MIGHT IS RIGHT?

[Norsemaiden]

Is it true that "might is right"? Ragnar Redbeard (real name Arthur Desmond) wrote a book by this name (1896). Here is his alternative to the Sermon on the Mount.

Blessed are the strong, for they shall possess the Earth.
Cursed are the weak, for they shall inherit the yoke.

Blessed are the powerful, for they shall be reverenced among men.
Cursed are the feeble, for they shall be blotted out.

Blessed are the bold, for they shall be masters of the world.
Cursed are the humble, for they shall be trodden under hoofs.

Blessed are the victorious, for victory is the basis of right.
Cursed are the vanquished, for they shall be vassals forever.

Blessed are the battle-blooded. Beauty shall smile upon them.
Cursed are the poor in spirit, for they shall be spat upon.

Blessed are the audacious, for they have imbibed true wisdom.
Cursed are the obedient, for they shall breed creeplings.

Blessed are the iron-handed; the unfit shall flee before them.
Cursed are the haters of battle; subjugation is their portion.

Blessed are the death-defiant; their days shall be long in the land.
Cursed are the feeble-brained, for they shall perish amidst plenty.

Blessed are the destroyers of false hope; they are true messiahs.
Cursed are the God-adorers; they shall be shorn sheep!

Blessed are the valiant, for they shall obtain great treasure.
Cursed are the believers in good and evil, for they are frightened
by shadows.

Blessed are those who believe in nothing; never shall it terrorized
their minds.
Cursed are the "lambs of god" they shall be bleed "whiter than snow".

Blessed is the man who has powerful enemies they shall make him a hero.
Cursed is he who "doeth good" unto others; he shall be despised.

Blessed is the man whose foot is swift to serve a friend; he is a
friend indeed.
Cursed are the organizers of charities; they are propagators of plagues.

Blessed are the wise and brave, for in the struggle they shall win.
Cursed are the unfit, for they shall be righteously exterminated.

Blessed are the sires of noble maidens; they are the salt of the Earth.
Cursed the mothers of strumous tenderlings, for they shall be shamed.

Blessed are the mighty-minded, for they shall ride the whirlwinds.
Cursed are they who teach lies for truth and truth for lies, for they
are -- abomination.

Blessed are the unmerciful; their posterity shall own the world.
Cursed are the famous wiselings; their seed shall perish off the Earth

Thrice cursed are the vile, for they shall serve and suffer.

http://www.satanservice.org/theory/rrmight.txt

 

[proglodite]

Well, obviously, it's not meant to be taken literally. It refers to any manufacturers of dairy products...

 

[LORD_RED_DRAGON]

i think this is pretty much what's going on in the minds of people who have gone power-crazy

the cops/military men that think their better than civilians
the medical doctors/therapists that think their superior to their patients
etc etc etc

 

[Norsemaiden]

As with everything, it comes down to an individual's perspective on the question. After all, there is no doubt that the weaker or more vulnerable someone is, the less they are inclined to agree that might is right. It may be that might is not always right, but that it always prevails, for better or for worse.

 

[crimsonfloyd]

Sounds like a cheesy poem written by a 14 year old who read some Nietzsche, missed his real points, but caught on to some of the catchier lines and decided to write a some redundent metal lyrics.

The general question "is might right?" Well thats way too broad. What is right? And what is might? Is the frat boy who was given a bunch of money "right" in using his financial "might" to buy a Hummer and and pollute the world? Is a solider "right" for using the "might" of his gun to kill unprotected civilians? Are twelve skinny cowards "right" for using their collective "might" to kill the one strong brave man?

 

[Norsemaiden]

Sounds like a cheesy poem written by a 14 year old who read some Nietzsche, missed his real points, but caught on to some of the catchier lines and decided to write a some redundent metal lyrics.

The general question "is might right?" Well thats way too broad. What is right? And what is might? Is the frat boy who was given a bunch of money "right" in using his financial "might" to buy a Hummer and and pollute the world? Is a solider "right" for using the "might" of his gun to kill unprotected civilians? Are twelve skinny cowards "right" for using their collective "might" to kill the one strong brave man?

Apart from the first sentence I agree with you. However, the author makes many valid points in his book, such as that we need struggle and competition to avoid losing some important faculties. He takes as an example birds that have lost the ability to fly (genetically, as a species) because they were in an environment where flying was not necessary for survival. This puts them now at a disadvantage, eg. Dodo. The subtitle of the book is "The Survival of the Fittest".

 

[proglodite]

Meek:
1. Showing patience and humility; gentle.
2. Easily imposed on; submissive.

The only verse in the first part of the sermon on the mount that I can understand you having a go at is Matt 5:5, Blessed are the meek. If you take the first of the above meanings, it makes more sense.

 

[crimsonfloyd]

Apart from the first sentence I agree with you. However, the author makes many valid points in his book, such as that we need struggle and competition to avoid losing some important faculties. He takes as an example birds that have lost the ability to fly (genetically, as a species) because they were in an environment where flying was not necessary for survival. This puts them now at a disadvantage, eg. Dodo. The subtitle of the book is "The Survival of the Fittest".

The dodos didn't lose flight because of lack of evolutionary competition, they lost flight because it was evoltionarily benifical to sacrfice flight for other traits. The dodos didn't have preditors to compete with, but that doesn't mean they didn't have interspecies competetion, intraspecies competition with their prey, or nonbiotic enviornmental pressures. Obviously this guy wasn't paying attition to Orgin of Species, as is the case with most people who use the tautological phrase "Surivial of the Fittest".

 

[Norsemaiden]

The dodos didn't lose flight because of lack of evolutionary competition, they lost flight because it was evoltionarily benifical to sacrfice flight for other traits. The dodos didn't have preditors to compete with, but that doesn't mean they didn't have interspecies competetion, intraspecies competition with their prey, or nonbiotic enviornmental pressures. Obviously this guy wasn't paying attition to Orgin of Species, as is the case with most people who use the tautological phrase "Surivial of the Fittest".

The flightless birds did not sacrifice flight for other traits. It was the lack of predators, as Darwin speculated, that made flight redundant. In the case of the blind cave fish also, their blindness evolved because sight was redundant. "Use it or lose it" as the saying goes. Similarly, civilised people and domesticated animals lose their wild instincts, they are not developing under pressure to behave in a domesticated manner (although the exception would be any animal deliberately bred to be a certain way) it is the LACK of pressure that is causing the loss of many instincts. This is one reason why civilisation is dysgenic.
http://www.iwrc-online.org/kids/Facts/Birds/flightless.htm

 

[crimsonfloyd]

Yes they lose the flight, sight or whatever else so that the energy/ brain space that is used for the given activity can be used for more benifical actions/functions. Thus it is a tradeoff.

 

[Dän]

Well, obviously, it's not meant to be taken literally. It refers to any manufacturers of dairy products...

 

[proglodite]

Good to see another python fan on here, from the same city no less...

 

[Norsemaiden]

The trouble is, there was nothing that sounded like "blessed are the cheesemakers" in Redbeard's version.

Power is always there to be seized or taken or used. It exists. You think that it is bad if it is used against you, but "might is right" every time, in the opinion of the person using might. Just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, what is right is interpreted in the eye of the mighty. In all the examples of the use of might which most people would consider ill use, the person with the power wouldn't agree. If one doesn't like the way someone else weilds power, the only solution is to weild greater power over them.

 

[Dee Snarl]

The original post correctly explains the natural way of the world. That is, how animals and the uncivilized live.

What Jesus (supposedly) said had the aim of elevating mankind above the station of animals. And of course, it wasn't just Jesus, but the many philosophers and humans who have proposed that we push ourselves to be better than, say, dogs....

It's your choice.

 

[Norsemaiden]

The original post correctly explains the natural way of the world. That is, how animals and the uncivilized live.

What Jesus (supposedly) said had the aim of elevating mankind above the station of animals. And of course, it wasn't just Jesus, but the many philosophers and humans who have proposed that we push ourselves to be better than, say, dogs....

It's your choice.

Absolutely true to say that it is the way of the natural world. Jewsus tells you how to weaken yourself so that you can surrender all power to those that have tricked you. Is that how you get to be better than a dog, or is it how you make yourself a prostrate dog?

 

[no country for old wainds]

"I don't have the right?! Nature dictated to you our rights when she gave you nothing but soft flesh to shelter your blood from my sword, and a mind soft enough to try to reason with a barbarian!"

 

[crimsonfloyd]

The original post correctly explains the natural way of the world. That is, how animals and the uncivilized live.

You, obviously have not studied the "uncivilized"...

 

[infoterror]

What Jesus (supposedly) said had the aim of elevating mankind above the station of animals.

This -- naively, benevolently -- assumes that animals are not adapted to reality.

There is a mathematical need for self-assertiveness, especially when resources are limited.

:Smokin:

 

[Dee Snarl]

You, obviously have not studied the "uncivilized"...

You, obviously don't understand proper punctuation.



But granted. I'm not going to argue the point that I should have left that particular word out.

Anyway, please enlighten as to your view of the "uncivilized." Because it amuses me.

 

[infoterror]

I'm gonna vote for "right is right." Now how to define right?

:Smokin: :zombie: :Smokin: