Yes, it's called freedom.

And yes, opportunity exists, but obviously we do not have true equality of opportunity, and if CRT is the way to it, so be it - it just needs to be kept in check. — ToothyMaw

CRT is crazy. It is Maoist cultural revolution kind of stuff.

You have to have a system based on merit, otherwise, you will be killing your economy and your society. AAs need to get their communities together and do what the Asians did, work their asses off. That's what it takes to succeed. 20% of the AA community already has accomplished this!

You will never have perfect anything, but where is it better? The key is to keep moving forward. We need to root-out the corruption in the system, as that will make the greatest difference (by providing more opportunity).

If the left desires equality of outcome and you're against it that means that you desire inequality of outcome. Why do you want that? — praxis

People are successful for a lot of reasons outside of hard work. Maybe they are really attractive. Perhaps they are super intelligent, or just incredibly nice people. How about those folks who had successful parents and they made success for them a priority? These attributes significantly help people along the way.

Even if it was preferable, you cannot engineer a society to create equality. The best you can do it try to offer everybody maximum opportunity, and you do that through getting out of the way and allowing people to do their thing. This means limiting the power of the few to control others. Minimize governments, get rid of corporations, so on and so forth. Go small and de-centralize.

There are no ideal situations. Again, the best you can hope for is that your society works towards particular goals. Look at the difference in opportunity afforded to AAs in 1960 v. 2021. It's night and day.

You can not throw out the good because you want the perfect. Even with all the insanity going on economically in the country, 20% of the AA community is doing quite well and the Asians that have emigrated to the U.S. are doing incredibly well. Opportunity still exists. You have to work hard to take advantage of it.

The best any society can do is provide for maximum opportunity. What people/families/communities do with that opportunity is up to them.

It's especially bizarre for those of us who grew up in the 50's/60's/70's and were aware of what was taking place in the Soviet Union and Maoist China. It was like these places existed on a different planet.

Now it's here (in its nascent incarnation) and it's ugly.

The universe is fundamentally finite and knowable. — Benj96

Whereas The Universe (as a concept) is finite and knowable, it seems decidedly infinite and unknowable in Reality.

What is finite and knowable (albeit transient) is the intellectualization process, not the The Universe itself. And although it is easy to see this vis a vis The Universe, the same applies to all things.

What is most interesting about these discussion forums is that people actually believe they know you. You don't know me at all. You know nothing about me other than what I have shared (and how much could you know about that?).

I've lived a great life and would do very little differently. People need to tend to their own lives and not be so concerned with others. I just try to introduce different points of view because it might be interesting to chat about with people. Nothing more.

While I am willing to admit that there are occasions where the invocation of things like "white privilege" in activist circles can occasionally effectuate the internal policing of the community, the relentless examples that the Right attempts to make out of such instances is nothing but ironically, as this is, perhaps, their favorite talking point, indicative of a complete and total double standard. — thewonder

You have a group of people who have decided that another group of people are all racist.

This will not end well.

I'm a white guy living a nice but modest life in S Cali too, and unwoke as well. You don't need to be woke to care about equal rights and the like. — praxis

I have never known anybody who doesn't care about equal rights. It's part of what being an American is about. The problem is that the Left desires equality of outcome which is impossible (and undesirable). People are diverse in all kinds of ways. This is a political power/money grab as are all organized activities.

Any way you slice it, you have to earn your keep in this world. To expect others to take care of you is the short road to hell. Only the elite seem to get away with it (but eventually, they gets their's, as well).

Would you have me move on from an insurrectionist, or any other wrong-doer and just pretend it didn't happen? — James Riley

Look, I just enjoy chatting with people who really believe in something...ANYTHING! If you would like to talk and are ready to descend from your pulpit, that would be great. Otherwise, let's move on.

One other thing...in life, you cannot control what everybody else is doing so, yes, there are many times when bad things happen and that's just the way it goes. If you can't let things go, you will end up being very unhappy (and that won't help anybody).

There are many wonderful things in life. Take some time and enjoy them.

Balance is the way.

From what I understand wokeness is majorly about equal justice and it seems perfectly reasonable to me to get as close to that as possible. Perhaps you wouldn’t be so content with the current state of affairs if you weren’t a white male living in Southern California. — praxis

If that's the case, they are not doing a very good job of presenting it. They seem like a bunch of spoiled four year old's.

Life is what it is. Would you feel better if I joined you guys and was completely miserable? You can't help very many people being miserable. You have to see (and enjoy) the good things in life, as well.

I have worked very hard and live a nice but modest life. Remember, most people in SoCal are not wealthy (as a matter of fact, they are struggling as it is not the cheapest place in the world to live...I am here for the weather :)

It's a description of all things.

Again, can you show me where I said what you quoted me as saying? I'm not saying I didn't say it, but my limited search skills of page 6 & 7 did not turn it up. — James Riley

This is an example of how you have difficulties moving on, but I will humor you.

From what you had written, you thought I was a Trump supporter. I didn't vote for Trump. I don't like him or any politician but that doesn't mean I disagree with all of his policies. This is not a black and white world.

You keep raising the ante. Now you must go forth among your kind and preach, like a disciple, the error of the ways of Trump and his spawn. — James Riley

My kind? :) Enough with the bullshit. Do you want to debate or not?

What makes you say that? I've had some premonition that apathy is expressed due to too much rationality. — Shawn

Eventually, reality catches up with folks and they realize that their path hit a dead-end. This throws them into the abyss for awhile until they climb their way out and seek out their next path. If their new path is good for them, apathy disappears.

Bad feelings of all varieties are a great feedback mechanism. If it doesn't feel good and it's not creating forward progress, it's not good. So the choice becomes, do nothing (apathy) or move forward.

Apathy might be that place people go between delusions.

You think you know me? You're incapable of knowing yourself!

Debate me and I'll show you why.

Until you confess your sins to the public, no reasonable person would teach you how wrong you are on the merits. Your failure to confess has brought this on you. Jefferson Davis may or may not support Day Care, but I wouldn't talk to him about it until he admitted that slavery and racism is an abomination and that he was patently wrong for having aided and abetted it. — James Riley

I have no idea what you are talking about.

Again, until you admit Trump lost, is a loser, and a sore loser, we can't debate the real issues. — James Riley

The only thing I care about is freedom. Whomever supports the most individual freedom, I am leaning towards that side.

Of course Trump lost. So what?

I'm yet to read of a single one, rather tragic really. Plato outlined the most important problems in philosophy around 2500 years ago, and we are yet to solve one, we haven't even made progress.
Is progress in this domain even possible? If not, why not? And if not, why bother? — forrest-sounds

You are definitely on the right track. The so-called "problems" in philosophy are not problems at all, instead, they are misinterpretations and misunderstandings.

Since the human mind is incapable of accessing reality in any substantive way, people make-up all kinds of non-sense that changes, changes, changes with the winds that blow in every direction.

I wrote a rant but deleted it. It was beneath me. — James Riley

I thought it was a pretty good rant. :) I would have had fun with it!

I find there cannot be reasonable debate unless and until the person I would engage with publicly and sincerely turns their back on Trump and the alleged theft of the election. There is only one real place to have an intelligent, moderated debate on the record. The Republicans pursued that avenue in several different venues and they lost. Donald Trump continues to insist he won. He is a loser, and a bad one at that. — James Riley

You've got to get over the Trump thing and move on. Look how lame Hillary has been with her blathering about how Trump stole the election from her and he was an illegitimate president.

The biggest mistake people make in their lives is in not being able to leave the past in the past. It's over, time to move forward.

One might ask, why not argue other points? Ask Elizabeth Cheney or any other member of the Republican Party who has not prostrated themselves before Trump. I will argue conservative principles and issues with them all day long. As for anyone else, they must first state: "Donald J. Trump lost, he is a loser, and a bad one at that." Then I will engage. — James Riley

I do not consider myself a political person but I will debate the conservative point of view with you because I believe the Left is incredibly mis-guided.

I'll start. Government is necessary but you must limit government to the smallest size possible. The reasons are multiple...gross economic inefficiencies and the direct relationship between size and corruption levels within government, to name a couple.

Life was really difficult for everybody, not just the working class.
— synthesis

No, the wealthy lived large. Weird that you don't acknowledge that. — praxis

Most people died before they were 40.

No such thing as equality. Not even close.
— synthesis

There is such a thing. It's just that those with an advantage don't want it. — praxis

Oh really. Are you going to make beautiful people average looking? Are you going to make really intelligent people less smart? Are you going to make really nice people not so nice? How about really coordinated people (great athletes)? Make them average?

Whereas you see equality as a utopia, it is in reality the ultimate dystopia

Give people the greatest opportunity to succeed. That's the best any system can do..

The tax rate being high worked it's magic long before the tax shenanigans kicked in in response. The taxes loop holes came along and then we cut taxes on top of that, for a double down for the rich and a double fking for everyone else. — James Riley

High taxes kill motivation, innovation, and lastly, economies.

You want money in the hands of private people, NOT the government (who can only make things worse). Remember, it is the government that creates all the laws that favor the wealthy. The best outcome in any society is to increase opportunity to succeed and minimize corruption. The larger the government, the more corruption.

Conditions for the working class were notoriously bad during that period, with long hours, low wages, hazardous and unhealthy conditions. Child labor wasn't outlawed until 1920. You're a real humanitarian, Synthesis. — praxis

Life was really difficult for everybody, not just the working class. But there will ALWAYS be people who are better off. No such thing as equality. Not even close.

If you want to look back at the "Golden Years" of a thriving American middle class (I know, they were not golden for minorities or women, but they were the years that trickle down types like to look back on with dreamy eyes) you might want to check the marginal tax rates and compare them with today. — James Riley

That was caused by an incredibly strong dollar and the rest of the world in shambles (post WWII). The U.S. made just about everything for the world. The tax rate being high eventually worked its magic (creating all kinds of tax havens and cheating).

Funny you were just praising "a time when most Americans knew how to take care of themselves" (an extremely inefficient time compared to now) and now seem to be claiming that they could never achieve what's most important in life: profit. — praxis

Look at the 19th century if you want to understand efficiency. Prices were cheaper in 1900 then they were in 1800!

Sum and substance: If you don't roll with capitalists like Elizabeth Warren, then you get to sleep with fascist nationalists like Trump, or socialists like AOC and Sanders. I'll take the latter any day, since their brand seems to work for all first world countries. Anyone who doesn't like it needs to pump the breaks on the delusional self-identifies liars. — James Riley

The first thing that needs to happen is to return to an actual debate on things that are real. The Democrats are successfully using their racist narrative to distract people from the absurd public policies they are pushing through, e.g., their border crisis.

Without a public debate (which the left will have nothing to do with because anybody who disagrees with them is racist), you don't have much of anything. The debate is the heart and sole of public policy making.

Elizabeth Warren turned out to be a joke (and AOC is a fool). Sanders is delusional, and Trump, for all his quirks, had some good policy put into place, again, securing the border, trade with China, attempting to get jobs back in the U.S., getting out of foreign wars, etc. I am not sure where you get the fascist stuff from as it has been the left that has shown all kinds of fascist tendencies.

Having said that, all politicians are liars so you give them as little power as is possible.

Right, even so, couldn't an inefficient economy provide for basic needs, and perhaps some of the extras we're so accustom to and dependent on?

Also, if we're all about efficiency and profit, then it's good to outsource labor to where it's cheapest and automate whenever possible, right? Screw the American worker if they can't compete. And let's make education as expensive as possible to help keep them down. — praxis

An inefficient economy will eventually produce no profit and things will spiral down and out of control as happens every time some dufus attempts to implement socialist "solutions."

In theory, you are suppose to care about the folks in your own country. This is why globalism has been a failure each time it has been attempted. Same reason the EU is such a mess. You need the economy and the laws/rules/regulations to be local.

The invisible hand is giving a hand job to self-identified capitalists, while screwing the labor supply. — James Riley

It is what it is, but just the same, the less economic distortions, the better.

This is why the main emphasis of everything going on in this country should be about ridding the system of corruption (which must be at one of its all-time highs). Corruption is a drag on everything and is why the 'checks and balances' system was devised/implemented in the first place.

When things gets this out of hand, you must have leadership willing to stand-up to the entrenched players (but not radicals that believe we should do idiotic things). That never ends well.

Why exactly is efficiency so paramount? — praxis

In economics, efficiency is EVERYTHING. It's what drives the entire system. The more efficient, the more productive. The more productive, the more profit (which can be used to pay higher wages, invest in technology, or saved for other purposes).

One way to lead by example is to pay a living wage and then some. — James Riley

You have to let the market determine what the correct wage should be. The more distortions you introduce into the economy, the less efficient it becomes. A job's worth is dependent on what value that job produces and the supply/demand factors (of labor and labor output).

On the other hand I am interested to learn,more about the liar, extensions and the solutions? — Trestone

"All speech is lying."

Where it is true, it is also false (because there is an equal amount of everything in everything).

So whereas you might believe that some things are patently true or false, they are all true and false. It is due to the limitations of language (language's relationship with Reality) and all things intellectual that makes this the case.

Sounds like that's not working out. — James Riley

Thinking you can just coast in life is not such a good strategy.

Some folks (I'm not one of them) learn to lead and get the young un's to do all the hard work. — James Riley

You lead by example. I know that Americans don't seem to like to do much of anything anymore (except eat and watch TV/stare at digital devices), but there was a time when most Americans knew how to take care of themselves. Now, people are massively dependent.

Fear and dependency...the government/corporation's answer to everything.

I do everything I can do myself for a lot of different reasons, primary among them is that I enjoy learning and doing things. I take care of my home, yard, and anything else I can do (as well as helping friends and neighbors). Although I really enjoy reading, watching a good movie with my wife or sports on TV, I would much rather be outside doing something. That's why I live in Southern California.

To be fair, it could well be that young Synth didn’t do anything terribly physically demanding, in which case old Synth could be a champ in comparison. — praxis

No, I did an incredible amount of work when I was young. I do a great deal now, as well, but have learned how to do it more efficiently. I would think that everybody learns to do things better as they age.

I decided when I 21 that I was going to be in great shape when I turned 50 and started exercising 1 hour per day and have not missed very many days since. You have to take care of your body.

That's pretty upbeat.
Well, good luck to you!

I am sixty-three years old and I know what old men are capable of. I am one of them. We must give way to the new generations. — gikehef947

Well, I am 66 and plan on working for 20 more years if I am able. I am in excellent health and superb physical condition and do everything I did when I was 30 (only better).

After accumulating all of this experience and knowledge, why should I step aside when i still have a great deal to offer?

You know what old men are capable of? What does that mean?

Humanity will improve the day a virus kills everyone who turns 50. Until then, an amendment could greatly improve the country's government. — gikehef947

Back in the 60's, we thought everybody over 30 was worthless. At least you have extended it to 50.

When you do turn 50, get back to me and let's see if your ideas have changed a bit.

And isn't against your generation's code of honor to be age-ist?