100 Thoughts; the little red book of chairman Joao
Submitted by kenji on Wed, 02/02/2005 - 04:18
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- 1. We know nothing.
- 2. There may be an infinite number of universes in both space and time.
- 3. Life may be an illusion, a dream, an alien creature's vision, or just one of many parallel lives.
- 4. Science serves dangerous exploiters as well as progress.
- 5. There is no such thing as evil.
- 6. Thank Winter for Spring and Summer.
- 7. Look for opportunity in your misfortune.
- 8. Don't defer to tomorrow what you know you should do today.
- 9. It is one thing to die for your country, another to kill.
- 10.Patriotism is more often a vice than a virtue.
- 11.Avoid deathbed regrets at what you didn't do.
- 12.When you find your life's purpose, follow it.
- 13.Care about others without caring too much about what others think of you.
- 14.Make time your friend, not your enemy.
- 15.Spend time with nature.
- 16.Look for the miraculous in the things we take for granted.
- 17. "Look thy last on all things lovely"
- 18."Today is a gift called the present".
- 19.Capital punishment is murder.
- 20.War is the mass murder we too often glorify. The war heroes we honour were often murderers or sacrificed by murderers.
- 21.Violence begets violence, hatred begets hatred, terror begets terror.
- 22."Terrorism" is the name hypocrites often give to their own more powerful terror reaping what it sows.
- 23.A garlic a day keeps the doctor away.
- 24.Psychologists need their heads examining.
- 25.Those who find faults are often most faulty.
- 26.If you borrow or lend, expect problems.
- 27.A wondrous destiny should await us; today's humans, tomorrow's aliens.
- 28.The nuclear timebomb is always ticking.
- 29.We slaughter and eat animals we claim to love.
- 30.History is merely distortion.
- 31.The News is merely propaganda.
- 32.Be honest with yourself.
- 33.It's not shameful to admit racism, but shameful not to fight it.
- 34.Power corrupts.
- 35.Don't trust politicians.
- 36.Beware being part of a bigoted majority.
- 37.Treat others as you would wish to be treated (unless you're an incurable masochist)
- 38.Our own pride makes us more angry with the pride of others.
- 39.Religions are too often distorted for the empowerment of the organisers, and to make followers feel superior to others.
- 40.Christ's message was of forgiveness, love and peace.
- 41.Those who pursue revenge, hatred and war in the name of Christianity are hypocrites.
- 42.Christ did not condemn homosexuality.
- 43.If Christ returned to preach in America, hypocritical right wing "Christians" would most likely send Him to the electric chair.
- 44.Be tolerant, but don't tolerate Society's intolerance.
- 45.Acts that do noone any harm should not be considered sinful.
- 46.Social customs that remove us from nature are all too often harmful.
- 47.In a saner world, public nudity would not be a crime.
- 48.Receive with good grace, don't refuse gifts through pride.
- 49.There is more than enough food, money and space in the world for everyone.
- 50.Question any proposed "solutions" that deny or conceal 49.
- 51.Mass starvation is murder through exploitation, greed and neglect.
- 52.Our greed and acceptance of inequality harm and kill children, just as surely as do paedophiles.
- 53."Political correctness" is the name often given to challenging political correctness.
- 54.TV is the opium of the people.
- 55.Money and fashion are false gods.
- 56.Schools should aim for future fulfilment more than social regimentation.
- 57.Salaries and government spending show we respect the making of money and weapons far more than caring for others.
- 58.Not for nothing do humans have a spiritual sense. There is a whole universe within us and all things.
- 59.Beware pompous ceremonial displays.
- 60.Beware false modesty- deceitful pride, seeking admiration.
- 61.Our apparently unselfish acts are often motivated by selfishness.
- 62.Laws and justice are not the same.
- 63.Baying mobs mean guilty till proven innocent.
- 64.Too many of us talk but don't listen.
- 65.We are responsible for our actions yet our actions are all destined and inevitable.
- 66.We often respect Royalty for the wealth and stately houses that we despise in disliked dictators.
- 67.We question too little of what we are used to.
- 68.Oppressive groups often seek the appearance of somehow being oppressed.
- 69.Beware people and organisations claiming a monopoly on the truth.
- 70.Do not confuse populism and popularity.
- 71.Trust the faults the colonised find with their colonisers rather than vice-versa.
- 72.There is no such thing as "the free world". "Democracy" is usually anything but.
- 73.National boundaries are false boundaries. We are all one.
- 74.Many "civilised" nations have been genocidal.
- 75.Royal families are often simply the inheritors of the gains from mass-murder.
- 76.The world belongs to us all. Needy immigrants and asylum-seekers should be welcomed not scapegoated.
- 77."I'm an imperfect person in an imperfect world".
- 78.The media is owned by rich exploiters. The media scapegoat the weak and powerless, rather than rich exploiters.
- 79.Deterrence is better than punishment. Prevention is better than cure. Many organisations have a vested interest in cure not prevention.
- 80.Do not be afraid of new experiences. Make the most of life.
- 81.Travel rewards open minds but confirms the prejudices of closed ones.
- 82. Not for nothing are dogs called "man's best friend". If we had tails like dogs deceit might come less easy.
- 83.If politicians cared for our future welfare more than re-election, we would not be headed for environmental catastrophe.
- 84.TV and the film industry censor loving sex but glorify violence. Kill isn't a swear word.
- 85.Question your possessions; they may often constrain you.
- 86.Today's freedom fighter, tomorrow's terrorist. Today's terrorist, tomorrow's respectable politician.
- 87.Don't let grudges fester.
- 88.Better an idealist than a cynic.
- 89.The oppression of black people is widely underestimated.
- 90. Men and women are equal and complementary. Both face artificial disadvantages.
- 91.Racism involves power as well as prejudice.
- 92.Many claim to know what death has in store- and despise those who claim otherwise.
- 93.Poetry is a neglected source of pleasure.
- 94.Waste less, recycle more.
- 95.Think positive and look for good in others.
- 96.Look after your heart. And look after your Heart.
- 97.Beware stereotypes and sweeping generalisations.
- 98.Trust in your nagging inner voice or gut instinct.
- 99.All of the above may be nonsense. Feel and think for yourself.
- 100.We live in a world of foolish lists and decimal tyranny.
Author Comments:
My research leads me to believe chairman Joao was a Portuguese free-thinker fluent in English, who travelled widely and may have gone into hiding from political repression in South America.
How do you know?
From a manuscript trail i've found he was almost certainly a professor at Coimbra university (politics/ philosophy?) for several years, who had earlier travelled on foot in Asia (Nepal, China, Mongolia, Japan) as a young man. After Coimbra, he lived briefly in Ontario, Canada before going to the poverty-stricken Minas Gerais area of Brazil on a humanitarian project, then into Peru but disappeared. He was brought up a Catholic but, as the thoughts show, was opposed to organised religions.
I'm delighted to see you've posted this up as a favourite, Stumpy; was there something you intended to say?
Just one of those times when I opened up a reply before I knew what I was going to say. (You can't delete the post windows once you open them.) While I'm here though, nice list!
This is pretty cool. Thanks.