The Raft of the Medusa

The Raft of the Medusa

On 5 July 1816, 147 people were set adrift after a ship wreck off the coast of modern Mauritania. 15 people survived the 13 days it took to rescue them. Théodore Géricault captured their struggle in my favourite painting - a larger than life epic portrayal of struggle. There are two sweeping triangles, one reaches up to the tip of the sails, the other to a shirt being waved to signal to a rescue ship in the distance. They build from utter despair at the base upwards towards hope at the top. Bottom left - a head resting despondently on the knee, an arm draped over a friend who has passed. Top right - a symbol of our resilience. Our ability to never give up. To fight on in our darkest moments. A celebration of the human spirit.

Enemies of Reason

In the video below, Richard Dawkins interviews Derren Brown as part of his "Enemies of Reason" series.

One of the key questions he is trying to get at is (to paraphrase): if a lot of stuff such as Fortune Tellers, Mystics and Astrology is simply not true, at what point should the leaders/"spreaders of falsity" take accountability for simply lying? Put differently, how many of them know that what they are doing/saying is false or misleading, but do it anyway?

A lot of people use the, 'it does no harm' logic to accept crazy beliefs. In some cases, the false beliefs may actually do good. Does it matter if something is wrong but leads to a good conclusion? The age old question of is lying about the Jews in your basement to the Nazis wrong? Clearly it is not. So, is a person all dressed up as a fortune teller who is just cold reading doing good or harm if someone believes it to be true? What if it gives them comfort and does no harm?

I think the case for dispelling falsity where it is doing harm is very compelling. This would be Dawkin's logic for essentially being an 'evangelical athiest'. Post 9/11, he has been on a crusade of sorts to de-stigmatise Athiesm with the belief that many of the world's problems are caused by fanatical beliefs that have no founding.

The counter argument is that religion (even if false) can give hope, comfort, and a sense of community.

I guess there is no clear answer and all this is rather murky.

Warm and Fuzzy

No one does soppy sentimentality quite like the Americans. And we are in for a whole bunch now. While it is tempting to be cynical (and correct) like Will Wilkinson about the fact that expecting one man to change the world is very primate, it is also just great to feel warm and fuzzy and ignore rational arguments.

The world needs some good news. And this is a good news story, I really think it is amazing that Obamamania has brought about a truly significant thing.

I think it is very significant that an African American is going to be president of the United States. I think it is significant that the American president is a likable person that seems to embrace co-operative dialogue instead of antagonism.I think it is very significant that we have a true `motivator' in a position of global power.

I am cynical about the power of government to change things. People change things. I also still think despite this historic moment, America and the world are still deeply divided along racial lines...

BUT... progress can not be stopped.

The world IS a better place than it was 50 years ago in segregated America, and the world and South Africa will be a better place 50 years from now.

People Progress. Hope Exists.

Exciting times.