The Three Tenets of Existential Terrorism
Words are not things or actions. They are vibrations of the air molecules or squiggles on a page. Mistaking words for reality is the mistake that puts politicians in office and sells all of the products, religions, and systems of government on the planet. Saying "Tree" is no more a tree than saying "I love you" means that someone loves you. To perceive reality as it is, one must accept that words are a vehicle for the transference of our perception of reality, not reality itself.
God is dead. I killed him (it, them, her, et al) on November 5th, 1991. Justifiable Homicide. The idea that the universe is run by some cosmic supra-hero concept of ourselves is absurd and unproven. The idea that the creator of the universe put us here in these bodies to satisfy some moral experiment is offensive. The God question; "What are we doing here?", may or may not be valid. At this time, we are here because the physical laws of the universe are not completely against our existence. Our short time of consciousness would be far better served ensuring our survival rather than posturing before some misanthropic cosmic deity.
The only government, the only rule of law, is economics. However our societies are structured, whatever religion or ethnicity, we have all decided that those with relatively more assets have better lives than those with less relative wealth. All measured value is economic value in this system.
Boston Marathon Bombing-Define Disaster
Certainly the bombing at the Boston Marathon was a horrific event. We humans like to focus on the spectacular. The government harnesses all of its resources in response to a sociopath getting his thrills. Meanwhile, in 2011, 32,367 people died driving their shiny metal boxes around. We have become used to the carnage on our highways. Our cars are safer, and as a percentage of population and miles driven, we continue to improve. But somehow we have become accustomed to the results of our need to drive automobiles. We live on symbols. While the Boston bombing and the Sandy Hook shooting don't equal the human cost in one day of driving in the United States, they have received far more attention and resources. The car in the United States is a symbol of prosperity and freedom, generally a favorable symbol untarnished by its cost in human lives. It would make sense to fight more vigorously against the death toll on our highways as it does to fight against terrorism. But the public doesn't have to make sense, and there is no indication that we ever will.
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