Virtual

You want to know the funny thing about us rednecks from the south. We constantly get trashed as dangerous, racist, homophobic, gun-nut hicks, but really, we aren’t trying to change other people or convert them to our way of life. Most of us just want to be left alone with our guns, our land, and our culture. But it seems that we can’t just bask in our escapism anymore. Some of our government seems to think they have the right to abolish our self-determination, remove our freedom of speech and association, disenfranchise us, and undermine our values. This is why I mentioned that I’m upset by the forced shift in ethnic and cultural composition of this country. It is no secret that high-trust societies begin with shared values, and often, shared blood. I don’t hate or begrudge a single human being on this planet, but damnit enough is enough with the designed invasion on my country and culture.

Idk man. I’m just confused. Upset. Not depressed or suicidal. I’m okay. Just don’t really know what to think anymore. I’m just an ignorant redneck. The world and it’s various shenanigans are above my head. I suppose I should just shut up and go back to being a hick, huh?

I just think the loss of tradition, religion, and national/cultural identity is opening the door for decay and degeneracy. And we can’t do a damn thing to stop it and preserve some semblance of our culture and values because we are told that we are hateful if we don’t unequivocally accept any and every major shift in zeitgeist, values, and priority being inflicted on our nations. That’s all. But I’ll probably stop there because if I elaborate further I’ll probably have like five different fart-sniffing, secular, know-it-all “skeptics” coming at me on here with their empty syllogisms trying to show me how smart they are and how stupid I am because they can make conclusions from observable, naturalistic premises.

I never said I was seeking advice. The titular question was somewhat rhetorical. I’m just pointing out that the general ideological mindset of this forum likely doesn’t match my own. I don’t believe one can have a fulfilled worldview on logic, syllogisms, and axioms alone. I long for traditionalism, spirituality, and preserving my culture and values, whereas others here are talking about their desire for a hyper-technological, post-human future free of what they call “human barbarity” and ignorance, while I hope that if anything of the sort starts to take place I’ll be long dead by then. I simply come from a different place in what I value and wish for the world to be. I feel that the further our various cultures of the world depart from their respective heritages and identities, and the more we accept the subversion and compromise of the rich ancient bonds we share, the more our societies decay into decadence and degeneracy. Hence, why I said I removed myself from contemporary culture long ago when I was still just a kid. Of course, people like myself get called “old fashioned” and our beliefs get called “outdated” and “primitive”. I don’t think an agreement can be reached between people like myself and those who’s worldview only involves materialism and naturalism. I believe that there are scientific realities, but there is also evolved spirituality in our various cultures. I think once we abandon those ideals, we lose something very important to who we are.

I think I’m probably preaching to the wrong choir here.

You and I are likely not going to agree on much.....or anything.

Seems like I find myself hating virtually everything and everyone. I completely abandoned contemporary popular culture, music, movies, and television well over a decade ago when I was just in my early-mid teens. I haven’t consumed a single bit of it since. I did so because I found most or all of it to be vapid garbage, intentionally fabricated to be so. I regard the overwhelming percentage of what people do to be vapid garbage for that matter. I hold a burning misanthropy in my heart that burns hotter than the hottest infernos of Hell. I’m not violent, so my hatred is not the kind which would invoke physical action of any kind, but I can’t say that I don’t wish for the worst for people. I feel that if my country didn’t consistently double down on its brisk pace into the abyss of the new dark ages year after year, my outlook on life and humanity might be a little brighter. But it seems that evil and stupidity outbreeds goodness and intelligence in these ages of modernity and egalitarianism. Makes perfect sense when you realize how much modernity subverts the work of natural selection. Why is it that good and pure things, which are rare and far between to begin with, always seem to die in infancy, and either get replaced by, or overhauled into, vacuous nonsense? Does the entropy principle from physics apply to human culture and societies as well? I guess it does. Anyway, once upon a time I was naive and believed that things could be done to restore what once was, but with maturity and knowledge comes the understanding that history is a blueprint of the future. As Robert Frost wrote, “nothing gold can stay”. I’m not fighting the fight anymore. I’ve lost my soul, and with it my concern for what happens to this world.

How much longer do you think the internal combustion engine will be in our lives before the roads are dominated by EVs and/or other power sources? Do you think it will be a gradual change? Will ICE become more efficient and coexist with other forms of powertrain? Or do you think we’ll see the definitive extinction of internal combustion engines very soon?

Could someone please confirm if that’s 869 grids or plants? I’m just trying to get a ballpark figure. No field is perfectly straight or symmetrical. Plus, with all my other fields I’ve already got more crop than I can handle. I appreciate it guys!

Yes that sounds about right. But I’m not sure. Hemp

Farmer and certified math idiot here. I’ve got a field that is shaped like a trapezoid. The length down the center of the field is 470’. The width at one end is 340’, and the width at the other end is 30’. I’m planting my crop on a 10’x10’ grid. I need to know how many plants I can plant. Thanks. Ps let me know if you need more info. Hopefully that’s enough.

Fair enough.

I’m sorry, but this is just fundamentally wrong. It’s a completely flawed mindset just right from the beginning. It’s ***-backwards actually. The government’s job is NOT to take care of the needs of its people, at least not in the sense of ensuring equity or access to commodities, wealth, and resources. The only “needs” that it’s the government’s job to take care of is protecting the people’s rights under the constitution (i.e. providing a strong military and police force to defend our freedom of speech and expression, and never infringing on our 2nd amendment rights to defend ourselves). Other than that, it’s not the job of the government or anyone else to ensure that someone lives a prosperous life. That is the individual’s responsibility. The best thing the government can do in most cases is back off. Our constitution is designed to allow the people to govern themselves. The fact that there are cronies and oligarchs at the top who exploit the system does not take away my constitutional rights. It just means that they are mightier than me. I can still exercise my freedom to complete with them, but there’s no guarantee I’ll succeed. But that’s not the same as having my rights systematically stifled by government.

This topic encompasses just about everything in life if you go far enough down the rabit hole. That’s why I say social and economic politics are inextricably linked. And it just so happens that world events and societies are so complex that one cannot completely vote on all of their principles all the time. You have to look further ahead and see the bigger picture, and imagine the aftermath of the implementation of any given policy. That’s why I think rhetorical exercises and thought experiments are so useful, because not every argument or philosophy can be completely dealt with in purely syllogistic or axiomatic terms. Also, I know you’re not from America, so I’m not going to tell you what is best for your country or your community, but please believe me when I say that the things you’ve said about Americans and about Trump are completely off point. With all due respect, my friend, you haven’t the slightest idea what you’re talking about when it comes to Americans or the POTUS. I promise you that. Many of Trumps supporters are not the blind idiots they are painted as. They [the American public and working class] are simply tired of being the lowest of our government’s priorities. They finally have a president who acknowledges them and fights for them after decades of being undermined while our elected officials pursue social justice agendas. Trump is trying to serve their interests - i.e. by trying to secure our border and trying to rid our immigration system from the corruption that has been laden within it for so long, by trying to create policies that stop the effects of immigration and unfair trade from stealing our jobs and lowering our wages, and ultimately trying to reinstill some of the more classical conservative principles that used to make our society and economy prosporous, and give purpose and dignity into the lives of the people. These aren’t idealistic tropes like you’ve described them. They are very obvious goods that benefit societies. We should have figured out by now that the welfare state, while mostly well-meaning, does not solve the core issue. It only allows communities to sink further into their depravity. What does solve the issue is removing the safety net and holding individuals accountable for their own lives and decisions. Unfortunately, we have had a string of elected officials who have fed into this victimhood narrative, have treated minorities like children who can’t help themselves, and have placed the blame and responsibility at the feet of the productive citizens. Trump is our breath of fresh air, because he actually sees what is wrong with this picture. He sees what we see.

Just to be clear, I don’t think the OP asked us to debate whether or not the two extremes exist, but rather what is the best “algorithm”, to use the OPs words. I suppose he wants us to debate the concepts. Other than that, good deal. Productive conversation. Cheers from America!

I honestly think you and I are agreeing more than you might think. You are actually very correct about a lot of your concerns, particularly about the very wealthy 1% of billionaires who f*ck over everyone else. You are also correct about China lifting people out of poverty. That’s because they opened up their free market a bit and started actually generating some wealth rather than redistruting wealth that wasn’t there. You could sort of liken it to thermodynamics, where the economy is the system, and the free-market is the energy source, and socialism is a closed system. If there is no one at the top of the hierarchy creating the wealth, then the system will descend into entropy. Things don’t get done, and prosperity doesn’t get created when free competition and incentive is systematically removed. That’s why I said that we must have a discussion about what the regulations should be, and where the happy medium is. But one thing is for sure, you cannot remove the hierarchy and the incentive. Societies that do that die. There’s no way around it. You must allow the smart, innovative, high-producing individuals in society seek their ends and produce the wealth and innovations for the society in a free and competitive environment. You cannot close down the market, redistribute the wealth, and take away the energy source. It is sure to fail that way. Edit: As far as Canadians having more rights and freedoms than Americans, I’m not sure where you get that. The only freedoms we Americans lack is due to the fact that 75% of what our federal government does is unconstitutional.

I agree on pretty much everything you said. I’m taking the two polar extremes and making a choice. I choose the free market and the hierarchy. Under the hierarchy, my disadvantages might be more easily exploited, but to me that is better than having my life systematically predetermined by a government who knows jack sh*t about me and judges me by my group identity rather than my individual experience and qualities. At least I have my own personal agency and autonomy, my labor belongs to me, my rights are the same on paper as everyone else’s, and my worth is not determined by what group or category the ruling class wants to put me in, but by my own personal responsibility and accountability. I am free to own my own property and benefit from my own ambitions and efforts, and nobody can take it away. I agree that the capitalist hierarchy needs some sensible regulation, but that’s not socialism. The economy is still market-driven. Just look back at the industrial revolution in America, when Rockefeller and Carnegie were hitting the ground running creating the steel industry and The transcontinental railroads and all the industry that catapolted America to the forefront of technological and economic superiority, and ask yourself, would any of that have happened in such a swift and innovative way under socialism? Not a snowball’s chance in hell it would have. And finally, notwithstanding the cronyism and greed produced by the hierarchy and the privileged individuals who benefit from it, if I work harder and make smarter life decisions than my neighbor, I deserve to make more and live more prosperously than them. We can debate about the details of regulations and where to draw the line, but that’s generally my position.

For me, it comes down to a series of rhetorical questions I have to ask myself. Do I want to live in a country with a constitution that is based on individual liberties, and tells me that my rights as an autonomous individual are self-evident, and that the government may not infringe on them or I have the right to defend myself against said government? Or do I want to live in a country wherein the government assumes control of wealth and resources (and ultimately my life), and stifles individual freedom? I’ll choose the former. America’s founders instilled a unique concept among western nations into our constitution that stresses the primacy of the individual. They believed that the government does not give us our rights. Our rights are self-evident and unalienable. The government is there to PROTECT our rights, not grant or revoke them, and has no right to assume control over our lives in any way. I prefer this philosophy. As far as I can tell, socialism seems to be incompatible with this idea. I’m talking here a about true socialism wherein the government does away with the free-market-driven economy, and with it, individual freedom. You can’t really have true freedom under socialism. It puts the lives and fate of the people into the hands of the bureaucrats and demagogues who tend to run our government. They get to turn the dials in society and decide how much your ambitions and efforts are worth, and they get to manipulate the outcome based on whatever bullshit metric and ideology they wish. It tends towards a form of cultural-marxism that insists on putting people into classes, treating them not as individuals, but as members of certain groups judged by their historical track record of oppression or oppressing. They then use this ideology to decide for you where your wealth and resources should be redistributed and reallocated, and who deserves to be stolen from and who deserves to recieve it. Then there’s no breaking out of it. I think the evidence is pretty clear that market-driven economies with sensible regulations and modest taxes to help those in need create the most prosperous societies, and that true socialism inevitably leads to ruin.

What is your take on the Green New Deal proposal put forth by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and endorsed by several Democrats?

Well, not sure if this is considered conspiracy, but I don’t believe in climate change. I guess by definition it can’t be a conspiracy because it’s a negative belief rather than a positive claim.

Well firstly, I hate to break it to you, but I’m a Trump supporter, so I’m not going to be agreeing with you on your first point. Secondly, I’m not talking about different versions of TV. I’m talking about TV, as in not the internet or YouTube or Netflix. Do people still watch television, like the DIY channel, Food Network, Speed, the Outdoor Channel, Discovery, Weather Channel, SciFi, ESPN, etc... Do people still have Dish Network and Direct TV in their homes? Or is television dead? (Note: I know some of these channels are probably either gone or have changed names, but that’s what they were last time I watched TV).

Preeschiate all the replies!

I never hear anyone talk about watching television anymore. Most everyone talks about watching Netflix or YouTube or whatever, but I never hear of anyone talking about watching, for instance, the Discovery Channel, or SciFi, or ESPN, or whatever anymore. The other day, a friend of mine from the city (I live in the country) came over and said “hey let’s order some wings and watch some Netflix”. I replied, “I know of nowhere to get wings around here, and I don’t have Netflix”. He was stunned I didn’t have Netflix and that I had never watched or used Netflix. He asked why and I told him because I couldn’t get internet where I live. He asked what I did have. I said I had a DVD player and some old gaming systems (SNES and a Wii), and I said my parents have Dish Network in their house. He goes “Dish? That’s so freaking old!” That got me to thinking, is television on its way out? Is it something people don’t consume anymore? I honestly don’t know because I’ve been out of the loop for over a decade now. I’m 28, so I have not excuse not to know what’s out there. But I’m just not a technological person at all. I’m very old school, I live in the country on hundreds of acres of land, and I’m basically a hermit. In the past decade, I only recently got another TV, and that was only because my sister was moving and had to give it to me. So I was just wondering, is television dead, For that matter, what can television do that YouTube cannot? Why is there still such a thing as television with the internet being here now? I don’t really get it. Why has the internet not made television completely obsolete?

I’m talking about daily transportation that is different from the vehicles we have today (i.e. regular cars, trucks, suvs, etc.). Will we be riding around in electric bubbles in 10-20 years, or do think the normal petrol-powered car will be around for a long time yet?

All I know is that experts say that you are programmed and shaped by evolution. Your genes determine who/what you are. If you are inferior and undesirable, that’s too damn bad, there’s nothing you can do about it. You couple that with the fact that your brain’s plasticity goes away at about my age, there’s nothing you can do. Look, I’m not trying to make excuses. I’m just wondering why no one reaffirms the belief we all were raised with, which is that “anyone can do anything they set out to do with the right mindset and hard work”. I don’t hear that being said anymore. All I hear is - you are what your genes dictate, you have no free will, and the older you get the less capable you become in terms of fixing your problems.