Comments on: Watching Israeli Amiel Vardi confront a stonefaced commander, I want to do klezmer all night long

By: Eitan

Eitan — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 02:24:29 +0000

stop wasting the armies time. Provocateurs!

By: Citizen

Citizen — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:48:06 +0000

Well, with some people it mostly comes neither way, e.g., Shia (top down) and Sunni (bottom up).

By: Bob Dylanberg

Bob Dylanberg — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:41:37 +0000

Well under the Obama regime it looks like the white males are expendable, increasingly so by law. Especially if some of Obama's regime with its 60% majority gets its way, which will happen. The only area of exception to this general rule is if the white males are part of Wall Street. Shows you which way the wind is blowing.

By: Margaret599

Margaret599 — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:11:04 +0000

Yes – I realized I didn't remember anything specific to human rights.

By: Todd

Todd — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:40:26 +0000

I don't recall commenting on universal human rights. I'm not a multiculturalist because I don't think such a system will ever work, and I don't believe that many people who talk multiculturalism mean what they say. I'd bet that most tyrants talk some form of human rights before gaining power, as well. Idealists and pacifists don't usually gain power. Social change comes from those with the power to cement change. Sometimes change comes from the top, and sometimes from the bottom and middle. I have to disagree with your view of group formation. Most people aren't ideologues, and group along cultural or kinship lines, which is why I have no faith in multiculturalism, or in the ability to even establish or enforce universal human rights.

By: Margaret599

Margaret599 — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 10:14:49 +0000

What you've said about both didn't agree with what I thought the two ideas meant.

By: Margaret599

Margaret599 — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 10:11:19 +0000

Living now in accord with such principles is worthwhile because of the benefits such actions bring now. Groups form because individuals share in action and beliefs. Social change comes from the united effort of individuals – bottom up, not top down.

By: Todd

Todd — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 02:29:57 +0000

BTW, Margaret, why would you suspect that I wouldn't understand what multiculturalism is supposed to be, or what universal human rights are?

By: Citizen

Citizen — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:50:03 +0000

The test of virtue is power. I will leave it to you and other readers here to decide which group of people in the world have given Margaret599's good vision the most effort in support in world history to date.

By: Todd

Todd — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:30:18 +0000

Margaret, Unfortunately, I don't believe that we will ever reach a state where culture, race, ethnicity, religion or ideology don't divide people, or where all innocent people are safe and enjoy standard legal rights and protections. I don't even trust most of the peope who talk multiculturalism or universal rights, since most have some group that is designated to take a backseat to those who are oppressed–and it's always some other group or people. I guess I'm just a cynic. : )