Re: What is success?!

["Shahab Mesbah" <moscadmin@moscow.com>]

well if you want factual then the only instance i can tell you is one of my
experiences which are not nearly as cool as the story i sent you!

i find it interesting that we, in the west, speak of history as if it were
riddled with facts. the history we grasp with both hands in the west is very
myopic. our history books are full of amazing statements which any logical
person would recognize as BS. i will give you an example.

according to our history books the great pyramids in Egypt were built before
the steel age by slaves. upon small research you will find that "the King's
Chamber" is made of huge granite slabs that are velvety smooth. also the
stones used for the structure of the pyramid were not just dumped there...
they were cut and placed precisely. furthermore the limestone casing of the
pyramids were so precisely cut and placed that the edges of the stone pieces
were impenetrable. to top it all off the door to the interior was so
precisely engineered that no one could find it. this is why the Arabs that
first got in there had to destroy the casing and dig a tunnel to get in.

now i will personally give anyone a thousand dollars if they could achieve
this building wonder with copper and brass and even iron tools especially by
slaves. it seems far more logical that the pyramids were constructed as a
labor of love for a place of worship by craftsmen of highest caliber. it is
also evident that even though Europeans had not yet invented steel the
Egyptians had. yes folks there were many great civilizations around the
world when Europe was considered inhabitable swampland full of barbarians! i
find it arrogant of us to assume that just because we did not have it no one
else did either.

history is written by the victor... it is easy to forget that the history
books are full of half truths, opinions, and lies. even modern history does
not get all the truth. there are many things that we do not know about our
governments' involvement in other countries. you think the conflicts around
the world are internal and often decades later you find out that the whole
thing was a lie and a result of manipulations from other countries. just
think of all the times we don't find the truth.

in conclusions i appreciate attention to detail and precision. in fact i am
considered, by all who know me, to be too critical and "type a". i, however,
try not to get bogged down with technicalities for the sake of
technicalities. this, i assert, has caused most of our inability to concern
ourselves with more fundamental universal Truths like kindness, decency,
tolerance, honesty, trustworthiness, helpfulness, and other such attributes.
as we grow we must see the importance of the basic qualities and understand
that nothing else is fact. scientists constantly find new information that
alters our perception of reality. science itself due to its very nature is
devoid of facts!! as a Physicist i have learned that our reality has nothing
to do with Truth. we conceive things as solid yet there is no such thing. i
hope you understand what i am saying... i am not condoning misinformation
but the details just do not matter in many cases. when a friend sent me the
story i was so touched with the message that i did not care to check it's
validity; it did not matter; i sent it to all of you in hopes of it making
your day a better one... if it did not... i apologize.

with undying love... your brother in arms,

shahab...


----- Original Message -----
From: Robert Anton-Erik <anton933@uidaho.edu>
To: Shahab Mesbah <moscadmin@moscow.com>
Cc: <WMSteed@aol.com>; <melyndah@mail.wsu.edu>; <vision2020@moscow.com>;
Robert Hoffmann <escape@alt-escape.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 1999 4:05 PM
Subject: Re: What is success?!


> Now, to provide the counter-argument...
>
> If, as you assert, the moral is True and has been "proven true throughout
> world history," then certainly you can provide a story that is
> historically factual, without having to resort to a fabricated story to
> make your moral point.
>
> Or, as previously remarked by someone (i dunno who), what good is the
> moral if you have to resort to a lie to make the point?
>
> On Tue, 31 Aug 1999, Shahab Mesbah wrote:
>
> > well... i am sorry to have caused such a debate! my intention was to
make a
> > point about doing good things just for the privilege of having the
chance to
> > do them. those of you who understood, appreciated it and that makes it
worth
> > while.
> >
> > i too appreciate the facts on the matter but as previously stated the
moral
> > of the story stands and has been proven true throughout world history.
the
> > message is True... if i had changed the names to Tom, Dick, Harry, and
Simon
> > the story might have been factual but would not have made the impact.
> >
> > the question here is are you going to look for truth or Truth?! there
are
> > many true statements that contain no Truth. i agree that ideally you
want
> > both but i insist that Truth is more important than truth!!
> >
> > now, i do not want to get into a battle here but why do you think that
there
> > are 24000 different ways of believing in a man that told all of us to be
> > civilized and not kill one another? the different sects of Christianity
are
> > a prime example of nit-picking the facts until you miss the Truth before
> > you.
> >
> > your brother in arms,
> >
> > shahab...
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: Robert Hoffmann <escape@alt-escape.com>
> > To: <WMSteed@aol.com>; <melyndah@mail.wsu.edu>; <vision2020@moscow.com>
> > Sent: Monday, August 30, 1999 11:53 AM
> > Subject: Re: What is success?!
> >
> >
> > > At 02:21 PM 8/30/99 EDT, WMSteed@aol.com wrote:
> > > >Thank you for another item for my "Things I really did not need to
know"
> > > >file.  The first story was much better.  I would like to believe the
> > moral
> > > >remains the same.
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > > I'm with Melynda Huskey on this one.  "Things I really did not need to
> > > know" include smarmy but incorrect stories concerning historical figur
es.
> > > My mailbox fills with this kind of junk from well-meaning people who
think
> > > that I will be inspired by such historical novellas.  The flip side of
> > this
> > > is that I sometimes receive bogus and inflammatory warnings about
computer
> > > viruses that don't exist.  The Internet makes the proliferation of
such
> > > trash so easy, that people often invent their own hoaxes--of the
inspiring
> > > or panicking variety--just for the thrill of seeing their own
fantasies
> > > circle the globe.  I am happy when people inform me of disinformation,
as
> > > this decreases the chance that I will repeat it to others.
> > >
> > > The accuracy and quality of the information we receive through
electronic
> > > media should be an issue of concern to Vision 2020 subscribers, and to
all
> > > people involved with technology today.
> > >
> > >
> > > Bob Hoffmann                         229 East C St., Suite B
> > > Alt-Escape Adventures                Moscow, ID  83843  USA
> > > http://www.alt-escape.com            Phone: (208) 883-0642
> > >                                      Fax: 1-800-683-3799
> > >
> >
>
> -------------------------------------
> Robert Anton-Erik
> anton933@uidaho.edu
> http://www.ets.uidaho.edu/rob/
>
> "The medium is not the message,
>  the message is the message."
> -------------------------------------
>