Offerings continue to play a (subordinated) role
in modern technological societies. A few groups still cling to old unselfish styles of
living - the hippies, the avant-garde scientists on the wwweb, missionaries, eastern monks
and western lunatics.
In the other end of the unselfish spectrum you find Pan Slavists, Nazists, Fascists,
Zionists and Jihads ready to sacrifice the most precious thing of all - their own life -
for the Sake (of the Nation, God and/or Race).
The offerings of the middle class are mostly limited to rituals in front of
the tube where they ring in money to save rainforests (while the Forest Companies
go on logging), heart patients (while Tobacco Companies go on claiming market shares) AIDS
victims (while the third world proletariat go on fucking) uzw.
The real stunning offerings are mostly ritualized in the destruction of old military
equipment, obsolete housing and other engineering failures.
The Apollo project to reach the Moon was not a true national offering, the Military and
the Business people were onboard.
Now its big Business to launch satellites and make research in zero gravity;
investments, not offerings.
To feel the value of the true offering, you may not expect to get anything back other than
"irrational" feelings of "doing good".
Try that, in your own little (family) life, and youŽll notice the difficulties
immediately.
One of the important paradoxes of human psychology is that offerings are more difficult to
accomplish than successful investments.
Tomas Brusell
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