i'm just effing bored so here's my political shtick cuz why not everyone else has one (731 hits)
Category: PoliticsRating: 0.93 on 29 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by katy (View user info) at 2008-10-10 00:02:01 EDT
"I find myself in a world surrounded by people too disadvantaged and lazy to think for themselves." (from some dude further down the list)
my personal theory on government: if we could do it alone we would, but we can't so we put someone(s) in charge. think about it. people are all about the same intelligence level, all about the same level of physical capability, about the same amount of ingenuity when faced with a problem and no given solution. people are all about the same. it's an average thing. sure there are disabled and geniuses but for the most part the population sits on the fat part of a bell curve in all ways you can possibly compare one human being to another. we're mostly self-sufficient on our own. yet we still cannot survive on our own in large enough numbers to continue the species.
take me for example. i kill plants. i've killed cactus, bamboo and those cheapy bonsais you can get at the mall. the ONLY plant i've ever successfully tended to was a tomato plant and it gave me some damn good tomatoes. i'm pretty smart too. i can read all i want about gardening, about pH levels, soils, feeding, sunlight variation, aeration, all that awesome plant stuff. i can follow the directions on plants, watch hgtv for hours, watch the discovery channel, get advice from farmers, gardeners, florists, arborists, bonsai fanatics, whatever, and i will ALWAYS kill the plant unless it's a tomato. i could never ever be a farmer.
BUT! i'm a crack shot with a gun and decent enough with a bow and arrow. i can skin animals and i can cook them. then i can make things out of the rest of the bits. i even know how to render fat and make candles and lye soap from that fat and ashes. but i cannot farm. nothing in the world will ever make me a decent farmer. i have a black thumb.
now take my mom. she can't cook to save her life. i'm pretty sure she'd shoot her own foot off with an unloaded gun. she's clumsy in the kitchen and failed chemistry the last two times she took it. she cannot make soap. she can't do anything with dead bunnies.
so hunter sticks with farmer because it's a symbiotic relationship and you get great stew and balanced diet. hunter trades dead, dressed bunny for bag of potatoes and squash they both live through the winter and yada yada yada, the species is saved. so then people do this in large groups because hey if i can do this and you can do that and that person over there can do a third thing and we all did it together well great! we're all doing useful things to the best of our unique talents (communism) and trading between ourselves making the three of us each stronger by association.
so then these groups started getting larger and larger and that's where government came in. i believe people have an innate necessity to be balanced as most things do. we are all searching for homeostatis. so where there's the strong but stupid, there's the weak but skilled. team up and bam! you have a board of directors. people need government because it gets unruly after about 20 or so people. i mean hell, running a four person family nowadays is pretty tricky.
so that's where "thinking for yourself" goes out the window. the point of elected officials is to put someone else in charge so that you can focus on farming and hunting. if everyone had to think or fend for themselves but was not suited to either, they'd be dead at the loss of some other valuable skill. not everyone is a thinker. not everyone, no matter how much studying is done, could ever ever understand how a population of 300 million is organized so that we don't break down into cavemen and tribal warfare.
now this is all well and good if a humanitarian (or group of them) is in charge. i will agree that there was and is a lot of turning of a blind eye towards all the bullshit that goes on. but asking everyone to think for themselves is actually not completely a good or possible idea. i can think for myself, i'm still just going to get tomatoes. you can think for yourself all you want too, you can't have a piece of my bunny.
there's a difference between people being created equal physiologically, and being created equal with the right to the same human dignities. assuming all people CAN really think for themselves and make their own decisions in EVERY matter they may come across as a human being is just unfeasible. it's reasonable to put in your two cents, it's unreasonable to expect that you know better. i think therefore i am doesn't mean i think therefore i am better than you. the only real hard part to government is putting someone who's not a selfish douchebag in charge. but, then again, we the people are pretty self-centered anyway.
thinking for one's self also does not necessarily lead to a rational conclusion. if everyone got their specific two cents in rather than the more vague and all-encompassing(ish) system of democracy nothing would ever get done. the end result of absolutely everyone thinking for themselves is anarchy until mob mentality clicks in again and we reorganize in a new and not necessarily better hierarchy of government. this is also known as a coup.
fear is a strong motivating factor as evident in all political debates of course. all politicians use the "my opponent will make things WORSE" tactic. i think this is one of the strongest motivators in every political scene. you don't have to PROVE you're better, so long as you make everyone know HE IS WORSE. ideally, people vote for whom they believe articulates their personal desires best. second to ideal they vote for the person who articulates the personal desires of the someone they emulate the most because even if it's false hero worship at least it's still a personal connection with a little more indepth thought. mostly people vote on fear, name recognition and who looks better.
but none of what's above really matters cuz in reality people already do think for themselves but they've got side A of a triangle but are still trying to come up with C squared.
none of this means i agree with the current running of the country though and of course i could do it better.
in short, i'm rambling because i'm supposed to go for a long drive tomorrow and get up in 6 hours to do so but instead am a procrastinating insomniac that wants to arrive after everything's closed. i need a village to pillage.
User Reviews
Submitted by Caulaincourt (user info) at 2008-10-15 17:51:35 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by inion_de_trua (user info) at 2008-10-15 15:03:23 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
awww. i thought there would be some absurd camwhore.
what a gyp.
===
i camwhored in the reviews :-D
must be faithful to mself.
Submitted by inion_de_trua (user info) at 2008-10-13 17:34:52 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by d_prime (user info) at 2008-10-13 16:37:18 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
You're complaining that people are too lazy but you don't use capitals.
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i never said anyone was lazy. i quoted someone who said people were lazy. i said most people have better things to think about, like killin bunnies and growin tomaters.
Submitted by d_prime (user info) at 2008-10-13 16:38:01 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
"now this is all well and good if a humanitarian (or group of them) is in charge."
Hot damn! Why didn't I think of that?!
Submitted by d_prime (user info) at 2008-10-13 16:37:18 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
You're complaining that people are too lazy but you don't use capitals.
Submitted by nargles (user info) at 2008-10-11 21:17:25 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
woo!
Submitted by orphelia (user info) at 2008-10-10 17:38:33 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
It's green fingered, you crazy Yank's.
Submitted by rob_berg (user info) at 2008-10-10 17:29:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
You fucking rock.
Submitted by icarus1987 (user info) at 2008-10-10 13:50:29 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Just to add -- most people don't want to be informed. Which one's easier; doing the research to determine who has the best economic policy, or choosing the candidate that's the least black/wrinkly? You'd hope, with the economy suffering, that people would be motivated enough to really mull things over, but I doubt it. Most can still afford their homes/iPods/plasma tv's, and can continue to be stupid for at least a little while longer.
Submitted by icarus1987 (user info) at 2008-10-10 13:44:14 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Inion - while I'd agree, I don't know what bearing it would have. Most people can take it on themselves to be informed, reasonable, and calm. Will they? Probably not. It's the last thing politicians (or salesmen of any sort) want. Just watch any commercial. Marketers want you to be mindlessly hyped about their product and terrified of/offended by the competitor's. They want you to be willing to sell your spouse for a fucking hamburger.
When it comes to politics, the right will try to convince you that the left is going to open the floodgates to terrorists and illegal aliens, while the left will try to convince you that the right is going to strip you of your rights and load you into a concentration camp. 90% of the talk is complete hype/ad hominem. It's a completely innefficient and poorly orchestrated system, and I doubt it runs anything like it was intended to. This is why the public, historically speaking, has not been involved in governance. They're far too stupid and easily duped to make their own decisions. We should really go back to a constitutional monarchy. It was corrupt as all hell, but at least it kept people going in one direction.
Submitted by EmissionImpossible (user info) at 2008-10-10 12:49:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
BORING!
Submitted by inion_de_trua (user info) at 2008-10-10 12:45:43 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
sandmantate & orphelia - i need a green thumb. i killed 5 cacti. plants are out of my scope of expertise, or even adequacy.
icarus - having the same amount of knowledge and having the same capacity for knowledge are different. humans are about the same for the large part. like i said, the fat part of the bell curve. because all the environments human growth takes place in, both naturally and social, aren't the same we don't all have the same knowledge.
monkeys - i'm allergic to the shift key
sincere - there are very few anythings that i'm aware of a slant on. i mean besides hustler. (seriously, i do read it)
kitchens - that's fine. for a midnight ramble i actually expected a much lower score over all. guess it's the having a vagina thing. i wonder how many republicans are now voting with their penises.
AND NO I STILL HAVEN'T LEFT YET CUZ I WANT TO GET THERE AT DAWN TOMORROW.
Submitted by kitchens_closed (user info) at 2008-10-10 12:27:59 EDT (#)
Ranking: -1
You started off well enough...I don't know whether its your writing style or just this particular post, but I found eveything other than the beginning and the end lacking in both focus and structure. That combined with lack of capitalization made this very frustrating for me to read.
I don't know how seriously you meant for this post to be taken, but after reading it I felt slightly dumber. Then again, this could be some form of literary genius that I'm to inept to pick up on, but this is Uber and I rate this a minus one, because I've seen better.
Submitted by Sincere (user info) at 2008-10-10 12:23:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Do you read any libertarian websites?
Submitted by sandmantate (user info) at 2008-10-10 12:17:48 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by sage104 (user info) at 2008-10-10 09:45:36 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by orphelia (user info) at 2008-10-10 03:05:56 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
How do you kill a cactus? Without actually maiming it, it is impossible.
I have nearly 100 cacti, I don't know how it got this bad, really I don't, I hac a few shop bough cacti on my kitchen sill, an innocent little collection really, and suddenly word escaped round family and friends I was an avid cacti fan. Come Easter, Xmas, Birthday, there would be at least one package with spines piercing the gift wrap.
I used to keep them in the conservatory, a room I'd have to keep locked in order to protect my children from an impaled fate, but now I have moved they reside on every sill and spare surface in my house.
To have this many cacti makes me look odd. I see how the gas man eyes me suspiciously as he reads my meter.
I have tried lack of watering, overwatering, depraiving them off light etc but they seem to love all I throw their way.
====================================
You must have a natural green thumb like me. I have a Christmas cactus that I've had for almost two years and I also kept a Poinsettia alive for a year and a half before I said "fuck it" and put it outside to die in the cold.
Normally I love plants but Poinsettias are a bitch because in order for them to "bloom" (turn red) again you have to begin a light/dark cycle where you keep them in the dark from like 5pm-7am and in a certain, very precise amount of sunlight the rest of the day, beginning in like, July or something.
I quite like Cacti.
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You don't have to have a green thumb to keep a cactus alive. You just have to avoid setting it on fire. They are desert plants, are designed to withstand the worst nature has to offer.
Submitted by icarus1987 (user info) at 2008-10-10 11:44:25 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
There are two tactics used in modern American debates; ad hominem and appeal to emotion. The fact that many people DON'T want to vote for Obama because:
A. he didn't wear some idiotic pin
and
B. he's related to a Muslim
Shows that all humans, intellectually at least, are not anywhere near equal. Unless you have and value education and reason, Democracy really is a moronic pipe dream.
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2008-10-10 10:50:18 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Show some hole or STFU
Submitted by monkeyswithguns (user info) at 2008-10-10 10:09:58 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I can agree with what you're saying, the problem being that it's the need for a "humanitarian" to run the show. The problem there is that a true humanitarian won't volunteer for the job.
There's a quote out there that I want to reference, bu am too lazy to look up, that goes along the lines that the only good politician is the one that is reluctant to become a politician.
Reluctancy being the key word here.
BTW, has anyone ever told you how annoying it is to have to read the letter/word "I" spelled as "i?"
Submitted by sage104 (user info) at 2008-10-10 09:45:36 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by orphelia (user info) at 2008-10-10 03:05:56 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
How do you kill a cactus? Without actually maiming it, it is impossible.
I have nearly 100 cacti, I don't know how it got this bad, really I don't, I hac a few shop bough cacti on my kitchen sill, an innocent little collection really, and suddenly word escaped round family and friends I was an avid cacti fan. Come Easter, Xmas, Birthday, there would be at least one package with spines piercing the gift wrap.
I used to keep them in the conservatory, a room I'd have to keep locked in order to protect my children from an impaled fate, but now I have moved they reside on every sill and spare surface in my house.
To have this many cacti makes me look odd. I see how the gas man eyes me suspiciously as he reads my meter.
I have tried lack of watering, overwatering, depraiving them off light etc but they seem to love all I throw their way.
====================================
You must have a natural green thumb like me. I have a Christmas cactus that I've had for almost two years and I also kept a Poinsettia alive for a year and a half before I said "fuck it" and put it outside to die in the cold.
Normally I love plants but Poinsettias are a bitch because in order for them to "bloom" (turn red) again you have to begin a light/dark cycle where you keep them in the dark from like 5pm-7am and in a certain, very precise amount of sunlight the rest of the day, beginning in like, July or something.
I quite like Cacti.
Submitted by EmissionImpossible (user info) at 2008-10-10 09:28:39 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
do you really think im gonna read this?
Submitted by HadToBeDone (user info) at 2008-10-10 08:47:24 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by skrapmetal (user info) at 2008-10-10 07:21:59 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by sexualchocolate1984 (user info) at 2008-10-10 06:08:01 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
We live in a world which revolves around dodgy deals and broken promises (capitalism) - The current situation clearly shows that this system is too fragile to be left in the hands of greedy humans.
We need a modern communism - where greed is not a factor, where everyone does their part and everyone is fairly rewarded.
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There's no such thing as a non-greedy human. Some more than others, but all to some extent. Communism has and always will fail because of that simple fact. Honest capitalism is the ideal, wherein an individual's work and effort and creativity are rewarded and their laziness is not.
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Honest capitalism died with the advent of the corporation as a legal entity. We are not capitalist, we are corporatist.
Submitted by indoninja (user info) at 2008-10-10 08:15:05 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by sexualchocolate1984 (user info) at 2008-10-10 06:08:01 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
We need a modern communism - where greed is not a factor, where everyone does their part and everyone is fairly rewarded.
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Modern communism, what the fuck is that? You throw modern in front of a system of govt and it is magically better? Actually that is a bit unfair calling communism just "A" system of govt. It is arguably the worst system of govt ever.
If we are going to toss out "modern" to make broken, unfair systems of govt work, why no modern monarchy? where everyone is loyal to the king and the king is fair?
Dipshit.
Submitted by skrapmetal (user info) at 2008-10-10 07:21:59 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by sexualchocolate1984 (user info) at 2008-10-10 06:08:01 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
We live in a world which revolves around dodgy deals and broken promises (capitalism) - The current situation clearly shows that this system is too fragile to be left in the hands of greedy humans.
We need a modern communism - where greed is not a factor, where everyone does their part and everyone is fairly rewarded.
-----
There's no such thing as a non-greedy human. Some more than others, but all to some extent. Communism has and always will fail because of that simple fact. Honest capitalism is the ideal, wherein an individual's work and effort and creativity are rewarded and their laziness is not. The problem there is the 'honest' part. Human greed too often leads us to be dishonest.
Submitted by sexualchocolate1984 (user info) at 2008-10-10 06:08:01 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
We live in a world which revolves around dodgy deals and broken promises (capitalism) - The current situation clearly shows that this system is too fragile to be left in the hands of greedy humans.
We need a modern communism - where greed is not a factor, where everyone does their part and everyone is fairly rewarded.
Flobots: "The poor get poorly paid to hold the ladder while the rich get ricochet'd into the stratosphere"
Submitted by locksly (user info) at 2008-10-10 05:47:11 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
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Submitted by locksly (user info) at 2008-10-10 01:16:50 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
didn't read it but plus 2 title and motivation... I hope the post didn't suck
______________________
I read it and thought it was tha goodz
Submitted by orphelia (user info) at 2008-10-10 03:05:56 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
How do you kill a cactus? Without actually maiming it, it is impossible.
I have nearly 100 cacti, I don't know how it got this bad, really I don't, I hac a few shop bough cacti on my kitchen sill, an innocent little collection really, and suddenly word escaped round family and friends I was an avid cacti fan. Come Easter, Xmas, Birthday, there would be at least one package with spines piercing the gift wrap.
I used to keep them in the conservatory, a room I'd have to keep locked in order to protect my children from an impaled fate, but now I have moved they reside on every sill and spare surface in my house.
To have this many cacti makes me look odd. I see how the gas man eyes me suspiciously as he reads my meter.
I have tried lack of watering, overwatering, depraiving them off light etc but they seem to love all I throw their way.
Submitted by whiskey_jack (user info) at 2008-10-10 02:21:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I'd like a piece of yo bunny alright! Get it?!
Submitted by locksly (user info) at 2008-10-10 01:16:50 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
didn't read it but plus 2 title and motivation... I hope the post didn't suck
Submitted by kgbpasha (user info) at 2008-10-10 01:06:27 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Me, being an average human, already know all this (except the part
about you going for a drive tomorrow...though now I even know that).
So, thanks for the reminder.
Submitted by inion_de_trua (user info) at 2008-10-10 00:04:10 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
homeostasis*
i'm a homeo :(