Posts by logansrun

213

WHAT IF WE DIDN'T POISON CHILDREN'S MINDS WITH FANTASY?

by Terry in

every baby born seems to have a giant helping of fairy stories, talking animals, outrageous exaggerations parading as "fact" and an endless stream of cartoons, science fiction and make-believe.

the laws of nature and physics are violated every few seconds in film and tv!

is it surprising that children are not only ignorant of how things really work-but, they don't have patience and an appetite for fact when they get to the schoolroom.

logansrun

Yeah, children shouldn't play "let's pretend" either because that teaches them they can escape reality (or, as Terry would put it, REALITY) any time they want to. Hell, children shouldn't play at all. It's just not logical, right Terry?

89

CAPITALISM: Do you know what it is? What is your opinion?

by Terry in

.

i'll just let the question stand before i spout off.. i hear alot of people speak disparagingly about capitalism.. i'd like to hear your opinion before i give mine.. terry.

logansrun

When people discuss political economy they usually fall into two categories: Those who want unrestricted laissez-faire capitalism and view it as some sort of panacea, and those that deride it mercilessly without offering anything better to take its place. Like most dichotomies, this too is a false one. A nice middle ground, in my opinion, is free trade with a social safety net for workers, along with government intervention in the form of penalties, tax breaks and tweaking of the market. Paul Krugman is the most rational and humane economist that comes to my mind.

B.

37

Do you feel you will always be "different" from the "world" ?

by LyinEyes in

jw
friends

all of my life,, except for the last two years i was a jw, and i wonder if i will always feel like i am still so very different from the rest of most everyone i know.

i guess i still feel like i am on the "outside" looking in, in on the world of the people i was so alienated from for so long.. i celebrate birthdays, all the holidays, i stand for the national anthemn, but still it does not quiet feel second nature to me .

as i stand watching my son play high school football, my mind is always wandering on the marvel of what i am seeing.

logansrun

I'll always be special.

Bradley

15

The Individual VS The Community

by logansrun in

jw
friends

my dog is a very solitary animal.

to be honest, she's rather disintristed in humans and keeps to herself.

she doesn't like to play and is extremely disobedient.

logansrun

I've hit one of those really busy stretches of days and cannot comment at length right now. All I will say is to marinate on this comment by Benjamin Franklin, spoken to his fellow Colonial rebels:

"We shall either hang together, or we shall hang seperately."

I think some are coming at this subject with a slight amount of bias *ahem, Terry*.

B.

15

The Individual VS The Community

by logansrun in

jw
friends

my dog is a very solitary animal.

to be honest, she's rather disintristed in humans and keeps to herself.

she doesn't like to play and is extremely disobedient.

logansrun

My dog is a very solitary animal. To be honest, she's rather disintristed in humans and keeps to herself. She doesn't like to play and is extremely disobedient. There is something that changes this behavior rather drastically, though. Whenever it thunderstorms outside, or if there are loud noises like on the Fourth of July, my dog will follow me, or anyone else, around the house, even into the bathroom! A primal need she doesn't understand tells her, "Danger! Seek others!"

Are humans any different? Of course not. "There's safety in numbers" is an of-used cliche because it's true. We pull together when we are threatened or when there is tragedy. This is a good thing.

But, as we know so well as ex-JWs, groups can be a very bad thing too. Evolution has engineered humans, like it did dogs, to be social creatures. We need others. But, almost invariably, the group becomes more important than the individuals it is supposed to serve. The strength of groups -- cohesion, belongingness, safety, -- are also it's weaknesses. Again, we know this all too well for me to have to explicate further.

Individualism versus communitarianism! Both concepts have their strengths and weaknesses. The individual is nothing without society and an intimate soulmate(s). And yet, the danger is mindless conformity and groupthink. Where is the "golden mean" between the two extremes? Has society at large gone too far one way or the other? Have we as ex-members of an extremest group formed a nasty reaction-formation against the idea of community, or have we traded one cult for another?

B.

60

MORALITY: what is it really?

by Terry in

what is morality?

how is it different from ethics?

do we just make it all up to suit our fancy?

logansrun

Terry,

You're threads are starting to sound like Awake! cover articles, dude!

"Emotions: Do We Understand Them?"

"Morality: What Is It Really?"

What's next -- "The Enviornment: Who Will Save It?"??

49

EMOTIONS; DO WE UNDERSTAND THEM?

by Terry in

cause and effect 101. .

obi wan kenobe tells luke skywalker: "trust your feelings, luke".

listen to people say they will: "go with my gut feeling".

logansrun

I haven't read through this entire thread, but I would like to say, briefly, that emotion plays a very important role in human consciousness. There is no one who thinks only logically and "rationally" -- I repeat, no one. If there were, they wouldn't even be anything close to what we call human. Emotion, like any guide, can be helpful or not.

Balance between our emotional and logical side seems to be best.

B.

49