An Interesting Piece Of History
Jane Lampman reviews Karen Armstrong’s book, The Great Transformation which covers the era of the formation of the world’s great religions between 900 and 200 BCE. Sounds like an interesting counterbalance to the depressing reality of Jared Diamond’s Collapse.
It would seem that every few centuries people figure out that violence doesn’t work, but after a while we return to it. When I hear all of the people talking about how we should blow things up to settle a problem, I have to wonder how many of them have been in the path of destruction. Someday they will introduce the smell of war to movies and most people will figure it out: dead bodies, and that’s what we are talking about, don’t smell very nice.
2 comments
interesting concept, the smell of war added to all the other sensory input…
If you have ever smelled it, you don’t need a dog to find a body, Amy. You other senses don’t seem to be as directly wired as your sense of smell. Experienced investigators all carry Vick’s Vapo-Rub in their cars to rub on their nostrils before entering a murder scene, and there’s usually a barf area off to the side to avoid contaminating evidence. It is a powerful jolt to your senses.