Wow. You really believe this??
No, I think **monstro **is correct here; although I’m not sure that race is the issue (many Republicans would favor a black Republican over a white Democrat in a heartbeat,) but it is indeed true that many people have some pretty staggering double standards, all based off of whether something/someone is on “their side” or the “opposing side.” They’ll cut their own candidate the greatest slack, while holding the opposing side to the most mercilessly exacting standards possible.
And lefties and righties both do it. Some still have enough sense of propriety to try to deny it or weasel out of it, “No, it’s *different *when *we *do Thing X (that we condemn you for), you’re making false equivalence!” Some others have gone far beyond that by this point and simply are like, “Yup, it’s a double standard, deal with it.”
No. What Keeps Mankind Alive by Kurt Weill. Recited here by William S. Burroughs.
Original (German) text by Berthold Brecht, just to give credit where credit is due.
I never discount matters of race. It is always a variable.
I imagine that if Obama had a quarter of Trump’s flaws, he wouldn’t have been elected. A lot of Democrats would have been embarrassed and stayed home from the polls or voted for the Green party candidate, and the Republicans would have been able to convince the moderates that McCain was a better fit.
Hell, my black ass probably wouldn’t have voted for him just because I cringe when black people perpetuate negative stereotypes. A pussy-grabbing, foul-mouthed, anti-intellectual black president would be way too cringe-worthy for me, even if I agreed with his talking points.
What am I even saying? A black Democratic Trump wouldn’t even make it past the primaries. Five kids with three different baby mama’s, and probably a whole bunch of side pieces? This alone would cause people to lose their minds.
It’s a wonderful thing to have the capacity to ponder existentialism. To build rockets that land men on the Moon and rovers on Mars. All very wonderful things indeed. But that intelligence comes with a price. Most likely in the form of our hastened demise.
If we were still monkeys, do you think we would have problems with over population? Or carbon footprints? Or global warming? Or… well, any number of things actually.
So, to answer your question: Yes, speaking strictly in the sense of the prosperity of the human race, intelligence IS a bug and NOT a feature.
There are under 400,000 great apes in the world, of all species (except ours) put together. There are going on 7 1/2 billion humans. One of these species is far far more successful than the others.
Intelligence may one day become a bug, but for all of human history so far it has enabled our unprecedented evolutionary success.
Not surprisingly, all the “bold” iconoclasts are trying to subvert OTHER people’s comforting lies, and patting themselves on the back while doing so.
Quit telling me the “lies” your ideological opponents tell themselves. Let’s hear the lies YOU tell yourself.
As Arthur C Clarke said: “It has yet to be proven that intelligence has any survival value.” (the dinosaurs were around for a lot longer that we have been)
Really?
St. Peter was crucified. St. Paul was beheaded. Do you honestly think the early followers of Jesus expected a happy ending? They believed that, eventually, God’s will would be done, but most didn’t delude themselves that THEY would be around to see it happen.
That’s why I’m always surprised when atheists try to refute Christianity by pointing out “There is pain and suffering in the world.” The early Apostles, who’d seen their Lord and their friends tortured to death, would have replied, “Duh! You think???”
I think that in general, most people are more selfish than they would like to think they are.
When I see the public being interviewed in the run-up to elections, people’s comments inevitably come down to “I want this”, “I want that” rather than consider what might be the common good.
This was striking (to me) during the Brexit referendum (I’m from London) - I tried to make the point that one very good reason for us to stay in Europe is that the former Communist states in Eastern Europe are starting to get their economies back on track, and having the UK as part of a strong EU helps bring them into the prosperous Western world, and is good for everyone.
I didn’t convert many people to the Remain cause with that argument I can tell you.
I agree. But I’m making the assertion that the human race will be more of a “flash” rather than a “slow burn” like it is for most species.
I think there’s a chance you are right. But that’s hardly an unaccepted truth. It’s an untested prediction. You may be right, you may be wrong, but neither of us will live long enough to find out.
How should I know? I believe every word I say.
Everything’s going to be okay. I tell myself that a lot. I don’t believe it, but it makes me feel better to tell myself that.
Conversely I’m always surprised when Christians promote a “God will make everything better for me” attitude for much the same reasons (with the Prosperity Gospel people, whom I hate, at the far end of that spectrum). God never promised you health and wealth and happiness in this life no matter how devoutly you worship him; as the Bible stories demonstrate, His most fervent followers often suffer the worst hardships. Your “reward” comes after your death, which may be gruesome and painful.
But I’m not worried about that sort of thing, because I know everything’s going to be okay.
You might have had more success if you bolstered your arguments with some spotted dick.
Another myth that many people fall into is that “Things will only get better from here on.” I read a book in which the author, IIRC, stated that many people will turn down potential relationship mates, thinking that they would be “settling” and that they will only find even better prospects as time goes on, when in fact, as time goes on and they age, their likelihood of finding higher-quality prospects is lower, not higher. It’s like people who hold on to stocks and refuse to sell, thinking it will only go higher yet, when in fact they may have already reached or passed their stocks’ highest selling price.
Basic human sexuality. Society puts rules and arbitrary mores in place that, while they seem to fit “the will of the people” are often counter to mother nature and often are down right detrimental.
It’s not surprising that this thread has kinda turned into “basic beliefs about life that many or a majority of other people disagree with me on.” What I wonder is whether there are any answers possible which do NOT nudge into that territory. I feel like it’s possible, but I’m not sure how, specifically.
It would be pretty strange for someone to come in here and post an idea that they don’t think is true as an example of “truths” which most people don’t accept.
So, yeah, there’s gonna be a damn high correlation of personal belief with posts here.
There are a few that I sure as hell wish weren’t true, such as:
Life isn’t fair.
A dictatorship can happen, even here.
Even among scientists and philosophers and teachers, there will be fraud.
The truth can, with enough effort, be covered up.
A good many murderers get away with it.
Oh, I have an example of one I, personally, think is not true, and which is an example of a truth most people refuse to accept: “Music is better today than it was when you were a kid.” (I don’t like today’s music, is all.)