Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

[Koach]

i saw this video, and it shows exactly what's happening to society these days. i think that we should all watch it at least once, so we can understand why we got our problems.

 

EDIT: heres the link i forgot 2 add it lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYvRSp5I3sE

Edited March 10, 2011 by Guest (see edit history)

[BTGBullseye]

i saw this video, and it shows exactly what's happening to society these days. i think that we should all watch it at least once, so we can understand why we got our problems.

 

What video? Link it.

[Lord Sinister]

i saw this video, and it shows exactly what's happening to society these days. i think that we should all watch it at least once, so we can understand why we got our problems.

 

I am sure we will all begin watching it as soon as we know what it is.

[Koach]

did i really forgot the link?! THAT WAS STUPID!

here it is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYvRSp5I3sE

[PleasantBreeze]

Interesting video. I agree with the video in that it says that what it described is a very, if not the most ethical way to behave.

 

However, I took issue with referring to specific people as "inherently good" or "inherently bad". Also, the video said we have complete choice in our lives, yet very shortly continued to say that we don't have the right to take from other peoples' liberties. Therefore, if we want the most ethical life possible, we must only have "partial freedom", I suppose. At any rate, we could all stand to be nicer to the people around us.

[Doom Shepherd]

Oh, if only it were that simple. Couple of thought s touching on this subject...

 

I have the same problem with this philosopy that I do with many others... it only works so long as everybody does it.

 

If you have people in country A who say "yeah, we're not going to initiate force, ever," but countries B, C, and D who don't, in short order, A is going to find itself in a messy situation.

 

I believe your personal freedom has an inverse correlation with how much you ask other people to do for you. When you're waiting all day for the plumber, you get a really good object lesson in how much power over us we voluntarily give up to others, just so we can go about our lives normally.

[Alyxx Thorne]

However, I took issue with referring to specific people as "inherently good" or "inherently bad".

We're a product of our experiences and our environment. If people are bad, then I feel sorry for them because of what they have gone through that have made them act that way and that no one were there to guide them.

[Koach]

However, I took issue with referring to specific people as "inherently good" or "inherently bad".

We're a product of our experiences and our environment. If people are bad, then I feel sorry for them because of what they have gone through that have made them act that way and that no one were there to guide them.

i agree, the problem is that we feed those bad people with power. take as an example Egypt, or Libya, they have those assholes as presidents/dictators because they fed them with power.

[Doom Shepherd]

It's a sad fact of human behavior that people LOVE to give others power over them. As individuals, we like to talk a big game about how independent and original and free we are...

 

...but a lot of us do it while dressing identically to our peer group, joining collectivist organizations, and generally asking other people, from priests to politicians, to tell us how we should be living our lives.

 

Somtimes we feed bad people power, and sometimes they take it, and nobody stops them, because they don't want to get involved. It's 'somebody else's problem.' I don;t want to risk my cushy job/lifestyle.

 

That is the safety that Ben Franklin was taking about in that famous quote that gets misued a lot: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

[Riley Hawk]

Looks like the video has been removed.

[BTGBullseye]

Well, considering the video was linked to over 4 and a half years ago, it's not that strange.

[ThePest179]

i agree, the problem is that we feed those bad people with power. take as an example Egypt, or Libya, they have those assholes as presidents/dictators because they fed them with power.

 

The reason those countries are the way they are is because of a range of complex social, political, and economic reasons. Chalking it up to just "human nature" avoids the real issue: that there is no one reason for authoritarian governments to exist.