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| War, Religion, & Politics | |
| Posted By: axman | Date: 3/30/04 6:21 p.m. |
In Response To: Re: Theory on the origins of the war (Steve Ollett) :: If you ask me, the prophets really arent prophets, my theory is that the
: Or ANY political government setup for that matter... (let's not single
: Afterall, one country's Patriotism could be defined as Ultra-Nationalism or
i've been waiting for someone to connect the Covenant with Islam... I'm not sure it's really applicable to it directly. but the idea does fit well with the Arab-Muslim governments that point at the US as the "Great Satan" to deflect the frustration and hatred of their citizens away from themselves so that they can stay in power. The caste system does seem a bit more like Hinduism does "patriotism / nationalism" require the attacking of other nations just because they're another nation? it doesn't just depend on who grabs the "moral high ground" for the comparison. look at japan in the 1930s- its actions were not just patriotic- they were racist & imperialistic as well. Could they say *truthfully*, "oh, we were just being patriotic" in the way someone that puts "proud to be an American" on his car bumper can? i doubt it. back to halo...
i don't remember any evidence in any of the books that indicates that there was any other reason for the war from the Covenant's point of view than religious fanaticism. [*if i remember correctly*] i think it has been noted that the covenant didn't fire on the humans originally until they tried to identify themselves. also, somewhere it says something along the lines of, [again, if i remember correctly], that "a name implies legitimacy, and the humans were not legitimate. so they must be exterminated". Giving a name to something is a way to show dominion over it. By naming ourselves before the Covenant could do so (or rejecting their name for us) is to rebel against their dominion and set ourselves up as our own masters. The Covenant's subsequent response ["your destruction is the will of the gods"] does seem rather reminiscent of historical Islam (which spread by the sword). and the way the lower "castes" are kept in line by those higher (elites reassigning grunts around at will, prophets beheading elites who don't perform) along with the goal of the complete destruction of the enemy (no negotiating) reminds me of modern wahhabic* Islam. .02
*think bin Laden. he doesn't want to "change" the US, he wants to destroy it and return Islamic culture to its "glory days" of ~1450-1800AD when it was more advanced than the "Christian West". [or Hamas that wants to end Israel's existence] | |
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