5 ms·
Funny, the machinations we devise to skirt the core problem, which is an increasing dearth of fundamental moraltity. Look around.. Something's gone completely
by unclebucknasty 9y ago
Funny, the machinations we devise to skirt the core problem, which is an increasing dearth of fundamental moraltity.
Look around.. Something's gone completely wrong. Everyone is angry and there is decreasing value placed on kindness and decency. In fact, selfishness is increasingly a virtue. Observe how POTUS behaves. I don't care what side you're on, there is nothing normal or healthy about that level of chaos, narcissim, and mean-spiritedness. Yet, this is the leader of the free world? It's a sad reflection of where we are.
We can set up all the incentives and disincentives we can imagine but, as the saying goes, "you can't legislate morality". Until we deal with that issue, we'll continue to see all manner of its manifestations.
- aoeusnth1 9y agoThank you. I feel like one of the few people in my friend group that isn't becoming radicalized, anti-democracy, anti-free-speech all sacrificed in favor of Justice. But what kind of justice can an authoritarian mono-Party state bring about?
- unclebucknasty 9y agoYes. It feels like everyone is under some sort of collective hypnotism or part of some strange reality show. Literally, if you told me that something was being added to our food or water supplies to produce the odd effect that normalizes the madness that's happening, it would be completely plausible.
- cheetos 9y agoAmerica, since its founding, has been an experiment in extreme individualism over collectivism. We worship capitalism over all else. Even a whisper of government programs that help the poor are vilified as communist. Selfishness and immorality is a natural consequence of that. Things won't change until our culture completely changes.
- b6 9y agoPeople in the US are extremely generous, by any measure.
- pas 9y agoBut not effective. Not rational. Sure, they help their neighbors, but they hate those Others at the end of the town/state/country.
- jjt-yn_t 9y agoOne small datapoint, Johnson's war on poverty included maybe the regulatory capture of the single mother having food without a male [food stamps]. Rendering two households, each more destitute, and of which the vilified lesser provider [male ]. Thus, collectivist [ single parent] over the indidivual [family]. Not to disparage the program, maybe its implementation as of now vs what was forseen.
- jacquesm 9y ago> Yet, this is the leader of the free world? It's a sad reflection of where we are. You have Trump confused with Merkel.
- Pica_soO 9y agoIts normal for human society- once the hardship sets in, the mammoth has been eaten, mean spiritness sets in. The truth is, we never managed to create a stable society in economical unstable conditions, so everytime people start to starve - the world falls apart. Ironically even the counter-measures we come up with (Law & Order in a thousand variants/ various dreams of a big Swage elsewhere/Migration & New Beginnings elsewhere) only enhance and propel the problem of a tribe switching to a war-economy. We are obviously in the process of finding various solutions. David Brins Panopticum of everyone. Permanent social records, that will not forget and will not be silent on your crimes, making you a social outcast for genocidre. Cheap entertainment, that reduces the effect of social self-devaluation of unemployed citizens. May we out-live this interesting times.
- jaredklewis 9y agoBut who is starving? Even poor people in the US are well off by historical and world standards. In fact poor in the US have a very different problem: obesity.
- Pica_soO 9y agoParticipation in society - you can starve on chances. You will not be dad of a family, if you play video games all day long. You will have constant stress, keeping from falling into the social abyss, so you starve on security. There is more to a existance then a filled belly.