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The World as it is.
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OldManMac
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May 15, 2011, 11:08 AM
 
Chris Hedges: The World As It Is | Common Dreams

Sadly, many can't see the forest for the trees.
Why is there always money for war, but none for education?
     
ebuddy
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May 15, 2011, 06:29 PM
 
Originally Posted by OldManMac View Post
Chris Hedges: The World As It Is | Common Dreams

Sadly, many can't see the forest for the trees.
Couple of things:
  • Islam is not an ethnicity.
  • People in the Middle East understand more than simply the "language of violence".
  • The reason we have a "consumption" problem is that the government insists on mitigating symptoms of irresponsibility through its "empathy".
  • He is correct; the gated community Progressive "elites" will not help you.
ebuddy
     
OldManMac  (op)
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May 15, 2011, 06:38 PM
 
Originally Posted by ebuddy View Post
Couple of things:
[*] The reason we have a "consumption" problem is that the government insists on mitigating symptoms of irresponsibility through its "empathy".
That's funny.
Why is there always money for war, but none for education?
     
imitchellg5
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May 15, 2011, 06:58 PM
 
While I agree with most of his points, his research seems to be outright wrong.
     
Shaddim
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May 15, 2011, 11:24 PM
 
Originally Posted by OldManMac View Post
That's funny.
but oddly true.
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
- Thomas Paine
     
besson3c
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May 16, 2011, 01:04 AM
 
ebuddy: the whole irresponsibility vs. empathy argument is completely counter productive, I think. No amount of ideology, philosophy, policy, or anything else is going to make people responsible, it will take a significant cultural shift to do that, and this simply cannot be manufactured or counted on to take place. I would frame the ideal counter to this not so much as purely empathy (although I'm sure many would disagree), but simply acknowledging reality for what it is and finding the best policy that gives us our best bang for our buck.
     
ebuddy
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May 16, 2011, 07:10 AM
 
Originally Posted by besson3c View Post
ebuddy: the whole irresponsibility vs. empathy argument is completely counter productive, I think. No amount of ideology, philosophy, policy, or anything else is going to make people responsible, it will take a significant cultural shift to do that, and this simply cannot be manufactured or counted on to take place. I would frame the ideal counter to this not so much as purely empathy (although I'm sure many would disagree), but simply acknowledging reality for what it is and finding the best policy that gives us our best bang for our buck.
The reality is that an entitlement granted can never be taken away. Any policy or philosophy that perpetuates an entitlement mentality will exacerbate the symptoms we understandably want to (empathy) mitigate. This is the difference between thinking with one's head over one's heart. It's how we'd generally raise our own children and yet, we approach the whole of society with an entirely different sensibility. I'd also request that we define "empathy" while I watch another AARP commercial featuring an adorable elderly couple in front of their $300k ranch complaining about what those cigar-chomping Congressmen want to cut from Medicare.

One of Hedges' complaints was that of "consumption". Of course you have more to spend (consume) when your baser needs are being addressed with someone else's money. The reality in the US ranges from obesity prevalent among the poor to "doctor-shopping" meaning one thing thirty years ago and something entirely different today. This type of empathy is killing us and the cultural shift you're talking about occurs when this trait has manifest in the abject poverty of the majority. I think it's less productive to remain silent while these academics over-think us into analysis-paralysis.

Now, some will accuse me of abusing Hedges' call for "empathy", but why would I be more apt to step into the shoes of a fascist Muslim in the Middle East to understand them than a fundamentalist Christian in the US for example? If this is a concern at home, why is this not a global political concern? Hedges is all over the place and his ideal of "progress" is one step backward abroad, two steps backward at home. His empathy is nothing more than the cliche and ever fashionable self-loathing that he and his latte-loving, coffee-clutch elite are accustomed to; the product of a self-indulgent academia.
ebuddy
     
   
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