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originally posted by: lonesomerimbaud
a reply to: frozenspark
This sounds like manipulation to me:
1. All your leaders are psychopaths.
2. You are dissatisfied with everything and your leaders/ civilization is to blame.
2. Let's bring you round to our way of thinking.
I think for myself.
I look around my local area and see people just getting on with their lives. There is hardly any crime here. Most people are pretty polite and of good conscience. I compare that against other parts of the world and I say to myself "Thank goodness I live in this free place and have this quality of life, protected by generally good laws".
It is far from perfect. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel poor (when I see what others have I feel damned ashamed of myself that I should not appreciate all that I have).
You know, if you look at people and the world as if it is psychopathic that is what you will see and get. It is a self fulfilling perception.
I just wish that somehow us spoilt brats could live for a day and walk in the shoes of people trapped by true poverty and tyranny. We would come screaming back and never make another squeak about being hard done by.
I am basking in our current health as a democracy in the UK. It is democracy at work and I see the individual having a stronger voice than ever. The things I have said online before (though never anything violent because violence to me is not a way to achieve anything) and not once have I been threatened.
I think some people are not happy because their individual desires are not being reciprocated. Perhaps life is not sexy enough or hedonist enough for those people. Perhaps they are not happy with their lot. I am happy with my lot and my treatment in UK society by and large. On my Dad's side I am 2nd generation immigrant. I am bi polar and on that score the authorities treat me even BETTER than the public. Even my own family are not educated about bi polar and the professionals have been a source of shelter, understanding, financial assistance and therapy. Generally, the public label others in ignorance (lack of education) and I tell you the UK authorities are protection against the extremes that the public would go to untethered by law, order and democracy. I would not trust the general public as there is a tendency to the lynch mob mentality.
Onwards civilization. Onwards progress. We must keep LEARNING by our mistakes.
I just wanted to give my view on this as your post is trying to play on my anxieties and dissatisfaction. I can speak for myself and I do not recognise myself in any of the statements you have posted above.
All the best.
originally posted by: Calalini
Why is modern leadership any less psychopathic than leadership of old?
originally posted by: Klassified
a reply to: frozenspark
I have maintained for years, the inmates are running the asylum, and have been for a very long time. This is why, as a society, our perception of reality is so skewed, we are often unable to distinguish fact from fantasy. Or truth from deception.
originally posted by: LafingWithTears
a reply to: Calalini
"psychopathy serves our species in ways we don't understand (or want to accept) yet"
I have a theory on this: During times of extreme SHTF or population bottlenecking it could be argued that sociopathy could be advantageous to ones survival; a person unflinchimgly willing to do whatever is necessary to survive thus sociopathy could be a survival mechanism for the species. During normal. civilized times though sociopathy is intolerable to the society. Here I am talking about genetic sociopathy and not learned behavior. The ratio of sociopaths withina population is thought to be 1 in 100.
originally posted by: frozenspark
a reply to: lonesomerimbaud
Why so combative? This is merely a conceptual topic. By the way - I grew up in a poverty stricken country.. I am thankful for living in better conditions now. I certainly don't need to take that lecture from someone from UK. I am not depressed or spoiled, and I do not fuel my depression with this material - and it's ridiculous for you to say that.
I want to share a video I found interesting, that analyzes our exploitive society (especially here in America, not your lovely UK) and provides some ideas why we live in a world where we are encouraged to compete and prey on each other.
Let's go ahead an undermine some other thread... mmmkay?
originally posted by: Oannes
There's a Native American quote that haunts me: A man's heart away from nature grows hard"- Standing bear Oglala Tribe. What are we all running to? Do we really want to become robots? Are we missing something? Spirit perhaps? Shamanism? A man that lives in the forest harms no one. Our "civilized society" has nearly killed the being which gives us life: Earth. If we can't take care of her, we don't deserve to have her. We are connected to machines, yet disconnected from anything real.