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Ahem.

I do view karma (at least when borrowed into Western cultures) as the ultimate thought-trick to avoid the pains of feeling empathy.

And I do view "freedom" also as "freedom from worrying about thing X while I concentrate on other things".

Also, coming from a socialistic country, I don't see how letting a firm, whose main aim is to maximize value for its shareholders, make me hop through increasingly crazy hoops to keep myself insured would make me more "free". Just an example.




Kyle, where is that skull-and-crossbones-flag??
 
I had a neat skull and x-bones sticker on my truck for a while, but the weather peeled it off... or more, the sun. :lol:

Where insurance/healthcare is flawed: when government or corporate interest runs the game. Because the two are synonymous, one might, just might, start looking at what else has been sewn together with those naughty two that causes so much trouble. Nature, even (and especially) human nature, is a balance of things. Going outside those balances means trouble.

And here we are.

8)
 
having worked among those that are considered lowest on the status totem pole for twenty five years I feel I must suggest that personal responsibility is a great thing to have, however, when there is a concerted effort to systematically hold you down, and oppress you, there is only so much you can do. A lot is made of those that "make it out" and how anyone can do that if they work hard enough. Well I know people that work harder than anyone I know, and they are destitute and will continue to be destitute. When mom and dad are both working multiple jobs to try and pay the bills, when one medical emergency destroys the household, then what happens to the kids? Unsupervised kids, who do not get their parents company much less guidance are at a sever disadvantage. Ect Ect.

The system is tilted in favor of the wealthy. It will continue to be titled in that direction because they are much more influential in the corridors of power. More influence, more ability to affect your own way. I am firmly, and devotedly a Christian anarchist in the tradition of the Catholic Worker, and the Simple Way. I believe that the government will not answer our problems, but truly empowering people is the answer. So while I agree with almost everything I am hearing here, I think there is an illusion about power being available to all.

rev
 
Ah, but power is available to all, dear Reverend. Power is a rather personal matter when it comes right down to it. We gather it, produce it, find it, steal it, accumulate it or borrow it. What we do with it is very important. The funny thing about power is almost scientific: all reaction having an opposite and equal, that is. Having scraped the bottom of the barrel, whether we choose to build more barrels in which to scrape the familiar to continue the process or find more positive and productive uses of our energy and time are still power, one is simply more efficient. Some people get it, some never do.

C'est la vie.

8)
 
There's a difference between what's right and what's legal.

That's where the Rev is coming from, if I mistake not.

At one time, the church was on the side of right.

With some minor exceptions, that's pretty much changed.

Where was "the church" when World Wars I & II started ?

Where is it now ?

Judge (evaluate / recognise) the tree by its fruit.

:cat: :face: :study:
 
When seeing the black youths in my neighborhood constantly harassed by the police, usually for the crime of walking while brown, I would say that your ideas about power are true, but only in the Viktor Frankl sense. When my homeless friends, many who are so because they lost their jobs do to the recession can't get a job because they have a p.o. box for an address, struggle to have the same appearance as someone who has a shower and washing, or constantly get tickets that the cops know they cannot pay... well this again requires Frankl power, but the ability for these people to effect their situation has been often taken away. In my opion the answer to these problems is not as simple as, give them money clothes, support ect. But rather like Desmond Tutu said, "we must walk alongside, and become truly one with the oppressed, to the point that their liberation is our own". Or, seek to come alongside of and see the empowering of others, rather than encourage the disempowering.

As a straight, white, middle classed, Christian man, I too often get to accept power that I neither earned, nor deserved, and often at the expense of others.

rev
 
Its when people give up that they loose completely. Sayings just the lucky get a chance and riding the system , your place in the world is never going improve. Luck is definitely part of it but unless you work to get yourself in a situation where a little luck will make a difference , nothing is going to change.

I'm not saying the system doesn't suck, but there is opportunities to be made they just have to be fought for.
 
Show me a time in history when life was not a struggle?

We only need the freedom to choose our own paths. I often feel most comfortable in a more humble path, but I am not ignorant of the struggles of those more "wealthy" than myself. I choose to redefine what is truly valuable.

People who are born in poverty can become wealthy, people born with great wealth can die poor. Time is the great equalizer! What am I doing with "today"?

 
J Soshae":4k6t7xq9 said:
People who are born in poverty can become wealthy, people born with great wealth can die poor. Time is the great equalizer! What am I doing with "today"?
Click to expand...
All you can do is love the moment you're in.
 
I learned about what masquerades as power when I learned to survive at the elemental level. Suddenly, I had no more problems with cops, food, or money. This country is a joy to be homeless in. It's not Sudan. It's not Mexico. It's not Cambodia. The difference is, people accept a certain status when in These United States, and take much for granted. Especially those down on their luck. It's like being in an orchard in constant autumn, with no one to run you off.

I learned creativity and decisions are what separate those on the skids and those enjoying the lifestyle. I saw them both. I feared the latter. I have seen no worse humanity can offer than a predatory grifter, who preys on the mentally incapable, the drunken and drugged, and the families on the streets. They literally walk up and take. Humanity does not change at this level, it gets more focused.

I learned that power is walking away from the expectations and building a personal path. It is not about cleaning up, getting a job and filling the gap that is lied to us each and every day as the TVs, opinions and polls roll, it is merely carving out the space in your own head to exist, and transferring that to each footstep, breath and motion you make. People = problems. Self-sufficiency at any and all levels solves this, as much as possible. Asking for help isn't an issue, nor is dependence on others, relying on it is. Hope for the best, expect the worst, and work your ass off within your ability.

This is not a list for people to follow, these are facts I've gathered. They are things I cannot help, and few will agree with or adhere to. I'm likely a hypocrite and not a philosopher in that light. I'm no saint, and I'm not special. I just opened my eyes out of necessity, and can't unsee what I've seen. Returning to the "real world" after my few years of ascetic teenage life, the only thing that's changed is cleanliness and how much sh*t either I or my neighbors around me can buy. Lord of the shopping bags or corporate CEO... different figs...same tree. Same baboons, different reach.

The difference is recognition. I cannot fight any nature, human or otherwise. Just do the best I can. Most people can't, don't or won't do that much--let alone achieve a "status." That's what I pity: the shallow worlds people buy, sell and fight over.
 
Ya'll should put this into a form...it could be printed on the back of everyone's birth certificate...oh, and down at the bottom, should be LOVE YE ONE ANOTHER.

Wow! :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:

JMHO
Bill
 
in the sage wisdom of bill and ted be excellent to one another

rev
 
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