Owl & Ibis - A Confluence Of Minds

The Dying Art of Disagreement The  above  speech giver’s disdain for what he calls the Left's "belief that since words can cause stress, and stress can have physiological effects, stressful words are tantamount to a form of violence" is noteworthy. The speaker claims that the view that speech alone can cause harm has led to an "age of protected feelings purchased at the cost of permanent infantilization" is an exaggeration that shows his ignorance. That words can cause physical, psychological and social harm is not a "belief," it is a fact. See 'The Harm in Free Speech'  https://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/opinionator/2012/06/04/the-harm-in-free-speech/?referer= . A society that promises its people a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness has an obligation to intervene in some manner and protect those who are forbidden this right. When a person is the target of racial abuse and threats of violence, his/her ab...

Religion is Not the Only Reason Rohingyas Are Being Forced Out of Myanmar The Pursuit of Power and Wealth Are Hidden and Abetted by Focusing on Ethnicity, Religion and Race Divisions, and Poor Media Reporting The expulsion of Rohingyas from Myanmar is another example where ethnicity and religion become the focus, the arena for ambitious power- and wealth-pursuing perpetrators and the media. This focus obscures the underlying political and economic ambitions. For the media it makes for better headlines and entertaining but not always true distinctions between victims and evil doers. For perpetrators such as national and local governments, and the wealthy in pursuit of more wealth, and the opportunistic poor of neighboring ethno-religious groups it provides cover and moral justification for the persecution and displacement of those of different ethnicity and religions. Another instance is the Western media reporting of politician-fueled "tribal clashes" in Africa...

MARTHA NUSSBAUM – MORAL PHILOSOPHER, PUBLIC INTELLECTUAL September 6, 2017 http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/07/25/martha-nussbaums-moral-philosophies?mbid=social_facebook "[Philisopher Martha Nussbaum] argued that certain moral truths are best expressed in the form of a story. We become merciful, she wrote, when we behave as the 'concerned reader of a novel,' understanding each person’s life as a 'complex narrative of human effort in a world full of obstacles.'" ... "Unlike many philosophers, Nussbaum is an elegant and lyrical writer, and she movingly describes the pain of recognizing one’s vulnerability, a precondition, she believes, for an ethical life. 'To be a good human being,' she has said, 'is to have a kind of openness to the world, the ability to trust uncertain things beyond your own control that can lead you to be shattered.' She searches for a 'non-denying style of writing,' a way to describe emot...