Are, however, the terrorist fundamentalists, be it Christian or Muslim, truly fundamentalists? There is a feature that clearly distinguishes all authentic fundamentalists, from Tibetan Buddhists to the Amish in the US: the absence of resentment and envy, the deep indifference towards the non-believers’ way of life. Since they really believe they found their way to Truth, why should they feel threatened by non-believers, why should they envy them? When a Buddhist encounters a Western hedonist, he is far from condemning him; he just benevolently notes that the hedonist’s search for happiness is self-defeating. The contrast cannot be stronger to the terrorist pseudo-fundamentalists who are deeply bothered, intrigued, fascinated, by the sinful life of the non-believers—one can feel that, in fighting the sinful other, they are fighting their own temptation. A so-called Christian or Muslim “fundamentalist” is a disgrace to true fundamentalism.
—Slavoj Zizek
How does your head feel? (Berrigan)
What I'm trying to say is that if an experience is / proposed to me—I don't have any particular interest / in it—Any more than anything else. I'm interested in / anything. Like I could walk out the door right now and go some / where else. I don't have any center in that sense...I don't feel / a necessity for being a mature person in this world. I mean / all the grown-ups in the world, they're just playing house, all / poets know that. How does your head feel? How I feel is / what I think.
Ted Berrigan, from "Around the Fire"
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