[jackdied.com] The definition of Delusional

The definition of Delusional

[jackdied]

Dec 20 2005, 21:57 EST [updated Dec 21 2005, 18:21 EST]

I listen to NPR in the car (go figure). I don't find it too lefty as to be unbearable. I get my chuckles when someone states a fact without a followup (a cause without an effect) on why it is good or bad. Its goodness/badness is assumed to be so obvious it doesn't need to be stated. When they say "WalMart employs X number of people below the poverty line" I know the common wisdom is that giving jobs to poor people is bad. When they say "Hugo Chavez donated N gallons of fuel oil to Massachusetts" I know that a third world country giving money to a first world country is good. Or maybe I got that backwards. Anyway, those kinds of assertions that the radio host leaves alone let me know it is the common wisdom for everyone else in MA.

Tonight was a whole nother game. Tonight's guest was James Carroll, author of the upcoming book House of War. The man is delusional. I understand the little jumps of logic involved with "WalMart Bad" kinds of statements. This guy 's final twenty seconds were spent saying if we had shared the Nuclear Bomb with the Soviets in 1945 that we wouldn't have been attacked on September 11th, 2001. The Soviets stole the bomb shortly thereafter anyway so I can kinda see how it would have been a goodwill gesture. The machinations inside his head that make the 9/11 linkage self evident are far, far beyond my grasp. Here are some other gems, which I thought merely a bit nutty until I heard his closer.

The US would be better off if it abandoned its 19th century notions of nation and sovereignty and joined the rest of the world
No one would hate us if only we would get rid of the Army
North Korea and Iran only pursued the bomb because they are afraid of the US. If we had disarmed as above there would be bunnies and rainbows.

One of the US scientists who helped create the A-Bomb wrote a letter dated September 11th, 1945 to President Truman suggesting that we give the Soviets the bomb. If we had acted on that September 11th suggestion - if we had given the Soviets the nuclear frigin bomb - there never would have been a cold war and we wouldn't have had September 11th 2001.

I lied a bit, I do know the shape of the machinations that Carroll took even if not the particulars. Delusion is the product of an incompatibility between an individual's means, his morality, and his sense of justice. A man's means are constrained by the physical constraints of time, money, and labor. A man's morality constrains the actions he allows himself to take. His sense of justice constrains him to prefer some outcomes over others; It is what he hopes to acheive when he applies his means as constrained by his morality.

Sane people are resigned to the fact that when they act morally to the extent of their means justice does not always result. Certainly when you act within your means and within your morality and the result isn't justice it is disapointing. Sane folks comfort themselves with the fact that they only had sufficient means to make the little justice that resulted or if the result was undesirable they take a different tack and reapply their means (within their morality) in a different way and hope for a more just result. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing again and hoping for a different result. The insane[*] want so badly their means and morality to produce justice when that does not happen it must be someone else's fault. Collectivists in particular require delusion. Any failure to acheive a just end must be caused by a collective failure in either morality or means. A moral failure was caused by a failure of action which can be corrected by passing a law requiring action. A means failure can be fixed by spending more money out of the common trough. Repeatedly falling short of justice is not a sign that you are doing the wrong things, it is a sign of sabatoge.

Carroll is desirous of peace (including the desire to not be killed). His morality doesn't allow violence or the threat of violence to acheive it. His means in the collectivist sense are those of the entire US (virtually unlimited). His quirky bit is set in that he also thinks everyone desires the same thing. If we are at war it must be because there is a vicious circle or a subversive minority preventing the world from getting the peace it really wants. In both the vicious circle and subversive minotry case he has to convice someone to stop doing what they are doing (break the circle or stop the minority). He can talk to his enemies an convince them to stop. This is a problem because they will kill him on the spot. Heck, even if he took their side they would still kill him just for kicks. Alternatively he can lean on his friend (I use the term loosely). He can stomp his feet and sign petitions and accuse his friends of perpetuation (or even of staring) the cycle of violence.

That is why we only have people advocating suicide for the entire society in the west. We're the only ones who allow the advocates to live (which I am happy to do, I just think as a people we should stop putting them on TV or apluading their op-eds). Those that advocate moves that resemble suicide are sincere. The reason they are talking to us is because we in the west are the only ones who would allow them to speak unpunished. That we can suffer dissent is a sign of strength but indulging them is another thing and we do it at our peril.

[*] Asserting that one's opponents are insane is a classic bit of agitprop but I indulge it without irony. Tyrants use the language of democracy because more than democrats (little 'd') do because they know democracy is nearly universally seen as good. As a rule any country with "Republic" in its name, isn't.

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The definition of Delusional [jackdied] Dec 20 2005, 21:57 EST [updated Dec 21 2005, 18:21 EST] [permalink] I listen to NPR in the car (go figure). I don't find it too lefty as to be unbearable. I get my chuckles when someone states a fact without a followup (a cause without an effect) on why it is good or bad. Its goodness/badness is assumed to be so obvious it doesn't need to be stated. When they say "WalMart employs X number of people below the poverty line" I know the common wisdom is that giving jobs to poor people is bad. When they say "Hugo Chavez donated N gallons of fuel oil to Massachusetts" I know that a third world country giving money to a first world country is good. Or maybe I got that backwards. Anyway, those kinds of assertions that the radio host leaves alone let me know it is the common wisdom for everyone else in MA. Tonight was a whole nother game. Tonight's guest was James Carroll, author of the upcoming book House of War. The man is delusional. I understand the little jumps of logic involved with "WalMart Bad" kinds of statements. This guy 's final twenty seconds were spent saying if we had shared the Nuclear Bomb with the Soviets in 1945 that we wouldn't have been attacked on September 11th, 2001. The Soviets stole the bomb shortly thereafter anyway so I can kinda see how it would have been a goodwill gesture. The machinations inside his head that make the 9/11 linkage self evident are far, far beyond my grasp. Here are some other gems, which I thought merely a bit nutty until I heard his closer. The US would be better off if it abandoned its 19th century notions of nation and sovereignty and joined the rest of the world No one would hate us if only we would get rid of the Army North Korea and Iran only pursued the bomb because they are afraid of the US. If we had disarmed as above there would be bunnies and rainbows. Here is the full version of his cake-taker closer: One of the US scientists who helped create the A-Bomb wrote a letter dated September 11th, 1945 to President Truman suggesting that we give the Soviets the bomb. If we had acted on that September 11th suggestion - if we had given the Soviets the nuclear frigin bomb - there never would have been a cold war and we wouldn't have had September 11th 2001. I lied a bit, I do know the shape of the machinations that Carroll took even if not the particulars. Delusion is the product of an incompatibility between an individual's means, his morality, and his sense of justice. A man's means are constrained by the physical constraints of time, money, and labor. A man's morality constrains the actions he allows himself to take. His sense of justice constrains him to prefer some outcomes over others; It is what he hopes to acheive when he applies his means as constrained by his morality. Sane people are resigned to the fact that when they act morally to the extent of their means justice does not always result. Certainly when you act within your means and within your morality and the result isn't justice it is disapointing. Sane folks comfort themselves with the fact that they only had sufficient means to make the little justice that resulted or if the result was undesirable they take a different tack and reapply their means (within their morality) in a different way and hope for a more just result. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing again and hoping for a different result. The insane[] want so badly their means and morality to produce justice when that does not happen it must be someone else's fault. Collectivists in particular require delusion. Any failure to acheive a just end must be caused by a collective* failure in either morality or means. A moral failure was caused by a failure of action which can be corrected by passing a law requiring action. A means failure can be fixed by spending more money out of the common trough. Repeatedly falling short of justice is not a sign that you are doing the wrong things, it is a sign of sabatoge. Carroll is desirous of peace (including the desire to not be killed). His morality doesn't allow violence or the threat of violence to acheive it. His means in the collectivist sense are those of the entire US (virtually unlimited). His quirky bit is set in that he also thinks everyone desires the same thing. If we are at war it must be because there is a vicious circle or a subversive minority preventing the world from getting the peace it really wants. In both the vicious circle and subversive minotry case he has to convice someone to stop doing what they are doing (break the circle or stop the minority). He can talk to his enemies an convince them to stop. This is a problem because they will kill him on the spot. Heck, even if he took their side they would still kill him just for kicks. Alternatively he can lean on his friend (I use the term loosely). He can stomp his feet and sign petitions and accuse his friends of perpetuation (or even of staring) the cycle of violence. That is why we only have people advocating suicide for the entire society in the west. We're the only ones who allow the advocates to live (which I am happy to do, I just think as a people we should stop putting them on TV or apluading their op-eds). Those that advocate moves that resemble suicide are sincere. The reason they are talking to us is because we in the west are the only ones who would allow them to speak unpunished. That we can suffer dissent is a sign of strength but indulging them is another thing and we do it at our peril. [*] Asserting that one's opponents are insane is a classic bit of agitprop but I indulge it without irony. Tyrants use the language of democracy because more than democrats (little 'd') do because they know democracy is nearly universally seen as good. 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