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Title: Beware the Psychopath, My Son
Source:
Dissident Voice
URL Source: http://www.dissidentvoice.org/2008/05/beware-the-psychopath-my-son/
Published: May 12, 2008
Author: Clinton Callahan
Post Date: 2008-05-14 21:44:44 by bush_is_a_moonie
Keywords: None
Views: 654
Comments: 45
The following is largely extracted from two articles: Twilight of the Psychopaths, by Dr. Kevin Barrett and The Trick of the Psychopath’s Trade by Silvia Cattori. Both articles are recommended. Both articles reference the book Political Ponerology: A science on the nature of evil adjusted for political purposes, by Andrzej Lobaczewski. Cattori’s article is longer and includes an interview with the book’s editors, Laura Knight-Jadczyk and Henry See. I make the effort to share this information because it gives me, at last, a plausible answer to a long-unanswered question: Why, no matter how much intelligent goodwill exists in the world, is there so much war, suffering and injustice? It doesn’t seem to matter what creative plan, ideology, religion, or philosophy great minds come up with, nothing seems to improve our lot. Since the dawn of civilization, this pattern repeats itself over and over again. The answer is that civilization, as we know it, is largely the creation of psychopaths. All civilizations, our own included, have been built on slavery and mass murder. Psychopaths have played a disproportionate role in the development of civilization, because they are hard-wired to lie, kill, cheat, steal, torture, manipulate, and generally inflict great suffering on other humans without feeling any remorse, in order to establish their own sense of security through domination. The inventor of civilization — the first tribal chieftain who successfully brainwashed an army of controlled mass murderers — was almost certainly a genetic psychopath. Since that momentous discovery, psychopaths have enjoyed a significant advantage over non-psychopaths in the struggle for power in civilizational hierarchies — especially military hierarchies. Behind the apparent insanity of contemporary history, is the actual insanity of psychopaths fighting to preserve their disproportionate power. And as their power grows ever-more-threatened, the psychopaths grow ever-more-desperate. We are witnessing the apotheosis of the overworld — the overlapping criminal syndicates that lurk above ordinary society and law just as the underworld lurks below it. During the past fifty years, psychopaths have gained almost absolute control of all the branches of government. You can notice this if you observe carefully that no matter what illegal thing a modern politician does, no one will really take him to task. All of the so called scandals that have come up, any one of which would have taken down an authentic administration, are just farces played out for the public, to distract them, to make them think that the democracy is still working. One of the main factors to consider in terms of how a society can be taken over by a group of pathological deviants is that the psychopaths’ only limitation is the participation of susceptible individuals within that given society. Lobaczewski gives an average figure for the most active deviants of approximately 6% of a given population. (1% essential psychopaths and up to 5% other psychopathies and characteropathies.) The essential psychopath is at the center of the web. The others form the first tier of the psychopath’s control system. The next tier of such a system is composed of individuals who were born normal, but are either already warped by long-term exposure to psychopathic material via familial or social influences, or who, through psychic weakness have chosen to meet the demands of psychopathy for their own selfish ends. Numerically, according to Lobaczewski, this group is about 12% of a given population under normal conditions. So approximately 18% of any given population is active in the creation and imposition of a Pathocracy. The 6% group constitutes the Pathocratic nobility and the 12% group forms the new bourgeoisie, whose economic situation is the most advantageous. When you understand the true nature of psychopathic influence, that it is conscienceless, emotionless, selfish, cold and calculating, and devoid of any moral or ethical standards, you are horrified, but at the same time everything suddenly begins to makes sense. Our society is ever more soulless because the people who lead it and who set the example are soulless — they literally have no conscience. In his book Political Ponerology, Andrej Lobaczewski explains that clinical psychopaths enjoy advantages even in non-violent competitions to climb the ranks of social hierarchies. Because they can lie without remorse (and without the telltale physiological stress that is measured by lie detector tests), psychopaths can always say whatever is necessary to get what they want. In court, for example, psychopaths can tell extreme bald-faced lies in a plausible manner, while their sane opponents are handicapped by an emotional predisposition to remain within hailing distance of the truth. Too often, the judge or jury imagines that the truth must be somewhere in the middle, and then issues decisions that benefit the psychopath. As with judges and juries, so too with those charged with decisions concerning who to promote and who not to promote in corporate, military and governmental hierarchies. The result is that all hierarchies inevitably become top-heavy with psychopaths. Since psychopaths have no limitations on what they can or will do to get to the top, the ones in charge are generally pathological. It is not power that corrupts, it is that corrupt individuals seek power. How can we distinguish between psychopaths and healthy people? What is the portrait of a true psychopath? Such a dangerous question has almost never been successfully asked. The reason is because we mistakenly confuse healthy for normal. Human psychological diversity is the health of our race. There is no normal because healthy humans continuously evolve beyond all normalizing standards. The terrorism of searching through hierarchies for anyone deviating from normal is no different from witch hunts or Inquisitions. You must remember that hierarchies thrive on such low dramas, torturing victims until they confess to evil beliefs. Not so long ago the church and state ongoingly acquired significant income and property through witch hunts and Inquisitions. This continued for over two hundred and fifty years. Ten generations of Europeans understood pogrom as normal life. Let us not return to that nightmare. Testing for normal is guaranteed to backfire in our face. There is no normal. But there is conscience. We have very little empirical evidence to support the idea that true psychopathy is the result of an abused childhood, and much empirical evidence to support that it is genetic. The neurobiological model offers us the greatest hope of being able to identify even the most devious psychopath. Other recent studies lead to similar results and conclusions: that psychopaths have great difficulty processing verbal and nonverbal affective (emotional) material, that they tend to confuse the emotional significance of events, and most importantly, that these deficits show up in brain scans! A missing internal connection between the feeling heart and the thinking brain is detectable. Psychopaths are incapable of authentic deep emotions. In fact, when Robert Hare, a Canadian psychologist who spent his career studying psychopathy, did brain scans on psychopaths while showing them two sets of words, one set of neutral words with no emotional associations and a second set with emotionally charged words, while different areas of the brain lit up in the non-psychopathic control group, in the psychopaths, both sets were processed in the same area of the brain, the area that deals with language. They did not have an emotional reaction until they intellectually concluded that it would be better if they had one, and then they whipped up an emotional response just for show. The simplest, clearest and truest portrait of the psychopath is given in the titles of three seminal works on the subject: Without Conscience by Robert Hare, The Mask of Sanity by Hervey Cleckley, and Snakes in Suits by Robert Hare and Paul Babiak. A psychopath is exactly that: conscienceless. The most important thing to remember is that this lack of conscience is hidden from view behind a mask of normality that is often so convincing that even experts are deceived. As a result, psychopaths become the Snakes in Suits that control our world. Psychopaths lack a sense of remorse or empathy with others. They can be extremely charming and are experts at using talk to charm and hypnotize their prey. They are also irresponsible. Nothing is ever their fault; someone else or the world at large is always to blame for all of their problems or their mistakes. Martha Stout, in her book The Sociopath Next Door, identifies what she calls the pity ploy. Psychopaths use pity to manipulate. They convince you to give them one more chance, and to not tell anyone about what they have done. So another trait — and a very important one — is their ability to control the flow of information. They also seem to have little real conception of past or future, living entirely for their immediate needs and desires. Because of the barren quality of their inner life, they are often seeking new thrills, anything from feeling the power of manipulating others to engaging in illegal activities simply for the rush of adrenaline. Another trait of the psychopath is what Lobaczewski calls their special psychological knowledge of normal people. They have studied us. They know us better than we know ourselves. They are experts in knowing how to push our buttons, to use our emotions against us. But beyond that, they even seem to have some sort of hypnotic power over us. When we begin to get caught up in the web of the psychopath, our ability to think deteriorates, gets muddied. They seem to cast some sort of spell over us. It is only later when we are no longer in their presence, out of their spell, that the clarity of thought returns and we find ourselves wondering how it was that we were unable to respond or counter what they were doing. Psychopaths learn to recognize each other in a crowd as early as childhood, and they develop an awareness of the existence of other individuals similar to themselves. They also become conscious of being of a different world from the majority of other people surrounding them. They view us from a certain distance. Think about the ramifications of this statement: Psychopaths are, to some extent, self-aware as a group even in childhood! Recognizing their fundamental difference from the rest of humanity, their allegiance would be to others of their kind, that is, to other psychopaths. Their own twisted sense of honor compels them to cheat and revile non-psychopaths and their values. In contradiction to the ideals of normal people, psychopaths feel breaking promises and agreements is normal behavior. Not only do they covet possessions and power and feel they have the right to them just because they exist and can take them, but they gain special pleasure in usurping and taking from others; what they can plagiarize, swindle, and extort are fruits far sweeter than those they can earn through honest labor. They also learn very early how their personalities can have traumatizing effects on the personalities of non-psychopaths, and how to take advantage of this root of terror for purposes of achieving their goals. So now, imagine how human beings who are totally in the dark about the presence of psychopaths can be easily deceived and manipulated by these individuals, gaining power in different countries, pretending to be loyal to the local populations while at the same time playing up obvious and easily discernible physical differences between groups (such as race, skin color, religion, etc). Psychologically normal humans would be set against one another on the basis of unimportant differences (think of Rwanda 1994, think of Israelis and Palestinians) while the deviants in power, with a fundamental difference from the rest of us, a lack of conscience, an inability to feel for another human being, reaped the benefits and pulled the strings. We are seeing the final desperate power-grab or endgame (Alex Jones) of brutal, cunning gangs of CIA drug-runners and President-killers; money-laundering international bankers and their hit-men — economic and otherwise; corrupt military contractors and gung-ho generals; corporate predators and their political enablers; brainwashers and mind-rapists euphemistically known as psy-ops and PR specialists — in short, the whole crew of certifiable psychopaths running our so-called civilization. And they are running scared. Why does the Pathocracy fear it is losing control? Because it is threatened by the spread of knowledge. The greatest fear of any psychopath is of being found out. Psychopaths go through life knowing that they are completely different from other people. Deep down they know something is missing in them. They quickly learn to hide their lack of empathy, while carefully studying others’ emotions so as to mimic normalcy while cold-bloodedly manipulating the normals. Today, thanks to new information technologies, we are on the brink of unmasking the psychopaths and building a civilization of, by and for the healthy human being — a civilization without war, a civilization based on truth, a civilization in which the saintly few rather than the diabolical few would gravitate to positions of power. We already have the knowledge necessary to diagnose psychopathic personalities and keep them out of power. We have the knowledge necessary to dismantle the institutions in which psychopaths especially flourish — militaries, intelligence agencies, large corporations, and secret societies. We simply need to disseminate this knowledge, and the will to use it, as widely and as quickly as possible. Until the knowledge and awareness of pathological human beings is given the attention it deserves and becomes part of the general knowledge of all human beings, there is no way that things can be changed in any way that is effective and long-lasting. If half the people agitating for truth or stopping the war or saving the earth would focus their efforts, time and money on exposing psychopathy, we might get somewhere. One might ask if the weak point of our society has been our tolerance of psychopathic behavior? Our disbelief that someone could seem like an intelligent leader and still be acting deceptively on their own behalf without conscience? Or is it merely ignorance? If the general voting public is not aware that there exists a category of people we sometimes perceive as almost human, who look like us, who work with us, who are found in every race, every culture, speaking every language, but who are lacking conscience, how can the general public take care to block them from taking over the hierarchies? General ignorance of psychopathology may prove to be the downfall of civilization. We stand by like grazing sheep as political/corporate elites throw armies of our innocent sons and daughters against fabricated enemies as a way of generating trillions in profits, vying against each other for pathological hegemony. Nearly everyone who has been part of an organization working for social change has probably seen the same dynamic play out: The good and sincere work of many can be destroyed by the actions of one person. That doesn’t bode well for bringing some sort of justice to the planet! In fact, if psychopaths dominate political hierarchies, is it any wonder that peaceful demonstrations have zero impact on the outcome of political decisions? Perhaps it is time to choose something other than massive, distant hierarchies as a way of governing ourselves? So many efforts to provide essays, research reports, exposés and books to leaders so they might take the new information to heart and change their behavior have come to naught. For example, in the final paragraph of his revised edition of the book, The Party’s Over, Richard Heinberg writes: I still believe that if the people of the world can be helped to understand the situation we are in, the options available, and the consequences of the path we are currently on, then it is at least possible that they can be persuaded to undertake the considerable effort and sacrifice that will be entailed in a peaceful transition to a sustainable, locally based, decentralized, low-energy, resource-conserving social regime. But inspired leadership will be required. And that is the just-murdered fantasy. There are no inspired leaders anymore. And in hierarchical structures there can’t be. Assuming that you can elect men or women to office who will see reason and the light of day, and who will change and learn and grow, make compassionate decisions and take conscientious actions… is a foolish, childish dream. Continuing to dream it simply plays into psychopathic agendas. Only when the 75% of humanity with a healthy conscience come to understand that we have a natural predator, a group of people who live amongst us, viewing us as powerless victims to be freely fed upon for achieving their inhuman ends, only then will we take the fierce and immediate actions needed to defend what is preciously human. Psychological deviants have to be removed from any position of power over people of conscience, period. People must be made aware that such individuals exist and must learn how to spot them and their manipulations. The hard part is that one must also struggle against those tendencies to mercy and kindness in oneself in order not to become prey. The real problem is that the knowledge of psychopathy and how psychopaths rule the world has been effectively hidden. People do not have the adequate, nuanced knowledge they need to really make a change from the bottom up. Again and again, throughout history it has been meet the new boss, same as the old boss. If there is any work that is deserving of full time efforts and devotion for the sake of helping humanity in this present dark time, it is the study of psychopathy and the propagation of this information as far and wide and fast as possible. There are only two things that can bring a psychopath under submission: 1. A bigger psychopath. 2. The non-violent, absolute refusal to submit to psychopathic controls no matter the consequences (non-violent noncompliance). Let us choose path 2! If individuals simply sat down and refused to lift a hand to further one single aim of the psychopathic agenda, if people refused to pay taxes, if soldiers refused to fight, if government workers and corporate drones and prison guards refused to go to work, if doctors refused to treat psychopathic elites and their families, the whole system would grind to a screeching halt. True change happens in the moment that a person becomes aware of psychopathy in all its chilling details. From this new awareness, the world looks different, and entirely new actions can be taken. Distinguishing between human and psychopathic qualities begins the foundation of responsibility upon which we have a real chance to create sustainable culture.
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#1. To: bush_is_a_moonie (#0)
*
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I have a question: what do you call your 'neighbor' who does NOT have the gonads to come over and ask for money, but will rather vote for some Commie slob to use the power of government to rob you blind and give it to said 'neighbor' ?
cadaver
And 'they' wonder why 'we' are 'upset' with 'them'...flippin thieves.
My meter ran way past upset a few years back. I HATE them.
The wars won't end but the takers won't care cuz there's a whole new batch of bennies on the way...yes, they make me extremely angry as well. Does it ever show ? ;)
Anger is the correct emotion for anyone looking at the current state of the nation. The pussy-boys who parade about flaunting socialism need a beating.
...would be disappointed. I wouldn't walk across the street to whiz on a Commie/tool if they were ablaze.
Sadly, Americans are as meek and conditioned to surrender to authority as the Eloi are to the Morlocks. Few people are even aware of the great influence TV has over their minds, and the govt can impanel them on our juries and they'll convict us rather than face unpleasant truths about themselves. There are millions of Americans who'd rather continue paying confiscatory taxes than to accept the idea that they've been duped all of their lives. They'd rather be poor and law abiding rather than poor and stupid.
A bush neocon
Psychopaths lack a sense of remorse or empathy with others. They can be extremely charming and are experts at using talk to charm and hypnotize their prey. They are also irresponsible. Nothing is ever their fault; someone else or the world at large is always to blame for all of their problems or their mistakes. we've had dealings with one recently. he hid it well for several years, but once he knew we knew, there was no more charm facade and the ugly demon inside fully manifested outside. it was a frightening thing to witness. well written article.
Here's the deal, I come from an engineering background, I'm not degreed, I didn't go to college, I learned everything I know "in the trenches" as it were. As a result, I'm not impressed by "theory", I'm impressed by RESULTS. Now, when I look at what is happening in the world right now, and I look at all of the nations that have the most robust economies, the happiest population, the highest standard of living, the best education and the healthiest overall society, guess what they all have in common? They're all.... wait for it.. SOCIALIST! Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark.... ALL have a HIGHER standard of living than we do! How much higher? Well, it's like this: For a lot of Americans, life in their PRISONS would be a MAJOR UPGRADE in their standard of living. Now go ahead, wave that flag and try real hard to not to notice the "Made in China" sticker on it, rah rah rah for "The American Way" and the blessings of unfettered corporatism and all of that and hey, have a NICE day...
When you understand the true nature of psychopathic influence, that it is conscienceless, emotionless, selfish, cold and calculating, and devoid of any moral or ethical standards, you are horrified, but at the same time everything suddenly begins to makes sense. Our society is ever more soulless because the people who lead it and who set the example are soulless — they literally have no conscience.
#2. To: peppa, cynicom (#1)
Only when the 75% of humanity with a healthy conscience come to understand that we have a natural predator, a group of people who live amongst us, viewing us as powerless victims to be freely fed upon for achieving their inhuman ends, only then will we take the fierce and immediate actions needed to defend what is preciously human. Psychological deviants have to be removed from any position of power over people of conscience, period. People must be made aware that such individuals exist and must learn how to spot them and their manipulations. The hard part is that one must also struggle against those tendencies to mercy and kindness in oneself in order not to become prey.
#3. To: bush_is_a_moonie, Peppa (#0)
#4. To: FOH (#3)
I have a question: what do you call your 'neighbor' who does NOT have the gonads to come over and ask for money, but will rather vote for some Commie slob to use the power of government to rob you blind and give it to said 'neighbor' ?
#5. To: Jethro Tull (#4)
cadaver
#6. To: FOH (#5)
#7. To: Jethro Tull (#6)
#8. To: FOH (#7)
Does it ever show ? ;)
#9. To: Jethro Tull (#8)
Evelyn Beatrice Hall
#10. To: bush_is_a_moonie (#0)
Let us choose path 2! If individuals simply sat down and refused to lift a hand to further one single aim of the psychopathic agenda, if people refused to pay taxes, if soldiers refused to fight, if government workers and corporate drones and prison guards refused to go to work, if doctors refused to treat psychopathic elites and their families, the whole system would grind to a screeching halt.
#11. To: FOH (#3)
#12. To: bush_is_a_moonie (#0)
A psychopath is exactly that: conscienceless. The most important thing to remember is that this lack of conscience is hidden from view behind a mask of normality that is often so convincing that even experts are deceived. As a result, psychopaths become the Snakes in Suits that control our world.
#13. To: Jethro Tull (#8)
(Edited)
Anger is the correct emotion for anyone looking at the current state of the nation. The pussy-boys who parade about flaunting socialism need a beating.
 | Gold and silver are REAL money, paper is but a promise. |
#14. To: bush_is_a_moonie (#0)
1. A bigger psychopath. 2. The non-violent, absolute refusal to submit to psychopathic controls no matter the consequences (non-violent noncompliance). Option 3: Brave normal men well armed, lots of rope, and a grove of stout trees.
There are only two things that can bring a psychopath under submission:
"The difference between an honorable man and a moral man is that an honorable man regrets a discreditable act even when it has worked and he is in no danger of being caught." ~ H. L. Mencken
#15. To: Elliott Jackalope (#13)
EJ...you make me physically ill. That is all.
Now, when I look at what is happening in the world right now, and I look at all of nations that have the most robust economies, the happiest population, the highest standard of living, the best education and the healthiest overall society, guess what they all have in common? They're all.... wait for it.. SOCIALIST!
#16. To: FOH (#15)
The feeling is quite mutual Sparky...
| Gold and silver are REAL money, paper is but a promise. |
#17. To: Elliott Jackalope (#16)
Good. I'd hate for a socialist THIEF bootlicker to agree with me. Feh.
The feeling is quite mutual Sparky...
#18. To: FOH (#17)
As compared to the CORPORATIST THIEF BOOTLICKER that YOU are. I cordially invite you to bend it around and fertilize yourself. You think you are so damn righteous, but you are on the side of the sociopaths, psychopaths and looters. Yeah, I read "Atlas Shrugged" too, but then I wised up. Too bad you still think the sun shines out of Ayn Rand's patootie. People like you make me long for the good old days of dueling....
| Gold and silver are REAL money, paper is but a promise. |
#19. To: Original_Intent (#14)
Your option 3 would need psychopaths to perform the deed.
#20. To: Elliott Jackalope (#13)
I've come to the same conclusions. If I have to live under the fist of my government, I want that fist to care more about me and mine, than the corporation. Period.
#21. To: bush_is_a_moonie (#0)
This was posted on John Deere's libertyforum last year. The response was tremendous, like 4 or 500 pages of them. It is based on 2 items of proof. The psychopath does something "abnormal" that is construed to be not beneficial to mankind, or selfserving. The other item is the brain scan. The psychopathic subjects reactions are recorded with the results showing the language side of the brain reacting when "normal" people react with both sides of the brain. Consider Darwin's survival of the fittest. It is possible the psychopath is actually more advanced and able to adapt to the environment he/she lives in. Inhibitions are trained thoughts. The ability to turn off the inhibitions that allow compassion, another learned action, does not make one wrong nor right. Who can decide that without playing the God card. Perhaps the brain scan is only proof the subject has more ability than the "normal" patient. I would like to see results of studies on children as they learn being confronted by something new, compared to adults as they are confronted with the same type of things. I'm sure the child studies would record the whole brain responding, and the adult responding with learned reaction, or just the language side of the brain. Wouldn't that show, the psychopathics "abnormal" behavior is actually a result of higher intelligence? Another factor in the results of this study is the sheer volume of extreme violence in our media. There just isn't many things that are that shocking to a whole bunch of people. Children see thousands of deaths in the media. They play games where the goal is to kill, or have to kill to obtain the goal. Over and over and over. Seeing pictures of violence in a controlled study is just another form of media. Think about it. How shocked would you be if you viewed pictures of rape, killing, whatever? I believe the author has to come up with a more solid foundation of proof to say all leaders, corporate and government are psychopaths.
#22. To: Ragin1 (#21)
Perhaps the author does over-generalize but I believe the most if not all persons who reach a certain degree/position of control and authority only do so because of their ability to mitigate or extinguish certain emotions. The most pervasive psychic defense mechanism is disassociation which is part of schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, multiple personality disorder and post-traumatic stress syndrome. "Disassociation" is considered by medical professionals to be a "temporary alteration of the general integrative function of consciousness and is an element of many psychological disorders such as psychogenic amnesia, depersonalization and multiple personality"( Sharpiro - Sexual Trauma and Psychopathology). I believe most if not all who lust for and achieve "power" (political, economic whatever) do so because "disassociation and/or cognitive dissonance" become a permanent change in their psychological makeup. I would love to undergo this type of brain scan and see the results. I'd be willing to bet it would confuse medical professionals who evaluated the results. Numerous doctors (mostly neurologists) have been, to say the least, shocked when they see the results of numerous CT and MRI scans and EEGs I have undergone since my accident in 2002. I wonder what this type of scan would indicate.
#23. To: Ragin1 (#19)
Does it require a psychopath to operate a Snake Gun? It just requires people with a strong enough constitution to perform an unpleasant, but necessary, survival task. Continuing to allow psychotics to run our government is a good way to kill billions of innocents. I have no problem with taking out a correct target. I may not like the necessity, or enjoy the chore, but some people just need killin'.
Your option 3 would need psychopaths to perform the deed.
"The difference between an honorable man and a moral man is that an honorable man regrets a discreditable act even when it has worked and he is in no danger of being caught." ~ H. L. Mencken
#24. To: Original_Intent (#23)
bump
I may not like the necessity, or enjoy the chore, but some people just need killin'.
#25. To: Elliott Jackalope (#18)
You're an idiot with a Socialist bent. As for the duel, all I need are my hands and couple minutes to lay waste to you peckerwood...
As compared to the CORPORATIST THIEF BOOTLICKER that YOU are.
#26. To: Ragin1 (#20)
Both the European socialist countries and the US are equally statist. The only difference is that our government robs taxpayers blind and gives them nothing in return - the money instead goes to pay for endless wars, to Halliburton and other corporate cronies of the current regime. At least the European socialists use taxpayer money to provide services for their citizens (efficient public transportation, affordable quality university education, and so on). In short, we're getting the worst of both worlds.
#27. To: Original_Intent (#23)
Using the authors figures you propose killing 1188400351 people. Your treading Mao/Stalin/Hitler territory.
#28. To: Original_Intent (#23)
Not just treading it, your quadrupling them combined.
#29. To: Elliott Jackalope (#13)
"It does not take a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brush fires of freedom in the minds of men." -- Samuel Adams (1722-1803)‡
#30. To: Ragin1 (#27)
Not at all and you are intentionally misinterpreting what I said. NOT removing the psycho's, e.g., Bush, Cheney, McInsane, et. al., could well result in the deaths of billions. That is what I said and what I mean't. I really don't care if they are hung, but they are psychopaths and have no business being in a position of responsibility or be allowed to have sharp objects. Removing them from office and others of their ilk, would go a long ways toward straightening out this troubled planet, but first people have to understand that just because a psycho can ape normalcy, and wear a Saville Row Suit, does not make them sane or any less of a danger. Ted Bundy's neighbors thought he was a swell guy - a good kid, and John Wayne Gacy was a "happy Clown". Of course their body counts were small change compared to Bush/Cheney.
"The difference between an honorable man and a moral man is that an honorable man regrets a discreditable act even when it has worked and he is in no danger of being caught." ~ H. L. Mencken
#31. To: bush_is_a_moonie (#22)
I believe they are not hardwired to disassociate. I believe they can do that at will. I believe they are quite capable of love, compassion, mercy etc. I believe they have all these emotions when dealing with their families. They choose to go Darwin when it comes to competition. Each and every one of these "psychotics" have ruthlessly carved their own mini kingdoms. We all know it's wrong. They know it's wrong. It's just the only way mankind has developed to obtain that lifestyle. The sad truth is the majority of the population of the world is apathetic and cannot imagine taking the power back. As far as I can see Original Intent's proposition is the only way to deal with them. We actually have to become the "psycho" to rid the world of the "psycho". Taking that further the quickest method may be what John Ross came up with in Unintended Consequences. Then the world would be stuck with us "psychos" who took care of the worlds "psycho" problem.
I believe most if not all who lust for and achieve "power" (political, economic whatever) do so because "disassociation and/or cognitive dissonance" become a permanent change in their psychological makeup.
#32. To: Original_Intent (#30)
I am not mis representing what you wrote OI. I just admit it would take psychotic action to take care of the psychos.
#33. To: ghostdogtxn (#29)
As compared to the government of the US, which has never done anything awful to anyone? I'm hoping you don't really believe that. And I'm glad you are doing so well for yourself, really I am. But how can we feel good about ourselves as a nation when so many are working so hard for so little, while so few reap so much? Personally, I think we can do a lot better as a nation and as a people. I think we have allowed ourselves to be prostrated, hogtied and abused in the most unspeakable ways by selfish, self- centered personalities who have more in common with Charles Manson than they do with some fictional icons of productive righteousness like Dagny Taggert or Francisco d'Anconia. I am of the belief that unfettered capitalism is ultimately rapacious, destructive, and eventually results in the merciless pillaging of a nation. Furthermore, I believe that we can now clearly see that "free enterprise" and "a free society" are NOT inextricably linked, in fact it is entirely possible for a nation to simultaneously have both "free enterprise" and a fully functional totalitarian state existing side by side. Just look at China if you don't believe me. Is the answer Soviet style communism? Of course not. Not even Chinese style communism. But we don't have to imagine "utopian" solutions to the problems caused by the grave imbalances of unfettered "smash and grab" capitalism. We have multiple examples now that are working in the real world, and have been working for decades now, and they have the name "democratic socialism". You can choose to turn a blind eye to them if you wish, but they still exist. You can choose to defame and denigrate them, but they still stand. You can choose to attack and degrade those who persist in pointing them out and suggesting that we can learn something from them, but regardless they still exist, in the real world. They work, in the real world. Their citizens are happier, healthier, wealthier, better educated, and more involved in their nation and their political system than we are. They have results, proven results, that work in the real world, that have worked for decades, and they are getting stronger and better over time, not weaker and worse. I'm happy for you, really I am. Glad you're one of the few who is profiting from this system. But your success does not justify the existence of a system that rewards so few while punishing so many. And ultimately, eventually, this system is going to change because any system that is so extremely unbalanced cannot help but change. The only problem is that if we don't start learning now about the alternatives that do work and that do provide a better standard of living for most of their people, then we face a very real risk of ending up slipping into an alternative system that will do nothing but take a bad situation and make it much worse.
A gilded cage is still a cage. The socialists in Norway and Sweden and thereabouts did some pretty awful things that they don't talk about much...
| Gold and silver are REAL money, paper is but a promise. |
#34. To: Original_Intent (#30)
Yep. Consider how ruthless, (psychotic), we would have to be to remove 100 million people from their fiefdoms. Do we have to kill em? Nope. Let's just take over Australia like the British did and deposit them there. When it's done the world would have to be assured us "psychos" who did the dirty deed were not instilled in positions of decision making. That would be quite a brave new world.
Removing them from office and others of their ilk, would go a long ways toward straightening out this troubled planet
#35. To: Elliott Jackalope (#33) (Edited)
Defenders of the transnational corps like to pretend that their heroes are like Howard Roarke or Dagny Taggert. Dick Cheney is more like it. Why doesn't somebody write a novel about him to inspire future generations of cronies? The question, though, is this - would a Dick Cheney be possible under a real free market system? I would say that Cheney is a product of crony capitalism that can only exist when big government walks hand in hand with big business. Halliburton didn't get exclusive contract for Iraq by market competition, but by connections. We have an economic system that looks more like the Phillipines under Marcos or Indonesia under Suharto than anything Adam Smith would recognize. I understand the point you're trying to make about there being a balance of power, a checks and balances system between private and public sector. But too often, big government's checks and balances on big business evolve into croynism and a spoils system where the cure's worse than the disease.
I think we have allowed ourselves to be prostrated, hogtied and abused in the most unspeakable ways by selfish, self- centered personalities who have more in common with Charles Manson than they do with some fictional icons of productive righteousness like Dagny Taggert or Francisco d'Anconia.
#36. To: Rupert_Pupkin (#35)
Fair enough, and yes, agreed. One question: Can capitalism, left to itself, eventually lead to any other outcome? It seems to me that ultimately all of this comes down to one fundamental question: Does the economy serve the people, or do the people serve the economy?
We have an economic system that looks more like the Phillipines under Marcos or Indonesia under Suharto than anything Adam Smith would recognize.
| Gold and silver are REAL money, paper is but a promise. |
#37. To: Elliott Jackalope (#33)
Your reply to ghost is right on the money. We have proven without a doubt our system just doesn't work for most people. We have proven we have to slaughter and trample the innocent to continue our system. I went from a flaming liberal in the name of freedom, to a right wing extremist in the name of freedom, to come to the conclusion there is no such thing.
#38. To: Rupert_Pupkin (#26)
In short, we're getting the worst of both worlds. we are and how anyone expects that to change with a change of WH puppet, when the MIC reigns supreme, is beyond me.
Both the European socialist countries and the US are equally statist. The only difference is that our government robs taxpayers blind and gives them nothing in return - the money instead goes to pay for endless wars, to Halliburton and other corporate cronies of the current regime. At least the European socialists use taxpayer money to provide services for their citizens (efficient public transportation, affordable quality university education, and so on).
#39. To: Ragin1 (#31)
my #1 favorite novel
Taking that further the quickest method may be what John Ross came up with in Unintended Consequences.
#40. To: Elliott Jackalope (#33)
maybe this is simplistic but i believe that had we stayed isolationist and protectionist, we'd have the utopia or damn near close to it that we dream of.
#41. To: christine (#40)
Agreed, I think you are right on the money about that, but once again, one problem: When capitalism is in control, how long can "isolationism" and "protectionism" be allowed to stand? Those are things that benefit the people, sure, but they get in the way of profits. Capitalism will instinctively attack and attack and eventually tear down everything between it and profits. It can't help itself, it's in the nature of it. Expecting quaint notions like "protectionism" to exist in the same sphere as capitalism is like expecting freshly hatched baby chicks to survive in a den filled with hungry foxes. The expectation itself is unreasonable, and having to watch the actual results is a bit stomach-churning.
maybe this is simplistic but i believe that had we stayed isolationist and protectionist, we'd have the utopia or damn near close to it that we dream of.
| Gold and silver are REAL money, paper is but a promise. |
#42. To: Elliott Jackalope (#13)
Control for both race and diversity per se. If you ignore important variables, you will come to some very odd conclusions.
They're all.... wait for it.. SOCIALIST! Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark.
let overwrite, let override
#43. To: Elliott Jackalope (#41)
you're right. maybe i should have said "idealistic" rather than simplistic.
#44. To: Elliott Jackalope (#33)
"It does not take a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brush fires of freedom in the minds of men." -- Samuel Adams (1722-1803)‡
#45. To: ghostdogtxn (#44)
While I disagree with your conclusions, I will say that I think your arguments are well considered and well stated and I also thank you for being considerate and civil with your replies. You demonstrate that it is entirely possible to disagree without being disagreeable, and that is a very admirable quality to have.
| Gold and silver are REAL money, paper is but a promise. |
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