Good can grow from questionable soil

On the Stoa I see and hear the good and the bad. From here I can see the trend lines of history spinning out around us and can see the good and the bad of human history rolled out for casual or detailed inspection.

I am a generally optimistic person because I know there will always be the good with the bad. There can be no shadows without the light, just as there can be no light without shadow.

I deplore the destruction, devastation, and dislocation that come with war and its aftermath, but unfortunately that is how the world evolves. As Rush Limbaugh states so correctly, "The world is governed through the aggressive use of force." Very true. The weak possess what they have only because the strong choose to allow them to possess it. Period. Think on that for a while. Very much an undeniable truth. Change, growth, and evolution are unpredictable by nature. We also like to think of them as "unforeseen consequences". In fact, I like to think of unforeseen consequences as a Law, not a rule. No matter how much you plan for "after the war", you can not predict how all the dynamics will play out. You can only control so many variables, either historic or cultural. Winning the peace is often times harder then winning the war. This is again another facet of the Law. It is difficult to win the peace because the victor is now trying to impose its control over the conquered civilian, religious and cultural body politic.

Stoics believe that stress and strife arise from trying to force something against its nature. Like the squealing of breaks when trying to slow a car down. "An object in motion tends to stay in motion..." The wheel wants to keep rotating out of inertia, the breaks create friction to slow the car down against its nature. Tearing down a religious shrine to put up a Walmart parking lot may irritate the local religious population. Opening up a "Pork Palace BBQ" joint next to a mosque may cause the Muslims to show some slight irritation, in the form of stacked skulls in front of the BBQ. Likewise, building a Muslim Cultural Center next to a pig farmer and then demanding him to move his pigs would irritate the farmer. Building a mosque near to Ground Zero would elicit the same response from common sense Americans as well.

Controlling the ball once it is out of your hand is nigh impossible. Just like trying to predict the actions of a culturally diverse nation once you have pulled down its dictator. You know how you want it to develop and you can only nudge it so much before your plans fall to pieces and the people develop their own fate.

This is why I say that good things can grow from questionable soil. Some broad examples. The Ancient world was pulled down by Germanic and Asiatic migrations and mass re-settlements in the 5th century a.d. Engineering principles that had been in use for a millennia took another millennia to re-discover. Religious and cultural principles slumbered while European butchered European, and European butchered Muslim. Those seeds slumbered during the long centuries of warfare. From all that warfare and cultural upheaval came the Age of Enlightenment, the Social Contract, the Natural Contract, among others. These were developments that could not have taken place unless the old order had been wiped clean and rebuilt. Asian, Muslim, and African cultures have benefited unimaginably from the modern European culture. The standard of wealth and prosperity has been unmatched, culminating with the combination of many of those seeds to create the United States of America and the U.S. Constitution. Despite the undermining that is going on, it is still the greatest document next to the Bible to be created.

The Jewish Holocaust under German Fascism was horrid, but it created the only true Democracy in the Middle East. Those Jews that resettled their ancient homeland held no illusions that this was a world intimately hostile to the Jewish Race. The world will EXTERMINATE you if you allow them. This is why I will always support Israel. They are a splinter of believers in an ocean of Muslims that will not rest until every last one of them has been pushed into the sea, hunted down, and killed. A mulla has even stated that he likes Israel because it lumps many Jews all together for more efficient extermination.

I wonder what will grow out that conflicted soil? Should I come back in 50 years or 5 months? Israel is under assault now, and my government is aiding the enemy. For god's sake.

There are many more examples to discuss, however, you may think of your own personal examples. Turmoil with your parents creates a harder individual, hopefully. Wisdom comes only through learning from the many mistakes made along the road of life. This is why wisdom is always associated with grey hair.

As things are coming down around your ears in life, just keep an eye on the brighter road ahead. Pull what you can re-use from the rubble and carry on. Re-build your life better and smarter. Learn, grow, and share your wisdom. Make something good grow from the questionable soil you leave behind.

Live well.

--Zavost