4 ms·

How do we know our society manages to function well? When I look at organisms, it's clear that there is a general trend, the larger the animal is, the more its

How do we know our society manages to function well? When I look at organisms, it's clear that there is a general trend, the larger the animal is, the more its life seems to be in "slow motion" compared to smaller ones. Its heartbeat, it's lifespan, it's reaction times, everything. If this is generally true, then societies have lifespans measured in millennia. It's in an even higher degree of "slow motion". That you look at it and think that it "functions well" because it hasn't fallen apart in 3 years is like a veterinarian examining an elephant just injured and 2 seconds later declaring "it's not dead yet". Change for change's sake, imposed by angsty college-aged kids upset that all the worthy causes were fought-and-won decades ago.

rayiner 10y ago
> Change for change's sake, imposed by angsty college-aged kids upset that all the worthy causes were fought-and-won decades ago. Hardly. I'm a 90's kid and I already amazed by how far we've come. In the mid-90's, only about half the country approved of interracial marriage. The "liberal" position on LGBT rights was "don't ask, don't tell." Marital rape was still legal in a couple of states. And there is so much left to do! E.g. Gay marriage is legal now everywhere in the U.S., but it'll be awhile before a church refusing to perform a same-sex marriage is regarded as aberrational as a church refusing to perform an interracial marriage would be seen today.
- dragonwriter 10y ago
  > The "liberal" position on LGBT rights was "don't ask, don't tell." No, it wasn't. It was the Clinton Administration policy on LGB (but not actually T, which the policy didn't recognize at all, though this obviously had impacts on bi- and hetero-sexual transgender individuals in addition to the other specific issues they faced as transgender individuals) conditions of service in the military, which that administration took after being elected on a promise of taking the actual liberal position in that domain, which was full acceptance without qualification.
  - rayiner 10y ago
    I know what DADT was; I was taking a little poetic license. Clinton represented the mainstream-left party, and signed both DADT and DOMA. In the 1990's, even the mainstream-left wasn't willing to throw its weight behind LGBT rights.
- NoMoreNicksLeft 10y ago
  There is no such thing as an "interracial marriage". There is only one human race extant on planet Earth. > but it'll be awhile before a church refusing to perform a same-sex marriage is regarded as aberrational It's a strange sort of progress that wants to brainwash everyone to think/feel/believe as you do. This must be the "diversity" you're always harping about.
  - rayiner 10y ago
    > It's a strange sort of progress that wants to brainwash everyone to think/feel/believe as you do. This must be the "diversity" you're always harping about. "Progress" doesn't mean accepting all beliefs. There is right and wrong, good and evil. "Progress" means figuring out which are the right and good values and inculcating them in the people.
    - NoMoreNicksLeft 10y ago
      Apparently it doesn't even mean coexisting with people who have different beliefs. You insist on brainwashing them or otherwise eliminating their beliefs from visibility. It's sort of strange. There is no "right and wrong" or "good and evil". Progress means change for the sake of change, because you all feel deprived that you weren't born early enough to do anything meaningful with your lives.
      - dang 10y ago
        You've become increasingly uncivil in your comments here. That's not the right way to use this site, so please don't. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newswelcome.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newswelcome.html
        NoMoreNicksLeft 10y ago
        Nothing I've said is uncivil. Why does it feel like that to you? Do you often imagine things in other people's words that isn't implied by the words themselves?
dang 10y ago
We detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11895612 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11895612 and marked it off-topic.

rayiner 10y ago

> Change for change's sake, imposed by angsty college-aged kids upset that all the worthy causes were fought-and-won decades ago. Hardly. I'm a 90's kid and I already amazed by how far we've come. In the mid-90's, only about half the country approved of interracial marriage. The "liberal" position on LGBT rights was "don't ask, don't tell." Marital rape was still legal in a couple of states. And there is so much left to do! E.g. Gay marriage is legal now everywhere in the U.S., but it'll be awhile before a church refusing to perform a same-sex marriage is regarded as aberrational as a church refusing to perform an interracial marriage would be seen today.

dragonwriter 10y ago
> The "liberal" position on LGBT rights was "don't ask, don't tell." No, it wasn't. It was the Clinton Administration policy on LGB (but not actually T, which the policy didn't recognize at all, though this obviously had impacts on bi- and hetero-sexual transgender individuals in addition to the other specific issues they faced as transgender individuals) conditions of service in the military, which that administration took after being elected on a promise of taking the actual liberal position in that domain, which was full acceptance without qualification.
- rayiner 10y ago
  I know what DADT was; I was taking a little poetic license. Clinton represented the mainstream-left party, and signed both DADT and DOMA. In the 1990's, even the mainstream-left wasn't willing to throw its weight behind LGBT rights.
NoMoreNicksLeft 10y ago
There is no such thing as an "interracial marriage". There is only one human race extant on planet Earth. > but it'll be awhile before a church refusing to perform a same-sex marriage is regarded as aberrational It's a strange sort of progress that wants to brainwash everyone to think/feel/believe as you do. This must be the "diversity" you're always harping about.
- rayiner 10y ago
  > It's a strange sort of progress that wants to brainwash everyone to think/feel/believe as you do. This must be the "diversity" you're always harping about. "Progress" doesn't mean accepting all beliefs. There is right and wrong, good and evil. "Progress" means figuring out which are the right and good values and inculcating them in the people.
  - NoMoreNicksLeft 10y ago
    Apparently it doesn't even mean coexisting with people who have different beliefs. You insist on brainwashing them or otherwise eliminating their beliefs from visibility. It's sort of strange. There is no "right and wrong" or "good and evil". Progress means change for the sake of change, because you all feel deprived that you weren't born early enough to do anything meaningful with your lives.
    - dang 10y ago
      You've become increasingly uncivil in your comments here. That's not the right way to use this site, so please don't. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newswelcome.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newswelcome.html
      - NoMoreNicksLeft 10y ago
        Nothing I've said is uncivil. Why does it feel like that to you? Do you often imagine things in other people's words that isn't implied by the words themselves?

dang 10y ago

We detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11895612 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11895612 and marked it off-topic.