[Shar_Lamagne]

Organize. Join a Union. Support collective bargaining and the right to strike. Head into the streets when necessary.

And then when it's necessary, and it will be necessary, fight with conviction.

It cost many lives before TPTB finally acceded to 8 hr work days. See the history of the labor movement.

There ARE things worth putting your life on the line for.

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Shar_Lamagne', 'O')rganize. Join a Union. Support collective bargaining and the right to strike. Head into the streets when necessary.

[Pops]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mos6507', 'N')ow how are you going to deal with it besides whining?

[mos6507]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Pops', 'S')eems like not too long ago you were whining

[Pops]

Man, now I know for certain you need to seek professional help!

I don't remember that jewel, was it about getting whatever kind of job you could before the bennies ran out?

I didn't mean go to the dark side, I meant (to belabor a metaphor) to use the momentum of the merry-go-round to jump waaay off, not stagger and fall off.

[mos6507]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Shar_Lamagne', '
')anger and a need for vengence.

[mos6507]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Pops', '
')I didn't mean go to the dark side

[Shar_Lamagne]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Shar_Lamagne', 'O')rganize. Join a Union. Support collective bargaining and the right to strike. Head into the streets when necessary.

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mos6507', ' ')There's far too much assumption going on here, Pops. Lay off.

[ian807]

Americans are unbothered because of:

1) Cheap fatty food
2) Cheap psychotropic drugs
3) Cheap gas
4) Nonstop propaganda from the MSM
5) Religion

Back where I grew up and visited last summer, even the poorer people can usually afford to drive their junker to the local fast food establishment, get a Big Mac, a $5 Wal-Mart subscription for generic prozac and some beers and a joint to go with it, after which they go back to the trailer to watch some of that there Fox "news."

Add that to the fact that most people are overweight, unhealthy, poorly educated and apathetic and presto! You have a significant voting bloc in modern America. They're not bothered by anything unless Fox tells them to be bothered. On Sundays, they go to church where they're told God/Jesus/[Insert Christian diefic entity of your choice] will take care of them in the form of rapture, heaven or something.

Taken together, it's pretty unmotivating. The whole social milleau seems designed to induce passivity.

It's changed a lot in the last 30 years in a thoroughly depressing sort of way.

[rangerone314]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mos6507', 'W')hich is what I'm against. I don't want to be caught in the crossfire of a bunch of RangerOnes who want to start sniping yuppies with assault rifles. I'm sorry that such a moderate viewpoint is being seen as wimping out. What a sign of the times that is...

[rangerone314]

I have a pretty good amount of contact with those in the military, and many, even the lower ranks know where the bear sits... they are not totally naive.

A fair number (probably more than the general population) know about peak oil and doom being around the corner. This can be a good thing if they decide to be mostly a force for good like their counterparts recently in Egypt, or they could prove to be highly disciplined & trained Toecutters...

[Lore]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('ian807', 'A')mericans are unbothered because of:

1) Cheap fatty food
2) Cheap psychotropic drugs
3) Cheap gas
4) Nonstop propaganda from the MSM
5) Religion

Back where I grew up and visited last summer, even the poorer people can usually afford to drive their junker to the local fast food establishment, get a Big Mac, a $5 Wal-Mart subscription for generic prozac and some beers and a joint to go with it, after which they go back to the trailer to watch some of that there Fox "news."

Add that to the fact that most people are overweight, unhealthy, poorly educated and apathetic and presto! You have a significant voting bloc in modern America. They're not bothered by anything unless Fox tells them to be bothered. On Sundays, they go to church where they're told God/Jesus/[Insert Christian diefic entity of your choice] will take care of them in the form of rapture, heaven or something.

Taken together, it's pretty unmotivating. The whole social milleau seems designed to induce passivity.

It's changed a lot in the last 30 years in a thoroughly depressing sort of way.

[Newfie]

Well, no one here seems very impressed with my missive on why it is happening. Boo hoo.

But that won't keep me from tooting my own horn, hell no one else will.

What to do about it? Nothing, squat, diddly! In my theory (which just happens to be brilliant and right!) there is nothing to be done about it because it is part of human nature. Observe and ponder.

All joking aside, the thing to DO is to understand how human nature operates and prepare yourself for what comes next. At this point it really doesn't matter much how much money the rich have. The money only exists in the current reality, in the current economic situation. When this situation changes the heard/school/flock will change on a dime and then there may well be some kind of revolution.

Money exists only because of trust, the trust that J6P puts into the system. Big Men are rich because they represent our collective self image. When that trust fails, then J6P will likely be plenty pissed, he will knock the noses off all the old statues. We will want to show just how different we are from those old gods. The pendulum will likely swing far to the opposite extreme. Best to be scarce during those times. From that a new reality will emerge shaped by a new economic and environmental situation.

Trying to FIX the current reality is like trying to reduce carbon emissions. Can't be done, not because it is not technically feasible, but because we lack the collective wisdom to do so. Even if we fixed the system we would just prolong it.

No predictions on when it will collapse, although I think that 2016 will be a critical year due to the political situation.

[rangerone314]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Lore', '
')That's the plan, keep everyone fat, lazy and stupid, much eaiser then to manipulate.

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Newfie', ' ')In my theory (which just happens to be brilliant and right!) there is nothing to be done about it because it is part of human nature.

[rangerone314]

I think hierarchy is a part of human nature... just as you can't expect a 3-yr old to display the same judgment as most adults, you can't expect all adults to have the same skills, judgment etc.

What's killing this country is the degree to which this is taken, and the inefficiency of allowing entrenched interests to maintain their power at the expense of those less-well-off who may have more unlocked potential.

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('rangerone314', 'I') think hierarchy is a part of human nature... just as you can't expect a 3-yr old to display the same judgment as most adults, you can't expect all adults to have the same skills, judgment etc.

[Shar_Lamagne]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('rangerone314', 'I') think hierarchy is a part of human nature... just as you can't expect a 3-yr old to display the same judgment as most adults, you can't expect all adults to have the same skills, judgment etc.

[Newfie]

WE, us, you and I, GRANT others the right to boss us around.

Egalitarianism is great, but it is not the predominant social structure. Maybe it should be, but it is not.

Why?

My argument is that we get the world we build, and this is what we have built. If art is something we create, and what we create is a tunnel into our internal mind then our world as it is constructed is a tunnel into our species internal workings.

Kinda scary!