Your Opinion on this Video Clip

RiverDad said:

Who is the They that Carlin keeps referring to? Was Steve Jobs a They? What happened when Steve Jobs went against David Geffen? Both guys can't get what they want. Was Jobs a They when he began his life? Was Bill Gates a They when he was born? I thought They only wanted bookkeepers who were smart enough to do the job and no one smarter. Why didn't They stop Gates and Jobs from making so much money?

How is it possible that They can coordinate all of their interests so that only They benefit? If the They who own solar companies benefit then that hurts the They who own coal powered power plants.

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This is a mistake I see Cons make often. People on the left don't hate the rich. People on the left loathe abuse. It just so happens that many people with money and power abuse. Those who happen to build wealth without habitual abuse do not receive or deserve our contempt. When you see that we do not turn on one of our own it kind of illustrates my point as opposed to exposing our hypocrisy.

Thorgasm said:

I like you, dude. But to be honest, you are coming across a little unhinged here in this thread. Calm down. :2razz:

Seriously though, the Government has tanks and attack helicopters. The Government rules the propaganda machine. Most people are not critical thinkers. Most people believe whatever confirms their preconceived notions. As long as people have their internet and smart phones, they aren't going to "rock the boat". People as a whole are hopeless with regards to their apathy about the state of things currently. That could change, but as of right now, it doesn't look that way. This is why Congress has an 11% approval rating and a 97% re-election rate. People are easy to mislead.

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You make people poor enough, with nothing to lose and they'll revolt. Maybe, eventually... I don't know. As long as their world is ticking along, they won't rock a boat or eat a goat. :lol:

Not in its entirety, no. I don't believe it's a concerted effort to make the rich wealthier and the poor poorer. I think what happens is they believe in self-interest and they believe their ideas work out better for everyone. I also do not think in the slightest, that the quality of education in the country is dramatically deadened so they could have obedient workers.

The wealthy classes (abstractly), are going to look out for their own interests, while believing that it is in the best interests of the country, and subscribe to policies because it will help the average citizen more than another idea would. This continues with the middle class and the lower classes. Each are disproportionately disposed to believe in certain political ideas, opposed to others, with the belief that if one subscribes to these ideas, it's better for all.

It's self-interest for everyone, but with zeal to believe it's best for all.

Juanita said:

You sound like a young idealist..... Back in the 60s, people did stand up-- they picketed, protested, boycotted and even rioted, but they accomplished a lot.....

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In some things, yes, absolutely. Very substantive reforms and social changes. In most others, absolutely not. One has to keep in mind the absolute demoralization found in that generation in 1968, lasting through the mid-1970s. Perhaps because that generation's target was so big, it's easy to forget the sheer volume of failure.

Fiddytree said:

Not in its entirety, no. I don't believe it's a concerted effort to make the rich wealthier and the poor poorer. I think what happens is they believe in self-interest and they believe their ideas work out better for everyone. I also do not think in the slightest, that the quality of education in the country is dramatically deadened so they could have obedient workers.

The wealthy classes (abstractly), are going to look out for their own interests, while believing that it is in the best interests of the country, and subscribe to policies because it will help the average citizen more than another idea would. This continues with the middle class and the lower classes. Each are disproportionately disposed to believe in certain political ideas, opposed to others, with the belief that if one subscribes to these ideas, it's better for all.

It's self-interest for everyone, but with zeal to believe it's best for all.

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I think many of the wealthy classes believe they are so because they are more deserving and have worked harder or smarter than those who haven't achieved it. So for the most part when they claim some noble by-product springs from their selfish actions it's really just a rationalization.

Redress said:

And that is just ****ing stupid. Demographics don't make a nation great. There is nothing about the demographics of the US that would prevent it from being great.

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Eh, someone with whom you may disagree (but certainly isn't in the doom and gloom business) named Ben Wattenberg concluded demography is important, however, things are looking up for the U.S. in the mid-term because of it.

Ben Wattenberg: America's 21st-Century Population Edge - WSJ.com

Juanita said:

You sound like a young idealist....

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Young is a relative term I am 37, and I am proud to be calledan idealist. If the world has more idealists perhaps it would be closer to the ideal place.

Back in the 60s, people did stand up-- they picketed, protested, boycotted and even rioted, but they accomplished a lot.

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Nothing ha changed but the people have given up hope.

Since then, except for perhaps the environmentalists, people seldom do that..Actually, they seldom even pay attention.

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Yes, they listen to assclowns like Carlin who preaches things he knows to be false while taking money from the stooges that cheer him on. Thus they give up hope. Because it's too hard.

If the government wants your property, they are going to get it and there won't be a dam thing that you can do about it.

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It's a good thing this defeatist attitude wasn't around during the revolution. That is the message I dispose because it's untrue. We are the government, the officials can't take anything from us. We are armed and they are afraid. That is the way it ought to be. I see that have coerced you into being their subject, how sad.

Have you looked at your credit history lately? Every payment that you have ever made to anybody for the past 7-10 years, is listed in the 3 credit report agencies.... In minute detail..If you were late once, it is listed. They know everything about you and it is used against you or for you, depending on your history.

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They only know what I spend my money on. That doesn't stop my heart from beating.

How is it possible that this group has so much information about you? How did this happen? Any employer, business, landlord can access this information at any time.

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How is it possible they could harm you in any way with this information? They know things about you, who cares, it isn't a gun pointed at your head. Sothey really have no power unless you give it up.

They can also access any criminal history that you may or may not have.....Whatever happened to privacy? You are an open book!!!!

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Knowing things about you doesn't end you. There were people that were hung and burned at the stake shot to death in trenches in some foreign hell hole so you would have the right to stand up.

Some bully knows your secrets and you sit down and shut up? A man stood in front of a battalion of tanks, prepared to get smashed by them. And knowing your credit history makes you surrender? I think the fellow in front of the tank put way more on the line.

How easy it would be to defeat people that surrender because somebody knows something, it isn't even deadly or the least bit threatening.

They will take my property over my dead body. And if it means I die, so be it. I would rather die for something than live for nothing.

opendebate said:

I think many of the wealthy classes believe they are so because they are more deserving and have worked harder or smarter than those who haven't achieved it. So for the most part when they claim some noble by-product springs from their selfish actions it's really just a rationalization.

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There's many like that yes, but I could just as easily talk about how there's the sense among those who are not in the upper-mid to higher rungs, that those above them don't deserve their position in society and that they are essentially estranged from the country as a whole.

Middleground said:

Please watch this video and give me your opinion on this George Carlin rant. Please do not vote without watching the full 3 minutes.

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I've lived around the rich and I've seen the movies about their lifestyles. And they are a club and I wouldn't want to pay their cost to join. Phony, pretentious, self serving jerkoff's, as a rule. It's a clique and if you don't know their rules, they won't play with you or help you get more money. Their lives are so controlled, boring and predictable. Lots of money doesn't make your problems go away, it gives you a new set of crappier ones.

All that being said, I really think I'd be different, so I'd like to try.

Thorgasm said:

I like you, dude. But to be honest, you are coming across a little unhinged here in this thread. Calm down. :2razz:

Seriously though, the Government has tanks and attack helicopters. The Government rules the propaganda machine. Most people are not critical thinkers. Most people believe whatever confirms their preconceived notions. As long as people have their internet and smart phones, they aren't going to "rock the boat". People as a whole are hopeless with regards to their apathy about the state of things currently. That could change, but as of right now, it doesn't look that way. This is why Congress has an 11% approval rating and a 97% re-election rate. People are easy to mislead.

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You know what one perspective seems to be missing in this thread? The one that advocates that while it is highly desirable to see the economy gain strength and to have the lower and middle classes have a renewed sense of confidence, is the system actually that bad?

Personally, I am content. From my angle, all I am seeing is the rest of you folks merely disagreeing on who is making the country go in the toilet.

Juanita said:

It is truer today than it was then.. Maybe somebody killed him to shut him up.... We "think" that we have a say in this country, but we really don't....

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Somebody did. His name is father time.

CLAX1911 said:

Young is a relative term I am 37, and I am proud to be calledan idealist. If the world has more idealists perhaps it would be closer to the ideal place.

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Probably not. It's a nice sentiment though.

Fiddytree said:

In some things, yes, absolutely. Very substantive reforms and social changes. In most others, absolutely not. One has to keep in mind the absolute demoralization found in that generation in 1968, lasting through the mid-1970s. Perhaps because that generation's target was so big, it's easy to forget the sheer volume of failure.

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What exactly was this sheer volume of failure?

Fiddytree said:

You know what one perspective seems to be missing in this thread? The one that advocates that while it is highly desirable to see the economy gain strength and to have the lower and middle classes have a renewed sense of confidence, is the system actually that bad?

Personally, I am content. From my angle, all I am seeing is the rest of you folks merely disagreeing on who is making the country go in the toilet.

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There are a lot of people who lost their jobs and couldn't get another one since 2008, due to age or change in their field, from technology. I don't think it's the particularly bad condition we're currently in, it's the direction it appears to be heading.

Juanita said:

What exactly was this sheer volume of failure?

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There were a lot of social and political experiments from that generation, from the merely ambitious economic policies (the Great Society) to a renewed neomarxism (often found in the New Left) and those that sought to recreate the human experience in psychological social groups. A great many of the ideas were discontinued after disappointing results, or had been victim to pure utopianism.

Fiddytree said:

You know what one perspective seems to be missing in this thread? The one that advocates that while it is highly desirable to see the economy gain strength and to have the lower and middle classes have a renewed sense of confidence, is the system actually that bad?

Personally, I am content. From my angle, all I am seeing is the rest of you folks merely disagreeing on who is making the country go in the toilet.

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That's the key. The Government has to keep enough people content.

grip said:

There are a lot of people who lost their jobs and couldn't get another one since 2008, due to age or change in their field, from technology. I don't think it's the particularly bad condition we're currently in, it's the direction it appears to be heading.

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Oh absolutely. The economy is still in the tank, confidence is low, but I personally think if there was a dangerous direction to be had, it would be found in previous generations and their economic crises-particularly during the 1930s.

Thorgasm said:

That's the key. The Government has to keep enough people content.

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Yeah, but you say that with a sense of disdain. Contentment has become anathema.

Fiddytree said:

Yeah, but you say that with a sense of disdain. Contentment has become anathema.

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That's because people don't mind getting screwed.

Thorgasm said:

That's because people don't mind getting screwed.

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I'm raising a question about whether or not, aside from the current economy, if they are truly getting screwed. I'm leaning toward "no."

CLAX1911 said:

Young is a relative term I am 37, and I am proud to be calledan idealist. If the world has more idealists perhaps it would be closer to the ideal place.
Nothing ha changed but the people have given up hope. Yes, they listen to assclowns like Carlin who preaches things he knows to be false while taking money from the stooges that cheer him on. Thus they give up hope. Because it's too hard. It's a good thing this defeatist attitude wasn't around during the revolution. That is the message I dispose because it's untrue. We are the government, the officials can't take anything from us. We are armed and they are afraid. That is the way it ought to be. I see that have coerced you into being their subject, how sad.They only know what I spend my money on. That doesn't stop my heart from beating. How is it possible they could harm you in any way with this information? They know things about you, who cares, it isn't a gun pointed at your head. Sothey really have no power unless you give it up. Knowing things about you doesn't end you. There were people that were hung and burned at the stake shot to death in trenches in some foreign hell hole so you would have the right to stand up.

Some bully knows your secrets and you sit down and shut up? A man stood in front of a battalion of tanks, prepared to get smashed by them. And knowing your credit history makes you surrender? I think the fellow in front of the tank put way more on the line.

How easy it would be to defeat people that surrender because somebody knows something, it isn't even deadly or the least bit threatening.

They will take my property over my dead body. And if it means I die, so be it. I would rather die for something than live for nothing.

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What do you think Eminent Domain means? Yes, they abso!utely "can" take your property if they want it..... Anyway, you are entirely missing my point, maybe because you are young......Why do they have the right to have all this personal information...??????? Are you married? Do you have kids? Do you know that if you ever hit your wife, that your children can be taken away and put in foster care??? Do you have ANY idea of the power that your State government has?

Fiddytree said:

Oh absolutely. The economy is still in the tank, confidence is low, but I personally think if there was a dangerous direction to be had, it would be found in previous generations and their economic crises-particularly during the 1930s.

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Those generations had it much tougher but they were adapting. And they also fought much greater calamities with World Wars, Diseases and Depressions. This generation coming up is less use to having to sacrifice, or know why they should. I see a time of pure anxiety, over things that shouldn't be sweated, coming.

opendebate said:

I think many of the wealthy classes believe they are so because they are more deserving and have worked harder or smarter than those who haven't achieved it. So for the most part when they claim some noble by-product springs from their selfish actions it's really just a rationalization.

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People with higher incomes have been found to be working longer hours and enjoying less leisure activity than those who earn less.

Fiddytree said:

There's many like that yes, but I could just as easily talk about how there's the sense among those who are not in the upper-mid to higher rungs, that those above them don't deserve their position in society and that they are essentially estranged from the country as a whole.

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I would hesitate to disagree with the idea that those in the upper-mid to higher rungs are estranged if not from the country as a whole certainly from those who are in the lower rungs.

I'm not sure what your point is though.

RiverDad said:

People with higher incomes have been found to be working longer hours and enjoying less leisure activity than those who earn less.

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Usually that was not the case in centuries past, when the comfortable classes essentially created leisure lifestyle. But sure enough, some body of work to advance the claim you suggest. It seems a bit strange, but hey, one can bend to such recent studies which have shown otherwise.