Thursday, January 01, 2009

The Jack Palance Guide to Middle Eastern Geopolitics - Lesson 4



edit: the Bill Hicks version...



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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Muhammad says, "Love of one's country is part of the faith." But don't take that literally! Your real "country" is where your heading. Not where you are. Don't misread that hadith.

Do not believe an absurdity, no matter who says it.

Do not grieve over what is past. It's over. Never regret what has happened.


Rumi’s Parable of the Three Fish

"The major theme of this story is love of home, or patriotism, and its use and abuse by leaders. The story unfolds through the fate of three fish, one wise, one half-wise and the third a fool. ... Rumi does not challenge the notion that one should love his home, but he challenges us to ask, “Where is that actually?”
...
The fish, of course, represent human beings at different stages of awareness.
...
Rumi warns us against those leaders who turn humans against humans with appeals to patriotism and love of home. Only a fool will allow this love, which is understandable and natural, to be transformed into hatred of others he does not know. In this way, he becomes the slave of the schemes and machinations of a nature which is clever but also base. Hence the first warning: Do not believe an absurdity, no matter who says it. These absurdities may and often do roll from the lips of persons set in authority above their fellow men. But those who preach hatred, distrust and hostility against other peoples do not merit our trust. They try to ensnare the feeble-minded with their bile. The foolish fish are their prey and they may capture some of the half-wise as well."

1 January 2009 at 15:08
Anonymous said...

And I love this one:

When you're traveling, ask a traveler for advice, not someone whose lameness keeps him in one place.

1 January 2009 at 15:10

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