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  • Walter's Blog.
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  • Introduction
  • About Walter
    • 1980 Joining Up - Grafton Street >
      • Arrival and First Impressions
      • First Week
      • Training
      • Passing Out
    • Yaumati Cowboy >
      • Getting on the Streets
      • Tempo of the City
      • Jumpers, pill poppers and the indoor BBQ
      • Into a Minefield.
    • Why Tango in Paris, when you can Foxtrot in Kowloon? >
      • Baptism By Fire
      • Kai Tak with Mrs Thatcher.
      • Home; The Boy Returns
  • 1984 - 1986
    • PTU Instructor & Getting Hitched
    • Having a go: SDU
    • Starting a Chernobyl family
    • EOD - Don't touch anything
    • Semen Stains and the rules
  • 1987 to 1992 - Should I Stay or Go?
    • Blue Lights, Sirens & Grenades
    • Drugs, Broken Kids & A Plane Crash
    • 600 Happy Meals Please!
    • Hong Kong's Best Insurance
    • Riding the Iron Horse
  • Crime in Hong Kong
    • Falling Crime Rates - Why?
    • Triads
  • History of Hong Kong Policing
    • History 1841 to 1941
    • History 1945 to 1967
    • Anatomy of the 50 cent Riot - 1966
    • The Fall of a Commissioner.
    • History 1967 to 1980
    • Three Wise Men from the West
    • The Blue Berets.
    • The African Korps and other tribes.
    • Getting About - Transport.
    • A Pub in every station
    • Bullshit Bingo & Meetings
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    • The Godfather.
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    • PTU
    • Contact
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Reflections on recent events, plus the occasional fact
free rant unfiltered by rational argument.
 

"If you want to read a blog to get a sense of what is going on in Hong Kong these days or a blog that would tell you what life was like living in colonial Hong Kong, this blog, WALTER'S BLOG, fits the bill."  Hong Kong Blog Review

31/7/2017 2 Comments

Übermensch and the Kardashians

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PictureNietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche, the German philosopher, is infamous for having had his work co-opted and corrupted by the Nazis. It became the intellectual basis for their terrible crimes. His Übermensch or Supermen idea was seized upon to justify the suppression of compassion. The need to take harsh actions. This twisting of an idea led to Buchenwald, Auschwitz, Belsen and the other death camps. Yet, Nietzsche would have disavowed the Nazis.  He would have objected to their illicit and distorted adoption of his philosophy. 

What interests me is whether Nietzsche is relevant today? I’d say yes. He has some interesting observations to make. Often overlooked in the post-war discussion of Nietzsche’s work is the predictions he made about how societies may evolve. Although, the outcome he predicted may not arise in its entirety.

Nietzsche's renown arises from leading the charge that saw the so-called ‘death of God’. He held that the Christian doctrine created a slave morality. You suffered in this life, to get a reward in the next. In the process, by adopting the Christian approach you fail to aspire by surrendering to your masters. Without power, the Christian lies a weakness into a strength.  A herd mentality of servitude results. Nietzsche formed a belief that at its very core Christianity has a hatred of human nature. It seeks to suppress our urges. The things that make us human, it degrades by objecting to experiences that allow us to grow. Thus, Christianity with its worship of weakness, slows our progress, denting our aspirations.  

Nietzsche struggled throughout his life with illness. This led to a psychological condition with syphilis the probable cause. A failed love affair made matters worse. Plus, he dabbled with the ideas of Mr Grumpy of the philosophers, Arthur Schopenhauer. A notable falling out with composer Wagner, further helped shape his world view. At times he couldn’t write for more than 20 minutes without a break. He struggled on. Despite his many setbacks he never accepted all the dark sentiments of Schopenhauer. 

Nietzsche saw beauty in the mountains, the arts and culture. What is more, he believed that pain, struggle and hardship made us better people. Yes, you can ascend to the top of the mountain by helicopter to admire the view. But to Nietzsche, that’s an empty unfulfilling event.

The greater person, the Übermensch, climbs the mountain. Huffing, slipping and fighting the elements. He gains more from the experience. Likewise with lost love, sorrow and mistakes. What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger. Thus, suffering is to be embraced. Pain for Nietzsche unlocked happiness. Instead of following a blue print, the individual committed to themselves to the task.


Later in life, the foundation of his work was a failed effort to replace Christian values. He was that guidance for a new generation without God must be given. That never came to be during his life. Although his sister published his theories, these are by no means complete or coherent. 

Nietzsche was astute to recognise that mankind could slip backwards as the world became comfortable. The ‘last man’ has turned his back on challenges, deals in mediocrity and the trivial. Wallowing in opulent ignorance. In the title, I’ve cited the Kardashian’s as emblematic of what distracts the ‘last man’. Actually, I’m spoilt for choice. Love Island, Big Brother, countless computer games in the candy crush milieu, also fit the bill.  I suppose that’s the point. There is so much stuff out there that we are always distracted.

Watching reality TV, inane game shows, plus an obsession with mindless computer games appear to affirm Nietzsche’s view. That ‘last man’ devoid of a moral compass, faithless, listless, is average. Without their churches and religious masters, the herd is fragmenting. A void is being filled by polarised cultural choices purveyed by the Internet and TV. 

I have to say there is profound intellectual snottiness in taking that position. As I look around me people continue to seek the exceptional, make sacrifices and aim for greatness. Yes, granted, the distracted common herd is increasingly segmented. That does not mean we have stopped moving forward. 

2 Comments
Jeremy
22/8/2017 10:05:23 pm

Interesting perspective Walter and synopsis on Nietzsche but what point are you trying to make?

Reply
Anonymous
24/8/2017 12:40:10 am

I suppose that Nietzsche predicted the gormless society we have today.

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    Walter De Havilland was one of the last of the colonial coppers. He served 35 years in the Royal Hong Kong Police and Hong Kong Police Force. He's long retired. 

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