Worldview: Introduction
by A Concerned Citizen
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Revised 5 August 2007
Preliminary Caveats:
Posting links to articles, and excerpts from articles, does not necessarily mean that I endorse the viewpoint of the author. Often, I am simply interested in seeing how other people think. Also, please note that I keep old articles up, even after changing my mind, so I can see how my thinking has evolved over time.
By late 2006, my political views changed rather significantly in an antiwar direction. I came to realize that the Iraq war was a blunder based on deception. This prompted me to read books by authors such as Chalmers Johnson, who argues effectively that US foreign policy has been 'imperialistic' in some sense at least since WWII. At the start of the Iraq war, I had been somewhat influenced by the (fake?) Wilsonian idealism of the neocons and the Bush administration, but I now favor a more modest policy that cooperates with other democracies.
Also, my view of Muslims has changed. I had been appalled to learn of the harshness of orthodox Islam, but I now realize that Muslims are varied, and that the militancy of some Muslims is being exploited by hawks who wish to embroil us further in Iran. And there is much that is sordid in the history of Christianity. So don't judge me based on a single old article. I am learning too, as I post to my website. That is what this project is all about.
July 2007: This website is winding down, as I concentrate on an off-line book on US foreign policy. I have become dissatisfied with the loose format of this website, even though it is somewhat more structured and disciplined than a typical blog. Writing a book forces one (in principle) to construct a coherent and consistent view, where the holes become exposed and are hopefully filled in. I cannot say how far the book will progress, or how extensive it will be. For now, it is intended as an exercise in intellectual discipline, that will go wherever it goes. I may still add links to this site, but I don't expect to write many more articles. Of course, I may change my mind later...
August 2007: Final appraisal of this website: mediocre! Note that the word 'mediocre' means 'average', i.e. not very bad but not very good. There are some good ideas here, as well as many useful facts and articles. And certainly, many American politicians are far more ignorant than I am, judging by the foolish rhetoric (e.g. Saddam=Osama). In turn, the mainstream media has often served as little more than a megaphone for the administration, which is truly appalling! That being said, my little experiment has exposed by own intellectual lacunae, for which there is only one remedy: study! I will keep this site up for the information it does contain, and as a record of my experiment as an ordinary citizen trying to make sense of the world (see below).
Introduction (written in early 2006):
I enjoy politics and writing. Thus, another website is born! However, this little project will forever remain incomplete and subject to revision. It should be considered a kind of notebook rather than a finished document. In particular, I reserve the right to modify or change any opinion at any time without shame or apology! It's not as though I have a reputation to worry about.
Until June of 2006, I maintained a blog called Orion Articles, which listed links to articles on the web that caught my interest, along with one-line comments. However, that became rather tedious, so I gave it up. Before that, I had two other political blogs. One was called Islam Today Archive, which listed news articles related to Muslim militancy throughout the world. The other was called Orion News Blog, which contained extensive writing, but it took up too much time, and there was much repetition. Besides, nobody ever pores over the archives of a blog, so yesterday's posts are effectively lost forever. I now want to resume writing, but this time I will record and organize my opinions once and for all under various topics, as shown in the main menu above. This should prove rather more efficient and accessible than the usual day-to-day blog, which resembles a dog barking at the latest car passing by. I will also resume collecting links, though I will try to be more selective than before.
I do not claim to have an expertise that goes any deeper than the articles I refer to here. Indeed, the following can be thought of as an experiment to see what a reasonably intelligent and informed person can discover about the truth behind current events. Few of us have the time to become experts, yet we all have duties as citizens, which include casting an informed vote in elections. My hope is that this blog will further that aim.
Note that some of my views regarding religion will also be covered. In the West, we have by and large learned to keep religion a private matter, which defuses its political virulence. Unfortunately, not everyone today is willing to play that game, so it has become urgent to address this contentious subject honestly. Besides, religion is quite interesting, especially when taken in a broader context where it overlaps with philosophy and with one's deeper thoughts and feelings about life, which we all have whether we admit it or not. This cannot be totally separated from politics, though the emphasis here is on the latter.
I start out discussing Eastern religions, and the reader may get the impression that I am an esoteric and unrealistic person, with my head in the clouds. It is true that I am interested in metaphysics and related topics, but it is equally true that I combine this with a hard-headed realism regarding politics, which may be somewhat unusual. Metaphysics may be out of style with intellectuals today, but that does not mean that someone who is so inclined cannot think clearly about practical matters. In particular, I deplore the tendency of many religious leaders, particularly from Eastern traditions, to make foolish remarks about all religions being the same, that is, the same love, light and peace. The reality is that some tend to be much more intolerant and aggressive than others, and the reader will soon discover that I am particularly concerned about Islam. (But note the caveat above.)
This website is organized by chapter (i.e. pages), with each chapter covering a different topic. The different chapters can be read more or less independently. The menu (see above or below) will take you to the different chapters. Most of the links on these pages are in blue. A few are marked in green (or other colors) for my own special purposes. The links do not change color when clicked.
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