"Conservatism is the blind and fear-filled worship of dead radicals." -- Mark Twain
Those are great and a noble goal, but the world needs the resources to do so. IMO, this means renewable energy and 3D printers capable of printing anything needed such as food, clothing, tools and building materials.
Obviously those means do not exist today even though there is a distant light at the end of the tunnel. Mandating that We, the People make that happen now by utilizing the Federal government as a 21st Century Robin Hood will only result in conflict, sometimes violent.
IMO, it's better to let a few people go without for now in order to focus upon developing the tech to feed, clothe and nurture every human being in the future.
Consider the tech generated by the Apollo project. The world today would be far more like the 1950s than the 2020s without it. Our tech improves the lives of human beings all around the world. It allows more people to be fed, clothed, educated and to live in peace. Since then, it seems human civilization has largely been coasting, not taking great leaps and bounds into the future.
"Hatred is a failure of imagination" - Graham Greene, "The Power and the Glory"
I agree with this when looking at the planet as a whole. However, in the U.S., we have more than enough means to ensure that basic needs for all citizens are met, including health care. Call it socialism if you want; I don't care. The label doesn't matter. What matters is that we don't live in a country with a huge divide between "lower classes" and the uber-wealthy. It is difficult to compete on the world stage when we have too many poorly-educated, marginally-employed or unemployed citizens.
This isn't just a matter of doing what is ethical and right for our people. It is also a matter of national economic security.
"Conservatism is the blind and fear-filled worship of dead radicals." -- Mark Twain
Controlled Opposition (11-25-2020), Guno צְבִי (11-25-2020), Jerome (11-25-2020)
Agreed to an extent. For one thing, the trend of the Republican party isn't to just trip the fat, but to hack into the meat and bone structure of the nation.
President Trump has spent more money than any President in history and more than many Presidents combined. Trump is also #1 for raising the national debt. Due to these policies, the US is headed for a Greece-style financial crisis and it won't be pretty.
https://www.usdebtclock.org/
"Hatred is a failure of imagination" - Graham Greene, "The Power and the Glory"
Yep. All that debt and nothing much to show for it other than our wealthy are even more wealthy. No infrastructure building or repairs. No national health plan -- we got a disaster just the opposite! No high-speed internet access for all areas. No improvements to our educational systems or job training programs for displaced workers.
We paid for a cornucopia and got a shriveled moldy lemon instead.
"Conservatism is the blind and fear-filled worship of dead radicals." -- Mark Twain
Doc Dutch (11-25-2020), Guno צְבִי (11-25-2020)
Which points out the problem. Those roads the rich bitched about when Obama said they didn't pay for them are deteriorating. This adversely affects commerce. Something has to give.
IMO, like Donald Trump, the rich are simply trying to gather as much wealth as they can before the entire nation collapses. When it does, I'll be one of those with guns in the streets shooting the people who are responsible. Their guards too. After all, what is there to live for when my entire savings are worthless? Might as well execute Plan C.
Hopefully it will never come to that.
"Hatred is a failure of imagination" - Graham Greene, "The Power and the Glory"
The people who represent these views are less than .001% of the U.S. population.
On the other hand, right-wing evangelicals were 40% of the vote for Trump, and represent some 25% of the entire nation. And a HUGE proportion of them are white supremacists who are a clear-and-present danger to US citizens today. In other words, the white evangelicals in this country should concern you FAR more, as they are far more dangerous.
It's about priorities. When you whine about a sliver of anarchists that no one listens to, you sound paranoid and dumb.
Last edited by Jerome; 11-25-2020 at 10:48 AM.
Guno צְבִי (11-25-2020)
Back to the OP, learned yesterday that one of my professors and her two little boys all have the virus. The one little guy has a lot of health issues including severe asthma. Pretty worried about them.
"Conservatism is the blind and fear-filled worship of dead radicals." -- Mark Twain
Guno צְבִי (11-25-2020)
And now that they've done this, they'll complain that we don't have the cash to handle medical care for the poor, or free state college tuition for students of need, etc.
This is nothing new. Dutch's "Let's have people go without for now has been the rallying cry on the right for some 45 years. And I've also never been convinced by this "the apollo project gave us prosperity" bullshit, either. Even if we believe it, the modern-day dollars cost of the space race was $260B from 1960-72.
Dutch, you're telling me we couldn't use that money to ensure Medicare 4 All, boost education, and provide funding for minority-owned businesses in low-income areas and get a bigger bang for our buck?
I hotly disagree.
Controlled Opposition (11-25-2020), ThatOwlWoman (11-25-2020)
What percent are represented by these assholes?:
According to multiple "progressives" on this forum, anyone to the right of center is evil and must be forcibly disarmed and imprisoned.
Funny how when a RW asshole does something stupid, progressives say it's all of them but when a LW asshole does something stupid they say it's "less than .1%".
"Hatred is a failure of imagination" - Graham Greene, "The Power and the Glory"
A HUGELY greater percentage than the anarchists.
https://www.vox.com/2018/8/10/176709...e-nationalists
Some 11 million, if not more. Most of them armed.
Anarchists/a sliver of bored college kids represent a transient population in the thousands.
Just stop.
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