Through a confluence of events, Barach Obama is charting a course that lands America into the lap of socialism. If you accept this premise, how do you feel about it? If you don't, what DO you say?
Can the world afford more tired and outdated rhetoric about a 2 party system that is now deemed ineffective by a majority of Americans?
Can America still function as a capitalist nation? If we are all interconnected, why don't we feel that way most of the time?
We feel connected during tragedy and disasters like 9/11. Why can't we overcome our greed and ego? Is there a way to even do that?
I offer a challenge of sorts for all those who truly care to weigh in on this topic.
Fred
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3 comments:
What PRESIDENT Obama is working towards, and what our society is becoming can not be accurately be described as Socialism as much as certain aspects of the media would like us to believe. For a more accurate definition of Socialism and how it does not apply to President Obama or American societal structure try checking out this article http://theentropyeffect.wordpress.com/2009/03/21/socialism/I am not sure how this ties into Americas two party system but I do believe we are witnessing the death rattle of one of the major parties, I believe it will be replaced by a party based more on a libertarian Ron Paul type platform here is a good article relating to this topic http://theentropyeffect.wordpress.com/2009/05/09/r-i-p-republican-party/To answer your next question in the long run capitalism can not and will not succeed. Capitalism by design puts the needs of the one over the needs of the many which in turn leaves at an unnecessary disadvantage in life. What humankind truly needs it a society based on cooperation, equality and secular humanist values where decisions are made logically, rationally, with logic and reasoning as the basis for making decisions that will benefit the whole of humankind. This is going to take a major shift in consciousness away from irrelevant things like the accumulation of money and possessions, as well as the abolishment of ridiculous things like religion in order for us to come to the realization that we are all the same and have a common goal that we can only achieve through global cooperation instead of being consumed by our petty differences. Spreading this message is the goal of my site go here to check it out and weigh in on some of the topics we cover http://theentropyeffect.wordpress.com/about/
Thanks Parallax for your comments. The comment regarding the 2 party system related to the changing political climate. You see the loss of an election as a death rattle for a party. That is hyperbole and wishful thinking on the part of the left. What is happening is this: the democratic party has slid to the left and the Repubs have moved more to the center. Largely with respect to foreign policy can one say the Repubs have been 'conservative', a term that has been redefined by the left and the biased media. The ripple in the party is a reshuffling that occurs after a defeat. I do believe in the third party possibility, or probability. What you posit about capitalism is not necessarily true; no more than the proposition that socialism is fair to all. It's not. Nor has communism lived up to its ideal...not even close. They both, as systems, have been failures. Capitalism, however, has been adopted by an ever burgeoning world population, scrambling to possess 'things' and looking to elevate the lot of their own. It is those governments through relaxed restrictions in all areas of life, that has led to more successful capitalist ventures in heretofore communist shut-ins.The unparalled growth and appetites of these nations and our economic interdependency has contributed greatly to the crisis. Secular humanist values and the use of logic and reasoning will not create the world you envision. Yes, a human model must replace the ego based one we now have. You would abolish religion...how is that a reflection of equality and cooperation? Anything coerced will only smack of the past, one littered with coercion. This shift in consciousness you allude to must come from the individual and the collective, but not by force. It should come via education.
Who is to make these decisions for the bensfit of mankind? Do you believe that taking advantage of and milking a crisis is the way to go? That is what is happening now. The very thing you think is happening, when scrutinized, reveals that the opposite is occurring. Obama will rush to implement his agenda with dems and libs hopping in the street gleefully believing that the common guy on the street is benefiting. Billions are being spent. What is missing is the fact that only the rich are benefiting in this bailout by the middle class to fatten the pockets of a criminal class and as a ruse, throw out some crumbs for the less fortunate. Future generations are being thrown under the bus to perpetrate this fraud. The supposedly progressive movement is either asleep, drunk with the effect of winning an election or willing to go along at any cost, as long as they won.
Capitalism can succeed if done properly. The system in and of itself is not the problem. It is human nature.
Fred
"You see the loss of an election as a death rattle for a party. That is hyperbole and wishful thinking on the part of the left."
I see them getting destroyed in the last two elections (and likely the next one) as well as their behavior since then (they have people jumping ship left and right and can't even get the head of their party to get on board with them) and the fact that a recent poll showed that 20% of Americans identified themselves as Republicans as a death rattle. This isn't hyperbole or wishful thinking it is a conclusion based on observation and critical thinking.
"What is happening is this: the democratic party has slid to the left and the Repubs have moved more to the center. Largely with respect to foreign policy can one say the Repubs have been 'conservative', a term that has been redefined by the left and the biased media. "
The democratic party may have moved to the left on some things but their foreign policy is just as poor (and by poor I mean right wing) as the republicans. The term conservative in the media typically just means republican which they only have themselves to blame for since the media has a ridiculous right wing slant to it. If you want to talk about a term they have incorrectly defined try looking up what Socialism is, or better yet go here http://theentropyeffect.wordpress.com/2009/03/21/socialism/ and read not only the definition but the explanation on why it doesn't apply to anything in American society.
"They both, as systems, have been failures. Capitalism, however, has been adopted by an ever burgeoning world population, scrambling to possess 'things' and looking to elevate the lot of their own. It is those governments through relaxed restrictions in all areas of life, that has led to more successful capitalist ventures in heretofore communist shut-ins."
As we have discussed true Communism and Socialism have never been implemented, and even if they were I wasn't advocating them anyway. How do you define successful? Is China now a successful capitalist society because they can by iPods and Starbucks? China may be able to get some useless consumer goods but they are just as socially oppressed as ever. Giving them their bread and circuses doesn't make them happy (as you often point out) it just makes them docile enough not to revolt. I hardly consider this a successful societal model.
"Secular humanist values and the use of logic and reasoning will not create the world you envision. Yes, a human model must replace the ego based one we now have. You would abolish religion...how is that a reflection of equality and cooperation? Anything coerced will only smack of the past, one littered with coercion. This shift in consciousness you allude to must come from the individual and the collective, but not by force. It should come via education. "
Yes a secular humanist model would accomplish this. We have for too long been slaves to the portions of our brains left over from our ancestors, the parts of our brains that are controlled by fear, survival instinct, and animal passions that cause us to create "false constructs" like religion and spirituality to give our lives some predetermined meaning and create rules that supposedly make it possible for us to coexist. We need to focus on evolving our species to a point where we allow the higher brain functions such as critical thinking and deductive reasoning so we can make more informed and beneficial decisions for everyone.
I never said religion and spirituality should be forced to be taken away (perhaps abolished was a poor choice of words), people need to be raised in a culture of humanist values based on logic not emotion and superstition so that they will begin to see the silliness of things such as religion and spirituality and start working together towards a more realistic collective goal, until we do we will continue to destroy each other over nonsense such as which version of the make believe man in the sky someone believes in. So yes you are right education is the key, and that is my intended goal with my site http://theentropyeffect.wordpress.com/about/ and some of the other activities I participate in 4 - 5 times a week (if you get my drift).
"Who is to make these decisions for the bensfit of mankind? Do you believe that taking advantage of and milking a crisis is the way to go? That is what is happening now. The very thing you think is happening, when scrutinized, reveals that the opposite is occurring. Obama will rush to implement his agenda with dems and libs hopping in the street gleefully believing that the common guy on the street is benefiting. Billions are being spent. What is missing is the fact that only the rich are benefiting in this bailout by the middle class to fatten the pockets of a criminal class and as a ruse, throw out some crumbs for the less fortunate."
There is an element of truth and some inaccuracy also. Yes the "criminal class" as you call it have and will benefit from this, and honestly I believe they will continue to find an unethical way to influence our system as long as it is monetarily based, not that it excuses them, it is just the unfortunate reality. However the programs that President Obama has implemented have already helped created numerous jobs, the stimulus bill has infused states with money to complete projects I see the drawbacks to not accepting stimulus money in my job every day (thank you Governor Sanford) and I know the conservative media has people convinced that universal healthcare will cause the world to end, but the reality is that this burden will help numerous people both take care of vital medical conditions, and eliminate an enormous expense from their budget, as well as an even bigger expense for employers. It is the fiscally responsible thing to do, it is the socially responsible thing to do, and it is the compassionate thing to do.
"Future generations are being thrown under the bus to perpetrate this fraud. The supposedly progressive movement is either asleep, drunk with the effect of winning an election or willing to go along at any cost, as long as they won."
Future generations are being spared another crisis like this in future instead of being stuck in a vicious cycle of bubble and bust, it is going to be expensive now, but as they teach you in business 101 you have to spend money to make money.
And the progressive movement has won nothing. Democrats (with a couple of exceptions) are NOT progressives; some of them are not even liberals. Progressives strive for advocating progress, changes, improvement, or reform, as opposed to wishing to maintain things as they are. Democrats are closer to this than Republicans are but they by no means represent the progressive movement that I am trying to use my site http://www.theentropyeffect.wordpress.com and the rest of my abilities to advance.
"Capitalism can succeed if done properly. The system in and of itself is not the problem. It is human nature."
So can Communism and Socialism (and in my opinion properly done they are better models) but none of those will get us where we need to go, the only thing that will work is evolving human thought processes and basing our society on those thought processes, until we do we will continue to be stuck in this vicious cycle of death and consumption.
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