Re: Two ideas & still samurai

Hey all.
Yeah, it's me, back from an extended stay on the fringe of reality in
the Netherrealm.
I may just be another stupid idiot who has NOT seen The Last Samurai
(and I don't plan to -- just get me the book), but is it possible that the
IDEALS of the samurai (i.e. what they stood for, the Bushido, &c.) could still be,
in a way, very much alive today? I mean, as a class, certainly, the Samurai
disappeared a century and a quarter plus ago, sure. But what they stood for,
could that not be still around today? Such as living with honor?
I mean, here's an example from another walk of life: In his book
"Bound By Honor", Bill Bonnano (son of legendary La Cosa Nostra boss Joe Bonnano)
makes a very real distinction between "A Mafioso" and "mafioso." The first is
a "made" member of La Cosa Nostra, what we call the "Mafia" or the "Mob," and
may or may not be "mafioso." Mafioso, with a "small" "m", Bonnano describes
as being about respect and honor, and has nothing to do with gender: "A
beautiful, proud woman can be said to be mafioso" (introduction, pg xiv). Bluntly,
he goes on to describe mafioso as having to do with honor that comes from the
respect of places: yours and the other person's. A crime against honor
(picking on the weak, for example) is not tolerated, and revenge (notice, I did not
say "justice") is extracted. (Granted, La Cosa Nostra were, essentially,
illegal, whilst the Samurai were VERY legal, and this difference is, of course,
noted.)
I may just be another babbling idiot, but does this make any sense at
all and is this of any value? Am I at least on the right track?
Back to the Netherrealm. If I don't write again before then, have
wonderful Christmas seasons, y'hear? 8-)

Later
Tim


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