India wants to ape China

[Flying Pig]

On the contrary - insecure people can't deal with mockery, and so they resort to violence. See the storm which always erupts when someone dares mock the Religion of Peace (TM) for a good example of what I mean.

They rather get a bye because most other religions can take it as banter, because nobody seriously believes that all Christians are gay-hating rednecks and all Hindus are ascetic monks who never wash. Muslim stereotypes on the other hand are very much accepted by a great deal of people, and they do get a lot of violence directed against them. I'm not condoning the reactions that we get whenever the press makes a joke at their expense, but you can at least understand them.

 

[mayor]

Its interesting becouse its usually hard to find people who openly criticise the band they belong to. I would rather imagine one would try to secretly reform the group from within... Why do you stay inspite of the imperfection? Or are you satisfied just being smartass?

Everything should be criticized, nothing is perfect.

Why do I stay? Because the group is fun and fits me. We hold the same values and morals, in general the way we believe coincides. Sure there are things we view differently but that makes for good discussions and makes you think about it.

(I admit, sometimes I'm satisfied with just being a smartass )

On the reform the group from within:
Out of principal I'll never, deliberatly, change the way somebody believes (on religious matters). Everybody believes what he/she is comfortable with.

 

[Mechanicalsalvation]

Everything should be criticized, nothing is perfect.

But how far can critique take you? There are of course many forms of criticism - positive, constructive,..
In my opinion perfection you cant reach by criticism or mockery but by following those morals or higher principles you are mentioning. If you can make it reality in your consciousness (not just by being aware of them but also by proper understanding, assimilating and living them) that is the best way of service. One of course needs discrimination for that.
There is one ancient wisdom -which I do not claim to understand completely but it may be worth of mentioning- which goes something like: "never see anything bad in anybody."

 

[mayor]

But how far can critique take you?

Do you mean how far I can go with critique?
Pretty far. Off course it depends on the person and situation how far I go and in what way I bring it.
Critique is good but one needs to be carefull with it.

There are of course many forms of criticism - positive, constructive,..

true, the trick is to find the right one for the right moment.
In which I don't always succeed I admit.

In my opinion perfection you cant reach by criticism or mockery but by following those morals or higher principles you are mentioning. If you can make it reality in your consciousness (not just by being aware of them but also by proper understanding, assimilating and living them) that is the best way of service.

But how do you know what to change to reach perfection when nobody is there to point out flaws? How do you reach perfection without criticizing the way you try to reach it? The morals and values you live by could be flawed, there could be other morals and value you hadn't thought about, you could have interpreted certain issues differently and learn that seeing it differently is "better".
(I am currently not convinced it is possible to reach perfection, then again; what is perfection (besides a civfanatic))

One of course needs discrimination for that.

what do you mean?

There is one ancient wisdom -which I do not claim to understand completely but it may be worth of mentioning- which goes something like: "never see anything bad in anybody."

It is a nice sentiment but imperfection =/= bad
by criticizing something you don't say it is bad only that it might be flawed

 

[Mechanicalsalvation]

Critique is good but one needs to be carefull with it.

I used it a lot but I switched to discrimination. You need the capacity to recognize higher truth from lower, separate ignorance from light, or be able to see degree of perfection in seemingly imperfect object/action.

But how do you know what to change to reach perfection when nobody is there to point out flaws? How do you reach perfection without criticizing the way you try to reach it? The morals and values you live by could be flawed, there could be other morals and value you hadn't thought about, you could have interpreted certain issues differently and learn that seeing it differently is "better".

I realy like more positive approache. Say, I notice in some person one negative and one positive quality. I identify that man with the good one and will deliberately ignore the negative side. This will allow me to think about that person in positive/loving way which will automaticaly allow more of this person side to come to the fore and by appreciating this quality it will also start grow in my own life or I will strenghten that aspect in my own personality. Meanwhile the negative side slowly melts away by the increased presence of the positive aspect(light).So perfection grows and its a win-win scenario.

(I am currently not convinced it is possible to reach perfection, then again; what is perfection (besides a civfanatic))

Perfection can be quite complicated matter. What may be perfection for one person is not for the other. I would rather see it that perfection is attainable and even transcendable. Or one can perhaps see it as something at horizon - once you get there new horizon/goal appears. Or you can say that there is limited perfection present in the world which can be expanded.
The point is that by going beyond the limits(increasing perfection) we get more satisfaction.