Bob Dylan and the like

[weaktwos]

The concert was fantastic, but not quite what I expected. Then again, I don't think I knew what to expect. But true to form, Dylan was mostly incomprehensible. His band, though, was awesome. I was mesmerized by the drummer. His renditions of Don't Think Twice, It's alright and Like a Rolling Stone were great.

My friend and I had dinner at Symposium, which was quite nummy. We spoke of many things, politics being one of them.

He said, "Everyone picks on Imperialism. Without Imperialism, we wouldn't get anywhere."

I don't think I agree, but it warrants pondering. I'm inclined to believe that prosperity will come about, but that Imperialism is not necessarily the optimal road to achieve that. Certainly the Roman empire brought some advancements to the far reaches of its empire, but is that truly the only way? For Imperialism will not last forever, eventually it weakens the government as they implode on its own greed.

Comments

[brittadotcom.livejournal.com]

My gut feeling is that Imperialism is a stage of social development that tends to happen due to the nature of humanity, even though we agree that there are many negative sides to it...along the lines of how true communism seems like such a wonderful idea, but it just doesn't seem to work in practice with human nature...capitalism, which fosters such wide disparities that are just "not fair," seems to fit in with human nature...

Alexander the Great, The Romans, the British Empire, the United States...all have had their cycles of Imperialism, and all have also eventually subsided in favor of local control, which does seem to be the natural end result...I do think that looking at these examples in history, even though great pain was brought to individuals due to Imperialism, I don't think the planet would be as far advanced now without all those steps along the way...perhaps not necessary per se, but something that tends to happen with homo sapiens these past few millenia...?

There's my pondering for the day... :)

[tunskit.livejournal.com]

I saw Bob Dylan in concert with Paul Simon about six years ago. I didn't understand much of Dylan's songs, and I was getting a vicarious high from all the pot smoking going on around me. It was outdoor at the Gorge in Washington, thankfully. I hope you had a better time than I had. Of course, I went along for the ex, not because I was a fan of either performer.

[weaktwos.livejournal.com]

I see what you're saying, but I'm not so sure, though I'll probably do some more historical investigation to clear my mind up on the issue. I can see that progress can be driven by conflict. However, I'm not convinced that the Dark Ages were good for this world as a whole, especially since we are paying the price today for religious grudge matches from that era. War is the "gift" that keeps on giving, even 600 years after the fact. On the other hand, it is very difficult to argue my case, since had other decisions been made I have no idea how that truly would have changed things, given some gaps in my historical knowledge.

[brittadotcom.livejournal.com]

I was thinking after my post that the Church (as in pre-Reformation) was also an imperialistic force in its heyday, especially through the Dark Ages, also eventually collapsing under its own self-importance...I was more going for the "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" analogy for societies...not that it should be that way or that we can't find a better way for the future, but that it seems to be cycles we go through on this planet...

Yes, the Crusades are still biting us in the ass...did the Onion archive their post-9/11 article of God's press conference about clarifying "What part of 'Thou shalt not kill' do you not understand?" It was perfect...ah, I can't find it... Maybe for Onion Premium members, which I am not...