the great equalizer

[Venetia_CV]

Death is the END.

 

When you die, your body usually rots or gets eaten by something. There are ways to preserve it, but it doesn't really matter since it doesn't do anything. Either way, you fade into nothingness.

 

If there is such thing as a soul, it goes to wherever dead souls go. Then it stays there for eternity. Unless it is reincarnated. Then it's wiped blank and put in a new body. What is reincarnation but the recycling of souls?

 

WHO you were ceases to exist, carrying on only as a memory.

 

At one point, the only thing that will prove you ever existed is the consequences of what you did. That is why it is so important to accomplish things in your lifetime: when you're gone, your deeds shall be all that remain of you.

Well, Marcus, if we are to fade into nothingness, ought one to be concerned with having provided proof of existence? I'd rather munch cookies than worry what some future archeologist or philosopher might have to say on the matter. Oh, here, have one by the way. It might brighten your day.

I've steered clear of this thread since it seemed to be mostly about firearms, but now I'm seeing mention of things like love and death so I have to stick my nose in.

 

However, I think the original point of the thread was regarding melee combat, so I'm reluctantly steering it back in that direction.

 

I think a person's intellect is the great equalizer in combat. If a little guy can out-think a big guy he can still win. It's as simple as that.

 

And I still maintain my earlier opinion that it is also the better man who can walk away from a conflict without bloodshed.

Cute nose. That aside, intellect alone will not answer against a determined and superior aggressor. Intellect requires time to develop plans or engage in negotiation. If combat is at hand, the end result favours the opponent. However, I appreciate that you elected to reaffirm your position, and will follow in accordance.

 

White Light Black Rain, a documentary film by director/filmaker Steven Okazaki, offers the chance to revisit or reflect upon the aftermath of atomic weapons having been used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki through the first hand accounts of survivors. Along with the fire bombing of Dresden, gone forever would be war between gentlemen soldiers. Citizenry would henceforth be included as targets or collateral damage in theatres of war. At the close of White Light Black Rain an elderly gentleman reluctantly decides to remove his shirt before the film's camera. He permits the world to evidence the ravages of radiation poisoning, scores of surgeries, and a frame that is shunned by his own countrymen. He then couples this so seemingly small act with a plea that the world not allow such a fate to ever again befall another person.

 

Clearly, this man has suffered in his life. And just as plain is that he has maintained his sense of dignity and honour. Here is a simple man showing the value of life. That it should be respected and cherished. Yes, we can and will die, but how are we treating our present state. And, what can we possibly offer against something so nightmarish as atomic war except our own private sense of being.

 

-Venetia

 

P.S. Interestingly, and aside, this is also reason why victors of modern wars help rebuild the nations they have defeated. That by re-establishing a sense of being or identity, hopefully, a repeated war will be averted. And that they avoid facing the cold fact of having perpetrated in extinguishing life.

[Marcus Wolfe]

Death is the END.

 

When you die, your body usually rots or gets eaten by something. There are ways to preserve it, but it doesn't really matter since it doesn't do anything. Either way, you fade into nothingness.

 

If there is such thing as a soul, it goes to wherever dead souls go. Then it stays there for eternity. Unless it is reincarnated. Then it's wiped blank and put in a new body. What is reincarnation but the recycling of souls?

 

WHO you were ceases to exist, carrying on only as a memory.

 

At one point, the only thing that will prove you ever existed is the consequences of what you did. That is why it is so important to accomplish things in your lifetime: when you're gone, your deeds shall be all that remain of you.

Well, Marcus, if we are to fade into nothingness, ought one to be concerned with having provided proof of existence? I'd rather munch cookies than worry what some future archeologist or philosopher might have to say on the matter. Oh, here, have one by the way. It might brighten your day.

 

 

Thanks man.

 

Really, I wasn't try to sound so morbid there. I was trying to emphasize the importance of our deeds.

[TheCalliton]

I've steered clear of this thread since it seemed to be mostly about firearms, but now I'm seeing mention of things like love and death so I have to stick my nose in.

 

However, I think the original point of the thread was regarding melee combat, so I'm reluctantly steering it back in that direction.

 

I think a person's intellect is the great equalizer in combat. If a little guy can out-think a big guy he can still win. It's as simple as that.

 

And I still maintain my earlier opinion that it is also the better man who can walk away from a conflict without bloodshed.

i did not intend it for it to be firearms/fighting, the term "great equalizer" was given to gunpowder, and i intend to dispute that

[Venetia_CV]

Thanks man.

 

Really, I wasn't try to sound so morbid there. I was trying to emphasize the importance of our deeds.

Well I am glad you took my offering in good vein. Care for another? You might want to nudge the plate of them closer to Herculine. So..wolves, huh? Did you argue for a sense of urgency (with regard to completing things within one's lifetime) with the plight of wolves in mind? If so, would you agree that often the greater courage is in starting things that may require more than one lifetime? Think of a bonsai tree that has been cared for by gardeners over the course of severeal hundred years. The first can only imagine how wonderous an expression of life the tree will be to the gardener of the future. And, this latter caretaker can only appreciate the gesture of the original gardener. Herculine would like another; be so good Marcus as to..

 

If, as you suggested, memory and deeds can allow us to venture into the greater plane of existence that lies beyond our own mortal restrictions, can the deliberate denial of this not serve as rebuttal to aggression? Meaty question I agree, so don't choke on cookie crumbs as you ponder a reply. I mean to say that an aggressor will seek to have you cower in the face of your own demise. Such a situation can see various aspects of a person's identity stolen away. However, by not being afraid or allowing the aggressor any satisfication, we can preserve our identity. True, in the short term one's life may end, but history will remember. Juice?

 

-Kitten

[TheCalliton]

perhaps the great equalizer in a fight is the mind

[Marcus Wolfe]

Well, some people may remember may remember me after I die, and some people may remember you after you die, but one of us may be remembered longer than others. For example, if I accomplished only average accomplishments in my lifetime, I may be remembered by my family and their descendants, but after a few generations that memory will rely solely on records. On the other hand, if I start an extremely successful company which sells my many brilliant inventions (all of which revolutionize civilization as we know it) then my name may be a household word long after my death. As I said, your actions become the only proof of your existence after your death.

[species5478]

For one on one conflicts, the gun is the great equalizer. With it, a child can defend himself against a pedophile, or a woman against a rapist, or a small man, against a larger one, stupid people can kill smart ones, and vice-versa.

 

In terms of national armament...nukes are the great equalizer. Nations no longer need armies, guns, or political savvy to defend themselves against invasion. That is why the U.S. is in an uproar over Iran having nuclear weapons. Once they get them, we won't be able to bully Iran anymore, well have to respect them...If you've noticed, nations like North Korean, India, Russia, etc. etc. don't get invaded, because they have nuclear arms. Other nations, like Iraq, become testing grounds for the latest military technology because the don't have the great equalizer.

 

But if we look beyond ourselves, then nature becomes the great equalizer. Humankind has dominated not just each other, but all species on the planet. But there is nothing in our arsenal, or within our capabilities, that can prevent earthquakes, meteorites, solar-flairs, supernovas, floods, plagues, or any other natural disaster. Remember the dinosaurs? If we don't heed nature's power, we'll become the next memory. Respect her...for she holds all keys to the kingdom of death.

[Marcus Wolfe]

And you are suggesting that there is no way to build a machine that controls global weather patterns? Or that we cannot do away with incoming asteroids with giant laser beams?

[species5478]

And you are suggesting that there is no way to build a machine that controls global weather patterns? Or that we cannot do away with incoming asteroids with giant laser beams?

 

Not at all.

I'm saying no matter what we do to counter one threat, nature will have something ten times worst that we cannot immediately handle. There was a time for instance, when temperature was a hostile element. Extreme heat and cold were unconquered. People died regularly due to heat exhaustion and frost bite. (still do) But we conquered those obstacles with air-conditioners and heaters. We might someday find out how to conquer, or even control the weather, asteroids, supernovas, and black holes. If we do though, I'm willing to bet, that we'll only come to discover something even more dangerous.

In my humble opinion, mother nature is unconquerable. Untameable. Relentless. Eternally patient. She embodies life and death.

The great equalizer.

[Marcus Wolfe]

Actually, I'm pretty sure there is no defense against a black hole or a supernova except to flee. I hope that by the time we encounter either, we will have advanced enough technology to evacuate the planet.