i'm sorry but to me, this is the great myth of western "civilization", and i am incapable of trusting anything that wishes to be feared. (be it a man, a god, or a nation)
its not a question of asking, however the christian bible claims that its god is. this of course is not my problem, as i subscribe to a slightly different perception of the universe. one in which many of the supposed faults of our species, are learned behaviors and not at all a default condition. and were our species to free itself from the cultural bondage of inconsiderateness, there would be nothing, at least in our own solar system, it needed defending from. nothing elsewhere in the more civilized universe that has learned this lesson as well.
i doubt actually a god, because i had dream in which, what might have been an actual god, explained it had no real wish to be feared after all, however, it is in what some people tell, even attempt to demand, each other and everyone, pretend to know about it. in short, no one of any gender need be enculturated to belligerence or aggressive inconsiderateness, as the quote in question would seem to imply. even the function it claims to serve, can be better served by effective mechanical means, directed by cool and logical minds.
Mrs Goodard was mistress of a school......where young ladies for enormous pay might be screwed out of health and into vanity. Jane Austen
“A man who has blown all his options can’t afford the luxury of changing his ways. He has to capitalize on whatever he has left, and he can’t afford to admit — no matter how often he’s reminded of it — that every day of his life takes him farther and farther down a blind alley…” ― Hunter S. Thompson
Ah, is that right! I got it from a Tom Robbins book, Villa Incognito. I can imagine Mr Robbins as a Zappa fan, so maybe that's where he got it : )
"I have ever held the South was right. The very nomination of Abraham Lincoln, four years ago, spoke plainly war upon Southern rights and institutions ... And looking upon African Slavery from the same stand-point held by the noble framers of our constitution, I for one, have ever considered it one of the greatest blessings (both for themselves and us,) that God has ever bestowed upon a favored nation ... I have also studied hard to discover upon what grounds the right of a State to secede has been denied, when our very name, United States, and the Declaration of Independence, both provide for secession." - John Wilkes Booth
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle. ^ That quote has been attributed to several people.
and that reminds me of a song about the sign in a kindergarten that said simply, "don't hurt each other and clean up your mess".