Matthew Henry John Bartlett

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Sunday 14 August, 02005

Dis-aster, no guiding star

by Matthew Bartlett @ 12:49 am

I read Stephen Batchelor’s account of his meeting with the 14th Dalai Lama and I’m sad and I think “a lost man in a lost world.” And there’s no group I know of that I’d exclude from membership in the lost world. There are I suppose glittery gems here and there. Part of me wants to say that’s OK, we can retreat from these troublesome groups and all just try and be the glitteriest gems we can be, but I feel that in giving up group identities we might be participating in the troublesomeness by ceding political power to anyone in a machiavellian mood.

Well, that is Matthew #2. Matthew #1 is still optimistic & cheerful & wishes to recruit workers for his infinitely helpful army bringing incremental improvement to every hurting sphere of existence. Sign up now!

8 responses to “Dis-aster, no guiding star”

  1. You forgot to mention that Matthew #1 is buff.

    Do you want to explain further the effect of giving up group identities?

  2. Anonymous says:

    For Matthew #2: 1 Corinthians 1, 18-31.
    For Matthew #1: A member of the Divine Folly Identity Group.

  3. Anon, sorry I don’t get it.

    RDB, I’m thinking if one unhooks oneself from a group identity like Christian or Labour or whatever and says “I’m just me”, I think it’s a kind of abandonment of a sphere of existence, a giving up the reins, letting someone else set the agenda. Like me not investing energy into understanding the issues this election has meant my opinions are formed by billboards. The point is getting all wooly now, I’m afraid.

  4. In love I say your points often get a bit wooly

  5. Anonymous says:

    Divine Folly (keeping it simple) can get you there faster than all the wisdom of the world (rubbish truck load of political issues) -sorry point was so…wooly.

  6. Anonymous says:

    If we are talking “politics” then the where is whom you wish to vote for. In general, it is where you want to stand on any particular issue.

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