My article for NATO Canada that explores how the arts can play a part in countering violent extremism.
http://natoassociation.ca/the-role-o...ent-extremism/

You know after reading that, then reading it again and once more because I got confused I have decided that we are doing everything we can to avoid solving the problem by looking for overly complex reasons as to why people turn to terrorism.


I look at all the mindless socially maladjusted losers that pick up a gun and go nuts and I can't help but wonder whether today's world isn't the reason.


As a kid I grew up in a traditional family of the time, dad worked, mum stayed at home, we were packed up and sent to school, on the weekends we as a family went and did things.


Since then we trade seven days a week, jobs are now almost entirely rostered and the pay has failed to keep up resulting in both parents having to work at all hours and sometimes requiring multiple jobs, what time you do get is spent frantically trying to fill in the gaps, most kids probably couldn't pick their parents from a line up (and in many cases one has totally abandoned the process and fled the scene).


Should we be surprised that kids are now parented by the internet and end up loners who are completely incapable of social interaction (and this doesnt take into account the generally poor state of parenting) which more often than not is the description of those who end up in terrorist organisations and mass murderers.


I guess my point is that perhaps we should look at the world we have created/inherited to find the root causes and solutions.


Anyway sorry for the rambling but reflection is a big thing in New Zealand right now and I am probably doing a bit of it myself.

Monty, are you trying to say that you don't agree with my opinion on the article?

Originally Posted by Tuan

Monty, are you trying to say that you don't agree with my opinion on the article?

I agree with it in the sense that it probably isn't wrong but I think it ignores the root of the problem as do most "academic" attempts to analyse the issue.
Talk of soft and hard power is great but it is ambulance at the bottom of the cliff stuff in order to reduce the migration to these groups I think we need to look much closer to home and resolve societal issues (which are different for each nation).

Essentially we should be spending our time and money on fencing off the cliff rather than building a hospital at the bottom to reduce ambulance costs.

Originally Posted by MontyB

I agree with it in the sense that it probably isn't wrong but I think it ignores the root of the problem as do most "academic" attempts to analyse the issue.

Essentially we should be spending our time and money on fencing off the cliff rather than building a hospital at the bottom to reduce ambulance costs.

I agree with you that the article doesn't address the root causes of CVE.

FYI, it is an abridged version of the below paper, in which I did mention the root causes...

https://www.academia.edu/31329846/Re...gh_Smart_Power

Originally Posted by MontyB

You know after reading that, then reading it again and once more because I got confused I have decided that we are doing everything we can to avoid solving the problem by looking for overly complex reasons as to why people turn to terrorism.

As a kid I grew up in a traditional family of the time, dad worked, mum stayed at home, we were packed up and sent to school, on the weekends we as a family went and did things.


Since then we trade seven days a week, jobs are now almost entirely rostered and the pay has failed to keep up resulting in both parents having to work at all hours and sometimes requiring multiple jobs, what time you do get is spent frantically trying to fill in the gaps, most kids probably couldn't pick their parents from a line up (and in many cases one has totally abandoned the process and fled the scene).


I guess my point is that perhaps we should look at the world we have created/inherited to find the root causes and solutions.


Anyway sorry for the rambling but reflection is a big thing in New Zealand right now and I am probably doing a bit of it myself.

All I can say to this is to quote Mahatma Gandhi — 'Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed.'

Again, let me emphasize once again the root causes, which are inequality, poverty, and social injustices.

Originally Posted by Tuan

All I can say to this is to quote Mahatma Gandhi — 'Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed.'

Again, let me emphasize once again the root causes, which are inequality, poverty, and social injustices.

Gandhi was correct in the context of his time on this planet, but we need three Earths to fulfill the needs of man now. Earth cannot sustain all 7 billion people having the same opportunities as what the people in the developed world has. I'm not so worried about it, though. The evolution of pathogens will sort it out for the humanity. A repeat of the Spanish Flu will help to solve the problem of resources.

You are correct when you are addressing the issues of the social issues, but I also think the leaders of "some countries" shall focus on the benefits of their people and not their own Swiss bank accounts

No, we should get the facts straight. The world's richest 1% own the world's 45% of wealth. Isn't that global inequality?

https://inequality.org/facts/global-inequality/

By and large, it is the flawed capitalism to be blamed.

That is why Karl Marx reminded us that "The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point is to change it."

- Marx, Theses On Feuerbach: Thesis 11 (1845)

Originally Posted by Tuan

No, we should get the facts straight. The world's richest 1% own the world's 45% of wealth. Isn't that global inequality?

https://inequality.org/facts/global-inequality/

By and large, it is the flawed capitalism to be blamed.

That is why Karl Marx reminded us that "The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point is to change it."

- Marx, Theses On Feuerbach: Thesis 11 (1845)

I think you misunderstood what I said. I agree with when there are grievances, there will be reactions. However, I disagree with using Marx theories as a solution. He didn't understand the human nature and that's why everybody following his thoughts end up with misery. There will always be a ruling elite, you can't change that, but Marx thought he could, but it ended up with something really bad.

Originally Posted by I3BrigPvSk

However, I disagree with using Marx theories as a soluton. He didn't understand the human nature's and that's why everybody following his thoughts end up with misery. There will always be a ruling elite, you can't change that, but Marx thought he could, but it ended up with something really bad.

Can you give me an example of someone who followed Marx and then they ended up in misery? Or, are you just saying this because you don't like Marx's Communist Manifesto? The truth is Marx was communism’s most zealous intellectual advocate. His comprehensive writings on the subject laid the foundation for later political leaders, notably V. I. Lenin and Mao Tse-tung, to impose communism on more than twenty countries. Although, the idea of communism was undermined by capitalism, it isn't dead yet. Remember, change is the law of the universe!

P/s: I am not saying that communism is the answer to our problems that we are facing today, but capitalism is definitely not the solution, either.