4 ms·

> almost all of society knew that if they united for a great purpose, they could achieve great things. What purpose do we share?

tremon 4y ago
We all have a stake in preserving our society/way of life.
- Dracophoenix 4y ago
  Which society? Which way of life? Neither of these are static objects trapped in amber.
  - tremon 4y ago
    Honestly, this is such a sad comment. The real answer to that question is left as an exercise to the reader. Not putting in one iota of effort to find common ground with your fellow human beings is the bane of democracy as a form of government.
    - Dracophoenix 4y ago
      If the question should be left as an exercise, then I'm justified in asking it. Democracy has nothing to do with what I've asked. We live in a world of various societies each composed of distinct histories, laws, ideologies, creeds, beliefs, cultures, etc. This is as true today as it was millennia ago, before the existence of modern democracy. None of these societies are or were interchangeable, whether across space or time, and many are mutually irreconcilable with respect to one another. Historically, these differences were "settled" with massacres and revolutions, where the victors stood righteous and the losers denounced as animals, barbarians, deviants, heretics, apostates, reactionaries, terrorists, and other terms of abuse. Today, these battles are waged in parliaments and on Internet forums, where the methods are less bloody the but rhetoric and reasoning (or lack thereof) remain relatively unchanged. Societies, as they exist in the real world, aren't simply voluntary associations of rational individuals (as much as I would like that). They are, whether by accident or design, sets of historical decisions that have accumulated currency in a sufficiently large or sufficiently powerful group of people. These same people are willing to engage in violence or coercion to defend said decisions with little concern for truth.

tremon 4y ago

We all have a stake in preserving our society/way of life.

Dracophoenix 4y ago
Which society? Which way of life? Neither of these are static objects trapped in amber.
- tremon 4y ago
  Honestly, this is such a sad comment. The real answer to that question is left as an exercise to the reader. Not putting in one iota of effort to find common ground with your fellow human beings is the bane of democracy as a form of government.
  - Dracophoenix 4y ago
    If the question should be left as an exercise, then I'm justified in asking it. Democracy has nothing to do with what I've asked. We live in a world of various societies each composed of distinct histories, laws, ideologies, creeds, beliefs, cultures, etc. This is as true today as it was millennia ago, before the existence of modern democracy. None of these societies are or were interchangeable, whether across space or time, and many are mutually irreconcilable with respect to one another. Historically, these differences were "settled" with massacres and revolutions, where the victors stood righteous and the losers denounced as animals, barbarians, deviants, heretics, apostates, reactionaries, terrorists, and other terms of abuse. Today, these battles are waged in parliaments and on Internet forums, where the methods are less bloody the but rhetoric and reasoning (or lack thereof) remain relatively unchanged. Societies, as they exist in the real world, aren't simply voluntary associations of rational individuals (as much as I would like that). They are, whether by accident or design, sets of historical decisions that have accumulated currency in a sufficiently large or sufficiently powerful group of people. These same people are willing to engage in violence or coercion to defend said decisions with little concern for truth.