Is Nationalism Replacing Religion in Modern Society?

In summary, the conversation discusses the importance of not forgetting the lessons of history and how they continue to repeat themselves in the present. It also touches on the idea of transformation and the need to move away from primitive emotions like hatred and towards compassion. The conversation also mentions how many wars are not actually fought for religious or ideological reasons, but rather for greed and power.
  • #36
jammieg said:
:-p so I'm kinda looking forward to China nuking America and getting this party started, pretty much everyone deserves to die anyway better yet we should all buy guns and make it legal to shoot someone for any reason why procrastinate? We all know there's some people we would like to kill if it were legal just like the wild west days. :-p

the f-d up thing is, I can agree with most of what you've said, but I don't think we need to relearn the lessons of war by going through it in this day and age. The weapons are way too advanced and we have way too much at stake.

Jammieg, you seem to be giving up hope and saying that it's inevitable that war will begin. Is that a winning attitude? Is that what winners are made of? What happened to never surrender? Never give up?

If you talk to people who have lived through WW2, you will hear them talk about the horrors and see how passionate they are about the war. How they don't wish for another to begin. We are lucky that we don't have these problems. I encourage you to actually speak to people who have lived through war.

People who have nothing to lose always want to do something.

I remember the first few times I played paintball wars, I thought I was Rambo... nothing to lose... but I sat out a lot more than most people... if it was real life... i'd be sitting out right now... in some hole in the ground about 6 feet deep. My family would miss me, my dog would probably die from separation anxiety. Yeah, maybe I sucked... but even good people die for no reason.

No one wins in war... what are you hoping to win? what will your win cost you? Let me live another 40 years without the worries of war in my backyard and that will be a happy life. I don't even need to go to heaven. o:)
 
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  • #37
MaxS said:
I wasn't clear in what I meant when I said the past must not be forgiven.

I meant only that it is foolish to be part of a system of beliefs which since the dawn of time has justified the slaughter of human beings. (I.E. organized religions, since being a part of that religion you forgive the countless wrongs it has commited:Catholicism and the spanish inquisition et al.) Obviously this isn't limited to religions, but basically certain systems of beliefs (nationalism, racism and on and on).

I did not mean that revenge was justified although I realize now that's what it sounds like.

But this is a belief in itself (that it's foolish to be part of a religion), which when taken to the limit, results in hatred of established religions, and a desire to make the world better by spreading this idea and those who don't give into it won't be tolerated. This then will lead to a war.
 
  • #38
outsider said:
I remember the first few times I played paintball wars, I thought I was Rambo... nothing to lose... but I sat out a lot more than most people... if it was real life... i'd be sitting out right now... in some hole in the ground about 6 feet deep. My family would miss me, my dog would probably die from separation anxiety. Yeah, maybe I sucked... but even good people die for no reason.

No one wins in war... what are you hoping to win? what will your win cost you? Let me live another 40 years without the worries of war in my backyard and that will be a happy life. I don't even need to go to heaven. o:)

I too have had a similar thoughts running through my mind when I first played paintball. I never played it after that. There seems to be little mercy in actual wartime, and good people do indeed die, in addition to civilians, women and children.

Lets hope that nuclear wars don't break out... humanity would be completely doomed if it were nuked 14,000 times. A more peaceful worldview would help, but usually power tends to go to the guy who has the biggest guns...
 
  • #39
motai said:
I too have had a similar thoughts running through my mind when I first played paintball. I never played it after that. There seems to be little mercy in actual wartime, and good people do indeed die, in addition to civilians, women and children.

Lets hope that nuclear wars don't break out... humanity would be completely doomed if it were nuked 14,000 times. A more peaceful worldview would help, but usually power tends to go to the guy who has the biggest guns...

I think the realization of your personal weaknesses and tendencies give a good indication of what war can be...

I have a baseless belief that those who are PF are mostly thinking types who fall in a category of people who are capable of less violent resolutions, but after reading some threads, i realize that we can disagree on something trivial and it can be blown beyond proportion.

If everyone realized how they behave under pressure, the world would be a better place.
 
  • #40
outsider said:
I have a baseless belief that those who are PF are mostly thinking types who fall in a category of people who are capable of less violent resolutions, but after reading some threads, i realize that we can disagree on something trivial and it can be blown beyond proportion.
I think this stems mainly from people figuring "it's just the internet" so they type things that they most likely wouldn't ever say to a persons face. On another forum I saw an argument get so out of hand that even the mods were insulting people. I've met some of them and know they wouldn't have acted in the same way in person.
 
  • #41
TheStatutoryApe said:
I think this stems mainly from people figuring "it's just the internet" so they type things that they most likely wouldn't ever say to a persons face. On another forum I saw an argument get so out of hand that even the mods were insulting people. I've met some of them and know they wouldn't have acted in the same way in person.
That is true. I am also a different person around my friends and family.

The Internet let too many idiots on... Commercialization of the Internet has resulted in so much negativity... I hate the Internet! But yet I pay $50 a month so I can (as of late) read and post and read thoughts on PF... so yeah, that qualifies me as an idiot... I like PF simply because idiots are afraid to come in here... well, i realize that many of you consider yourselves an idiot to some degree, but this actually makes you less of an idiot...
 
  • #42
outsider said:
That is true. I am also a different person around my friends and family.

The Internet let too many idiots on... Commercialization of the Internet has resulted in so much negativity... I hate the Internet! But yet I pay $50 a month so I can (as of late) read and post and read thoughts on PF... so yeah, that qualifies me as an idiot... I like PF simply because idiots are afraid to come in here... well, i realize that many of you consider yourselves an idiot to some degree, but this actually makes you less of an idiot...
I DO NOT! I consider myself an a$$hole ... not an idiot. (It's okay Russ ... you can agree with me here).

Russ, on the other hand ... :wink:
 
  • #43
Yeah, and I'm a god!
 
  • #44
The Smoking Man said:
I DO NOT! I consider myself an a$$hole ... not an idiot. (It's okay Russ ... you can agree with me here).

Russ, on the other hand ... :wink:

in otherwords, people who don't want to curse would call you an idiot.. jk :smile:
 

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