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I like our system. Nine parties in our parliament and four in our government, and none of them gets over 25 percent of the votes. In an environment like that, it takes compromises to get anything done. As I have said, I like balance.Quote:
Originally Posted by AAReagles
:up: sounds good to me. If that's what works.
I doubt that will ever happen over here though - too much damn greed and ambition is involved. Which is reflected in our society with intoxicating levels.
I would say the probably he greatest cancer is all the political or government employees who are NOT elected and damn near never get fired but collect wages and benefits that put to shame what the grunts on Wall St. get.Quote:
Originally Posted by AAReagles
They remain there year, after year, after year, after year, after year, after year... influencing political decisions but not responsible to the electorate that pays their wages.
In the period of supposed near depression recession with tens of thousands of hard working people unemployed, the number of govt. employees has increased and so has their wages.
Fat, dumb and happy. ;) And getting fatter and dumber by the day. What are our kids now, something like 25th in the developed world when it comes to math and science? And childhood obesity is growing at a staggering rate! Within the next generation, we're going to have a nation of fat, lazy, stupid people... but as long as they have their X-boxes, Playstations and Wii games, at least they'll be happy.Quote:
Originally Posted by AAReagles
The sheer amount of intellectual laziness is going to be our undoing. Far too many people have a greater desire to belong to a major club (which is all the Democrat and Republican parties are) than to think for themselves. And worse yet, now we have these political echo chambers (for the left and the right), so that people only have to hear things that they agree with. They are quite honestly AFRAID to hear or see anything which challenges their ingrained beliefs. I think back to the wingnuts who were afraid to send their kids to school when Obama addressed the schools last year. How pitiful is that? Afraid that the President was going to fill their kids with subliminal messages and corrupt them. People who are afraid of census workers, but don't mind that Equifax knows more about them than their own mother. That's the level of delusional paranoia that boggles the mind. I was checking out various political boards last summer and I was shocked at how many people could do nothing more than repeat the various talking points that they'd heard from the talking heads on TV and radio.
Considering our current financial state, let's just see how much longer we can sustain this level of (needless) military spending. But just like the protestors in Greece, expect the Protectors of the Sacred Cow to use every bit of foolish hyperbole as they defend the beast. Until those on the left realize that there have to be cuts to entitlements and those on the right realize that we are not the policemen of the world, we're pretty much stuck on this road to fiscal ruin, IMO.
It's a really silly movie, but watch Idiocracy if you ever get a chance. It's a throw-away film, but the premise is probably close to what we'll be facing in the near future.
Of course you like it when you live in a country where anyone who disagrees with you is forbidden by law from expressing it publicly.Quote:
Originally Posted by Eki
The liberal talk show host Jim Hightower once said, there is nothing in the middle of the road but yellow stripes and dead armadillos; apparently there are a buch of Finlanders also.
I saw Idiocracy. I kept thinking that it could happen if we continue to follow liberal policies. All one has to do is look at the dumbing down of our education system that is totally under control of the liberals.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jag_Warrior
I partially agree with you there. But it's not JUST about the liberal/feel good policies that have turned public schools into social centers, where they spend (too much, IMO) time helping kids to feel good about themselves. I know in some areas they've stopped using letter grades. The logic behind that is they don't want the dumb kid who makes an "F" to realize that he's a dumb kid (even though he probably is). They've pulled physical ed. time from some elementary schools because the fat kids get too winded. I don't have kids. But I took a friend of mine to pick up her kid and brother let me tell you, I didn't know if those were human children coming out of that building or if some two-legged piglets had escaped from a farm. Just tonight I heard a report that 1 in 3 American kids are either obese or severly overweight. Our kids cannot do math and science compared to kids from other developed nations. So what I said before was factually correct: we are becoming a nation of fat, dumb people - but we do feel good about ourselves... and that's what's most important. :rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by anthonyvop
I live in a VERY conservative area. But if I had kids, I wouldn't send them to the public schools here either. I would probably move back to central or northern VA and send them to one of the private schools near Charlottesville or maybe Fairfax Co. The level of ignorance here is just as bad as in the liberal areas, just a different kind of ignorance. It's more based on xenophobia and a resistance to learning about new things... leaving ones comfort zone, if you will. I would want my kid to grow up and not be afraid to tackle ANY situation or challenge. I wouldn't want my kid to be sheltered from ideas that might go against his grain (assuming I'd done my job as a parent). As my grandfather often said, "the same heat that melts butter, tempers steel - you just have to figure out which one you are before life figures it out for you." IMO, we're becoming a nation of Butter People on the left and the right... weak, scared, paranoid and reactionary. The gripe that I have these days is that people (on the left and the right) want themselves and their kids to be sheltered from ideas and concepts that they may not agree with. People use and react to words like Pavlov's dogs. But in school, kids should (primarily) be there to learn the basics, not learn how to make their inner children feel good & happy.
Reading, writing and 'rithmetic. Teachers should be there to teach these basics first and foremost. If a kid comes to school with behavioral problems, unless it's a true medical condition, that's the parents' fault! I dated a teacher (well, a special ed counselor) a few years ago and she was basically there to be a social worker. A lot of those kids were f'ed up simply because their parents were f'ed up. Too many people are having children that aren't ready to be parents. I'm very self-centered. I admit it. I've never hidden it from anyone. But for that, and other reasons, I have not had children or gotten married (engaged but not married). And I'm not half as f'ed up as some of the people I know who have had kids.
But yes, Idiocracy it is. We're getting there.
Even in heavily conservative areas Public Schools are generally run with Liberal policies. Between the Unions and the Dept. Of Education it is a lost cause.
Yes, it really feels good. I'm always right and everybody nods in accordance.Quote:
Originally Posted by anthonyvop