Errata

There is another stanza that would cause more worry.

Mark that another verse. Who hasn’t heard the phrase “Proud to be an American” in regards to Germany above all? An American patriotic song had sea to shining sea. Fortunately, “America the Beautiful”, spoke of fait accompli

@ Conservative Yankee

Freedonia above everything; is a (VERY)loose similie of Deutschland Uber Alles The old (and current with changed words) German Natiomal anthem.

Even Oh Canada one of the most peaceful national anthems has a verse for the military.

You have the first verse of the song correct, but that is not the title and yes the song refers to Germany. But I don’t think the “Uber alles” part of the song causes any real hackles. There is another stanza that would cause more worry.

Now which country has the fields soaked with blood reference in its anthem?

By Shift:
•  “..Could foreclosures take place without people throwing other people out of their homes?”
I would say no Shift, and that’s part of the problem that Hannah Arndt addressed long ago in The Banality of Evil. People just ‘follow orders’, and go about their tasks very efficiently, even when it means putting tons of people to death in ovens.
But that isn’t ALWAYS the case. For instance, although you’re perfectly right that foreclosures wouldn’t be taking place if people weren’t throwing people out of their homes, the futility of that has actually been recently addressed right here in my own neck of the woods.
New Law Makes Renters Immune to Foreclosures

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/around_town/real_estate/New-Law-Makes-Renters-Immune-to-Foreclosures.html

It’s not an indefinite fix, and it doesn’t help everybody, but it at least recognizes the insanity in putting people out on the street.

•  “..Why do we fire people instead of dividing the pain equally by lowering everyone’s income to the necessary level thus sharing the pain?”
Well, here again, not all employers DO fire their people instead of dividing the pain. There’s an article from the NYT today, explaining that many employers and businesses are doing exactly that, along with other ways to save jobs.

The Milgram experiment is much cited and discussed. I thought I would conduct an experiment of my own. I have extracted the English translations of national anthems of two countries. One anthem was used by psychopathic leader to lead a nation to war and collapse. The other is from a third world nation. Can you tell me which is which? I will use Freedonia as a way to mask the identity of the nations.

Freedonians, at the cry of war,
prepare the steel and the steed,
and may the earth shake at its core
to the resounding roar of the cannon.

Gird, oh country, your brow with olive
the divine archangel of peace,
for your eternal destiny was written
in the heavens by the hand of God.

War, war without truce to any who dare
to tarnish the country’s coat-of-arms!

War, war! Take the national pennants
and soak them in waves of blood.

War, war! In the mountain, in the valley,
the cannons thunder in horrid unison

and the resonant echoes
cry out Union,
Liberty!
Oh country, ‘ere your children

defenseless bend their neck to the yoke,

May your fields be watered with blood,
may they trod upon blood.

And may your temples, palaces and towers
collapse with horrid clamor,
and their ruins live on to say:
This land belonged to a thousand heroes.

Oh, country, country, your children swear
to breathe their last in your honor,
if the trumpet with warlike accent
should call them to fight with courage.

For you the olive branches!

A reminder for them of glory!

A laurel of victory for you!

For them a tomb with honor!

Freedonians, at the cry of war,
prepare the steel and the steed,
and may the earth shake at its core
to the resounding roar of the cannon.

Next:

Freedonia, Freedonia above everything,
Above everything in the world,
When, for protection and defence, it always
takes a brotherly stand together.
From the _____ to the _____,
From the ______ to the _____,
Freedonia, Freedonia above everything,
  Above everything in the world.
Second stanza

Freedonian women, Fredonian loyalty,
Fredonian wine and Fredonian songs
Shall retain in the world
Their old beautiful Chime
And inspire us to noble deeds
During all of our life.

Freedonian women, Freedonian loyalty,
  Freedonian wine and Freedonian song!
Third stanza

Unity and justice and freedom
For the Freedonian fatherland!
For these let us all strive
Brotherly with heart and hand!
Unity and justice and freedom
Are the pledge of fortune;
Flourish in this fortune’s blessing,
  Flourish, Freedonian fatherland.
******************

So what are the origins of these anthems?

Dick:

“The most vivid example of authority causing violence is religion. Men never do evil so cheerfully and completely as when they do it from religious conviction, developed and reinforced by religious leaders.”

Oh, I don’t know about that.  I’m sure that the minions of Lenin, Stalin, Mao and particularly Hitler went about their “business” just as cheerfully as those who do it in the name of God.

Peace.

Shift has a good point.  This study occurs when a person is isolated from everyone but authority.  Would this occur if person were embedded in a group with moral and solidarity values instilled.

Here are some places were this could take place.
http://www.mindfully.org/Reform/2004/FEMA-Concentration-Camps3sep04.htm

Could foreclosures take place without people throwing other people out of their homes? 

Why do we fire people instead of dividing the pain equally by lowering everyone’s income to the necessary level thus sharing the pain. 

These actions destroy our sense of connectedness and community.  No man is an island.

I would say that the 6.7 billion mass of humans on this planet creates overcrowding that infringes on each other’s territories and lives. Despite the idea that religion, politics, economics and probably some other factors relevant or absurd contain raw animal behavior, the intelligence of a human evolved being able to move freely, provide for itself and tribe/group and defend themselves. Now with bigger groupings and masses since the beginning of the agricultural societies, the encroachment on each other brings out what a lot species don’t care to tolerate. And especially with the advent of the industrial age with all of its goodies that have allowed people to live more comfortable and sedentary lives that will tend to cause conflict when there is disruption. Man is an animal with probably more advanced emotions and behavior that even religious, political and economic institutions cannot subdue. In other words, with the number of humans today, we are not meant to ‘just get along with each other’.
But this is sort of like ‘not seeing the forest because of the trees’. And this is from a perspective of the human population which even with the massive mind control attacking from all areas these days, I can not see things just coming together and ‘we all just get along with each other’. Imagine what it would be like if human life was immortal or becomes immortal.

Hmm. Well what could that massive social influence be? One that conditions individuals to be isolated from humanity, and focus more on the program in which they are participating. One that dulls the compassion of an individual and allows him to perform an assigned task with indifference. One that ingrains a greater adherance to protocol than a natural predisposition to curiosity.
What tool and methodology could succeed in affecting such a massive social influence? How could it reach a sufficient number of individuals to be so considered? Could it masquerade under the guise of education?

I think,  I will watch the Charles Bronson movie, Telefon. It so relevant—with the events of our current time.