Vision of Hope Blog tagged 'common sense'

In Search of New Frontiers

Nissim Dahan

America has always been a land of new frontiers. From the time that Columbus first set foot here, to the time that pioneers set out to settle the West, to the time that Americans set out for the moon, there has always been a sense here that there are new frontiers to explore. And yet, America now finds herself somewhat at a loss, and the promise of new frontiers is becoming illusory at best. Where do we go from here? The question lingers in the public mind.

America faces some gra [...]

Global Warming: The Beginning of the End, or perhaps a New Beginning?

Nissim Dahan

There is as we speak, a growing awareness about Global Warming, and a growing controversy about the dangers it poses, and the possible solutions which could address those dangers. Some believe that Global Warming is the end of life as we know it, and others dismiss it as environmental quackery. To my mind, however, there is enough scientific evidence of the threat of Global Warming, such that the risk of not doing anything about it, is far greater than the risk of doing something, and later find [...]

If you were Barack Obama, how would you Sell a Vision of Hope for the Middle East?

Nissim Dahan

Given the choice, most voters would rather forget about the Middle East. With so many pressing problems here at home, it is hard to keep worrying about that precarious place. But the Middle East is not easily forgotten. In the first place, our oil supply, which continues to fuel our economy until we find feasible alternatives, requires a measure of stability in the region. And in the second place, John McCain has stated repeatedly that the threat of Islamic extremism is the transcendent iss [...]

Edwin Just Called Me A "Deist"

Nissim Dahan

In one of his comments on www.mideastyouth.com, Edwin called me a "deist."

A what? A "deist." Well, "them's fighting words," as far as I was concerned, but before reaching for the boxing gloves, I thought I'd better look up what the word "deist" means. It can't hurt to understand the insults, before getting insulted.

Deism is the belief in the existence of a God on the evidence of reason and nature only, with [...]

Paradise Lost

Nissim Dahan

A lot of people around the world have a lot of faith in paradise or heaven. In the Middle East, in particular, notions of paradise carry a lot of weight, as some feel compelled to kill and die for the sake of their ultimate reward in paradise. And others, in addition, are willing to tolerate the injustice of the present, and do nothing about it, for the sake of the justice that will be meted out in heaven.

Frankly, I choose to believe that paradise does not exist, for two reasons [...]

Where is the Honor in Honor Killing?

Nissim Dahan

Every once in a while we hear of an "honor killing" carried out by a family member against one of their own. A recent article about an Iranian father who stoned his daughter to death, for bringing "dishonor" to him and to his family, is a case in point. The girl may, or may not, have consorted with a man without the father's approval, but he took it upon himself to restore his "honor" in the cruelest way possible, by taking the life of his own flesh and blood. < [...]

Believing In What Makes Sense

Nissim Dahan

This post is dedicated to Mohammad Memarian, who rightfully questions whether it is possible to discern a universally shared ideology based on notions of common sense, which would find widespread agreement throughout humanity at large.

As some of you may already know, I believe that the answer to world peace is Selling a Vision of Hope, which consists of five parts, like the five fingers of a hand:

The thumb is for Ideology: Use an Ideology of Common Sense to s [...]

The Legitimacy of Belief

Nissim Dahan

Sometimes I wonder: What is harder, waging war, or making peace?

Waging war is not all that easy. In war we kill, and die, and suffer the devastation of wartime injuries, both physical and psychological, not to mention the loss of national treasure. But to my mind, as hard as war is, making peace is that much harder. Why? In war, we fight for what we believe. And we all feel good about fighting for our beliefs. It gives us goose bumps just thinking about it.

Bu [...]

Who is God?

Nissim Dahan

As some of you may already know, I believe that the world is ripe for a new ideological framework; what I call An Ideology of Common Sense. Instead of believing what we want to believe, it may well be time to begin believing in what makes sense.

If the world is already coming together technologically and economically, it makes sense to come together ideologically as well, in order to pave the way for the unprecedented level of cooperation that a world economy will require. [...]

Babel

Nissim Dahan

The biblical story of the Tower of Babel is fascinating to me, in part because I sense that the story is replaying itself as we speak. Here are several passages from chapter 11 of the Book of Genesis:

The whole earth was of one language and of common purpose...

...They said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks and burn them in the fire." ...And they said, "Come, let us build us a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for o [...]

What's All The Killing About? (may not be suitable for people of a human persuasion)

Nissim Dahan

Daniel Pipes, a renowned analyst of the Middle East, just published a list compiled, in part, by Gunnar Heinsohn, showing how many people were killed, since 1950, in all the various conflicts around the world. His point was that the Arab-Israeli conflict gets undo attention because it ranks only 49th among the 67 bloodiest conflicts, with "only" 51,000 fatalities, as compared to some of the others.

Please take the time to look at some of the numbers.

& [...]

We Have Met The Messiah And He Is Us

Nissim Dahan

Many religious traditions espouse the notion of the Messiah, a person who will be sent to redeem the world from sin and suffering.

In Judaism, the Hebrew Bible doesn't really mention the idea of a personal Messiah who will end evil and usher in an age of peace. But the idea became popular as a result of rabbinic teachings, after the [[Second Temple]] in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in the year 70 C.E. It is understandable that in the wake of the Temple's destruct [...]

The Little Cavegirl

Nissim Dahan

Picture in your mind a nine year old prehistoric girl, gathering nuts and berries with her mother near the mouth of their cave. Whenever she gets the chance, the little cavegirl likes to bring the spears, which are stored inside the cave, to the male hunters. As she gathers food with her mother, she notices two males approaching from one direction, and two others approaching from the other. The males need their spears to go out and hunt. The little girl aims to please. She quickly takes leave [...]

Why Would Anyone Strap On A Suicide Bomb?

Nissim Dahan

It is exceedingly difficult for some of us in the West to fathom how a young man or woman could become convinced to blow themselves up in the name of a cause they believe in. Our Western minds have a hard time making sense of the phenomenon of suicide bombers. And yet, we may well have to probe the minds of these fellow travelers, and understand how they think, in order to figure out how to best deal with them, and how to counter the threat they pose.

Some of us naturally a [...]

War and Peace

Nissim Dahan

Let me ask you this: What do you think is harder, waging war, or making peace? Here’s my take on it. As hard as it is to wage war, making peace is a lot harder. It is harder because in war, you fight for what you believe in, and we all feel pretty good about fighting for what we believe in.

For peace, however, you often have to give up some of what you believe in, for the sake of a greater truth, a truth you can believe in even more, like the welfare of your children, [...]