--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Robert" <babajii_99@...> wrote: > > I am not inventing a God that hates Japan... > It's just that some of us, like to have a reason, > Why things happen as they do..
And this tendency in human beings to want "pat answers" to unanswerable questions has been the basis of centuries of war, suffering, and intol- erance. From the Crusades to the attempted extermination of the Jews, from slavery to the right to vote being denied to women and minorities, ALL of it is due to people settling for "pat answers" about *why* this is happening, or "should" happen. It seems to me that it would be a far better world if people just got comfortable with the fact that they'll NEVER "know" why things happen, and stopped glomming onto the first charlatan who gives them a made-up "pat answer." >From astrologers to prophets, charlatans are always waiting in the wings to give people the "pat answers" they want, so that they can relax and feel that they "know" the answers, and thus can predict to some extent the future. From my side, I just can't understand anyone, anywhere being so upset about *not* knowing the future that they'd buy into the charlatanry. It just does not compute for me. The future is as uncertain as the present, with no "why" in sight. BFD. That makes life more interesting, not more threatening. It seems to me that if humans want a three- letter word starting with 'W' to build their lives around, "Wow" would be a better choice than "Why." There has never been an answer to the latter, at any moment in history, and as far as I can tell there never will be. But there are opportunities for the former in every instant.
