Social Taboo & Religion
Saturday, October 31, 2009 2:35 PM
We read comprehensions all the time about the differences between the West and the East.
Our ancestors went with whatever they thought to be "right" and "wrong". They didn't have reference books on how to govern their country and how to teach the population to survive, or what "morals" really were. So they had to figure it out by and for themselves and accept what worked for them.
As such, "right" and "wrong" don't really exist. We are really just following what the people around us perceive to be right or wrong like dogs on a leash - rather, humans define right and wrong.
Of course there are some things which are, undoubtedly, inhumane. Taking things which do not belong to you without compensating for them, or taking someone's life while keeping your own (so that excludes getting the death sentence for murder). But social taboos are whole different ballgame. They are mindsets, either forced upon, or taken up through habit and\or experience.
They built the social infrastructures of their own societies through religion and rules.
There is Buddhism, which teaches people to realise their potential for personal development. Its core teachings are not to show and tell; but rather to guide as a teacher. Its followers had to find and tread the path to self-discovery on their own. The Buddha is not seen as a god in any sense, but seen as a guide and exemplar.
Then there is Christianity, which, unlike Buddhism, is divinely-related. They believe in the one and only God. And so God is the guy (girl?) who defines what's right and wrong, what's a sin and what isn't. His day job is defending the world from evil. Christians are guided by a book, which is the Bible, or a recollection of events and prophecies from the time of Genesis and Jesus and also some prophecies related to the future. No one really knows whether its contents are 100% true. But it told (convinced?) many people that to "sin" was bad. But besides the Ten Commandments, what is considered "sinning" isn't very clearly defined, but it did give people an idea.
Of course there were ridiculous ideas related to religion and\or race - as one example, dinosaurs were never existent\were coexistent with humans in the relevant periods of history in the Bible. There has also been news of race\religious discrimination due to certain religious beliefs. In Iraq, a girl was stoned to death by Muslim men only because she was in love with a Muslim guy when she didn't have a Muslim background. Her killers were never brought to justice. A year after her murder 40 million Iraqi Dinars were given to her family to keep their silence.
The cost of love was a human life.
The cost of silence, 40 million Dinar.
The world is becoming more technologically advanced, but (rather shockingly) some societies still hold on to ridiculous superstition. While issues such as gender and racial discrimination are mostly looked down upon in many societies, they are still prevalent in some developing or third-world countries. In these countries, religion takes priority over the lives, rights, feelings and freedom of humans of either differing race, gender, social status, race or religion.
Religions are probably as old as the human race. And while many of them had been there for the greater good of people and country, many customs have been distorted by the selfish perception of people and lust for power over other beings.
In the 21st century, of course, things are different in countries like Singapore. We understand the importance of equality among our people.
What we have here are different kinds of social taboo - which I will discuss in my next post because this one is as long as a proboscis monkey's nose.
I am also quite tired.
I am spent.
My last bit of energy has been used up,
My last drop of fuel.
All to entertain you, my friend.
All to entertain you.
Remember that.
Because if you don't, I will haunt you.
I will watch you sleep at night.
And I will crave the sweet smell of your blood.
Which emits the fragrance of your sweet-smelling hair,
Like a dissected frog on the biology laboratory table.
Mmmm.
Tasty.
I am but a mosquito in the evening light.
Sucking the sap of life out of you.
And you will never know.
Because
THIS
IS
SPARTA!
Saturday, October 31, 2009 2:35 PM
We read comprehensions all the time about the differences between the West and the East.
Our ancestors went with whatever they thought to be "right" and "wrong". They didn't have reference books on how to govern their country and how to teach the population to survive, or what "morals" really were. So they had to figure it out by and for themselves and accept what worked for them.
As such, "right" and "wrong" don't really exist. We are really just following what the people around us perceive to be right or wrong like dogs on a leash - rather, humans define right and wrong.
Of course there are some things which are, undoubtedly, inhumane. Taking things which do not belong to you without compensating for them, or taking someone's life while keeping your own (so that excludes getting the death sentence for murder). But social taboos are whole different ballgame. They are mindsets, either forced upon, or taken up through habit and\or experience.
They built the social infrastructures of their own societies through religion and rules.
There is Buddhism, which teaches people to realise their potential for personal development. Its core teachings are not to show and tell; but rather to guide as a teacher. Its followers had to find and tread the path to self-discovery on their own. The Buddha is not seen as a god in any sense, but seen as a guide and exemplar.
Then there is Christianity, which, unlike Buddhism, is divinely-related. They believe in the one and only God. And so God is the guy (girl?) who defines what's right and wrong, what's a sin and what isn't. His day job is defending the world from evil. Christians are guided by a book, which is the Bible, or a recollection of events and prophecies from the time of Genesis and Jesus and also some prophecies related to the future. No one really knows whether its contents are 100% true. But it told (convinced?) many people that to "sin" was bad. But besides the Ten Commandments, what is considered "sinning" isn't very clearly defined, but it did give people an idea.
Of course there were ridiculous ideas related to religion and\or race - as one example, dinosaurs were never existent\were coexistent with humans in the relevant periods of history in the Bible. There has also been news of race\religious discrimination due to certain religious beliefs. In Iraq, a girl was stoned to death by Muslim men only because she was in love with a Muslim guy when she didn't have a Muslim background. Her killers were never brought to justice. A year after her murder 40 million Iraqi Dinars were given to her family to keep their silence.
The cost of love was a human life.
The cost of silence, 40 million Dinar.
The world is becoming more technologically advanced, but (rather shockingly) some societies still hold on to ridiculous superstition. While issues such as gender and racial discrimination are mostly looked down upon in many societies, they are still prevalent in some developing or third-world countries. In these countries, religion takes priority over the lives, rights, feelings and freedom of humans of either differing race, gender, social status, race or religion.
Religions are probably as old as the human race. And while many of them had been there for the greater good of people and country, many customs have been distorted by the selfish perception of people and lust for power over other beings.
In the 21st century, of course, things are different in countries like Singapore. We understand the importance of equality among our people.
What we have here are different kinds of social taboo - which I will discuss in my next post because this one is as long as a proboscis monkey's nose.
I am also quite tired.
I am spent.
My last bit of energy has been used up,
My last drop of fuel.
All to entertain you, my friend.
All to entertain you.
Remember that.
Because if you don't, I will haunt you.
I will watch you sleep at night.
And I will crave the sweet smell of your blood.
Which emits the fragrance of your sweet-smelling hair,
Like a dissected frog on the biology laboratory table.
Mmmm.
Tasty.
I am but a mosquito in the evening light.
Sucking the sap of life out of you.
And you will never know.
Because
THIS
IS
SPARTA!
Labels: Discussion, Random