WRT: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/message/47003
Hello Jiten Roy,
Thank you for responding to my post. Sometimes, because of my views,
I live in a lonely place on forums. It is interesting to find that my
ideas on extremism have touched a nerve.
You have proposed a definition: extremism is proposing ideas outside
societal norms (my interpretation of your post).
Perhaps you are correct on that point. Anything outside the norm left
or right is extremism. It is easy to fall into a trap that only right
wing conservatives are extremists. Left-wing environmentalists who
burn houses or kill scientists that experiment on animals are just as
extreme as right-wing conservatives who kill abortion doctors.
But what about the beliefs of people who do not go to such extremes?
What about the Pope, for instance? The Pope, from his lofty tower,
tells women they can't abort a fetus; he tells couples they can't
divorce; he says being a homosexual denotes the worst kind of depravity.
You appear to be saying that the decrees of the Pope are a societal
norm and should be protected. Conservatives agree with the Pope;
Liberals don't. Of course, there are varying degrees of belief. We
have to talk generally at this point. My belief is, anything that
infringes on my right to make choices for myself is an affront to all
humanity. For, what we do to others we do to ourselves. By that I
mean if I allow the Pope to disparage homosexuals, I am telling him
that he can do the same to me and you and any other group that HE
deems unworthy.
You appear to be saying that the people of England should never have
upset the norm at Runnymede, the French should never have upset the
norm by storming the Bastille and the Americans should never have
upset the norm by fighting a Civil War. And you appear to be saying
the evolution of ideas should cease and desist!
The norm doesn't amount to a row of beans (or as Humphrey Bogart
mispoke in Casablanca 'hill' of beans) if one single person is
persecuted or disrespected. If I am confused about that, I will
remain confused. If I am emotional about that, I am proud to be
emotional.
My definition of Extremist: a person who believes s/he knows what is
best for others and will fight to the death to impose his/her views.
(Perhaps I will think of a better definition after I sleep on it. :-))
Thanks again for the opportunity to engage you in conversation.
Audrey
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