Two Broken Wings

originally posted by: Lumenari

originally posted by: Groot
I really don't care anymore.

Just let it all burn down around me, for I shall continue to live my life until my last breathe.

If I could give you more stars I would...

What would really fix this is a good ELE.

Oh ye of little hope.

I keep telling y'all we need to replace our social safety net with a non-government affiliated, non-profit Communist...ish organization.

But no one can seem to get past the C word.

a reply to: projectvxn

There was an upswing. It was leading to good things, but it never peaked. So, effectively, we've seen the best that we, as a species in this effort, can be. Let that sink in. As now we are in a decline.

We rose far above ourselves, we changed things that benefited those of us who were still trapped in old ways, and we rallied for yet more change.

Then... somehow, we hit that spot, where it all started to roll backwards. Trump is a good president, better than anyone else on the cards, and doing all he can to be as much as he can be, the best. But still, he's on the side of the mountain, not the peak. We never reached the pinnacle.

See, humans as a whole, will never sublimate to purity. We're an effervescent lot. We boil and froth, affecting everything and everyone around us. Some of the yeast makes champagne, some of it makes sh!tty gutter wine. And some of it is simply non alcoholic. Some bread rises and we look up to it.. and then we praise the flat bread, not because we like it, but because we just get told to. Makes a thrilling pizza base, they say... NO it bloody doesn't.

We, as a species, will never be what we think we want, because each one of us, has a vastly different view of just exactly what that is. Sure, we can create group think - lets say replicrats and democans. And we can say one thing that the other doesn't say, unless they do, then we say the opposite of what we say, in order to remain separate.. but even amongst those groups, nothing changes..

We're only good in tribes. We're a tribal species. and we're best left to familiar policies, directed towards old bob and his sugar cane crop, sally with her wheat, chuck with his fresh water and billy, who likes to stick it all together and make the beer we all enjoy once a year.

no, serious... we're never ever going to make it as a species, if we spread the wants of the people across entire continents. There is just too much bollocks to rub.

But what choice is there?

I can assure you all that dragging Industrial Revolution era economic systems and ideologies into the next century will ensure our failure.

a reply to: Newt22

The murdered are slain by humans, regardless of the weapon. It is always us... destroying us.

Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

It has been the same since the dawn of civilization.

a reply to: gallop

We rose far above ourselves, we changed things that benefited those of us who were still trapped in old ways, and we rallied for yet more change.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 1But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God- 5having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.


Almost cyclical in appearance it seems.

a reply to: CriticalStinker

You bring a lot to think about to the table. I agree our children are our future - there is nothing without the 'next' generation.

But, I feel that kicks the can. A cusp of ideology is not grasped by children, though, it may be realized by them.

We are the ones responsible, now. For the now.

a reply to: Newt22

But, I feel that kicks the can. A cusp of ideology is not grasped by children, though, it may be realized by them.

Agreed to an extent. If we're the ones to fix the system like former generations, it's by sacrificing while giving to the next generation. That is nuanced in the sense I'm planning my own life without any external saftey nets. I don't plan on social security on being part of my mix. I'm privately insured on many levels with a diverse retirement portfolio.

But we could reform education without spending an extra dime while delivering better results. We've proved empowering individuals while providing opportunities is better than enabling.

The current state is what it is, IMO we can only condition the future rather than engineer the present.

a reply to: highvein

Yes, the outside influence. I always knew I could spend 5 dollars in a room by myself when I needed to save a 5.

I am evil... by myself... in your book, you are the same.

We don't need the devil, we are fallen in itself. Right?

Sorry, that seems a bit snarky. I don't mean it a such, your spiritualism is beautiful, but may not be my own.

Excuse my affront.

We're going to have to think about some counter-intuitive solutions. New players have entered the game. The world we think we live in has already been left behind. We have some catching up to do. All of us.

I am not speaking esoterically. There are 4 groundbreaking technologies that will change the world profoundly in the next ten years. Quantum resistant blockchains and distributed protocols, 5G, practical quantum computer systems, and artificial intelligence.

a reply to: projectvxn

Not to take away from your foresight, but 3d printing as well. When that becomes a staple of the household, production for certain things are sure to be a ake a hit.

a reply to: CriticalStinker

'But we could reform education without spending an extra dime while delivering better results. We've proved empowering individuals while providing opportunities is better than enabling.'

I agree - teach a person to think is always better then tell them what to think. Our responsibility is to give them building blocks of truth, regardless of ideology, that allows them to make up their own mind.

originally posted by: Liquesence
a reply to: hopenotfeariswhatweneed

Howard Zinn would have been adamantly anti-Trump.

Howard stood up for the marginalized, the minorities, the historically oppressed, and he was decidedly anti-fascist.

No doubt he would have been anti Trump, the more I read about him the more I like him.

originally posted by: Newt22
a reply to: CriticalStinker

You bring a lot to think about to the table. I agree our children are our future - there is nothing without the 'next' generation.

But, I feel that kicks the can. A cusp of ideology is not grasped by children, though, it may be realized by them.

We are the ones responsible, now. For the now.

I feel blessed to not have children. I wouldn't want them to be infected by the current festival of hate.
It seems that in the current paradigm, compassion is seen as weakness and to be scorned, ridiculed and marginalized. If we fail to grow as a culture, all the fantastic technology, will just make evil stronger.

And yet, with all the technological wonders an monstrosities, good help will still be hard to find, and they will have to do it themselves.

a reply to: Newt22

Nothing to excuse. I was showing that for a very long time now some people have known of what you speak of.

Where is an, ultimately unsuccessful, Alien invasion when we need it?

You got me thinking again.

I grind on every day. Get up drive to work, work, drive home, eat, and go to bed. Yeah I take care of the family, yeah, I pay my bill's, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Politics is just out right ignorant these days, nobody can relate to any of these rich egotistical maniacs(every single politician). People get packaged bullsnip, told its steak and pretend to enjoy it. But really the joke is on every single tax paying American.

Anyways as I lay here and ramble on and probably make no sense whatsoever,

I believe there is no fix.

a reply to: liejunkie01

I believe there is no fix.

I'm trying not to believe that. Giving up isn't an option for me.

I'm willing to try different things, but I am not willing to waste my time in with old things that do not apply to the nuanced sophistication of our technological society.

a reply to: projectvxn

I wouldn't call it giving up.

I just believe that we need to move beyond capitalism as a way of life. I have no idea what else would take its place, obviously socialism doesn't work, but there needs to be something where corruption and personal gain do not coexist.

Can we truly evolve succesfully as a species in this kind of environment?

a reply to: liejunkie01

I just believe that we need to move beyond capitalism as a way of life

Interestingly, I want to make capitalism central, but I want to see it relegated to a constantly updated set of ledgers no one ever thinks about. I want the exchange of value to be as automated as everything else so as to better manage resources and demand.

I dove into this idea on my Machine Economy thread a while back. In this scenario, maybe capitalism isn't what we want to call it, but it uses some of the same principles to maintain economic viability into the future.

but there needs to be something where corruption and personal gain do not coexist.

For all the automation I embrace you will never automate that out of humans. We have to work with the notions of personal gain and against corruption. Pretending we can do more than that is a recipe for disaster because we would assume for ourselves the authority to control the thoughts and emotions of others. Clearly, that is unacceptable.