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Reducing people to economics is a terrible thing. Tom Send a noteboard - 19/12/2012 01:28:54 AM
I think that our only difference is that I don't want to see the government enforce too much on people because I see it as an incentive to allow people to care even less about others - if the government is "taking care" of it, we won't. Sociologically, it's the same as when, for example, someone has been hit by a car and you say, "Someone call an ambulance" - the chances are that no one will because they all assume someone else will or has. But if you point at one of them and say, "You - please call an ambulance," the person usually does (unless they're a total bastard) because they know no one else will.

However, our society is a miserable one when the only measure of success it accepts is a material standard. Whether it's money, or some stupid status symbol, it just helps complete our alienation. We live better today than we did in the 1930s, for example, but people feel poorer because our society is geared to making us feel inadequate if we don't have yet more material possessions, and a particular sort of material possessions. In absolute terms more poor people have more amenities, but the alienation has increased.
Political correctness is the pettiest form of casuistry.

ἡ δὲ κἀκ τριῶν τρυπημάτων ἐργαζομένη ἐνεκάλει τῇ φύσει, δυσφορουμένη, ὅτι δὴ μὴ καὶ τοὺς τιτθοὺς αὐτῇ εὐρύτερον ἢ νῦν εἰσι τρυπώη, ὅπως καὶ ἄλλην ἐνταῦθα μίξιν ἐπιτεχνᾶσθαι δυνατὴ εἴη. – Procopius

Ummaka qinnassa nīk!

*MySmiley*
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20 children killed in latest US school shooting - 15/12/2012 12:35:42 AM 933 Views
i know 2 people with kids there, one of them has lost their 5 year old. this is too close to home - 15/12/2012 12:39:26 AM 557 Views
*NM* - 16/12/2012 07:16:19 AM 265 Views
It is absolutely terrible. - 15/12/2012 01:51:38 AM 588 Views
I think you're largely right. - 15/12/2012 03:48:59 AM 547 Views
I agree. - 15/12/2012 04:46:45 AM 588 Views
Re: It is absolutely terrible. - 15/12/2012 12:49:34 PM 508 Views
I do think you're right on this - 15/12/2012 02:24:43 PM 551 Views
whoop - 15/12/2012 04:35:01 AM 701 Views
So horrible. - 15/12/2012 05:53:46 AM 473 Views
I lived 20 mins from there. I'm shocked. I'm even heading back there in 4 days.... - 15/12/2012 02:08:28 PM 508 Views
one of the big problems with "wait for a better day" - 15/12/2012 03:45:53 PM 491 Views
Re: one of the big problems with "wait for a better day" - 15/12/2012 06:53:51 PM 675 Views
Maybe when we stop making media celebrities out of these murderers.. - 16/12/2012 05:36:19 PM 501 Views
Nope, won't happen. - 16/12/2012 06:37:11 PM 599 Views
For each of those 30 years sociologists have warned of the growing danger of growing alienation. - 16/12/2012 10:05:28 PM 574 Views
I don't know what you mean, though. - 17/12/2012 05:53:44 PM 529 Views
I dunno, your response suggests you figured it out pretty quickly. - 18/12/2012 05:08:12 PM 589 Views
Well, I more or less agree with everything you said *NM* - 19/12/2012 01:23:26 AM 235 Views
Short form: The common phrases "suicide by cop" and "going postal" did not exist a generation ago. - 18/12/2012 09:14:51 PM 543 Views
Reducing people to economics is a terrible thing. - 19/12/2012 01:28:54 AM 491 Views
if they were after fame, they would probably all have tried to stay alive after killing everyone - 16/12/2012 10:01:50 PM 484 Views
One need not be living to be famous. - 16/12/2012 10:08:12 PM 525 Views
actually, i'm pretty sure you're wrong on this - 17/12/2012 05:38:07 PM 504 Views
"Live fast, die young and leave a good-looking corpse," "it's better to burn out than fade away" etc - 18/12/2012 03:25:23 PM 628 Views
what do your examples all have in common? - 18/12/2012 08:42:59 PM 539 Views
I frequently confuse that detail of Hinckleys shooting with Chapmans, sorry. - 18/12/2012 08:59:25 PM 598 Views
you are going to have to define "many" - 18/12/2012 10:13:33 PM 539 Views
Well, it is a relative term, and not an all-encompassing one. - 26/12/2012 07:04:25 PM 582 Views
Billy Joel song titles? - 19/12/2012 09:03:22 PM 551 Views

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