by Heatmiser 60 Replies latest social current
you should never talk about, religion and politics
... for some, politics is a religion where the president or commander in chief is their god and no dissent from their 'truth' should be allowed or tollerated. Everyone must comply and no opinions heard but those that support their beliefs.
Maybe it's the JW / WTS experience that makes me dislike people like this so intensely?
Maybe it's the JW / WTS experience that makes me dislike people like this so intensely
This is interesting. Both ends of the political system feel that the other end mirrors the JW experience.
At least we have one agreement out of all this.
Englishman.
yes, the opposing sides both think each other are spreading propaganda.
There once was a musical troupe
A pickin' singin' folk group
They sang the mountain ballads
And the folk songs of our land
They were long on musical ability
Folks thought they would go far
But political incompatibility led to their downfallWell, the one on the right was on the left
And the one in the middle was on the right
And the one on the left was in the middle
And the guy in the rear was a Methodist
This musical aggregation toured the entire nation
Singing the traditional ballads
And the folk songs of our land
They performed with great virtuosity
And soon they were the rage
But political animosity prevailed upon the stage
Well, the one on the right was on the left
And the one in the middle was on the right
And the one on the left was in the middle
And the guy in the rear burned his driver's license
Well the curtain had ascended
A hush fell on the crowd
As thousands there were gathered to hear The folk songs of our land
But they took their politics seriously
And that night at the concert hall
As the audience watched deliriously
They had a free-for-all
Well, the one on the right was on the bottom
And the one in the middle was on the top
And the one on the left got a broken arm
And the guy in the rear, said, "Oh dear"
Now this should be a lesson if you plan to start a folk group
Don't go mixin' politics with the folk songs of our land
Just work on harmony and diction
Play your banjo well
And if you have political convictions keep them to yourself
Now, the one on the left works in a bank
And the one in the middle drives a truck
The one on the right's an all-night deejay
And the guy in the rear got drafted
I just couldn't resist,
one of johnny Cash funniest songs
These right-wing dogmatists like to bleat about how unfair everything is but honestly, if the roles were reversed and someone wanted to post liberal views on a site run by a right-wing neo-con, do you imagine they would be treated as patiently or even allowed a voice?No, of course not. Anyone who had contrary political views would be kicked off straight away.
Simon, are you then saying that this is not a site for ex-Dubs and interested ones to post, but a liberal left-wing political site? If not, then there is no reason to use that example - it doesn't apply.
Maybe it's the JW / WTS experience that makes me dislike people like this so intensely?
Ummmmm...I personally think it's just due to having a more passionate nature. You can't blame the WTS for everything. Hey, I get riled up at people who don't agree with me as well so I'm not, at all, exempt from my statement. Some of us are warm-blooded.
~Aztec
I find it quite interesting to look at politics a little more dispassionately. I will first point out that I am a very liberal lefty pot smoker who dislikes Bush and his cronies and the undemocratic way he is ruling the USA and invading whoever he feels like.
Having said that I could reel out just as much left wing political dogma and propeganda as I could right wing. Personally I formed my political views the same way as I formed my religious views - by looking at the fruit each one bears and by looking at the people pushing each side of the agenda. If you look at the people who support liberalism you tend to find the educated middle class and you tend to see a semblance of socialism - everyone paying towards the good of all where you see things like universal access to health care free at the point of delivery, which is one of the things that Hilary Clinton pushed hard to move the USA towards. It has it's downside as it tends to mean higher taxes and more regulation, but then you get better services for everyone not just for the wealthy.
On the other hand when you look at those pushing a more conservative agenda you find the rich and upper classes in full support as they want to pay less tax along with the more poorly educated and lower classes as they can be more easily manipulated by the mass media using fear. You tend to see less provision of services by the central authorities and theoretically more money left in the pockets of the tax payers. The obvious down side of this is that it polarizes the wealth in the hands of the rich and those with access to capital, the upside is that it promotes entrepreneurs who have access to capital as they are subject to less regulation and can make more money and create more jobs.
We had a very right wing government in the 80's which lead to a more selfish society and a very 'me first' attitude. They destroyed the power of the unions and then went on to destroy all of our primary industries - mining went and we now import coal from south America, Steel production went and we now import most of our steel and the raw materials for the steel that we do make, ship building went to the far east, farming has been strangled by big business due to deregulation of the milk industry, fishing has been pretty much ended here due to the lax regulations of the 80's leading to over fishing and the reduction of fish stocks. We have what is regarded as the fourth strongest economy in the world, this is almost solely based on service industries. You cannot run a country where 2/3 of the population do not produce anything and work in Walmart or MacDonalds.
The economic realities of the world today have changed a great deal and we now see that many of our service jobs are moving to low wage economies such as China and India. I'm a software engineer and I have seen a great deal of the work I do in Telecoms moving out to Bangalore where engineers earn a third of my pay. I work for a company which has merged with a Dutch rival and we have had to make alot of people redundant over the last two years. Most of the burden of 'downsizing' has fallen on the UK staff as we are cheaper to fire and have less legal protection than the Dutch, on the downside the Dutch are less likely to recieve inward investment when economic times are good due to their higer levels of regulation.
There are pro's and cons to both side of the divide but I find it confusing that there should be so much support for conservatism in the states. I was under the impression that you were in favour of freedom rather than heavy handed government intrusion such as the 'patriot' act. America puzzles me, I met some people from Oregon recently when I was on holiday in Mexico and they were as cool as anything. They told me that they had voted to legalise pot use, allow euthanasia and had ensured that the Roe V Wade precedent could not be undermined, I also met some Americans who were proud to come from a state that executed a retarded kid for murder.
Simon, are you then saying that this is not a site for ex-Dubs and interested ones to post, but a liberal left-wing political site? If not, then there is no reason to use that example - it doesn't apply.
The site is primarily for JW issues.
However, if it was run by a right-wing neo-con I don't think you would get the same range of opinions allowed so the complaints about unfairness are more than a little hollow IMO.
Once you realize that dissent is a 'given.' why try to force your views on others? I enjoy points of views even if there off the wall, but it doesn't mean I subscribe to it. People who are 'especially' arrogant just need to be dismissed. These person's are set in their ways and nothing will budge them. I let them believe what they want to believe and I certainly am not going to lose any sleep over it!
My question to all on the forum is, are you active in your community's politics ? If you are, then you know exactly what I'm talking about.
There is politcs in everything. As I have commented before, the Dem. & Rep. are the same (even with all the crap they spew about each other) they have the same end goals, it's just a matter of who wants to drive the bus. Six0fnine said it, it's the powerful and rich politicians that set the agenda, the rest is a ruse.
Check the following site out. http://www.atgpress.com/kifap/britcol/b7.htm
Guest 77
very true, I noticed during your last presidential election that there was very little to differentiate the political parties other than the level of paranoia they were trying to instil into the electorate. At the end of the day the politicians will always act in a self serving way and be bound to big business, at the moment the Republicans seem a little more blatant about it.
