You are probably right. The thing that really scares the crap out of me is that they actually believe that crap. They are so brainwashed by the mainstream media, etc.... that I find it funny. I salute you for keeping up the good fight in the D & D. I sometimes make small comments now and then but usually just read this section for the entertainment value because it is really funny. Sad but funny.
What specifically have you learned in here? I don't see how anyone can take anything in here seriously. It's a section described as "monkeys flinging poo at each other" for crying out loud. To imply that it was ever anything but is absurd.
Reading the D&D makes feel much like I how I view America and the world today: with growing unease. This forum is a microcosm of where the country stands today. It's such a complex system, like the weather, but I almost sense a tear ripping through it all. Many don't know which side is telling the truth, or whether the truth can even be discovered using logic and sincere debate. The Civil Rights movement + War On Drugs, Watergate, Reagan's administration, the rise of the corporate state and its influence in government, 9/11, and most importantly easy access to high-speed internet for most Americans... these were game changers. Those who scoff at Raven for bringing up paid "posters" are naive. I know a couple old friends whose firms do nothing but 'thumbs up' certain comments on YT videos or the comments sections of influential newspapers and web sites. It's a fact that if you create the perception that the country thinks one way, that disinformation changes public opinion because we are social creatures. The events above created groups of people whose opinions are now amplified in the Internet Age. Ironically, their false facts and skewed world views have pushed the moderate majority apart from one another. Behind all this is a brilliant PR campaign driven by clients with interests other than what's best for the country. The corporate machine has whatever legislation it wants passed without a hassle while the rest of us shout at one another. Also, we have a media that preys on these social divisions for higher ratings. All is confusion. Yet, I see pockets of bright hope in places like Silicon Valley, and the ideas of the people who work there. They have this passion and confidence for fixing our country - even the world. Sadly, they are few, and they face a dark horizon. I don't know if they can vanquish it. In the end, if this country permanently heads south by 2050, then we Americans deserve it since that's what history teaches us on how great societies decay and decline i.e. middle class neutered, increasing income/wealth disparity, public education abysmal, lack of STEM graduates, decades-old crumbling infrastructure, too high public debt, lack of welfare reform, etc.
Lol. Your biggest problem is that you engage in the D&D. No offense to anyone here, but Texas doesn't exactly draw the brightest and most progressive. It's, for lack of a better word, the simple minded at play. Which makes them sweet and friendly, but the dynamics of global evolution don't hinge on it. But you're right - you can see a positive spin for the country if you look in Silicon Valley or pockets of the North East. Can't blame anyone but yourself for coming to a barn and hoping to see chandeliers on the ceilings. You're obviously a book smart guy, dmc, but you've got to develop that knowledge of where to look for information outside the books. The internet is a vast expanse with a lot of small minds trying to be heard - you need to find a segment that's going to lead the general populace instead of sit on their ass and moan. People are guilty here of not being r****ded, but being unable succinctly convey a point. As someone who's achieved a great amount of success in his professional life, it amazes me how easily the masses replace "relatable" as "smart". Liberal or conservative. As soon as you push the status quo of how these kids were programmed to think and go outside their pre-designated boundaries, they're not going to accept it for the sake of self preservation. Intellectualism is a compulsion and discovery, not something that can be acquired by softly poking and prodding your immediate surroundings. Time is a valuable thing, so when you've got your game face on and want some heavy discussion, you need to know where to go. I;ll rep you with proper sites.. if your body is ready.
You clearly are trying to fill some sort of strange void in your life thru online characters. You rank right up there with Kill_Bill_Pana.
Watches Fox News 24/7.....says we are brainwashed. Believes the Bible is fact.....says we are brainwashed. Should we keep it going?
I like reading foreign politics, political intrigue, and good debates on critical issues. A lot of that has been played in the 10 years the DnD has been around, and so I've read and contributed a lot less here. I think major's posts on here keeps that old spirit alive but many of my favorites don't post much or with much zeal on here anymore. Can't blame them, It's the analysis portion that draws me back, but for many others on both sides, it's the fake manufactured drama in the middle of a boring white collar day that pollutes this forum with its **** stained walls that brings them back. I'd wager they're cool people in other aspects, but in here I get the feeling their behavior is a reflexion of some sort of mental enema cleansing for their normal politically repressed lives.
So, to summarize... Texas is full of idiots. Everyone there is just a little dumber than me and my buds in Cali. Rep me and I'll tell you where the Kool Kidz / smart people hang out. How are we supposed to take this stuff seriously? REALLY?!?
Where would you begin in the '60's? You'd have to live it, and since time machines don't exist, I doubt that's an option. Look, you can bet money that politics is far more partisan now. In a wide-ranging survey of trends in values, the Pew Research Center has found Americans to be more polarized along partisan lines than at any time in the past 25 years. The average partisan gap has nearly doubled from 10 percent in 1987 to 18 percent in the new study. The authors state: "Party has now become the single largest fissure in American society, with the values gap between Republicans and Democrats greater than gender, age, race or class divides." Overall, Pew found "much more stability than change across the 48 political values measures" that it has tracked since 1987. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/...w-most-partisan-polarization-seen-in-25-years From the Legislature right here in Texas, to Congress in Washington, comity is disappearing. In the Lege in Austin, members of both parties were often good friends when they left the floor of the House or Senate. That has largely disappeared. There is little in the way of good will and personal relationships between members of the two political parties. That isn't the way it used to be, when members could battle on the House floor over a bill, and then walk over the the Texas Chili Parlor for some beers and conversation, maybe go dove hunting together in the Valley over the weekend. That sort of thing just doesn't happen much any longer. Same in Washington, I suspect, although I know much more about the Legislature here in Austin. Compromise has become a dirty word. In the Republican Party in the legislature, for example, if a member calls for compromise with Democrats to get a bill passed, he's apt to be threatened with a primary opponent by the current powers that be. Doesn't matter how long he or she has been a member, what accomplishments he or she has in a long political career... display a willingness to compromise with the other party, and politically you're painting a large target on yourself. That's partisan politics in this "new era" of extremism. It didn't use to be this way. D&D? With the trolling of the forum by a handful of members, most of whom I now have on ignore, there's not a lot for me to post about. I don't generally start threads myself, and I don't post in threads started by members I have on ignore. The same tired subjects get brought up over and over again, with the same tired arguments used over and over again. There are a few conservative members who I enjoy reading, but most of the interesting ones don't post any longer. Many of the moderates of both political persuasions no longer post here. I don't post here as often as I used to, due to the trolling of threads by the usual people. It just isn't as much fun as it used to be. When elections come up, I get more engaged, but it takes a lot to get me involved in a thread now.
Now now, there's no need to get salty. Dmc asked a question and I answered it. You can only transcend your environment to a certain extent before you realize that those interested in forward change are around others capable of making it. Pardon the simplistic metaphor, but in any society you have shepherds and you have goats. No one is saying the goats can't have a happy, fulfilling life, but when it comes to the future of the country, the shepherds are the ones with the know how and resources to make decisions. It's common knowledge and if you disagree with it, the emotional part of your brain is overtaking the rational part. But if you've never been outside the bubble... and keep flinging poo inside of it... The Seattle/Vancouver area is also a beacon for innovative thought and bright discussion on where the future of this country lies. Was very impressed.
gotta love people who assume they're smarter than others based on geographic location. tells me all I need to know.
Gotta love people who can't comprehend what has been written. Tells me most of what I need to know about you.
Ah, so we're not necessarily idiots, more like goats who need to be led by the liberal elites, because only the enlightened West Coast elites know what's best for the country. SMUG ALERT!!! http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s10e02-smug-alert I must say it is rare to find someone brazen enough to explicitly make this argument. Most people who actually believe this are intelligent enough to cloak their true feelings and try to appeal to the "goats", not condescend to them.
You are arguing with a caricature of a person. There is no reason to take anything "Honey Bear" says seriously. He is just doing schtick.
Eh, I'm not going to argue with it. It's impossible to take it seriously. It's actually sorta entertaining. I wonder if he actually believes it?
I don't know. Like I said he is right up there with Kill_Bill_Pana. It's amazing what the internet can do to people.
Well, that's the difference between here and reality... heheheheheh HIOHOHOHOHOHOHO What would I gain from holding your hand and appealing to you lot? Goading you through the fields? Online reputation? Ha, who cares for it. But I provide valuable insight that gives you a glimpse of how insignificant the poo flinging is, and more importantly, break groupthink tactics along party lines that inevitably lead to regression... or even worse, cyclical stalling.
