Pulp Fiction is the Greatest Film Ever, Anyone who doesn't agree is a Republican
So-called higher educated people learn what society wants them to learn from institutionally approved material. There is no critical thinking outside this box.
sol seems even more lunatic than curtis
Sol’s cool. Curtis’s a blowhard.
I am not familiar with Curtis but thanks for the compliment, Z.
Well, I could go into all the logical reasons why that’s wrong, but for what it’s worth, the Emirati sheikdom is pretty much as close to monarchy as contemporary structures get and living under it was awful.
Example: getting caught saying that out there would have me imprisoned. After all, just complaining about the drivers can get you into a place worse than US pound-me-in-the-ass federal.
Representative democracy wins the first hand experience trial.
Edit: though again I realize I’m essentially debating against a real-life Ignatius J. Reilly. Rather enjoyable really.
—PolarisDiB
i got my college degree and ever since i’ve graduated i’ve been thinking about what a waste of time it was b/c i’m secretly Will Hunting
A college degree helps with appearances, but a true free thinker searches for knowledge in all aspects of a life, not testing on a piece of paper. Higher education is not a necessity, but it removes some barriers. Knowledge though is the enemy of many conservatives, especially the evangelicals, they want us fearful of an angry God, not questioning. Remember, there are no stupid questions, just stupid people.
Yep, that guy has there degrees
Marcellus Wallace didn’t have a college degree…
One should not compare the traditional Western monarchy with the monarchy of a barbaric people.
I know of no modern government that has a traditional monarchy. To achive such a monarchy in the modern world is next to impossible, but Z asked what my ideal form of goverment was and I answered. In today’s modern-thinking world it would be easier to achive a benevolent dictatorship. Of course, this would not be an ideal form of government.
“Politics is the art of action”
Or inaction, as the case may be.
“A college degree helps with appearances, but a true free thinker searches for knowledge in all aspects of a life, not testing on a piece of paper.”
That’s true but as Polaris stated, if you don’t know how to read, that thinking is going to be pretty limiting (i.e. not that free). Of course a degree doesn’t mean genius – I’ve met plenty of people with advanced degrees from Harvard that literally need someone else to tie their shoes. But to dismiss one extreme doesn’t mean you validate the other extreme.
I’m not dismissing a thing, I think access to affordable higher education should be something we all work for. and also ones education does not end with that piece of paper, we should be open to continually learn new things in life. I see too few conservatives looking to expand their knowledge and even fewer religious people.
Inaction is the definition of democracy which makes for bad politics, Santino.
^I don’t know. Inaction seemed to make for good politics for the republicans in 2010.
Indeed, Santino. Inaction is good politics in a democracy and that is the problem.
Inaction works because of sheep, if we had an active voter base who demanded action from our representatives would be active or they would be replaced. Democracy can work if the citizens truly invest themselves in the process. We need to educate ourselves on the issues and on the candidates. We need to vote. We need corporations removed from the process and leave politics to the people.
Those are nice sentiments, Uli.
“^I don’t know. Inaction seemed to make for good politics for the republicans in 2010.”
No, the Tea Party is active and that is a large part of its political success. This election cycle will tell if the Occupy Wall Street crowd sees equal action and success.
—PolarisDiB
“Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those others that have been tried.”
—Winston Churchill
I am more of a pragmatic anarchist, and I say North by Northwest is the greatest movie ever made.
As for politics, Americans are too deep in hock buying things on credit that they don’t need in pursuit of a happiness that things simply cannot provide. This perpetual cycle of debt & distraction (oh look: there goes Charlie Sheen!) keeps people in a blissful state of ignorant complacency. That, and clipping coupons for Applebees.
@ulicain
"I don’t begrudge someone who doesn’t know empathy.
But I do begrudge someone who doesn’t know the value of empathy."
who are you to say i don’t know, or know the value of, empathy? because i don’t feel sorry for someone who makes a stupid financial decision and then blames others?
why don’t you know empathy for the shrewd businessman who earns well but has millions stolen from him each year by some “government” to whose authority he has never consented?
wow, it’s almost as if it’s possible to feel empathy for people in some situations and not for people in other situations! but hey, don’t let common sense get in the way of your vague rhetoric
@matt parks
“By having no apparent comprehension of why subprime mortgages were actually a problem for people other than just those who bought and sold them, for one thing, Curtis.”
i comprehend entirely but feel that that doesn’t justify curtailing people’s freedoms. you don’t seem to be able to grasp this
One of the hilarious things about the state of US democracy is the “undecided voter.” They wield tremendous power because they make up a big chunk of the independent pool, which usually decides presidential elections. AND THEY DON"T KNOW WHO THEY ARE GOING TO VOTE FOR UNTIL A WEEK BEFORE THE ELECTIONS. Yes, after a two year bombardment of both fact and fiction they will not know who to vote for until they tune in and figure it out last minute. These are people who are swayed by 30 second commercials filled with ominous music and grainy footage and bullet points. Our future is in their hands. I want them to please, please, please try a bit harder to be informed. Thanks.
^ I prefer undecided voters to people who vote entirely based on their unwavering, unquestioning partisanship.
I prefer the independent free-thinking voter to a partisan, but the “undecided” are not that… they are voters who are swayed by last minute scandals and gaffes and misrepresentations and distortions and the circus atmosphere of the last week of a campaign.
The problem always is “those people”, isn’t it?
—PolarisDiB
Yes, the problem is those people.
-Stalin
Rock and Bull
Lol, I’d say that this has been a very successful troll thread.
I personally don’t care about politics as I plan to marry a several rich elderly women and wait for them to die off, then live out my life comfortably well off for the rest of my days.