I have a hobby, or is it a compulsion, to do with watching box sets on television. Recently I have been both engrossed and then appalled by a docu-drama based on the life of Pablo Escobar. As the episodes progress I watched him and the henchmen he employs morph from comprehensible if disturbing human beings into something entirely disconnected from those cares and values which bind humanity together, however varied our cultures. In the script there is a professional killer who carries his bible with him everywhere and always finds a quote from it to justify the next homicide, but without any sense of irony. This world is full of people who admit to no value other than a perverted sense of honour: It’s all about the strategy and pride.
“Chilling” is the word that comes to mind, and as I reflected upon this ISIS committed another horrific and barbarous act; this time in Brussels, a barbarism echoed by the Taliban in Lahore. I can almost hear Escobar saying “We need to make these people take us seriously. If they kill one of ours we will destroy a thousand of theirs,” and so on.
The sheer disconnected barbarity and rationalised inhumanity central to the outlook of the terrorist was made more real to me by watching the series which explained their mind-set in a way nothing else has done. Each of Escobar’s killers prayed before going on his latest “job” in a perverted mimicry of catholic faith.
The expanding cycle of terrorism, and the use of a religion, be it Christianity or Islam, to justify acts which are profoundly uncivilised is a sickening and frightening modern phenomenon which I have struggled to comprehend. Watching that thuggery on the screen, carried out by people who still saw themselves as humans with moral values made this modern horror story more comprehensible to me: that’s what a good drama gives you: it illuminates your perceptions with experiences outside your own. It makes the world more comprehensible, however disturbing that vision may be.
countingducks 
like you, i am horrified by what drives these ‘missions.’ i’ve always felt this same rationalization comes into play with the mafia as well. those committing these horrendous acts against other humans, always hide behind the name of god, while really seeking power, money, and control. the reason for all wars – money, power, control. i don’t see any spiritual connection as being valid, i think when they pray they are praying for themselves, and not to any real god. excellent piece, peter.
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Death in the name of, or justified by religion and corporate spiritual beliefs is as old as recorded history itself. Organized religion, in my humble opinion, is the bane of man’s existence. I’m not talking about faith. Faith is personal. Religion is outright demagoguery.
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You are not alone in that belief my friend 🙂
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Totally in agreement here.
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“Organized religion, in my humble opinion, is the bane of man’s existence.” So is chemistry the bane of existence. So is everything in our world. I really disagree with such a bigoted statement as yours with both vehemence and rationality. I once heard that a little girl fell over in the school playground, therefore all education should be banned.
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Religion, my friend, is no accident. And if anyone is bigoted, it is you, against free thinkers. And vehemence goes hand in hand with religion, so thank you for proving my point
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It’s hatred such as yours that is destroying our world. Mellow out. I prefer to dialogue and not get shouted down by ISIS-like prejudice. Think about it. You’re intolerant and fundamentalist – and wonder what’s wrong with everyone else!
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You wouldn’t recognize dialogue if you tripped over it. Who called who a bigot to start? You are a master at incendiary language and yet unable to understand logical viewpoints. In view of the direction you are taking this comment section and out of respect for a good man’s blog site I will terminate any further contact with you. But again, thank you so much for proving my point about religion.
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Oh dear!!!
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Well said Sir…well said indeed
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This goes to show how far we have (or haven’t) come as a ‘civilisation’: the actions of a few who deem themselves to have power are no different to the acts of the Crusades or a multitude of other wars conducted under the name of ‘Religion’. Violence in itself is abhorrent, but these acts are wholly (and holy) unjustifiable. I concur with Al here.
Well written, Peter.
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Couldn’t agree more with others…very well said!
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Ah, my friend, we’ve been doing this to each other for centuries. It is always handy to have a god around to blame, credit, own. I sincerely hope my own country (who ever moves in at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue) realizes that falling down the dark hole of hatred only gives the battle to the terrorists. We’ve been fighting this particular version of mayhem for 14 years and all we’ve managed to do is scatter the perpetrators like mercury drops on a carpet – every drop just as deadly as the other. Someday we will have to find a path that builds humanity – or we will slowly but surely destroy ourselves.
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I agree with you and very well put !
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An interesting yet horrifying theory.
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Well said Peter, as always. I struggled to understand why the heartless do what they do; I don’t think we, the ones who do have a heart and conscience can ever understand. I think sometimes normal society tries to hard to understand why, try to make sense of the senseless actions of the conscience less, thinking there must be a reason; when the only answer is, evil exists.
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Sadly I think you are right ( again ) Carrie
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I agree with each one of your points save one – violence in the name or justified by religion isn’t a modern thing. Across culture and religions, this is what human history is littered with. And it is undeniably ignominious. The sad thing is that those who claim to represent the thinking of millions of people while killing on their behalf actually constitute a tiny minority and yet…
Nice thoughtful post. Have a good day. 🙂
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I do agree with you about the use of history for personal or political ends throughout history. Its just that because I used to cling to the idea that we are all getting a little more civilised and tolerant of each other, this return to the dark ages has saddened me among other things. Thank you so much for commenting 🙂
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It was a pleasure reading the post and I felt like I had to comment.
The sad truth is that we are taking two steps forward towards civilization and then two backward towards those dark ages. I’d suggest you to read the article by Anne Applebaum ‘Is this the end of the west as we know it?’
BTW, what is that URL at the top of your comment about?
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Amen.
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Very well said, and i thank you for saying and sharing it.
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Very well said indeed! I was just having a heart to heart with another blogger, who is also a Yoga practitioner, and we talked about the positive effects we feel in ourselves—and how we always want to share that with other people.
I’m not saying Yoga is the cure for the world, or anything mad like that. But imagine how different the world would be if we concentrated on making life better for ourselves and everyone around us…instead of this unapologetic violence that destroys lives.
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Al said it all in a nutshell. The violence of the personal attack on him rather proves his point.
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I agree. I was a bit startled by the conversation as you can imagine. I know Al well in blogging terms and a nicer more reasonable man is hard to find.
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Good piece, Ducks, as always. Quite an explosive commentary though. I’ve known you through blogging for a very long time. Your posts are consistently well-planned and moderate. And I know it is not your intention to fan any flames. I’m with Al on this one. That other fellow needs a chill pill.
Keep on writing. I find your thoughts most interesting.
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I am not keen on organised religion either…. on the plus side it can hold small communities together, but down side is all too evident.
Sx
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I suspect we have a very similar attitude to this question among others 🙂
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Excellent perspective and insight, Peter.
YES. Evil exists in this world, that ‘s for damn sure.
Escobar is a great comparison to ISIS…
except his God is himself.
xxx
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I paused on the way down to watch One Tin Soldier, Peter, and sadly it seems to say to me that we don’t change and we don’t learn. Down the years the crimes committed in the name of… yet everyone you know will say that they want a peaceful life. Perhaps our youth can find a way? I hope so!
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If only their bombs detonated as they assembled them in whatever secret place they like to hide and plot. In a just world, guns would jam and destroy the barrels, bullets would boomerang and take out the shooter.
We live in a world where what we hold as high moral ground becomes justification for acts on low. Much as emotion would have me abandon my sensibilities and drag them bare arsed through a bed of nails, I will cling to the high moral ground and let law guide us.
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It’s pretty dispiriting (re an earlier exchange in this thread), Peter, to see how easily and quickly we can get to snarling at one another. Personally, I feel this goes well beyond religion – there are curses as well as blessings which come along with being self-conscious and able to rationalise. Our desires and aspirations become ever more complex, and we pretty well all find justifications for acting the way that we do. We are tribal animals, and part of the animal heritage is to defend ‘our’ tribe, and part of that defence is in attacking other tribes. ‘Our’ tribe now means many things, religion, political belief systems and parties, football clubs, and sometimes (in very dark moments) I think we look for any excuse to indulge our bellicosity. Jonathan Swift satirised this tendency beautifully in the egg wars – big end or little end openers? I think individual psychology possibly determines whether (within any belief system) an individual holding a belief is open to the acceptance of ambiguity and others holding a different belief, or threatened by other beliefs. There are people of almost any and every allegiance (be it best band, best software operating system or allegiance to country, creed or political viewpoint) who don’t feel the urge to crack the skulls of those with differing allegiances, and there are, unfortunately, those who delight in delivering resounding real or metaphorical thwacks to the skulls of others
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Well reasoned and thoughtful answer and a pleasure to read. Thank you 🙂
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