Gnosticism Reloaded

[Bandwraith at aol.com]

In a message dated 5/18/2003 12:06:55 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
pynchonoid at yahoo.com writes:


> At the risk of confounding "real life" with
> "literature", it is interesting to note the waves of
> nostalgia for the good-old days that break
> occasionally over the masses in places like Beijing
> and Shanghai (where I have observed this fantasy
> personally), as they begin to understand what it
> really means to live across the street from a mall
> with a Starbucks.
> 
> 

It's a paradox. Orwell seems to be as confounded by
it as much as anyone, but it may provide some insight
as to why fundamentalism has found a niche in the
current situation. As Pynchon rightly points out, desire
is difficult to control for those who would be totalitarian,
but, to a certain extent, fundamentalism trumps desire.

That may be why comfortable westerners find it so
difficult to understand terrorists who would throw away
the chance to see Matrix Reloaded, or sip java at the
local Starbucks, or gratify themselves in some other
way- let alone become suicide bombers for their beliefs.

Faundamentalism transcends desire and capitalism is
based on greed. How can you compete with seventy-odd
virgins in paradise?

respectfully 
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