Discipline
In Bin Laden, The Left and Me, Dinesh D'Souza defends his thesis that extreme Muslims are upset at the USA for its immoral culture.
When I lived in Saudi Arabia for three years, I worked with Saudi soldiers. Most who are truly from the rank and file of Saudi society. (It was considered a duty for a Saudi family to have a son in the military.) Of course religious discussions would occur and one telling point from those discussions is a comment made by one soldier is that men were weak and need Islam to keep them disciplined. Islam means submission and the religion and its followers, in particular the most devoted, believe that force must be used to keep its followers in line.
What I believe has allowed societies to prosper is discipline. Societies who promote and reinforce self-discipline and self-control have tended to prosper throughout history. Sparta is well known for its discipline and it accomplished much, but I don't believe they were successful as they forgot man is not a machine.
Examples I can think of that are non-Christian are Rome and Japan.
But where I believe why Judeo Christian societies have been successful is the religion promotes self-discipline. Certainly there were eras when an organized church tried to force faith and force discipline. However, after the Protestant Reformation and the invention of the printing press, God and man were more officially, by the church, placed in direct communications with each other.
That self-discipline and moral code were the driving forces which created the USA, Canada and Australia and a prosperous Europe.
In recent decades, societal forces have lessened the importance of self discipline and hard work. Marxism and the creation of the welfare state have formalized and to institutionalized narcism and libertine behavior.
This, I believe is the source of the objection to D'Souza's recent work.
When I lived in Saudi Arabia for three years, I worked with Saudi soldiers. Most who are truly from the rank and file of Saudi society. (It was considered a duty for a Saudi family to have a son in the military.) Of course religious discussions would occur and one telling point from those discussions is a comment made by one soldier is that men were weak and need Islam to keep them disciplined. Islam means submission and the religion and its followers, in particular the most devoted, believe that force must be used to keep its followers in line.
What I believe has allowed societies to prosper is discipline. Societies who promote and reinforce self-discipline and self-control have tended to prosper throughout history. Sparta is well known for its discipline and it accomplished much, but I don't believe they were successful as they forgot man is not a machine.
Examples I can think of that are non-Christian are Rome and Japan.
But where I believe why Judeo Christian societies have been successful is the religion promotes self-discipline. Certainly there were eras when an organized church tried to force faith and force discipline. However, after the Protestant Reformation and the invention of the printing press, God and man were more officially, by the church, placed in direct communications with each other.
That self-discipline and moral code were the driving forces which created the USA, Canada and Australia and a prosperous Europe.
In recent decades, societal forces have lessened the importance of self discipline and hard work. Marxism and the creation of the welfare state have formalized and to institutionalized narcism and libertine behavior.
This, I believe is the source of the objection to D'Souza's recent work.
posted by marjon | 7:47 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home