On the readings for this week,

I think I will go back to an old way of blogging for these readings by highlighting items which caught my eye.

1 - In the Walsh readings, it was interesting to see the notion of the Common Good / General Will used and the fact that the Government was attempting to say that they were acting in the best interests of the General Will. Perhaps they thought that they were. My friends and I make fun of the concept of Utilitarianism on a similar principle. While the government may have been benefiting most or a certain population by harming others.. as long as the benefit of the one group was greater than the pain of the third party.. then... it should be done.. such a ridiculous concept when taken to the extreme. If I will get more enjoyment out of beating up this bum than he/she will feel pain during it.. then I should do it... ridiculous.

2 - The denial of the writ of Habeas Corpus seemed extreme and the right to be represented. Some fairly basic and universally agreed upon rights... not a good sign

3 - The discussion of the economic failures of the government appealed to my background in such matters. It is interesting to see in the present day that the Government has so much power to run/control/influence an economy that can cause harm or bring abundance to those under the "power" of the Government. Is this a new generation where the role of the Government is not to protect our rights but in addition to that , the government should monitor the economy and ensure that no seriuos problems arise. I wonder...

On the readings by Festowitz,

1 - The description of language to confuse, alter, is very interesting. It reminded me of 1984 where the language was used to alter the minds of the people. The power of language...

2 - Again the thought that only those who were "unhuman" or someone lesser beings were having their "rights" taken away from them (page 23-24).

3 - The actual dictionary of terms which were used on page 51 was interesting to read. I actually found at a couple of moments that the information which was included in the writings made me a bit nauseous.. The description of what would happen... unpleasant. I also thought that it was shocking that such acts would take place in a building in the city and next to the bank or whatever else.. as described on the bottom of page 51.

4 - Noticed that an accusation of torture by the French and the Americans... interesting.

5 - Infestation of maggots..

6 - That the guy would go home to his mother during his lunch break. It seemed as though he did not see these people as anything but a rat...

7 - In the Night and Fog, the story about the woman who was allowed to eat of her own china in the camp. This was amazing that these people showed that they had the organizational skills to keep her and her possessions safe and link the two together in order to say that this plate belongs to that number...

8 - Attempts to convince them that they were not human..

9 - On page 71, it was interesting to hear the story about the man who collapsed after a wife stood by her husband. It seemed as though that he (the soldier) had been convinced that these acts were necessary in order to change the minds in order for a better future... and the thought that even after what they had did... after the sins they had committed... that what they had been promised would not come to pass.. just shook his world....



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