God is real

25 Tue Oct 2022

Posted by bentrein in conspiracy, Politiek

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Love is real. The sensation I’m feeling when I think of you, the complete and utter dedication to you, is love. I believe you are the perfect person, and as long as your behavior roughly fits my image of a perfect person, my love for you continues to exist; in my mind. Love is real, as long as I believe it is. Loving God is no different, no matter the name you give him or her. And God will never disappoint – you’ve created God in the image of what you consider perfect.

Fear is just as real. And I’m not talking about fear of tigers, snakes or – Lucifer forbid – spiders. Fear of the devil or a harsh God is real. As long as you truly believe an (almost) all powerful being is pulling the strings, you will find evidence of that everywhere you look. Who could possibly have created all of this? What is the purpose of all our suffering?

Seeing purpose in our suffering makes misery bearable. Life is hard now, but staying put, enduring the pain thrust upon us, will allow us to get into heaven; weathering the pain of the present will bring us eternal bliss by His side. Becoming a martyr for our faith gives reason to the pain this life entails. Discovering such purpose gives us direction in life. It gives our stubborn brain reason to stay the course. To justify this course, we tend to look for confirmation of what we believe in. All random occurrences are seamlessly incorporated into our image of the world – and they get added to the list of reasons why God is real. For this to fit – there needs to be purpose behind every non-orchestrated occurrence.

The Koran, so I’ve been told by devote Muslims, says that when the Euphrat dries, the world will come to an end. Climate change or political action is doing just that. Also the Bible considers this river to be the sprung in paradise – and there are more religions who consider the Tigris and Ephrat to be sacred. At the time these religions were created, the catchment areas of these rivers were the center of the world. It would, of course, be perfectly reasonable to consider that, if the source of water for the center of known civilization dries up, the world would come to an end. However, these rivers are no longer the center of civilization. Therefore, I consider the rivers drying up to be a change in the world’s ecology and not necessarily a sign that all life on earth is under threat. Sidenote: all life on earth may very well be under threat due to climate change, and climate action is urgent – but rivers come and go, it’s not due to the drying of an individual river that we should gear up.

The above is but one example of circumstance being incorporated into purpose. Said purpose is also often put to the test in love relationships; how often hasn’t it felt like you two were meant to meet? The comparison between love and religion isn’t mine; and perhaps not even Ilja Pfeijffer’s. This great Dutch author posed the link convincingly in his romance Peachez. As long as you believe, love is real; and so is God. This does not mean there is purpose behind all action, however much we would love to think so.

I realized early this century (and Karl Popper in 1945) that humans apparently have the need for seeing purpose behind random occurrences. I think this is, because a reason for all our suffering makes life bearable. Purposeful suffering requires an entity that causes this suffering. The entity humanity has been relying upon to fill this purpose has been God – for eons. God, in many forms: from Zeus through Zarathustra to Allah and back through the alphabet. But now, especially in Western Europe, people are turning their backs on religion – because God is, obviously, not all powerful.

And to me – that’s it. The world is chaos. Everybody is pulling their weight to minimize their own suffering – even though, usually, shit hits the fan real hard; there is no entity trying to inflict pain, for their gain. There is no grand purpose; no grand plan, and definitely no eternal bliss after death.

However, this seems really hard for many people to accept. For brevity, I steer clear of what I consider the genetics and evolution behind this desire for purpose; me being a widower has to have purpose, right? There has to be a better world somewhere, a reward for living with all this pain? There has to be an entity that benefits from my suffering – and that will continue to inflict pain upon me in order to remain untouchable?

Having secularized, ever fewer people consider the answer to these questions to be God (or Lucifer). Many people do, however, are sensitive to an answer to these questions. And thankfully there are always those who are ready to provide the answer. And the latest, most encompassing answer is Lizards. Shape-shifting lizards rule us in secret, and inflict suffering upon us – especially the non-believers get hit hard, not for being heretics, but for being naive; and said naivety helps the lizards gain power.

Welcome to the world – the latest and at this time still somewhat disorganized religion: Conspiratism; the consequence of secularization is the rise of conspiracy theories (see also the aforementioned work of Karl Popper). Not because its true, but because humans need random occurrences to be put into a purposeful narrative. Something happens – like the Euphrat drying out – and we make up a story that this is the sign of the world ending. Something happens – like mandatory face masks – and we make up a story that this is because the lizards are exerting their tyranny.

God is real. No matter where you look, what happens, can always be written into the purposeful narrative. Your suffering is for a greater good – sometimes someone else’s good, depending on your religion. But as long as you believe hard enough: God is real.

12 december – alweer een staking

10 Sun Dec 2017

Posted by bentrein in Politiek

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onderwijs, politics, staking

Geachte ministers Slob en Van Engelshoven, geachte Minister President Rutte,

Waar moet ik 12 december a.s. met mijn kind naar toe? Kan ik die afgeven bij het Ministerie van Onderwijs, zodat zij een dagje op hem passen? Het is immers jullie verantwoordelijkheid de leraren zodanig te betalen dat ze blijven werken. Ik betaal immers belasting – ik betaal jullie salaris – zodat jullie kunnen regelen dat mijn kind naar school kan… Jullie verzaken jullie taken hierin, waardoor jullie mij met een probleem opzadelen – een probleem waar ik jullie voor betaal om het op te lossen.

Zelf ben ik docent op het mbo, en vind dat ik – voor het werk dat ik verzet – prima betaald wordt, ook al zit ik nog onderaan de schalen. Toch steun ik de staking van de onderwijzers in het primair onderwijs van harte. Niet omdat ik denk dat ze meer betaald moeten krijgen voor de hoeveelheid werk die ze verzetten, maar omdat ik van mening ben dat Nederland – dat prat gaat op haar kenniseconomie – mee moet met de landen om zich heen. Wij moeten – als het even kan – harder groeien in ons onderwijs dan de rest van Europa. De kwaliteit moet omhoog.

Het verstandigste doel, vooralsnog, lijkt me om een lichtend voorbeeld te volgen. Het lijkt me onverstandig om als land opnieuw het wiel uit te vinden, ook al kan onze trots daar slecht tegen. Het Finse onderwijssysteem levert volwassenen af die beter geschikt zijn om te functioneren in de maatschappij (en dus op de arbeidsmarkt) dan vrijwel ieder ander onderwijssysteem in de wereld. Kortom, het lijkt mij dat we naar een Fins systeem toe moeten – en laten we dan gauw beginnen met het onderwijs voor het onderwijzend personeel.

In Finland heeft elke docent, vanaf de kleuterschool, minimaal een universitair Master’s diploma. Ze moeten dit zo goed hebben gedaan, dat ze toegang hebben tot een doctoraalprogramma. Daar moeten we naar toe; daar moeten we voor werken. Maar de eerste stap is daar geld voor vrijmaken. Als je in Nederland een universitair Master hebt, ben je wel gek om voor de kleuterklas te gaan staan. Niemand die je vertrouwt (je eigen werkgever niet eens, die wil dat je alles vast legt en registreert zodat je tot over je oren in de administratie zit), maar erger nog, niemand die je fatsoenlijk betaalt! Met een universitair Master, als je dan per se het onderwijs in wil, kun je eigenlijk alleen terecht op de middelbare scholen.

Laten we nou eens beginnen om geld vrij te maken, zodat de docenten in het primair onderwijs minder hoeven te werken; zodat zij op korte termijn tijd vrij hebben om zich bij te laten scholen. Zodat we een jaar of tien de tijd hebben om de opleidingen tot docent in kwaliteit op te schroeven, zodat een kleuterjuf een universitair Master heeft. Laten we zorgen dat tegen die tijd – op de langere termijn dus – er geld beschikbaar is zodat een baan als kleuterjuf financieel ook interessant is voor iemand die een universitair Master heeft.

Kortom: laten we onze kenniseconomie veilig stellen. Laten we ervoor zorgen dat de kennis die in ons land is, een voortrekkersrol houdt in de wereld – ook in de toekomst. Laten we daar vandaag mee beginnen, en de eerste stap is geld beschikbaar maken. Geld, voor opleidingen voor onze opleiders, en geld voor tijd om die opleidingen te volgen.

Doet u dat alstublieft. Dan hoef ik geen belasting te betalen terwijl mijn kind niet naar school kan. Dan hoef ik geen dag vrij te vragen omdat er verder niemand op mijn kind wil passen, want ik neem aan dat ik hem niet, dinsdag 12 december a.s., bij het Ministerie van Onderwijs kan laten.

Met vriendelijke groet,
Ben Trein

Philippines

07 Wed Sep 2016

Posted by bentrein in Geen categorie

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Duterte, Philippines, politics

First and foremost, I write this against a very personal background, and you should know something about this. I have lived in Asia for a decade, but never in the Philippines. I know a thing or two about corruption, how this operates in ASEAN, and I’ve lived through a rather violent war on drugs¹. I don’t really care about the future of the Philippines – don’t misunderstand me. There are a score of nations who are trying hard to fuck themselves up² so why I’m writing about the Philippines may seem a mystery. Europe disintegrating should have my first priority, being Dutch and all. And it’s true, I have my opinions, but some much more intelligent people than myself (who have my support) are working hard to get my worries heard³. There’s only one reason I worry – and thus blog – about the Philippines: because a good friend of mine cares an awful lot. So here are my thoughts on

Duterte.

Note 1: all the numbered tags are clickable links, but if you’re unsure, you can check the url below.

Note 2: This is a long post, because there are so many inadequacies in the line of thinking of Pinay. I will try to cover most, but for the sake of brevity I may skip some.

Note 3: I haven’t reread this yet – this note will disappear when I do. Any typos will in time be removed.

Let me start – because I’m going to dismantle this – with a made-up conversation floating around the internet. Note that I can not imagine this conversation has actually happened, but you’re right in thinking that it could have.

Joemel Pastor: Here’s a random scenario from abroad.
American talks to his Filipino friend: Hey Felicia. I’m sorry to hear about what’s going on in your country right now. Hope your family is okay.
Pinay: Why what’s wrong?
Kano: Haven’t you read the news? There’s been a lot of killings going on. The elected President is running the country with his reign of terror. They say he is a mass murderer and he is committing genocide.
Pinay: Oh, you mean the killings? Those are legitimate police operations. Those were criminals and drug peddlers killed because they resisted arrest. Wow! Genocide? That’s like killing 6 million in a holocaust. That’s just too much. Don’t believe that. My family has never been better. In fact, this is the happiest they’ve been since the new President took office.
Kano: Really? Why so?
Pinay: Yeah. Because change has come. Just barely two months and he’s done so much. Did you know that we already have 911 emergency response? 600,000 drug addicts and peddlers voluntarily surrendered for rehabilitation. More than 10 mining firms closed down because of illegal operations. They’re making the country self-sufficient in producing rice. Stranded OFWs were rescued in Saudi Arabia. The railway transit is being repaired and is much more efficient now. The President goes after the drug lords and corrupt politicians. The government is engaging with peace talks with the rebels. They’re hunting down the terrorist group down south. Crime has gone down 49%. It’s so much safer to walk the streets now.
Kano: Wow! For real? I haven’t read those in the news.
Pinay: Yes. Because media outlets here only report the negative ones. Most media corporations in the Philippines are owned by oligarchs. That’s why they try to bring down the President because they are scared of him.
Kano: Thanks for telling me this. No wonder Filipinos always have good things to say about your new President.
Pinay: That’s right. For the first time in my life, I’ve seen a President that we can really trust. He has the approval of 91% of the Filipinos. Oh, and by the way. Don’t believe that it’s chaotic in the Philippines. We will be hosting the next Miss Universe and you can go and visit.
Kano: That would be lovely!
================
The point is. No matter how they destroy Duterte in the international community, there will always be a Filipino who will defend him and tell the truth.

Let me continue in saying that I very much understand that the situation in the Philippines is – was – quite desperate before Duterte came in office. Corruption and crime are indeed crippling things, and it’s shocking how quickly this develops in the rich west once an economic crisis hits. It’s easy to be morally sound when your own livelihood isn’t threatened. I also fully understand that Pinay -allow me to be naïve and think that this is a person’s name and not a nationality – is in total adoration of Duterte, because for the first time ever, some politician is delivering promises. This has never happened before in the Philippines, and Pinay is thinking ‘hang on, this is cool – someone is actually doing something that isn’t only for himself and his cronies’. This is indeed a cool new thing in the whole of ASEAN (Singapore may be an exception, and Malaysia is second on that list; Thailand is in this sense a few steps ahead of the Philippines, and are in a stage what happens when this cool new thing turns boring). Also, many things Duterte does are actually good for the Philippines – a few are mentioned in the penultimate utterance of Pinay. Others that could be added is that Duterte calls the president of one of the most powerful nations in the world a ‘son of a whore’⁴, and that he’s really trying to warm up to the (economically) powerful giant in the region⁵. Another great thing that Duterte does – good for the Philippines – is that he can’t deal with any form of criticism; the moment he does, he starts lashing out violently – without any solid arguments to the contrary of the criticism⁶. In other words – even if you’re not blind to sarcasm – I understand why Duterte is so immensely popular: he is the first one to deliver anything at all.

Now, remember that the fact that Duterte is doing some good things for the Philippines, that doesn’t automatically make him a good man. Let me elaborate – back to the hypothetical conversation above:

Pinay: Oh, you mean the killings? Those are legitimate police operations. Those were criminals and drug peddlers killed because they resisted arrest.

Legitimate is a difficult word here… Define legitimate. If legitimate means authorized by the government, then indeed, they are legitimate. However, if legitimate means ‘according to the law’, then some brows must immediately be raised. Because in a proper democracy a law – before it becomes law – has to be tested by the courts against the constitution of the country. I dare contest the legitimacy of the killings on two points: first, I can not believe a law has been passed and tested by the supreme judges that allows the police to randomly shoot people in the street. Because believe it or not, that is what is happening. You can never convince me that a five year old girl is a drug pedlar or a criminal⁷ (and yes, in this note I consciously chose a Philippine news outlet to prevent being blamed for using the bought and biased international news).

This war on Drugs by Duterte reminds me very much of the war on drugs by his former Thai colleague¹. People get shot in the streets without any legal rights, no process, no law whatsoever upheld. This is, because people happen to be put on a list, and if you’re on the list, you die. Period. No trial, just shot. And surprise, surprise, whenever the police shoots someone, the same envelope with drugs is found on the body as ‘proof’ that he was a drug pedlar. This was the situation in Thailand. The situation in the Philippines is nothing different. These guys get shot – almost at random – even when they don’t resist arrest^{8 warning – extremely graphic}. Was that five year old girl really resisting arrest? So much so that the police felt so threatened that she needed to be shot? Blimey.

Also, what this war on drugs did in Thailand, is that the price of drugs increased 10 fold. The big drug-lords were officially the target, but were never caught, killed, or brought to justice. The big drug-lords only made a tonne of money because the price went up drastically. The ones who died were the addicts, and the street pedlars – and those, come 14 in a dozen and are replaced the moment the police’s grip slacks. I would be very surprised if the situation is very different in the Philippines.

Genocide? That’s like killing 6 million in a holocaust.

I’m glad you bring that up. It speaks volumes for Pinay’s knowledge of global history to say that killing 6 million in a holocaust is genocide. It’s true that this killing in the Philippines isn’t genocide; genocide is the killing of a certain people – and drug addicts aren’t one people; they come from all races and nationalities. But if a random killing of less than 6 million people is no genocide, then there’s something odd about your thinking. 8373 is also plenty to be considered genocide^9 10.

This isn’t genocide. This is relatively random police brutality; in my opinion it’s murder. But as you bring him up, let me tell you that Hitler wasn’t always considered evil by everyone. Better said, in 1933 he was just as popular in Germany as Duterte is in the Philippines now¹¹. Why? Because he had a decisive answer to Germany’s problems at the time. He got Germany out of the crisis it was at the time. People actually thought he was a good guy – just like Pinay now thinks Duterte is a good guy. I pray for the Philippines that this is as far as the analogy goes.

My family has never been better.

Of course, Pinay, your family has never been better. But I warn you, if you piss me off, I will smooch a little with the local police, and I will get your brother to be put on a list. Then the police will come and shoot him in the back. Did he do drugs? Of course he didn’t. But you made me angry and I know how to play the system. And if you think that this can’t be done – if you think that this is not happening right now, than you are naïve.

600,000 drug addicts and peddlers voluntarily surrendered for rehabilitation.

Yes, and they are treated like dogs. Or worse. What your government is doing to the addicts is not what you would wish on your worst enemies. They’re not helping them get back on their feet. They’re not helping them get rid of the drug addiction. They put them with 1000s in a prison that is suitable for 800 people. If I were addicted to drugs – for whatever reason – I’d rather be shot in the back than be left there to rot¹².

My point here is that there is a better – more constructive – way to rid the country of drugs than by killing those who use.

Crime has gone down 49%.

First, what’s your source for this number?

And second, well, that depends on your point of view. Terrorism sponsored by a government is called war. Murder committed by the government is called legitimate killing. There is a very difficult and complicated grey area there – and quite a few university students have a hard time studying law and ethics to determine just where the border lies. Crime by the citizens has gone down (on 31% in July¹³), but murder by the government has gone up dramatically (no official numbers are of course available – extra-judicial killings are always off the record). That too is considered a crime in The Hague¹⁴.

Because media outlets here only report the negative ones. Most media corporations in the Philippines are owned by oligarchs. That’s why they try to bring down the President because they are scared of him.

This just reminds me of the situation in Thailand. There are two parties there, and both are wrong. But that aside. Every time one or the other international news-outlet reports something positive about the other side, the people will claim this journalist was bought by the other side; corruption in the press. And this putting down of the international press is now also happening in the Philippines: don’t believe what the independent press is saying, because they’re all trying to put our Glorious Leader (not to call him Führer) down. Our Glorious Leader is perfect, he knows all and does nothing wrong. He is the best there can be, and anyone saying something else must be afraid of him – and must be wrong. This is also the kind of thing a North Korean would say about Kim Young Ill (typo intended).

I’m tired of presenting logical argument against emotional pleas. I shouldn’t go into this discussion, because it’s an emotional one, not a logical one. There’s no arguing with someone who ‘feels Duterte is a good man’. If you want to know why, I must refer you to a copy of Letters from Genua by Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer (I hope you read Dutch, or ask your publicist to have it translated in your local language; it’s a great read!). I am the fool here for going into the argument anyway. But here’s the point of all this:

The fact that Duterte does some good things for the Philippines doesn’t mean he is a good man. Duterte is – in my humble opinion, based on a few reads on ethics and some history lessons – a bad man. He is a wolf, not even in sheep’s clothes. He is dangerous, and in the long run bad for the Philippines as a whole. Not because he is killing 1000s of people – some of which most certainly are innocent – without trial. He is a bad man because in a decade he will split the Philippines in half. There’ll be 5000 or more people dead, quite a few of which are innocent, and there will be a strong call for his removal. However, the group that at that point in time still falls for his rhetoric will call for him to stay on. And then he will start killing political opponents – most likely. And that is when Pinay will hopefully discover that he/she was wrong in his Godlike reverence of this wolf.

And P.S. – the best solution against drugs? Education, education, education. Is Duterte reforming (and investing in) education? The only thing I can find is that he wants anti-drugs lessons. That is not going to cut it.

Daddy said…

~ Formerly Confessions of my life as a spider

Tag Archives: politics

God is real

12 december – alweer een staking

Philippines

Duterte.