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Do You Agree With George Carlin's View of American Society?

Do You Agree With George Carlin, Americans Have No Choice?

  • Total voters
    29
post said:
Who informed you of those "truths"? Do you actually have a clue as to what "leftists" are, or what they believe, espouse?
I can assure you Jeff Bezos, world's wealthiest man and personal owner of the Washington Post, and the NY Times controlling interest, the Sulzberger family, are not "leftist".
Your opinions indicate you are a right wing extremist, closer in the political spectrum to fascist than Bezos or the Sulzbergers are to "leftist".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Ochs_Sulzberger_Jr.
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And your rhetoric shows you don't know what the heck you are talking about.
 
Captain Adverse said:
I just ran across this neat little video taking a bit out of George Carlin's last routine "Life Is Worth Losing" (2005).

I like the way the artists in the video translate his statements into visual art.



The video speaks for itself.

Poll Question:

Do you agree or disagree with his viewpoint that "We The People" really have no choice in American society?

I even added "Other" for those who want to explain (waffle ;) ) the issue.
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I stopped listening right away when he said all the wealthy people control everything. While that is true to a great extent, it is not 100% true as the left would have you believe.
 
Captain Adverse said:
Do you agree or disagree with his viewpoint that "We The People" really have no choice in American society?
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I disagree with that assertion. I disagree because over the course of my 60 years, I've made a host of choices that resulted in my achieving exactly what I wanted to achieve. All I did was "follow directions," so to speak.

The game of "life" in the U.S. comes with a set of rules. Play by them and be good at playing, and one'll do just fine. One certainly can play the game one's own way, but that carries risk, most notably the risk of not doing just fine. Each of us is free to choose which way we want to play, or to choose not to play.

Think of this way. What would happen if you stood on a football field and refused to play, didn't know how to play, didn't play well or go someplace other than that field? I'll tell you what'd happen: you'd get your ass knocked on the ground, stepped on, and carried off the field so the actual players can continue playing while you sit on the sidelines to moan and nurse your wounds.

Such is the nature of capitalism.
  1. Compete effectively in the market in which one finds oneself.
  2. Choose a different market in which to compete.
  3. Perish.
I don't care which course one chooses, but, in the U.S., one is always free to choose one of those paths.
 
Captain Adverse said:
I just ran across this neat little video taking a bit out of George Carlin's last routine "Life Is Worth Losing" (2005).

I like the way the artists in the video translate his statements into visual art.



The video speaks for itself.

Poll Question:

Do you agree or disagree with his viewpoint that "We The People" really have no choice in American society?

I even added "Other" for those who want to explain (waffle ;) ) the issue.
Click to expand...


Yeah that's from his last tour; oddly enough there were headstones decorating the stage... He's absolutely right and nobody worth their salt in ANY kind of leadership positions have the balls to say it. FDR did though; the last truly great president that this country had. But when the country drank the Reagan koolaid and jumped on the paradigm shift "everybody's a CEO and has to have a stock portfolio" band wagon we set our selves up for this like lambs to the slaughter. We no longer have any control over these people and their mission. They have all the money and make all the rules. Welcome the new Middle Ages.
 
Redress said:
I have a quote in my sig about cynicism. I find it very important to remind myself that the type of cynicism Carlin espouses in the video is ultimately self defeating. Sometimes it is really hard though. So no, I do not agree with it, at least not in its entirety.

Edit: and yes, I love the work of the illustrators.
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Its ideas and its constitution are what are being used right now to beat you over the head. It's not cynicism; it's paying very close attention. If we had not been cynical about the British to begin with, going back 700 years from the colonial era, we'd have nothing to believe in in the first place. First we got cynical, we got angry, we got cornered and then we got the balls to go to war, because we had nothing to lose.
 
I voted "other", and I don't think I'm "waffling". He's correct there is a very exclusive club and I'm NOT in it; and neither are MOST AmeriCANs. People that lean left and lean right … YOU'RE NOT IN THE CLUB THAT MATTERS. Infighting and putting down fellow hard working AmeriCANs no matter how they lean is what keeps the "CLUB" in business.

I recently heard (or read) what keeps Japan great is ALL of its People are JAPANEESE, they aren't conservative or liberal, left or right, up or down; they are Japanese. <--period

If WE don't start recognizing that we are all AmeriCANS and act like it by supporting each other there will be no more America; but I believe we will prevail and come together and America will prevail.

I voted other because I don't believe … THERE IS NOTHING I/WE CAN DO ABOUT "IT"; we have the Constitution and that's enough.



The most valuable player is the player that makes the most players valuable
-Payton Manning
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A GREAT America is an America that makes the most AmeriCANs GREAT!
 
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Waddy said:
Neither of my parents finished high school. One of my grandfathers worked at a slaughter house. The other had a small farm. Neither of my wife's parents finished high school. They worked in factories. I eventually held a college professorship. My wife ran a health plan for a major union. All of our grown children are professional people. They all make six figure incomes. My wife and I have five pensions coming in including SS. We have property and a nice Roth IRA to draw down. The vehicles are paid for. Both of us hope to live in to our 90's at least. Yeah, this is a ****ty country. Let's have a revolution; that will solve everything.

But let me ask a question; where does wealth come from? Who's been putting money into my Roth every month? Who offers all the crap I go out and buy every month? Companies create wealth. Companies create the wealth that makes tax collection possible. Most of this b****ing I hear comes from people who never had to meet a payroll. I'm all for ferreting out corruption, but I want only the very minimal necessary to regulate business beyond that. Fair trade, a clean environment, and actual competition. We should actually try real capitalism one of these days.
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How'd you pensions and roth do in the great recession of 2008? The only guarantee that you have is that piece of land and you SS, because land has relative value as land, and FDR was smart enough to set up SS so that your relatives who didn't graduate and yourself would have something that you could cont on to able to eat.

This country is a gamble, every - single - day; unless you have enough interests to set you and yours up for the next 100 years you can be screwed at any moment.
 
jet57 said:
H... unless you have enough interests to set you and yours up for the next 100 years you can be screwed at any moment.
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It doesn't have to be that way.
 
jet57 said:
How'd you pensions and roth do in the great recession of 2008? The only guarantee that you have is that piece of land and you SS, because land has relative value as land, and FDR was smart enough to set up SS so that your relatives who didn't graduate and yourself would have something that you could cont on to able to eat.

This country is a gamble, every - single - day; unless you have enough interests to set you and yours up for the next 100 years you can be screwed at any moment.
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We came through just fine because we had a house we could afford and our investment strategy was prudent. Now comfortably retired.
 
Jack Hays said:
We came through just fine because we had a house we could afford and our investment strategy was prudent. Now comfortably retired.
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You're not Waddy. I bought thirty years ago myself and am happily retired as well on a great Teamster's pension. So what's your point?
 
StuPedaso said:
It doesn't have to be that way.
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Yeah that's true, but we no longer have any control over the markets that are gambling with our money / future. We have no control because our ability to move up in the financial world as we did from the 1930s until the late 1970s has been taken over by an oligarchy. Our abilities to effectually deal enough blows to them financially to keep them in line have been taken away from us, so we're so happy to be employed and have somewhere to live that we keep our mouths shut and take what we get.
 
jet57 said:
You're not Waddy. I bought thirty years ago myself and am happily retired as well on a great Teamster's pension. So what's your point?
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The so-called Great Recession wasn't much of a problem for those who weren't greedy or foolish.
 
Jack Hays said:
The so-called Great Recession wasn't much of a problem for those who weren't greedy or foolish.
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Investments and pension funds and 401s and roths and property values all took great big hits jack, you know that as well jack, and it happened because the people who control the markets are greedy and stupid jack.
 
jet57 said:
Yeah that's true, but we no longer have any control over the markets that are gambling with our money / future. We have no control because our ability to move up in the financial world as we did from the 1930s until the late 1970s has been taken over by an oligarchy. Our abilities to effectually deal enough blows to them financially to keep them in line have been taken away from us, so we're so happy to be employed and have somewhere to live that we keep our mouths shut and take what we get.
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But! It doesn't have to be that way! ;)
 
I voted YES, and if you are too stupid to not understand the truth with which George speaks, then you are too stupid to know better ...........
 
Jack Hays said:
The so-called Great Recession wasn't much of a problem for those who weren't greedy or foolish.
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Thanks to trillions of dollars in bailouts from the kids/grandkids/unborn.....

This is not a sustainable plan.
 
jet57 said:
Yeah, I know; that's what we said just before we read the Declaration of Independence. ;)
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But, because of the Declaration of Independence … WE … have the Constitution; the greatest document written by man for MANKIND!
 
StuPedaso said:
But, because of the Declaration of Independence … WE … have the Constitution; the greatest document written by man for MANKIND!
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the greatest document ever written by man isn't even written; toilet paper has no writing on it .................
 
StuPedaso said:
But, because of the Declaration of Independence … WE … have the Constitution; the greatest document written by man for MANKIND!
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And it's being used to choke us to death right now.
 
jet57 said:
And it's being used to choke us to death right now.
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But … :)

"THEY" are getting away with it because they have "US" divided. IF Americans start pulling together for Americans … "they" won't be able to stop US.
 
jet57 said:
How'd you pensions and roth do in the great recession of 2008? The only guarantee that you have is that piece of land and you SS, because land has relative value as land, and FDR was smart enough to set up SS so that your relatives who didn't graduate and yourself would have something that you could cont on to able to eat.

This country is a gamble, every - single - day; unless you have enough interests to set you and yours up for the next 100 years you can be screwed at any moment.
Click to expand...

That's life; it's a gamble. Here and everywhere else, any time in history. And that's what makes this a bad country? That it's a gamble? Life is a gamble. That never scared me. Governments fold, SS could be changed and means tested, so I would be out. Even land is no guarantee. Values can crash. Just ask the people in Florida. The USA is still a great place to live, and you can succeed with some effort on your part. Carlin got it totally wrong. BTW; the Roth took a hit but it's now made up the loss and a lot more. But that's what life is; I could die tomorrow. But it's a great ride while it lasts. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Mostly I wish young people wouldn't be influenced by the Carlin's of the world. That defeatist attitude instills in them a loser's approach to the world. If they listen to the Carlin's they are beaten before they get started. It is a crutch they learn to lean on to explain their inability to sustain the persistence needed to be successful at this gamble we call America. You don't have to be a genius to make it in this country, but you do have to be persistent. And that's a very difficult thing. Much easier to make excuses or blame it on others. And then talk yourself into believing the government owes you cradle to grave support. That attitude does indeed make you into the slave Carlin describes.
 
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