[lit-ideas] Re: Is there any such thing as a Moderate Muslim?
- From: "Lawrence Helm" <lawrencehelm@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2006 15:53:38 -0800
Okay, I'll bite. I just ordered Network from Netflix.
But back to the subject, I was just thinking about the matter of fear. I
used to do two things that people, generally, were afraid of, free-diving,
and motorcycle-riding. People typically didn't and perhaps still don't know
what free diving is; so I would explain that it is going out into the ocean
by yourself, holding your breath and with your spear-gun in hand, diving in
hopes of spearing fish. I would describe the float I used to hold the fish,
my wetsuit, mask, snorkel, fins and spear-gun. Typically there would be a
short pause and then the inevitable question, "aren't you afraid of sharks?"
And when someone learned I rode a motorcycle down between the lanes of the
San Diego Freeway to work, they would much more quickly say, "you're
insane," or "You're going to be killed," or "you have a death wish, don't
you?" Then to be helpful, these people would be sure to leave articles on
my desk of all the motorcycle accidents they ran across in their local
papers.
I would attempt to get people to think analytically, e.g., there is a
greater chance of getting killed by falling in your bathtub than by getting
eaten by a shark, but that didn't work. Lot's more people were taking baths
than free-diving, they would say, and besides, they had seen Jaws. And
there was no hope of changing the minds of people who were convinced that
motorcycle riding was dangerous. They had known or heard about someone that
was killed or injured and that was all they needed to know.
I discovered articles that argued that people like me were "risk takers."
We were in the minority. We sky-dived, bungee jumped, free-dived, road
motorcycles and some of us joined the Marine Corps. Everyone else, the
normal people, knew better, and by the way, knew perfectly well that it was
insane to turn one of our ports over to Dubai.
Lawrence
-----Original Message-----
From: lit-ideas-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:lit-ideas-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Eric
Sent: Saturday, March 18, 2006 3:04 PM
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [lit-ideas] Is there any such thing as a Moderate Muslim?
Lawrence: What I found most interesting was
Kelly's conclusion that the reaction against the
Port deal in the U.S. was indication of a growing
prejudice that there are no Moderate Muslims. . .
. . An overwhelming majority of Americans were not
willing to accept Bush's assurance that Dubai is
moderate.
Apropos of the situation, if not the topic -- does
anyone recall Paddy Chayefsky's film Network?
In that film, the mad prophet of the airwaves
("We're mad as hell and we're not going to take it
anymore!") gets great ratings by articulating the
discontent of the American public.
Remember that this is 1976.
What gets the mad prophet into trouble is that he
reveals that the conglomerate that bought the news
network has just been acquired by "The Saudis."
"The Arabs are buying us," he shouts. He tells
everyone to write to their Congresspeople and stop
the deal. They do.
That brings about his chastisement by the
corporate Big Boss, who screams at him that he is
"meddling with the primal forces of nature," and
that "we needed that Saudi money!"
The Big Boss then converts the mad prophet into a
messenger of economic globalism--"you're an old
man who believes in nations and ideologies. There
are no nations. There are no ideologies. There is
only IBM, ATT, DuPont, Exxon...these are the real
nations of the world."
Only after he begins to preach this evangel, do
his ratings fall. Nobody wants to hear the bad
news that they don't matter anymore. The Boss
wants the message out, people don't want to hear
it, his ratings drop lower, and ... I won't give
away the rest.
But remember: that was in 1976.
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