Of all the barriers that separate people in the world, racial, ethnic, linguistic, religious, sectarian, etc., the barrier represented by one’s social class, however defined, seems to be, historically, one of the hardest to break through. In fact, the thing that often makes the other barriers so difficult to break through or maneuver around seems related in no small measure to the fact that, in time, they tend to acquire a social dimension as well. That is, they end up delineating social classes as well. Or should we say sociomoral classes, since each class tend to develop its own particular conception of morality?
Author: Ammar
A Syrian dreamer & dissident, not necessarily in that order.
The Meaning of Civilizational Death
A Heretic’s Log: A series of philosophical essays written between September 20, 2002 and July 15, 2004.
The rise and fall of civilizations, or to frame things in more dramatic terms, the birth and death of civilizations, is not, and has not never exactly been, a smooth and quiet affair. Indeed, there is much tumult involved in this, and the event is bound to have many repercussions for all concerned. Still, the implications for the people affected by this, and their neighbors, are not necessarily numerous as they are profound. Moreover, when the death under discussion is not that of a single civilization, such as the Islamic, Indian or Chinese Civilization, but that of an entire “civilizational complex,” namely the “East,” the implications are simply bound to be global and enduring (see in this regard the previous Log: The Imperium between East and West). Continue reading “The Meaning of Civilizational Death”
هل نحن عنصريون؟
افتتاحية لموقع ثروة / 22 أيار، 2004
مع أننا لا نستطيع إنكار كون الأسباب الأكثر عمقاً للنزاع في دارفور تكمن في ندرة الموارد في تلك المنطقة وكثرة الموانع الحائلة دون الوصول إليها، وليس مجرد التوتر الإثني والذي يبدو كعامل في الأمر ليس إلا، فإن ردود الأفعال العربية إزاء ما يجري في دارفور، شعبية كانت أم رسمية، وبصريح القول، تقارب العنصرية. ويمكن قول الشيء عينه فيما يتصل بردود الأفعال المتعلقة بالآمال والتطلعات الكردية. Continue reading “هل نحن عنصريون؟”
Heretical Superstition!
No matter how powerful the impulse to resist putting it in words is, no matter how vain the claim I am about to make might sound, there is something out there, I just have to say it, that, for whatever reason in the world, seems to be genuinely watching over me. How else can I understand my continuing ability to do what others deem impossible without the slightest harassment from our security apparatus? Or is it simply a matter of time, and I am simply deluding myself in the usual conceit of one who has always been lucky and has always managed to land on his feet in the face of his own folly and, perhaps even, unworthiness? Continue reading “Heretical Superstition!”
