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I’ve come to the conclusion that, while ideals about democracy and freedom sound nice, people are busy with their work and families and are not inclined to do o

I’ve come to the conclusion that, while ideals about democracy and freedom sound nice, people are busy with their work and families and are not inclined to do or sacrifice much to secure those ideals unless there is a problem with their access to food, followed by other basic necessities. As long as the state provides those things, the public seems to be amenable to pretty much anything. The pervasive corruption in every major institution of our society, which grows by the day, is a testament to this.

snarf21 5y ago
Exactly. I've always said that in the US people don't really care. Even for "important" things like the million woman march, it is fun to do something for 1 day/weekend and then get back to life, all things forgotten. As long as everyone has a flatscreen, Netflix, an iPhone, a decent car and can take a vacation, no one gives a crap. Despite life being materially worse than other times in the past, it is still better than most of the world. People rise up when they have nothing to lose. That isn't the case and won't be for quite a while.
zo1 5y ago
You can also have a look at Zimbabwe as a further example of this. Even though society there was absolutely breaking down, including the ability to get food/water/electricity/police-protection, but people were still hunkering down and doing their best to maintain normalcy. People still sent their kids to school, they still dated, they still went to work, figured out ways to get a "salary" in whatever form they could, made adhoc businesses, had cellphones, internet, traveled if they could, and newspapers were printed, reporters roamed and reported, etc. It didn't devolve into a end of the world apocalypse scenario that you'd imagine. Humans are incredibly resilient and they really just want to get on with their lives and be left alone. I guess they do so by compartmentalizing and rationalizing away things happening outside of their immediate view. It's the "easy" aspect of being able to tell politicians to "meddle" with other people and spend "other" people's money that gets them enthusiastic because it requires very little effort.

snarf21 5y ago

Exactly. I've always said that in the US people don't really care. Even for "important" things like the million woman march, it is fun to do something for 1 day/weekend and then get back to life, all things forgotten. As long as everyone has a flatscreen, Netflix, an iPhone, a decent car and can take a vacation, no one gives a crap. Despite life being materially worse than other times in the past, it is still better than most of the world. People rise up when they have nothing to lose. That isn't the case and won't be for quite a while.

zo1 5y ago

You can also have a look at Zimbabwe as a further example of this. Even though society there was absolutely breaking down, including the ability to get food/water/electricity/police-protection, but people were still hunkering down and doing their best to maintain normalcy. People still sent their kids to school, they still dated, they still went to work, figured out ways to get a "salary" in whatever form they could, made adhoc businesses, had cellphones, internet, traveled if they could, and newspapers were printed, reporters roamed and reported, etc. It didn't devolve into a end of the world apocalypse scenario that you'd imagine. Humans are incredibly resilient and they really just want to get on with their lives and be left alone. I guess they do so by compartmentalizing and rationalizing away things happening outside of their immediate view. It's the "easy" aspect of being able to tell politicians to "meddle" with other people and spend "other" people's money that gets them enthusiastic because it requires very little effort.