Author Topic: Humanity: Good News, Bad News  (Read 124365 times)

ZeaLitY

  • Entity
  • End of Timer (+10000)
  • *
  • Posts: 10797
  • Spring Breeze Dancin'
    • View Profile
    • My Compendium Staff Profile
Re: Humanity: Good News, Bad News
« Reply #255 on: February 03, 2008, 05:54:11 pm »
Democracy politics reflects the state of education in a country. If the people are not educated, ethically-driven, informed, motivated to learn about the issues, and interested, then bad choices will be made. Sheeple breed pigs.

Burning Zeppelin

  • God of War (+3000)
  • *
  • Posts: 3137
    • View Profile
    • Delicate Cutters
Re: Humanity: Good News, Bad News
« Reply #256 on: February 04, 2008, 04:34:49 am »
Perikles' democracy was grassroots, if I'm not mistaken, but only for the male Greeks.

@Zeality: Do you think voting should be compulsory?

Thought

  • Guru of Time Emeritus
  • God of War (+3000)
  • *
  • Posts: 3426
    • View Profile
Re: Humanity: Good News, Bad News
« Reply #257 on: February 04, 2008, 12:19:54 pm »
The benefit of Democracy always seemed to be in how inefficient it is. If we had good leaders, a dictatorship would be best, but as we cannot trust a single leader to be good, it is better to muddle the corrupt and virtuous at the same time. It gives the average citizen a chance to live in a semblance of peace.

As for Obama, it isn't just that he doesn't have experience as the President, it is that he doesn't have much political experience in general. He was part of the state senate for about 6 years, the US senate for about another 4. Of course, he has the same or more practical experience as Hillary (8 years as a US Senator and 8 years as a mildly productive First Lady). However, to compare, Bill Clinton had 14ish years of public service before he was elected. Thus, arguments of lack of experience seem to be an excuse to distrust him for other reasons.

To offer a look at the opposite, Romney only has about 4 years as governor (I haven't heard people lamenting over his lack of experience). Huckabee, for all the tomfoolery he has presented during the primaries, has 3ish years a Lt. Governor and 11ish as governor. McCain, however, has about 25ish years (3 as a House Rep, the rest as a Senator).

People find that sort of experience reassuring... and disturbing. People want someone who is experienced with the system so that they don't make any faux pas, but they always want someone who is distant enough to be a breath of fresh air.

It is rather curious that this election has three minorities as serious contenders (an African American, a woman, and a Mormon). Speaks well of America's cultural advancement, if nothing else.

MsBlack

  • Squaretable Knight (+400)
  • *
  • Posts: 458
    • View Profile
Re: Humanity: Good News, Bad News
« Reply #258 on: February 04, 2008, 12:57:45 pm »
Women are a minority eh? But I think I see what you mean; women are the minority in the political scene.
And not as a critique on what you said, but: http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=your_stupid_ideas

Thought

  • Guru of Time Emeritus
  • God of War (+3000)
  • *
  • Posts: 3426
    • View Profile
Re: Humanity: Good News, Bad News
« Reply #259 on: February 04, 2008, 05:56:34 pm »
Women are a minority eh? But I think I see what you mean; women are the minority in the political scene.
And not as a critique on what you said, but: http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=your_stupid_ideas

Oddly enough, yes women are considered a minority. This just isn't in the political scene, mind you. In any field that has "traditionally been dominated by men," women are considered a minority, from politics to astrophysics. Though for American Politics, even Catholics and the under 30 crowd are minorities (Daoist, Muslim, Hindu? Not if you're an American politician). Funny how things work out like that.

Love the link, by the way. However, it makes a curious complaint: Blacks come from Haiti, Jamaica, or the Dominican Republic about as much as whites come from Canada, Mexico, and Australia. Personally, my family's from Canada, but I still get counted as "European." I suppose we could just start referring to people by physical anthropology classifications like caucasoid, mongoloid, and negroid. Not sure how well that would work, however.

MsBlack

  • Squaretable Knight (+400)
  • *
  • Posts: 458
    • View Profile
Re: Humanity: Good News, Bad News
« Reply #260 on: February 05, 2008, 03:37:08 am »
Or in some cases by the real heart of the matter: skin colour: black, white. What I think you were getting at is that he was black, so on that premise, why not just say it?

'African-American' can be used correctly... to refer to Americans of African ancestry. My point (not necessarily directed at you) was one of largely intentionless criticism of the habitual use of the term to describe any black.

Thought

  • Guru of Time Emeritus
  • God of War (+3000)
  • *
  • Posts: 3426
    • View Profile
Re: Humanity: Good News, Bad News
« Reply #261 on: February 05, 2008, 10:59:14 am »
What I think you were getting at is that he was black, so on that premise, why not just say it?

Ooo, that really is an interesting question (but what I find interesting is sometimes rather odd). Now I'm not really suited to psycho-analyze myself, but if I were to hazard a guess as to why I didn't just say black I would guess it is because of daily experience. That is, I tend to deal with the bureaucratic use of the words more than anything else. It is rather hilarious, actually; "choose your ethnicity: Asiatic, Pacific Islander, Indian, Inuit, Aboriginal, African American, Latino, White." Anywho, with more exposure to "African American" as a synonym for "Black" than with a straightforward term, that just happens to be the word/phrase I tend to use. Sort of like how in the American South people refer to all varieties of sugary carbonated beverages as "Coke." "I'd like a coke with that." "What kind?" "Pepsi."

So there you have it, too much bureaucracy turns people into southerners... well crap.

Burning Zeppelin

  • God of War (+3000)
  • *
  • Posts: 3137
    • View Profile
    • Delicate Cutters
Re: Humanity: Good News, Bad News
« Reply #262 on: February 06, 2008, 03:41:09 am »
Race is a lie.

ZeaLitY

  • Entity
  • End of Timer (+10000)
  • *
  • Posts: 10797
  • Spring Breeze Dancin'
    • View Profile
    • My Compendium Staff Profile
Re: Humanity: Good News, Bad News
« Reply #263 on: February 06, 2008, 03:54:44 am »
Sociocultural psychology isn't; there's the problem.

Burning Zeppelin

  • God of War (+3000)
  • *
  • Posts: 3137
    • View Profile
    • Delicate Cutters
Re: Humanity: Good News, Bad News
« Reply #264 on: February 06, 2008, 04:40:17 am »
Sociocultura psychology is born from the lie. Culture is a lie. Culture has served its purpose, and will soon meet it's end.

FaustWolf

  • Guru of Time Emeritus
  • Arbiter (+8000)
  • *
  • Posts: 8972
  • Fan Power Advocate
    • View Profile
Re: Humanity: Good News, Bad News
« Reply #265 on: February 06, 2008, 07:29:40 pm »
Wait a minute, waitaminute! Without cultural differences, we would not have anime, dreamcatchers, or Turkish bellydancing. Zeppelin, do you mean to say that these cultural artifacts should be thrown by the wayside, or that they will simply diffuse to the point that we're all dreamcatching, anime-watching, Turkish bellydancers? Or, uh, Turkish-catching, anime-dancing bellywatchers?

ZeaLitY

  • Entity
  • End of Timer (+10000)
  • *
  • Posts: 10797
  • Spring Breeze Dancin'
    • View Profile
    • My Compendium Staff Profile
Re: Humanity: Good News, Bad News
« Reply #266 on: February 06, 2008, 07:32:38 pm »
Globalization is far, far, far from somehow killing culture. And as long as there are aesthetically unique and interesting facets of each, the salad bowl remains. This doesn't mean negative parts of culture like circumcision, superstition, filial piety, etc. should be kept around, though.

FaustWolf

  • Guru of Time Emeritus
  • Arbiter (+8000)
  • *
  • Posts: 8972
  • Fan Power Advocate
    • View Profile
Re: Humanity: Good News, Bad News
« Reply #267 on: February 06, 2008, 07:42:00 pm »
I can live with that. Globalization does cause a certain amount of cultural diffusion, but the central sources of each cultural "artifact" have more or less retained their uniqueness. Sort of like how pizza from Pizza Hut is way different from what you'll find in Venice or even the local Little Italy.

Bad News: Globalization cost the US 269,000 manufacturing jobs in 2007, according to one figure I saw recently.
http://talkradionews.com/2008/02/joint-economic-committee-listens-to-testimony-from-bureau-of-labor-statistics-commissioner-regarding-the-employment-situation/#more-17730

Welcome to Wal-Mart, folks! Time to hand all our blue collar jobs to third-world laborers who suffer from lower standards of living because they can't unionize (effectively, that is)!
« Last Edit: February 06, 2008, 07:47:20 pm by FaustWolf »

ZeaLitY

  • Entity
  • End of Timer (+10000)
  • *
  • Posts: 10797
  • Spring Breeze Dancin'
    • View Profile
    • My Compendium Staff Profile
Re: Humanity: Good News, Bad News
« Reply #268 on: February 06, 2008, 11:12:47 pm »
Yeah; despite being a business student, I'm not quite the advocate of free trade.

Radical_Dreamer

  • Entity
  • Zurvan Surfer (+2500)
  • *
  • Posts: 2778
    • View Profile
    • The Chrono Compendium
Re: Humanity: Good News, Bad News
« Reply #269 on: February 06, 2008, 11:20:58 pm »
I'd say globalization is a net positive. Sure, there will be some who get screwed as their jobs get moved to countries that will do it cheaper. That is truly unfortunate for those people. For the people who then get those jobs, they of course are now employed, and their (likely poorer) country is getting more foreign investment. The rest of us are getting cheaper [whatever was being done]. So the overall effect is a benefit.