ATS and OWS: What the heck, ATS?, page 2

reply to post by TheWalkingFox

Good points, Fox.

In my lifetime I've found that the thing that most humans hate above all else is change. They fear stepping into the unknown. And change is what OWS represents. Worse, it represents unknowable change, becauase so much of the systems we all live under is so rotten, pointing to one specific part and saying change this to that is impossible, merely changing one thing, two things, or three things still leaves so much rot that it will soon spread and overtake the things we have comfortably changed.

If you look back on my posts, I have been warning all year that there wasn't much time left before all hell broke loose. In August I gave it mere weeks. In a small way I feel vindicated, but that is immaterial. My point in mentioning it is to lend credibility to the extent and depth of my observations: I study the world very hard on multiple levels.

It seems to me that most of the complaints about OWS reek of desperation. The world IS changing, and the change is unpredictable. For those who for years have complained about this, that,and the other, demanding change from the comfort of their current position, knowing how unlikely true change was, real change, suddenly upon them, is terrifying. They do not understand it and are unable to cope with, hence they attack the messengers.

We are in the process of formulating a new social contract.

The messages from OWS are many and mixed because the problems are many and mixed. The major theme I hear from the anti crowd is that we should use the old ways to find a new one: change the corrupt government, work harder, see to your own business. Changing corrupt governments merely changes faces, as it doesn't address the source of the corruption. Working harder doesn't get us anywhere as a country: everyone works hard to survive, and the poor work hardest of all to do so. Seeing to your own business ignores the society within which we live.

The root of the problem is unlimited wealth and the competition to be the world's richest guy.

Change that and you change everything.

I have spoken to this many times and have been derided by those same antis for being naive, a socialist, communist, etc, etc, much the same as they deride OWS. They can't face change, even change that makes life better for them and everyone else.

The problem is that a man dedicated to accumulating wealth doesn't know when to say when: it is an addiction. Having more doesn't satisfy it. And when a man who has $20 billion looks up and sees a man with $50 billion, he redoubles his efforts and demands more from his underlings so as to catch up and stop feeling poor. The guy with $50 billion looks down and feels threatened by the guy catching up. It is unsustainable: no amount of productivity increase will ever be enough to cover their collective demands for more.

The solution, the only solution, is to cap wealth at some reasonably huge but not socially destructive figure, and force retirement from wealth-building at that point. The anti-OWS crowd will scream about trashing individual rights to make as much money and hog as much wealth as they want, but these are the screams of immature adolescents who have yet to understand that just because they want something doesn't give them the right to it.

Our global society must and will change.

It is changing as we speak.

I pray the direction of that change goes in is one where wealth limits are imposed. There is enough for all of us to live comfortably, to strive and to honestly earn more through hard work and brilliant ideas so long as we don't continue allow the few to greedily soak up the results of what we produce to the detriment of the majority.

Whether any of us like it or not, change is coming and a new social paradigm is being wrought. What we are witnessing are the birth pangs. Whether it will give birth to a healthy society or a deformed monster is yet to been seen.

Some of my solutions for the mess we are in:

To OWS: what you/we should be demanding

Should screening for genetic sociopathy be mandatory for politicians and police?

Who owns our time? The right to A life

What would REAL House reform look like?

edit on 5-11-2011 by apacheman because: (no reason given)

I'll bet I can get you to happily pay more than your fair share of taxes

Would a wealth cap save the global economy?

edit on 5-11-2011 by apacheman because: add links