Posted on 03/05/2009 8:04:58 PM PST by Lorianne
IN ONE of his short stories, “The Quantity Theory of Insanity”, Will Self suggests that there is a fixed amount of craziness in the world. If one person becomes a bit saner, another will become that bit madder; if one group starts to act normally, another will start freaking out.
Mr Self’s theory can be applied to all sorts of mental affliction. Children like to think they are less bigoted than their parents, for example. In fact, they are simply bigoted about different things: fatties, smokers and people who drive Humvees, rather than blacks or homosexuals.
But the most dramatic example of the quantity theory at the moment is anger. Many people hoped that Barack Obama would usher in an era of good feeling after the foam-flecked Bush years. He talked endlessly about bipartisanship and national unity. He was also a living symbol of racial reconciliation. America greeted his inauguration with a frenzy of flag-waving and well-wishing. But anger is back in a big way, redistributed but also revitalised. John McCain is angry about earmarks in the budget. (“If it seems like I’m angry, it’s because I am.”) Ben Bernanke is angry about bailing out AIG. (“If there is a single episode in this entire 18 months that has made me more angry, I can’t think of one.”) And everybody is angry about the state of the economy.
All this poses dangers for Mr Obama. The tea-party protesters who hold up signs that read “Obama...commander and thief” are clearly preaching to the converted. But those who hold up signs saying “Screw up, move up” or “Honk if you’re paying my mortgage” may strike a chord with the wider public. Almost 60% of Americans tell pollsters that they are opposed to giving money to carmakers and banks that are in danger of collapsing. One of the lessons from both the Carter years and the first Clinton term is that new Democratic administrations are vulnerable to a populist backlash from the establishment-bashing, hypocrisy-smashing, small-business-defending right.
I prefer to refer to it as plain ol’ pissed-off. I’m plenty PO’d at the hope and change faction of my fellow citizens. When asked, not a single one of them had a clue what hope and change meant, they just wanted it. Now I’m just hoping we’ll have some change left when Obama and his crew finish off what little was left of the economy after Bush was done.
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Yes, EVERYTHING is Zero-sum!
Zero-sum Happiness : if you’re having a good day, try stapling your hand to the desk... it will make someone else’s day brighter... in fact, you ought to go around being a shit-head just to further enhance your own happiness.
Zero-sum sanity: Obviously DC proves that this is true... as there appears to be NO ONE there that can anticipate consequences of actions.
Zero-sum wealth: If you have money, that means someone else dosen’t! How dare you be so selfish! Never mind that you could, say, hire someone and thereby “spread the wealth” in a action/reward manner.
Zero-sum safety: Consider leaving explosives near your furnace and covering your stovetop with old, dry newspaper. Also, you may want to soak any exposed timber/studs in oil. Remember that sharing is caring, so be sure to leave fun “trails” to your neighbor’s house!
OBAMA WAS SUPPOSED TO BUY ME A HOUSE AND A CAR AND CANDY WAS GOING TO RAIN FROM THE SKIES AND MIXED RACED CHILDREN WOULD PLAY BY CHOCLATE RIVERS WITH GUMDROP SMILES.
... sorry had to let that out. But nothing is nicer than watching a liberals heart breaking in slow motion over and over again.
“no” sounds pretty good to me
hatred doesnt do any good but it sure is fun
You left out the part about free medical from the OBAMACARE PROGRAM - WE’LL NEVER GROW OLD UNDER THE OBAMACARE PROGRAM.
Yes, when we are not net tax payers, we are no longer a befit to the state. Burdens will be recycled.
Most philosophizing is stupid, isn’t it?
Is Mr. Self a college professor or working at a think tank by chance?
Nah - I actually like philosophy... I just think there’s a bit of a propensity to the “zero-sum” mindset among Americans in certain areas.
And I’m actually a CS major... so one would hope I knew at least a little about logic.
I do too, but there are too many “philosophers” with their logic circuit turned off.
This thread makes me ANGRY.
Maybe I should write some philosophy-style pieces then... what do you think?
You ought to. We’ve got generations who were raised on Leftist drivel and we are paying the price intellectually and morally.
I mean Catcher in the Rye and Portnoy’s Complaint are classics? Who decided that?
No one reads Bastiat, C.S. Lewis, Chesterton, etc. At least not for knowledge other than what is on the test.
It has only gotten worse. One teen I know had three books to read - teen pregnancy, mental illness and suicide - were the main themes.
What is your philosophical outlook?
>What is your philosophical outlook?
That’s more difficult for me to articulate than I’d like. I enjoy CS Lewis’s books. I’ve started some Chesterton fairly recently (Man alive) and found that to be enjoyable. I may not agree with everything they say, but I enjoy the “different viewpoint”... it often gives me something to think about.
Right now, though, I would say that societally we are suffering from a lack of Justice. We have people who whine and complain about putting murderers and rapists and the like to death... and yet have no qualms about killing the unborn? We have a great many politicians who live above the law. We have judges that support and even further injustices (esp. those committed by the government against its people; as in Waco, Ruby Ridge, Elian Gonzales, etc...).
I am of the mind that you cannot, CANNOT, have mercy without justice. Mercy is providing a mirror to illuminate the shadows with the light of Truth to those in the darkness; but in order for them to realize that they need light, they need to know that they are in the dark. The example, physically, of this principle is the moon, which acts as a giant mirror, reflecting some of the sun’s light into the darkness of night.
Mercy without Justice, is simply injustice... That is, I think, one of the reasons Micah 6:8 says we’re to DO justly, LOVE mercy, and walk HUMBLY with God.
If we strive to act in a just manner, then we will not wake up one day and find ourselves knee-deep in “political alliances/entanglements” which prevent us from acting rightly.
If we love mercy, then we will not become cruel... or overly pedantic in regards to the law. If we love mercy, then we will realize that we are ourselves in need of it.
That realization, the need for [our own] mercy, should in turn, help us to be humble before the Ultimate God of Justice. He defines Justice, Morality, and has the Power, Authority, and Right to destroy us even down to the soul... it behooves us to treat Him with respect, and therefore be humble when walking with Him.
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