jfrey wrote:Kind of depends how you look at it. I view stupidity - or if not stupidity, then perhaps the tolerance of stupidity - as the greatest of all evils. In that sense, it is - I think - the root of most problems in the world. Belief in homeopathy - which is by the way not the same as what most people think of as homeopathy - is just one of a multitude of symptoms.
I think though, that blaming the government for everything is sort of a cop out. Surely governments are responsible for tons of problems, but the truth is that people - and not the government - are individually responsible for most of the problems they lay at the feet of their governments. Health is an issue that for the most part, each individual must address themselves. Instead of increased legislation on things like food, people should take responsibility for their own health. And, they won't so long as their are any safety nets, or anyone else to blame. Because of this, I don't think it's an issue that should be addressed at all. Let people take the consequences of their actions.
Keeping your job is by the same token a persons own responsibility - 99% of the time. Sometimes a company goes out of business, and yeah then you can't help it, but that's really a minuscule percent of cases.
I agree with this. Especially the "tolerance of stupidity," part. I think that's one of the many reasons America is in the state it's in. I realize that many other countries all over are in shittier situations, but it's a gripe I have. We're a country that constantly allows people to excuse themselves from personal accountability. From religions (ALL CHURCHES SHOULD BE TAXED) to disclaimers and wavers all over that allow stupid people to do things like spill hot coffee on themselves and sue for millions of dollars. Or in more recent times, sue fast-food chains because said fast food chains "didn't let them know that it was unhealthy."
That Sam Harris talk is good.
My stance, and it's the stance of the walk of life I've chosen to take, is that
responsibility should go the RESPONSIBLE. If you don't take a action towards a change (and this has been brought up here) then you have no right to bitch about it. The world is the way the world is because
everyone made it that way and everyone lets it stay that way. The next thing I want to add is that people everywhere deserve to live the life they want. If someone is stopping you from living the life you want, then fuck them, basically. This extends to Muslims who beat their raped daughters, etc... Environments and cultures that stifle
individual expression and growth should be changed, wiped out, whatever. All this, of course, is not to say that because Ted Bundy (I'm use the video's example) chooses to kill people to express himself, that it's okay for him to do that. He is the one violating others' rights to live.
This is where I'm gonna piss some people off, I think. I don't think that the - "turn the other cheek," forgive them because they're sorry for raping and killing because they found Jesus or Buddha or whatever-way of thinking is okay. It has been shown in numbers of studies that when people think they can get away with something, most of the time, they'll do it. Look at the New York blackout of 1977, or Hurricane Katrina. My point here is that if you let people know that there's a pretty good chance they can (literally) get away with murder, and there's a chance they can get out prison, or at least spend the rest of their life in (relative) comfort (compared to the "hood" or whatever) they'll take that chance.
alexa wrote:Does it matter if a person believes in astrology, krishna, space monkeys or the higgs bozon, if they are humane, if their practical life is extended in the direction to share education like Khan Academy, if they want to show the meaningfulness of some spiritual teachings that have been telling us "we're one" all along? And we are one, one ecosystem, we're all connected and almost every decision a person makes in his life shapes the world.
Personally (I don't mean offense) I disagree wholeheartedly with the "we are all one" thinking. Yes, our societies are all interconnected, in an economic, cause-and-effect kind of way....but to extend "altruism" to everyone everywhere is to allow all the irresponsible to continue burdening the rest of society, at it's expense. Don't contribute= don't have the right to complain. People are quick to use the "starving ethiopians" example on me, so I'll refer you back to " Environments and cultures that stifle
individual expression and growth should be changed, fixed, wiped out, whatever."
]; also - awareness of the bigger picture and the long-term consequences of their actions is needed (implying in itself knowledge, logic, creativity, quality education, etc.)
), but entirely altruistic from a larger (planetary) domain. [basically exactly what you said in the last part of your post, I just formulate it differently. you could also argue that absolute selfishness/altruism don't exist. they both kinda do and don't, and I find exactly that in the 'we are all one' idea. it's actually a deep idea and it's 'marketed' aspect is lacking in so many ways it's not even funny. if you're the universe and you're selfish and want the best for yourself, you want the best for the universe! lol!]
