DISCOURSE 12: THE WORLD'S POLICE

[Trollax]

DISCOURSE 12: THE WORLD'S POLICE
OR
THE BUST THAT REBUILT PANDORA'S BOX

Back in my high school days I possessed a single masochistic vice: I would (at times) deliberately put myself forward for certain tasks, give my all, and do my best, with the aim of earning a grudging (and sadly, fleeting) respect from my critics (just about everyone that knew me). My purpose was simple, to show them and myself that I was not the hopeless loser and the weird utopian I was so often branded. Yet, without even realising it, I was showing a tremendous courage. I was putting myself before the people most likely to write me off without a second thought, the people who really didn't care whether I did good or not. The swine before whom I would toss my pearls as my mother often told me.

But even though the day after, everything would return to normal, I got something from it; it gave me the ability to listen to criticism (half a decade down the track at least). It gave me the seed of self-confidence, and the wisdom to know when I was truly following my heart or just drifting. In those secretly rebellious moments I was learning not just the 'how' of actions but the 'why' of actions. Oddly enough, I (an utter loner) was learning about leadership, about stepping outside of the social framework and thinking about making the power of "the flow" work for me, not about placing myself above or beyond social considerations but deleting myself from them entirely. Knowing that I would never be able to return to the stream because I would drown, so I built a boat and began to sail aloofly above the surface of the water, in the world but not of it.

I lost a place in the world but in return I gained something more, the ability and capacity to change it. I knew that there were certain things that in conscience I could never do because I knew the 'why' of why I would commit them, I understood that there were certain things which I could see, which I could never say, because of the damage they would cause. I truly now, understand the burdens of wisdom, yet they are only curses if the wisdom one has is not applied.

Is it wisdom with which the western world speaks? Was it wisdom which allowed lies to be fed to political leaders? Was it wisdom which allowed the true reasons for an invasion of another country to be concealed under a thin veneer of humanitarian concerns and fears of nuclear attack? Is it wisdom with which some nations are allowed to be excused from the rulings of an international body, while others are bullied, beaten, and badgered at every turn? Which national leader possesses the ability to lead the world and be its police chief? I will give you one simple answer?ñ None.

How can we even hope to have someone who can achieve this, while even at a national level, regions of many countries suffer neglect from their own governments in various ways?

The occupation of being a national leader is to ensure the prosperity and safety of your nation, so this means that the White-House, Downing Street, and its coalition of affiliates believes itself to own the entire world as they now police it? Yet, the occupation of a law enforcer requires that they keep the peace and ensure the safety and rights of all are respected within the boundaries of the rule of law.

The Pandora's Box that is being built on Capital Hill, and the House of Commons will allow the Autarchs of the world to reach beyond their own borders, mutating the position of head of state into "petty tyrant." Whose job it shall be to ensure that all less-powerful nations within its sphere of influence follow its lead and act in its interests wherever and whenever it says so.

The stream in which the masses flow is now wrapped in the blanket of Aneristic chaos, the storms and currents threaten to capsize and swamp the unwary leaders of this world. Yet the very stability and freedom that both sides wish to create is precisely what is causing this chaos. What are we to do?

As I said, the occupation of a law enforcer is to "ensure the safety and equity of all, within the boundaries of the law." If this coalition is to operate as a law enforcer then it must be assured that its motives are in the right place. It must not place itself above or beyond the considerations of the international community, "but delete itself from them entirely." If America is truly the police of the world, if its actions are truly moral and above reproach then I say it must submit its activities to the scrutiny of its harshest critics. But as I said before, no nation can do this: there are mouths to be fed, economies to be run, industry to be organised, resources to be extracted, and interests to be served.

The interests that were served through the liberation of Afghanistan and Iraq were neither purely or even mostly humanitarian. If they were, the common consensus is that many other countries would have been aided ahead of them. Not necessarily through war either, through economic, drought, and famine relief. Through the improvement of standard of living and quality of life, through the improvement of the ability of many countries to compete on some scale in the international community. Yet the actions taken by the coalition in the last 2 years appear to be less humanitarian and more a kind of egocentric utilitarianism: "Who can provide the greatest amount of good for me and my friends here and now?"
If every law enforcement agency in the world was utilitarian then I would most-likely not be speaking to you, every neighborhood with an average income less than 50,000 per year would be a ghetto of the kind rarely seen outside post-apocalyptic stories and movies.

The world's police must be accountable to the world but not controlled by the few, or even controlled in small parts by any interest. It must answer ultimately to the rule of international law, a law which must be flexible and understanding, intuitive and empathic. The world's police must also give aid and comfort to the poor and enforce the rule of law wherever it is broken, not be intimidated by the powerful and bribed by the wealthy. The world's police must not be afraid of economic downturn brought about by unpopular actions, dissent from detractors for doing what is right, or international dissent for not towing the party line.

Look closely, we do not have a world's police, but the thin veneer of honesty and sincerity that we swallow every time the polls open. It's a FNORD, but even a FNORD can be worth aspiring to. But which leader would ask of their nation the supreme sacrifice: to leave the flow and sail above it?

Can you do that Mr Bush?
Can you do that Mr Blair?
Can you do that Mr Burlusconi?
Can you do that Mr Howard?
Can even you do that Mr. Anan?

~Leader Trollax~

[Slarti]

i had to bump this becuase it's a great rant from trollax that nobody ever replied to  

[Penumbral]

I must say I mostly agree with that. Very good!

[livid E. T.]

I don't think anyone can....

except you and Jesus.

ALL PRAISE JEBUS!

the fuckers.

[Irreverend Hugh, KSC]

In the Rule of Law we must also realize who makes the laws. If we all must live in a society that operates by Rule of Law, than wouldn't that mean that in principle everyone gets a say in the creation of that Rule of Law? And if everyone had a say in the creation of that, then what about the creation of an economic system which benefits everyone's life? I suspect we would need fewer police in the world at that point. Call me utopian but I think I am just seeing how far Reason could take me when applied to society and how we organize it. I could be way off base.

[East Coast Hustle]

bumped, because clearly no one listened the first time around.

[Irreverend Hugh, KSC]

bumped, because clearly no one listened the first time around.

Nope. We had gotten worried about the fluff and then we were speculating in secret about Tyler's apocalypse. Tyler got so angry when none of us would believe him that 100,000 people would be killed in august of 2003.

[East Coast Hustle]

oh, I imagine he was right, one way or another.

it probably just didn't make it onto Fox News.

[Irreverend Hugh, KSC]

oh, I imagine he was right, one way or another.

it probably just didn't make it onto Fox News.

He was right. And wrong. No body named Kutulu came back to earth to finish us off after the mass murders.

(He insisted on the spelling being Kutulu, he said it was the "ancient" spelling.)

[East Coast Hustle]

yes, well, we both know that "Tyler" certainly had his own fish to fry, eh?

[Irreverend Hugh, KSC]

yes, well, we both know that "Tyler" certainly had his own fish to fry, eh?

Fortunately all those fish were swimming in his own skull.

[eighteen buddha strike]

Wow, Tyler.

Now that, was the troll of legend.

[Irreverend Hugh, KSC]

Wow, Tyler.

Now that, was the troll of legend.

Wasn't he?

That man wrote the book on trollage.

[eighteen buddha strike]

Wow, Tyler.

Now that, was the troll of legend.

Wasn't he?

That man wrote the book on trollage.

Mostly, I think, because it was easy to believe that he was dead serious. Most of these new trolls dont have anything going for them in terms of suspension of disbelief, you can spot them a mile away and hear them giggling behind the monitor as they press the Submit! button.

[Irreverend Hugh, KSC]

Yeah. They must have broke the troll molds after they finished with producing Tyler.