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Oct. 3rd, 2008
Wondering how politics got so screwed up?
Oct. 3rd, 2008 01:08 pmGo read this...
http://dduane.livejournal.com/158364.html
(And Faye? *This* is why you want to give C S Lewis a second look)
http://dduane.livejournal.com/158364.html
(And Faye? *This* is why you want to give C S Lewis a second look)
The flaws of democracy
Oct. 3rd, 2008 01:41 pmIf you haven't read ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
dduane's post that I linked to in my previous post, go do that first.
The reduction of "democracy" to "I'm as good as he is" (read that as "How dare he be better than I am") has deep roots in the US.
Anti-intellectualism goes way back. Simple example, go read Tom Sawyer and see what Tom and his friends thought of the smart kid at school. And at how the author portrayed him.
That sort of thing persists to this day. The whole "jocks vs nerds" thing for one.
It's led to the difficulty candidates have getting elected if they look or act "smarter" (or more knowledgeable) than their constituents. Which has led (especially in these days of media consultants and pollsters) to candidates acting dumb to get votes.
Which has resulted in candidates who *are* dumb and "good ol' boys" getting elected.
Alas, breaking this would require a generation or more of actually educating children. And teaching them to think means that all adults would be confronted by kids who could spot the bullshit being spouted by adults. Which the kids, (lacking tact as most kids do) will cheerfully call the adults on.
This why attempts to do something like that in the 50s were quickly halted. It's one thing to have the kids able to pick apart communist propaganda. It's quit another when they start doing it to our propaganda (which we usually won't permit ourselves to think of as propaganda)
Add in the fact that a populace that examines things logically and can spot the sort of misleading BS that most campaigns *rely* on these days and you have the folks n power not wanting a thinking population either.
dduane's post that I linked to in my previous post, go do that first.The reduction of "democracy" to "I'm as good as he is" (read that as "How dare he be better than I am") has deep roots in the US.
Anti-intellectualism goes way back. Simple example, go read Tom Sawyer and see what Tom and his friends thought of the smart kid at school. And at how the author portrayed him.
That sort of thing persists to this day. The whole "jocks vs nerds" thing for one.
It's led to the difficulty candidates have getting elected if they look or act "smarter" (or more knowledgeable) than their constituents. Which has led (especially in these days of media consultants and pollsters) to candidates acting dumb to get votes.
Which has resulted in candidates who *are* dumb and "good ol' boys" getting elected.
Alas, breaking this would require a generation or more of actually educating children. And teaching them to think means that all adults would be confronted by kids who could spot the bullshit being spouted by adults. Which the kids, (lacking tact as most kids do) will cheerfully call the adults on.
This why attempts to do something like that in the 50s were quickly halted. It's one thing to have the kids able to pick apart communist propaganda. It's quit another when they start doing it to our propaganda (which we usually won't permit ourselves to think of as propaganda)
Add in the fact that a populace that examines things logically and can spot the sort of misleading BS that most campaigns *rely* on these days and you have the folks n power not wanting a thinking population either.
Argh. Just Argh,
Oct. 3rd, 2008 04:53 pmI've always loathed that bit in The Empire Strikes Back where Yoda says "No! Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try."
It's a sentiment I encountered far too often from my mother when I was growing up.
And it is *damaging* because it fails to recognize that effort can be put forth and the desired results not reached.
So while many see it as a "you have to believe you can do it" thing, I (and others) see it as calling efforts that don't succeed the fault of the person making the attempt. And make them a personal flaw rather than a need for more training or whatever.
same sort thing is pushed by far too many Phys Ed teachers. Though they tended to go for "you aren't trying hard enough". Telling this to a kid who's having a minor asthma attack while trying to complete the laps you assigned is *not* going to help.
Now I find that there was even more wrong with that scene than I'd realized.
Use the Try Harder, Luke
If that transcript is true, even if Lucas was right about human nature, he was *so* wrong by bowing to it. When you are creating myths, you are supposed to make the heroes *better*. Make them folks who inspire people to try harder or to persevere when all seems lost.
I agree with Hamill. Luke was being a whiner and the way he was played in that scene was a disservice to the character.
It's a sentiment I encountered far too often from my mother when I was growing up.
And it is *damaging* because it fails to recognize that effort can be put forth and the desired results not reached.
So while many see it as a "you have to believe you can do it" thing, I (and others) see it as calling efforts that don't succeed the fault of the person making the attempt. And make them a personal flaw rather than a need for more training or whatever.
same sort thing is pushed by far too many Phys Ed teachers. Though they tended to go for "you aren't trying hard enough". Telling this to a kid who's having a minor asthma attack while trying to complete the laps you assigned is *not* going to help.
Now I find that there was even more wrong with that scene than I'd realized.
Use the Try Harder, Luke
If that transcript is true, even if Lucas was right about human nature, he was *so* wrong by bowing to it. When you are creating myths, you are supposed to make the heroes *better*. Make them folks who inspire people to try harder or to persevere when all seems lost.
I agree with Hamill. Luke was being a whiner and the way he was played in that scene was a disservice to the character.
Lesser of two evils...
Oct. 3rd, 2008 05:32 pmAs you no doubt know, I am very much against the RICO laws, or at least the way they are applied.
So there's considerable cognitive dissonance when things I've read today make me think that three well know groups may actually *deserve* to be subjected to said laws. All of them due to a pattern of abuse of the legal system in filing lawsuits to harass people and keep pushing legal theories they know to be false (or at best highly questionable).
The first group, few will argue about. The Church of Scientology. Look up their "Fair Game" policy (the name was rescinded 40 years ago, the *practice* continues to this day)
The other two are a bit less solid, but I still find myself wanting to see them on the wrong side of a RICO action.
The RIAA and the MPAA.
So there's considerable cognitive dissonance when things I've read today make me think that three well know groups may actually *deserve* to be subjected to said laws. All of them due to a pattern of abuse of the legal system in filing lawsuits to harass people and keep pushing legal theories they know to be false (or at best highly questionable).
The first group, few will argue about. The Church of Scientology. Look up their "Fair Game" policy (the name was rescinded 40 years ago, the *practice* continues to this day)
The other two are a bit less solid, but I still find myself wanting to see them on the wrong side of a RICO action.
The RIAA and the MPAA.
People are jerks
Oct. 3rd, 2008 10:26 pmI've been trying to explain to a writer that a .50 cal sniper rifle will *not* cause the person hit to be thrown 10-15 feet like she has in her story.
She finally got around to pointing me at her "evidence".
Canadian Sniper eliminating Taliban Snipers in Afghanistan
Unfortunately, I've seen this video before. It's actually someone hunting small game (well "varmints" if you want to get technical) somewhere in the US.
But some jerk had to post it as something more sensational.
She finally got around to pointing me at her "evidence".
Canadian Sniper eliminating Taliban Snipers in Afghanistan
Unfortunately, I've seen this video before. It's actually someone hunting small game (well "varmints" if you want to get technical) somewhere in the US.
But some jerk had to post it as something more sensational.