empty handed (despite Alexander's gesture)! This is ignorance (because of ignoring)…..
We get good at whatever we practice. I think if Tom and I (et al) are any different, it is only because we strive for some sort of conscious connection with that space within, where Time stands still; very still – and the heart is content - the heart is happy! Kabir danced as his heart overflowed! And to look from that place, through little windows out to the world, and see the endless pursuit for contentment - humans begging everybody, everything, every day. I think that in this day and age, Time is ripe; to teach those who want to learn, one by one, that contentment lies within; and it is possible to reach it. Peace is possible for a human being because it already exists, inside. Learning how to go within has always been the 'Raj knowledge'. Eating is not difficult, nor drinking or breathing. Understanding is key!
When the peace that is in the heart blossoms in this world, then I think peace on the outside too will be a possibility. Otherwise, there is just mind and ego. People should realise that there is something inside of them that is real; far more real than the swirling atoms – it is why they are here. For them too, there is a way.
Only one eon? ;) But that makes sense even from sci-fi pov.
ReplyDeleteAbout the heart... is the heart which drives most of action, bot the brain. All that violence feeds on emotion, not rationality.
there is usually very little reason for violence, is most of the times too risky for too much people. Some 'smart' men may use others emotions for their own agenda and good, certainly we got many psychopaths running this world; but they feed on ignorance and 'hearts' of the people.
Maybe we need more brains, and less heart overall. And more heart and less brains for those psychos.
Although that means, that maybe we have to get rid of "the wicked" altogether to achieve that world ... and how and who is going to do that?
@ Ignacio
ReplyDeleteYes, the "heart" drives most action because the motivator is desire and aversion, whose seat is the heart."
Desire extends on a range from low or base to high or noble, and the extreme on the low side is insatiability, and the extreme on the high end is abiding satisfaction or perfect fulfillment.
The issue then is the quality of heart. Culture is very much about culturing the heart.
Spiritual understanding is "knowledge of the heart." it is categorically different from intellectual understanding, which is the highest form of knowledge that deals with forms and change.
Knowledge of the heart deals with that to which knowledge of the mind cannot attain and which remains therefore a mystery to mind. Knowledge of the heart is capable of penetrating that mystery, such as the mystery of love that enables those with spiritual understanding to transcend self-interested pursuit of maximum utility that binds animal instinct.
Conversely, underdeveloped spiritual understanding, which results for instance from "hardening of the heart," leads to animalistic behavior driven by base desires and aversions.
See, for example, Meher Baba's discourse, "The Life of the Spirit."
In true Karma Yoga or the life of perfect action, there is proper adjustment between the material and the spiritual aspects of life. In this type of life consciousness is not fettered to the mundane and material things, but at the same time it is not allowed to fly away from everyday existence. The mind is not allowed to be immersed in the material life of gnawing wants, nor is it allowed to be merged in spiritual bliss. It is used to face and tackle the problems of life from the point of view of spiritual understanding.
Proper adjustment between the material and the spiritual aspects of life is not secured by giving equal importance to them. It is not secured by taking something from the material and something from the spiritual and then striking a balance between the two. The spirit must and ever will have an inviolable primacy over matter, but the primacy is not expressed by avoiding or rejecting matter, rather by using it as an adequate vehicle for the expressions of the spirit. In intelligent adjustment matter has to play the role of a pliable instrument for the self-manifestation of the spirit, and must not in any way become obtrusive in its own rights. Just as the musical instrument is valuable only if it gives vent to the song of the musician, and becomes a hindrance if it does not yield complete subservience, matter is valuable if it gives free and adequate expression to the creative flow of life and becomes an obstacle if it interferes with it.
To add just a little to what has been said above –
ReplyDeleteAlways, the first step is to recognise your thirst. And this involves a recognition of the ‘heart’. This confuses people at first because most of the time, they spend every day as the obedient servants of their mind. Another confusion is to accept emotions as the heart. The human being is a feeling machine, but most of what we feel each day has nothing at all to do with the heart. That is why we do not recognise our thirst. We spend the day in a whirlwind of the emotions, mind and the ‘I’ - to feel the heart we have to down tools for a while, and go within. Knowledge is the know-how to go within. It takes a lot of understanding, about yourself, and what you have been given. Thirst is like a rope that you pick up and follow to the door of your heart. There you will find you both need a key, and help if you need it, is at hand. Looking within is not a trivial thing. There is an inside and an outside, and we are responsible for both. The heart is simple – it wants only one thing and will not be fooled. Going within is learning how to listen to the heart, feel its presence, its power to navigate and lead. Going within is to see face to face, beyond all uncertainty, what is within – You. Understanding this new but ancient aspect of our being we make a commitment: ‘I hear you, I see you, I will fulfil you, I will let you experience what you need to experience – I will water you as a seed, and watch in delight, as you grow’
Time becomes one step at a time, on the journey within; the world outside remains. Ambiguity and doubt are shed. When peace comes to the heart serenity follows. There are two non-existent realities: yesterday and tomorrow. The focus is on the Now. Your heart is your oldest and dearest friend. It is a voice that has stayed with you all of your life. Within it is your reality – and you, as you are. Birth, life, death and you – a little boat on a huge river. Trust your heart and you learn how to trust yourself. Follower you are, beggar you are, but you will be a follower and beggar of your own heart – your inner Master, Teacher, Guide, Facilitator if you want to label it like that. Awakening is when we become aware. We have been asleep in the world; only occasionally aware that we are dreaming. Is not the world a heavy dream at the moment? Knowledge is the tool to take us within and awaken us within. That is what being conscious is all about. There is an ocean of questions on the outside. There is One answer within that answers all of those questions and many more. We make a habit of courting clarity. Tomorrow has bars and yesterday is a prison. There is only one place where there is true freedom. Understanding freedom, we learn to plan for a lifetime. To take full advantage of the bridge you must go all the way across. These are warriors. A human being (fragile, mortal, vulnerable) is yet a bridge to the Infinite.
Look at your life as though it were a movie Ignacio, soar above it and contemplate: find a time when you felt absolutely content and happy – for no particular reason or circumstance. There was no emotion or thought necessary. You just felt happy. Being alive was good! There is the aroma of the heart, and within it you will find a thirst. The heart is that Intelligence within you that wants you to follow it. Standing in the market place, people rushing by – no one is my enemy and no one is my friend – to each Kabir wishes fare well! Your only true friend is within and because of that human beings are lonely, even in the crowd or family.