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We unfortunately "reward" our heroes with things like that. Empty gestures. Just a pat on the back. On the other hand we reward the people who actively cheat a

by kokx 6y ago

We unfortunately "reward" our heroes with things like that. Empty gestures. Just a pat on the back. On the other hand we reward the people who actively cheat and exploit the world with large sums of money.

onecommentman 6y ago
Sleeping well at night, “a satisfied mind”...they may be less visible, but they are the opposite of empty. Ask any old person whether they would prefer a pile of gold or a good night sleep, a fat bank account with vultures circling overhead or a comfortable feeling that they did good. The latter can’t buy the former (although the former often happens anyways...life is funny). The former can never buy the latter and most oldsters I know grow to think the latter is the only thing that ever really mattered.
- boringg 6y ago
  Maybe - also I think that the premise that you can't have both is false. Its a false narrative that runs in our economy you either get wealthy or you do something good - its ridiculous and really detrimental to our society.
- mafuy 6y ago
  That's not how it works. Young people want to acquire resources to be able to successfully grow old (i.e. survive). Once they are old (i.e. had gotten the resources to become old), they don't need to get these resources anymore - because they have them already! Thus, they are free to want something else (like "sleeping well"). It's called survivorship bias, and it means that these very romantic ideas cannot be trusted without compensating for the bias. Those with too little resources died before you could ask them.
  - bobthepanda 6y ago
    It's also a very privileged subset of old people that get to live made-for-tv retirement in a community with lawns, golf carts and picket fences. Indigent old people stuck recycling cans to make ends meet probably don't have this worldview.
  - AnthonyMouse 6y ago
    Moreover, people in the modern world are unlikely to starve to death, but what does happen is that they have to labor at some other purpose in order to make ends meet, and then the public good is not produced.
rmrfstar 6y ago
Seriously! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislav_Petrov https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislav_Petrov

by kokx 6y ago

onecommentman 6y ago

Sleeping well at night, “a satisfied mind”...they may be less visible, but they are the opposite of empty. Ask any old person whether they would prefer a pile of gold or a good night sleep, a fat bank account with vultures circling overhead or a comfortable feeling that they did good. The latter can’t buy the former (although the former often happens anyways...life is funny). The former can never buy the latter and most oldsters I know grow to think the latter is the only thing that ever really mattered.

boringg 6y ago
Maybe - also I think that the premise that you can't have both is false. Its a false narrative that runs in our economy you either get wealthy or you do something good - its ridiculous and really detrimental to our society.
mafuy 6y ago
That's not how it works. Young people want to acquire resources to be able to successfully grow old (i.e. survive). Once they are old (i.e. had gotten the resources to become old), they don't need to get these resources anymore - because they have them already! Thus, they are free to want something else (like "sleeping well"). It's called survivorship bias, and it means that these very romantic ideas cannot be trusted without compensating for the bias. Those with too little resources died before you could ask them.
- bobthepanda 6y ago
  It's also a very privileged subset of old people that get to live made-for-tv retirement in a community with lawns, golf carts and picket fences. Indigent old people stuck recycling cans to make ends meet probably don't have this worldview.
- AnthonyMouse 6y ago
  Moreover, people in the modern world are unlikely to starve to death, but what does happen is that they have to labor at some other purpose in order to make ends meet, and then the public good is not produced.

rmrfstar 6y ago

Seriously! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislav_Petrov https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislav_Petrov