From: oldernow@dev.null   
      
   On 2024-04-17, D  wrote:   
      
   > I think the high taxes and the welfare state in most   
   > western democracies has trained people to expect someone   
   > else to solve problems, and someone else to be responsible   
   > for the worlds evils. Taking responsibility for yourself,   
   > and realizing your own faults is anathema in todays   
   > culture, and I think a lot of the problems in the world   
   > can be traced to a lack of responsibility.   
      
   Amen!   
      
   > I mean think about democracy. You put a piece of paper   
   > in a box so someone else can deal with problems. Someone   
   > else justifies taking half your income by convincing you   
   > that _they_ will solve all your problems.   
   >   
   > Now repeat this generation after generation, and you   
   > can see what I'm getting at. But, at the risk of being   
   > accused of being conspiratorial, this is a great myth for   
   > the worlds politicians to perpetuate, since it guarantees   
   > them a job.   
      
   I'm pretty sure that ballot thing is a bullshit illusion.   
   It's all a bunch of bleach-drinking, insurrective Russian   
   collusion! :-)   
      
   I think cause/effect is danged tricking when there are a   
   lot of factors, especially if/when most are hidden.   
      
   > Before democracy, the guys who wanted to play the game of   
   > power often paid for it with their lives. It was a lot more   
   > risk/reward. Today we're civilized and modern democracy   
   > has eliminated a lot of the killing and if you don't win,   
   > you'll sit on the opposition benches for 4 years and then   
   > you get to try again, while still living of tax payers   
   > money. Great deal for the power players compared with how   
   > things were 300 years ago.  ;)   
      
   I occasionally long for a society strictly along the lines   
   of the *past* god of atheism also known as "survival of   
   the fittest" - "past", because proponents rather backed   
   off that stance once they realized everything it implies.   
      
   It would no doubt mean shorter life spans for most, but   
   survivors would be living much more fulfilling lives,   
   possibly to the point of a net gain across the species -   
   never mind probably guaranteeing healthier subsequent   
   descendants/generations.   
      
   But they've (you know who they are!) gone from   
   championing a godless survival scenario (until realizing   
   how un-fucking-fit they are...) to championing a "rule of   
   the weakest/dumbest by way of guilting and such" scenario -   
   which, unimpeded, probably means the end of the species.   
      
   But, again, I'll be safe in death's arms before then. But   
   it's going to be close.... ;-)   
      
   --   
   oldernow   
   xyz001 at nym.hush.com   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)