Humanity divided

I have been a member for a few months now on ATS. I am amazed at the division & coldness of some posters.
I am compelled to speak my mind about some things.
1. People need to quit assuming that all Americans in hardship right now are not a bunch of lazy cry babies.If you are young and were fortunate enough to be in the upper income bracket, you have my respect. But before people fly off the handle, many people had trades or professions which were lost to outsourcing,lost to a poor economy,lost to overregulation,etc... . They do not want a hand out-they want an opportunity to be productive citizens again.

2. The social claasifications imposed on Americans needs to be thrown out of the window. We Americans need to take a deep breath and realize how badly it divides us, and how blatently mean spirited in can be in respects to both ends of the spectrum.

3.So many people are afraid of change. Universal healthcare is shot down at every turn. People live with sickness and illness everyday, and people profit from it. That is beyond any ugly words I can put together to describe it. I am a small business owner struggling in this fiasco. I am 46 yrs old, and a cancer survivor. And yes, they still penalize for pre-existing conditions. My last attempt at insurance was 686.00 a month with a 5k deductible. That is more than my rent and utilities. I am a lot better off than most of my friends. If I get sick again, I guess I am a goner unless I win the lottery.

4. The non stop sparring and jabbing over the upcoming presidential election is as nauseating as the canidates themselves! The system is broken, and no matter which party you vote for, nothing will change-The general population knows this! Stand back and look in instead of looking out. This country has been in free fall decline for well over ten years-many of the players there for the long haul. Vote outside of the broken two party system- it can't hurt anything as the ship is foundering.

This is a short list. My point is, we have allowed ourselves to be divided to the point that there is no goodwill left- no looking out for each other. The government and corporate media plays us like a fiddle. We as citizens can not fix anything until we find some common ground. All of us are Americans- rich, poor,black, or white.
We owe it to ourselves and each other.

May tomorrow be a better day....

6 stars, 5 flags, no responses?

I think you have hit the nail on the head - I love the American individual hard worker and the wonderful friends that I have made on this site since my short time as a member are aware of this but you ARE being destroyed from within and as best I can tell it started with a little Bill passed in 1912 - divide and conquer has never been more evident in my 40 years. Pick a forum - and your comments are reflected therein.

Constantly being called names like Democrat, Republican, left-wing, right-wing, North, South, red states, blue states - as an outsider all I hear and see when I read those sorts of comments is brainwashed - we are all HUMAN first and foremost but disagreements over these apparent ideologies has spiralled out of control and any outsider will tell you that - and now this ideological parasite, driven by corporate media, has gone global the PTB have played us all as fools - vote whom you please - the agenda remains the same - as we say downunder - "same dog - different leg action" - keep bickering over irrelevant stuff, I can just see them laughing all the way to the bank.

"We the people"..............was once a formidable moral absolute, sadly it now only exists on a piece of paper.

Well done sir - the only issue I have with your OP is the fact I can only give it 1 star and 1 flag.

As Sir Winston Churchill said..................

reply to post by shoshoniwolf


Its because we are all just stupid animals that are easily led, and if we get out of line they jerk our leash to remind us of our place, at their feet where we belong.

I hate to admit this to myself, and many others will deny it outright even though they know it is true, they are just to scared ashamed or jaded to admit it.

It took me a long time to realize the true nature of the world, but I believe I am getting a pretty good handle on the ins and outs at this point of my personal journey through this # hole.

If only......there could be so many possibilities, sadly very few even realize it, and even less are willing to do anything about. Of course there are a few that know perfectly well, but continue on anyways destroying lives, as they are one of the lucky few that have a good job, and don't wish to chance losing it, to not forclose on your grandmas house because her mortgage is now worth more than the house. Sorry grandma, my 3rd house and 2nd mercedes is more important than your life to me................it is quite sad really.

Star and flag op, very god points, except universal health care, that is as real as unicorns and the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

The government and corporate media plays us like a fiddle. We as citizens can not fix anything until we find some common ground.

That's 1 way to put it.

I like to use the computer virus metaphors. As in, the human bodies and brains are similar to computers in many ways. They can be manipulated and programed accordingly.

Pop Music: Major program virus infecting millions daily.
Pay attention to how many people are imitating the lyrics, attire, mannerisms, and lifestyles of those they see in this area of human culture. It's staggering, and lives are being wasted pursuing these fantasies of being a singer/rock star, years wasted of people's young, naive lives...sad.

Television: The planet would literally stop spinning if the satellites broke down & ceased broadcasting mind altering, brain decaying programs for 1 day. The damage this ultimate weapon has caused is irreversible at this point.

Just those 2 areas of our daily lives alone manipulate more than 90% of the developed countries. Throw in Religious programing and you've got yourself just about 100% of the entire human race infected with some of the nastiest Trojan viruses imaginable.

Even Satan bows to the chaos and destruction those 3 ideals have reigned upon this Earth.

Originally posted by shoshoniwolf
I have been a member for a few months now on ATS. I am amazed at the division & coldness of some posters.
I am compelled to speak my mind about some things.
1. People need to quit assuming that all Americans in hardship right now are not a bunch of lazy cry babies.If you are young and were fortunate enough to be in the upper income bracket, you have my respect. But before people fly off the handle, many people had trades or professions which were lost to outsourcing,lost to a poor economy,lost to overregulation,etc... . They do not want a hand out-they want an opportunity to be productive citizens again.

2. The social claasifications imposed on Americans needs to be thrown out of the window. We Americans need to take a deep breath and realize how badly it divides us, and how blatently mean spirited in can be in respects to both ends of the spectrum.

3.So many people are afraid of change. Universal healthcare is shot down at every turn. People live with sickness and illness everyday, and people profit from it. That is beyond any ugly words I can put together to describe it. I am a small business owner struggling in this fiasco. I am 46 yrs old, and a cancer survivor. And yes, they still penalize for pre-existing conditions. My last attempt at insurance was 686.00 a month with a 5k deductible. That is more than my rent and utilities. I am a lot better off than most of my friends. If I get sick again, I guess I am a goner unless I win the lottery.

4. The non stop sparring and jabbing over the upcoming presidential election is as nauseating as the canidates themselves! The system is broken, and no matter which party you vote for, nothing will change-The general population knows this! Stand back and look in instead of looking out. This country has been in free fall decline for well over ten years-many of the players there for the long haul. Vote outside of the broken two party system- it can't hurt anything as the ship is foundering.

This is a short list. My point is, we have allowed ourselves to be divided to the point that there is no goodwill left- no looking out for each other. The government and corporate media plays us like a fiddle. We as citizens can not fix anything until we find some common ground. All of us are Americans- rich, poor,black, or white.
We owe it to ourselves and each other.

May tomorrow be a better day....

All of this is very true to the deepest extent.


Most of the people whom complain that they do not have any money or anything of the sort and cannot support themselves, are just losers honestly.
-I know quite a few myself that are just too damned lazy to even give a crap about where they get money from and have absolutely no initiative to get a job

Yes, i agree on point 2 also.
-The argument in which people use to support their ideals of racism, and hateful words because of race, ethnic ideals, and skin color among other things of which i could go on all day about, are the most mundane, and childish things that this country has.
-For whatever reason it is still pursued today and wherever you may go. I must say it has gotten somewhat better than what it was over the years as i find myself and group of friends to be a cultural melting pout, if you will.
-Still, as much as it has gotten better over the past fifty years, that does not disclaim the fact that it still does happen. If we people as a whole in America, had gotten together and decided to fix this ongoing problem in the U.S. there would be a lot more room for the other BIG problems in our Country.
-But at the end of the day, I still believe that until every ethnically diverse human being on this planet is so watered down. That's the hard but honest to God truth unfortunately

Im in a bit of a rush so i cannot address the other two as of right now but S&F for the thread

Thanks for that friend and Welcome to the trainwreck we call ATS
Mike

America is divided purposefully because we are more easily conquered and controlled that way! In my opinion we really need to put some of these divisions behind us and realize that together, united, we are stronger.

Originally posted by shoshoniwolf
3.So many people are afraid of change. Universal healthcare is shot down at every turn. People live with sickness and illness everyday, and people profit from it. That is beyond any ugly words I can put together to describe it. I am a small business owner struggling in this fiasco. I am 46 yrs old, and a cancer survivor. And yes, they still penalize for pre-existing conditions. My last attempt at insurance was 686.00 a month with a 5k deductible. That is more than my rent and utilities. I am a lot better off than most of my friends. If I get sick again, I guess I am a goner unless I win the lottery.

4. The non stop sparring and jabbing over the upcoming presidential election is as nauseating as the canidates themselves! The system is broken, and no matter which party you vote for, nothing will change-The general population knows this! Stand back and look in instead of looking out. This country has been in free fall decline for well over ten years-many of the players there for the long haul. Vote outside of the broken two party system- it can't hurt anything as the ship is foundering.

This is a short list. My point is, we have allowed ourselves to be divided to the point that there is no goodwill left- no looking out for each other. The government and corporate media plays us like a fiddle. We as citizens can not fix anything until we find some common ground. All of us are Americans- rich, poor,black, or white.
We owe it to ourselves and each other.

May tomorrow be a better day....

In response to 3 and 4 i agree fully

to 3 i have to stay that i am sorry to hear about that horrible illness. My mother was diagnoed two years ago and is in remission, and i fear the worst as feel as though it may claim her life one day.

Being as though healthcare should be universally accepted, it will not be which is a horrid truth, as i believe that it would change a lot of things in this country.

Due to the fact of the impending debt deficit that we still and will probably never get rid of, we are in no state to make that vision a reality, which is very unfortunate.

Canada has universal healthcare and their taxes are just a tad higher than ours so the taxes would not be a problem, but currently with the taxes. Our country has nothing to show for it but bailing big businesses out and allowing the CEO's of major companies across the U.S. to retire soundly with way more than enough money, which IMO is just disgusting.
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In response to 4, both parties are chosen by someone that holds all of the power, and they turn it into a slander circus of which the American public eats the hell out of. I can;t believe it just as much as you can friend. If the candidate would just concentrate on the REAL issues, rather than the constant bickering and trying to make the opposing force look bad we would actually get somewhere.

Have you ever noticed that in the recent elections in which our current president is running for a second term, all of the other candidates are jackasses?? It is completely intentional due to the one fact of which the whole thing is just a facade toward the American public.


The people completely feed into it too, and IMO political parties and the group having all of the same exact ideals should be abolished. If there are only two opposing sides, that means that there are only two opposing arguments, which in turn means that all sides aren't being viewed in the aspect of which they should be. Groups like this should have their own ideals i agree, but should be unbiased.

There are many different sides to what can be done to fix the problems here in our country and there are usually only two aspects being addressed and the two sides constantly bicker about the ensuing problems here. Its just foolishness, and i honestly cannot believe that anyone could get behind people that constantly slander and put down the opposing side when they are all supposed to have degrees from Yale or Harvard. How are these people considered the smartest in America? and How do people get behind politicians that are so corrupt?

Sorry had to vent a bit about that.

I completely agree with everything in your OP tho. Very valid points there thank you for the vent

Mike

Have you ever heard of Realistic Conflict Theory? We, as a species, tend to subdivide ourselves into categories on multiple levels. Like the country you live in, for example. You don't say "I'm a human". You say "I'm an American". Or Russian, Canadian or whatever.

Realistic Conflict Theory suggests that intergroup hostility arises from these groups having conflicting goals or are in competition for some sort of resource. Real or perceived, that resource can be anything. Money, food, oil, protection, social status, political power. Anything.

Deep resentment between these groups usually form while competing for these resources due to a perceived zero-sum fate. That is, they believe that the winner will get everything and the loser will get nothing.

A great small-scale example of this would be an experiment which took place at Robber's Cave State Park, Oklahoma in the 1950's.

In the experiment, 22 children aged 11-12 were selected to attend what they thought was a summer camp. All were deemed mentally stable and came from families with similar socio-economic backgrounds. The experiment was then split into three phases.

FROM WIKIPEDIA:

Stage 1: Ingroup Formation. Upon arrival, the boys were separated into two, pre-determined cabins based on similar strength, size, athletic skills and other characteristics. Each cabin had no knowledge of the other’s presence at the camp at the beginning of the week and camp activities were fulfilled in separate facilities or during separate times. Activities were selected to promote group cohesion and cooperation and camp staff made an effort to avoid competitive activities. Natural leaders emerged, a general hierarchy established, and group names, “The Rattlers and The Eagles” were chosen. At the end of this stage, a visual of the other group at the baseball diamond was made.

Stage 2: Friction phase. A tournament, consisting of baseball games, tug of war, touch football, tent pitching, cabin inspection, skits and songs, and a treasure hunt was held between the Rattlers and Eagles. It was determined that the overall winning group of the tournament would win a trophy, a knife, and medals. The prizes were highly valued and of great interest to the boys. During this phase, Sherif witnessed significant derogation, name-calling, and a desire to avoid association with the outgroup. In both groups, negative attitudes toward the outgroup accompanied by favor towards the ingroup was typical.

Stage 3: Integration phase. Boys were put in a series of contact situations, in which both groups were in the same place at the same time. There was no difference in the type of interaction observed between the Rattlers and the Eagles during these contact activities. Sherif introduced interaction activities, in which a problem required cooperation from both groups in order to solve and allow both groups to prosper. The challenges included a water shortage problem, a "broken down" camp truck that needed enough "man" power to be pulled back to camp, and finding a movie to show. Eventually, tensions between groups were reduced, the ratings of the outgroup became more favorable and by the trip home, all the boys on the bus sang songs together and several boys from opposing groups exchanged addresses.

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In a nutshell, that's why we are a humanity divided. Unless there is some singular unifying event to pull our collective heads of our nether regions, that will never change.

You don`t have to agree with everything someone else believes in order to work together with them towards a common goal.

We all have a common goal of wanting to provide for ourselves and our families, and to be paid an honest days pay for an honest days work.
We don`t have to agree on anything else in order to be able to work together to reach those two common goals.