I'm reading a book called 'the rape of nanking' at the moment. It's by a woman called Iris Chang who recently killed herself, and it is about the atrocities commited by the Japanese over the Chinese when they took over Nanking just before the Second World War. It's a very good book, but like all true accounts of human history it can be horrible to read. more than 300000 chinese where systematically killed, tortured and raped by the Japanese. However it's not the number s but the way the Japanese carried out what they did. Lining up men, women and children and shooting them in the back of the head. Systematically raping women. Bayoneting people for target practice. Keeping score of the number of the decapitations as some sort of sick game. Never fails to amaze me to see what humans are capable of. Of course it's also depressing as hell, but now I think most of us are quite numb to stuff like this. I couldn't imagine how it would feel to in this type of world and sometimes i realise how lucky i am. Though if there is a God or higher power there, he really is having fun there playing his sick little game. I suppose it's all about 'faith' and how you are supposed to keep it even when bad shit is happening to you or even worse, those that you love. If he is up there he is a fucking asshole. if he isn't. then that figures. Either way it's a bit crap isn't it? That's how I would look at it if I was a Christian. However I am supposed to be a Buddhist, and so in our religion 'life is suffering' and the cycles of life will continue until we find good karma and true peace. That figures that you have to be reincarnated. I guess that's easier to believe, but it still kinda sucks really. If a gang of thugs gang-rape your wife in front of your eyes then it doesn't help to say 'oh well. i might be suffering as hell now but i'm sure that in the next life things will be better and for the rapists things will be worse'. I've got all religious philosophical now. Anyway. I'm using my journal for musing now. My life's really not interesting enough to write anything that worthwhile, so i'm just going to muse. muse muse muse.
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Once I saw a documentary of present day people living in a jungle as a primative tribe, cut off from the modern world. The men went on a raiding party to kill their neighbours, but on the return to their village, they showed the most gentle nature and care towards their children. That showed the split mind, that can be cruel and be caring.
There is hope for us as a species and much reason for admiration, but, sadly, we are not built to be purely good.