A Government that works

The title seems like a complete myth...
Because it is.

My recent dealings with the government pertain to two speeding fines, which I am unable to pay.
My country and it's economy has recently been crippled once more by unforeseen rolling black-outs, or as it's known locally 'load shedding'.
So 'the system' is almost always down. I've tried twice to pay said fines. I give up.

The incompetence and blatant corruption I have seen during the course of my lifetime is unfathomable.
I have seen a once semi-great country fall into despair but yet I am one of the lucky ones.
A privileged young white male in Africa.

The mental frustration I endure daily is incredible. I see simple problems, with simple solutions, but I will never be in a position to resolve them.
My fellow countryman have been sold so many lies over the years, it's difficult to see the realisation of false promises sink in to the minds of people who have no where to go but a downward spiral.

Infrastructure is on a rapid decline. I always promised myself that I'd stay, that I'd always help to improve this country. I fear it's becoming extremely detrimental to my mental health.

My electricity supply will soon disappear for a brief 2 hours.
Fun...

P.S
Before I can go anywhere I'll need to renew my passport which I fear may be the greatest administrative undertaking I will ever endure.
If it's still possible.


This may not seem like much of a rant, I started typing in anger, but soon realised I'm probably just becoming depressed.

a reply to: GreenGunther

I hope something good happens to slide you out of the depression spiral.

From an outsiders perspective, all of Africa seems sad or insane, even the beautiful parts.

Government is by it's very nature is illegitimate. It is impossible to have a "good" government because by it's very nature, it assumes some people have the right to rule over others. Government, etymologically means "mind control". How can you legitimize mind control?

a reply to: TheGreatWork

Government, etymologically means "mind control".

No it does not.
Look in any dictionary, and you will find that "-ment" is a suffix NOT formed from the Latin for mind. It has nothing to do with the mind. To quote the Concise Oxford, which is open in front of me, it is a suffix forming words "expressing the result or means of an action".
Examples given include adornment, bereavement, embankment, which are about the results of the actions of adorning, bereaving, and embanking.
Or do you think that an "embankment" is something that embanks the mind?
Stop getting all your ideas from the internet! Go back to real books!


Or again, "settlement" and "nourishment" are the results of settling and nourishing (the body rather than the mind). For that matter, what do you think a "garment" does to the mind? If I think of any more examples (within the 2 hours), I will quote them. Monument. Arrangement. Battlement. Increment. Detriment. Sediment.

I guess you shouldn't have been speeding.

But yes. Boo government. Boo problems!

Booooooo!!


Ok. I'm done.

a reply to: GreenGunther

Feels sad to me, that the vast majority of us never notice these things happening to others, until one day it happens to us.

Are we all immune from such societal shifts, as being experienced by GreenGunther ?

My father told me this tale, way back when Nothin was a little Nothin:

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

Info from Wikipedia:

"First they came ..." is the poetic form of a prose post-war confession first made in German in 1946 by the German Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984). It is about the cowardice of German intellectuals and certain clergy (including, by his own admission, Niemöller himself) following the Nazis' rise to power and subsequent incremental purging of their chosen targets, group after group.

Look-around: whom are we failing ?

Government is a reflection of the people who run it. It’s not a coincidence that the people who claim government is broken go out of their way to make it so once they are in power.

One world government.
Let random decide 1000 people..
the optimal count is not important now...
criminals get striked off the list.

These people are randomly selected and if possible only once in life.
No matter the culture or skin color, heritage or peaceful religion.

They have the duty to serve their time in a sort of congress or senate
when they are selected or loose their social benefits.

Out of a big field of specialists, scientists and experts in ALL matters,
randomly they get selected when decisions for that topic/department are necessary.

Like, climate change, guns, abortion, laws ...

These experts then have equal voting rights to the other people.
These are selected just by random but have their own professions.

The topics are relative random selected too, but have different priorities. The selection is done by surprise. All this is done 2-3 times and then the votes are counted together to get the result.

This way, there can not be bribery and decisions are made by experts two to three times independently. Statistics will then tell if the decision had a good impact, or not. If a voter only has wrong decisions, the voter is not selected anymore for that topic, or at all, never again.

This ensures that everyone plays along.

If the impact of the decision was not good, the decision is revoked and a new cycle begins.
Sometime in the future to tackle the problem again and from a different viewpoint.

Cultures are kept and valued. Difference will be embraced. Stupidity will not be tolerated and feelings are out of the loop.

Sounds like you are all bummed out. What is happening is only a temporary thing. A mistake is not a mistake if you learn from it, it is a learning experience. Pay attention and try to fix your life so that mistakes are not repeated. We do not have control over everything, so we should focus on just making things better as much as we can by paying attention and learning from others and our mistakes. Use risk assessment more.

originally posted by: DISRAELI
a reply to: TheGreatWork

Government, etymologically means "mind control".

No it does not.
Look in any dictionary, and you will find that "-ment" is a suffix NOT formed from the Latin for mind. It has nothing to do with the mind. To quote the Concise Oxford, which is open in front of me, it is a suffix forming words "expressing the result or means of an action".
Examples given include adornment, bereavement, embankment, which are about the results of the actions of adorning, bereaving, and embanking.
Or do you think that an "embankment" is something that embanks the mind?
Stop getting all your ideas from the internet! Go back to real books!


Or again, "settlement" and "nourishment" are the results of settling and nourishing (the body rather than the mind). For that matter, what do you think a "garment" does to the mind? If I think of any more examples (within the 2 hours), I will quote them. Monument. Arrangement. Battlement. Increment. Detriment. Sediment.

Ment comes from mente.

a reply to: GreenGunther

My recent dealings with the government pertain to two speeding fines, which I am unable to pay.

Don't do the crime if you're too broke-assed to pay the crime.

a reply to: GreenGunther

My recent dealings with the government pertain to two speeding fines, which I am unable to pay.

Don't do the crime if you're too broke-assed to pay the crime.

a reply to: TheGreatWork
No, it does NOT come from MENTE when it is being used as a suffix. Again I say to you, check a good dictionary. There are times when what people pick up on the internet is pure ignorance, and this line of argument is one of them.

For heaven's sake, did you not look at the examples I quoted? Are you going to use "I read it on the internet" as a substitute for thinking?

originally posted by: DISRAELI
a reply to: TheGreatWork
No, it does NOT come from MENTE when it is being used as a suffix. Again I say to you, check a good dictionary. There are times when what people pick up on the internet is pure ignorance, and this line of argument is one of them.

For heaven's sake, did you not look at the examples I quoted? Are you going to use "I read it on the internet" as a substitute for thinking?

Okay then I will look further. I mean HOW do they govern? Most people go through life without having any interactions with an authorative gov official, how? Why were they acting in check with the laws? Fear? It might as well mean control of the mind because that is exactly how it operates.

The French adverbial suffix -ment does indeed derive from the Latin word (not suffix) mente, ablative of mens "mind". The nominal suffix -ment already existed as a suffix (-mentum) in Latin

In French there are two etymologically separate suffixes –ment. First there is –ment from Latin mente, the ablative of mēns “mind”. This is used in French to form adverbs from adjectives, like lentement “slowly”. Then there is –ment from Latin –mentum, which forms abstract nouns from verbs. This is not connected with the words for “mind” but derives from the Indo-European noun suffix *-men- with -t- extension, as in testamentum. French gouvernement (whence English government) belongs to the latter.

a reply to: TheGreatWork
Nevertheless, that is not what the word means. As a lover of language, I find fake etymologies objectionable.

originally posted by: TheGreatWork
Then there is –ment from Latin –mentum, which forms abstract nouns from verbs. This is not connected with the words for “mind” but derives from the Indo-European noun suffix *-men- with -t- extension, as in testamentum. French gouvernement (whence English government) belongs to the latter.

There you are. That is what I've been trying to tell you.

I gotcha.

originally posted by: rickymouse
Sounds like you are all bummed out. What is happening is only a temporary thing. A mistake is not a mistake if you learn from it, it is a learning experience. Pay attention and try to fix your life so that mistakes are not repeated. We do not have control over everything, so we should focus on just making things better as much as we can by paying attention and learning from others and our mistakes. Use risk assessment more.

Temporary until the electricity grid collapses?
Also facing water issues nation-wide.
Seriously, infrastructure has gone to hell in a hand-basket.

a reply to: GreenGunther

Humans lived without running water before and they lived without electricity. I was taught to grow food and hunt and fish and I passed that knowledge on to the kids and a few of the grandkids.

Maybe in the cities they might have problems, but over half of the households in the U.P have a woodstove and everyone knows someone who has a well. Lake Superior water is not that polluted either and there are streams and springs around here that have clear water in them.

originally posted by: rickymouse
a reply to: GreenGunther

Humans lived without running water before and they lived without electricity. I was taught to grow food and hunt and fish and I passed that knowledge on to the kids and a few of the grandkids.

Maybe in the cities they might have problems, but over half of the households in the U.P have a woodstove and everyone knows someone who has a well. Lake Superior water is not that polluted either and there are streams and springs around here that have clear water in them.

I am a decent hunter and fisherman.
My livelihood depends on my job, I’m in IT.
No power, no job, no money.

Trust me, if the grid collapses it’ll be like the purge.
I’ll be able to defend myself, I have guns and tons of experience.
But a huge number of innocent people will die.

I’ve spent so much of my life gaining experience, with no electricity, it was all for nothing...
We have a farm with enough sheep and cattle. But people will come to steal our livestock

I don’t really feel like killing people, do you?