Being another "child of the sixties" I have to agree. Maybe we were naive for having fun and not putting much importance on the pursuit of money. Maybe we were a generation of spoiled babies. But we had fun. And we changed the world with our antics. And we even finally stopped an unjust war. Then we grew up. And made money. And had families. But AFTER we really enjoyed the one time experience of youth. Of course the most important differences were, the music was much better, there was no AIDS and we knew without a doubt that both Republicans and Democrats were assholes. And you couldn't trust anyone over 30. And I did not trade today. Some things are more important. Peace, Rs7
"The greatest argument against democracy is a 5 minute coversation w/ Compisnada, Candletrader, and their trading room buffoons." That people like this have voting power is a scary thought.
I have no idea whether or not hypocisy is the reason for his change of mind. But I wouldn't find it hard to believe that he simply changed his mind. I kind of changed mine in the course of the last few months. First I thought the United States was a great country holding lots of opportunities for honest, hard working or smart people. And even though I have always been one to point out flaws in anything and everything, overall I was convinced that there was no better way than the American way. Then I did a little research and found out that basically every law, every legal decision, every executive order serves some purpose other than what it says it should. That got me thinking. Maybe it was all a big lie... One very obvious, albeit not substantial, example is the ministry of war. Why do they still call it department of "defense"? For crying out loud, we now have an actual defense department, and we can't call it defense department, because that name is already taken by the war ministry. So they had to come up with no less goofy a term than "homeland security". And that's just a lie for the lie's sake. The US wouldn't suffer any financial loss if they corrected this nomenclative problem. When it comes to imprisonment, taxes, fines, etc. you have to read through some of the actual court decisions to uncover the true measure of hypocrisy this government stands for. You wouldn't believe how ridiculous some of those decisions are, and you have to look at the details to understand them. Like, is the suspect black? Is the suspect the son of Palestinian immigrants? And then you have to ask yourself: If a white guy had transposed the day of birth and the month of birth on his driver's license application, would they throw him in jail for perjury? Anyway, now that it is the official American policy to commit acts of terrorism, "because there is no court to which they [meaning the rest of the world] could appeal", I don't feel like supporting the US government out of conviction. "Fear" more accurately describes the motivation I have to keep my opinion to myself more often than not. I imagine this is how an average German with an above average IQ must have felt in 1938.
I was going to say exactly that, but then I thought about it a little more, and it's not really democracy in the American sense that makes people like those dangerous. Nazi Germany wasn't a "democracy", but it was working so well because the masses were behaving just like Compisnada & Co. Does anyone here think Hitler said "we are evil and want to kill millions of people". Of course not, his speeches read more like "... secure our great nation, our great values. We will defend our home land against anyone who threatens ... we do not seek war. War has been brought upon us ..." Sound familiar?
Well look at the bright side, you are an american and you can allways leave becouse that is your right. comp
Not only do I agree with you, but I believe you worded it just right. I don't think your post will face opposition on this board, yet you bring your point across quite clearly.
rs7....I really miss the 60's. I hope in my mind I have not truly left them behind. It is interesting being exposed to the cynical and critical younger generation on the chat boards. They really have their heads up their butts. No concept of truth or inner peace. They all grew up on video games. Maybe that is why they can look at pictures of a real war and not find it upsetting. Somewhere along the way they lost their souls.
Honestly, you have just solved a problem that I have been having since yesterday: I was wondering: Americans have weapons of mass destruction, Iraqis (probably) have weapons of mass destruction. Americans have a president, Iraqis have a president. Our president calls their president a liar, their president calls our president a liar. Our president is acting against the will of the UN, their president is acting against the will of the UN (if you believe the news we get). Our president has orderd terrorist attacks, their president has ordered terrorist attacks (again, if you believe OUR news). So what really was the difference? You have found it: Freedom to leave the country (and even come back if you are a citizen, not just "people". It's "We the citizens", after all, not "we the people"). That really DOES make a big difference. I know, because my mother escaped a communist regime, risking her life and the lives of her family.