Ship of Fools
Some years ago, a book was written and subsequently made into a movie. It was called "Ship of Fools." As the election and the candidates progressed in their diatribes, the title kept popping up in my mind. Has the USA turned into a ship of fools? Looking at the candidates we find that we have two of the least popular people to run for the office of President in recent memory. However, the foibles of Trump do not rise to the same level as the exploits of Clinton. She has gotten away with (so far) treasons and felonies, and a record of scandals so bad and so plentiful, that it likely will take years of research to fully comprehend the degree of evil she has performed. What happens if Clinton wins? Are we a nation of fools if we elect such a creature? After all, when characterizing a large group of people, are they not labeled by what the majority thinks? With Hillary Clinton as our President, would we not be a nation of fools?
I'm afraid there are very few of us who fully value natural individual freedoms and properly minimized and restrained government...
robertm has a good handle on the situation. when people are poorly or completely uneducated as in the case of children they have yet to learn to take care of themselves. It becomes pitiful when you see people who are older that have yet to become adults because they are still waiting for the handout. The repetition of always being given what is necessary for survival secures dependence on the parent; i.e. the government handout. I do not know if all are idiots, I am sure the greater bulk of the nation is ignorant of how to take care of themselves. To say the basic issue in the world is the choice between individualism and collectivism is quite accurate but I would confine that world to just the usa where we live. the rest of the world is already collectivist. We are the last stand for individualism and it is loosing rapidly. the people we have for years employed to run the usa have very successfully become our overseers like the captain of a ship so yes we are now the passengers on the "ship of fools".
Running a business from scratch is an act of creativity. Under Hillary, creativity will be defined by guys dropping globs of paint from the ceiling to a canvas on the floor.
But -- who knows?
"... One must first ask: Which is the dominant ideological trend of today's culture?
"The disgraceful and terrifying answer is: there is no ideological trend today. There is no ideology. There are no political principles, theories, ideals, or philosophy. There is no direction, no goal, no compass, no vision of the future, no intellectual element of leadership. Are there any emotional elements dominating today's culture? Yes. One. Fear.
"A country without a political philosophy is like a ship drifting at random in mid-ocean, at the mercy of any chance wind, wave, or current, a ship whose passengers huddle in their cabins and cry: "Don't rock the boat!"—for fear of discovering that the captain's bridge is empty.
"It is obvious that a boat which cannot stand rocking is doomed already and that it had better be rocked hard, if it is to regain its course—but this realization presupposes a grasp of facts, of reality, of principles and a long-range view, all of which are precisely the things that the 'non-rockers' are frantically struggling to evade.
"Just as a neurotic believes that the facts of reality will vanish if he refuses to recognize them—so, today, the neurosis of an entire culture leads men to believe that their desperate need of political principles and concepts will vanish if they succeed in obliterating all principles and concepts. But since, in fact, neither an individual nor a nation can exist without some form of ideology, this sort of anti-ideology is now the formal, explicit, dominant ideology of our bankrupt culture."
Ayn Rand, "The New Fascism: Rule By Consensus" in Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal, 1965
People have heard the word "democracy" describing our republic so often that that's what they think it is. Sort of like Dr. Frankenstein's creation being called Frankenstein himself.
If that is true, then we have little hope for making America great -- ever. However, candidates who were thought of as being bad for the country can fool everyone and turn out to be great. Reagan was one, and while you and I may have great disagreements with him, Truman was another.
Trump is" liked" by his supporters generally, and Hillary is" liked"( but embarrassed and also encouraged by what she got away with) by her supporters.
To answer your question - The American people have decided that they want to be led, to have demands placed on them as long as a few basics are promised in return. They'll hand everything over for it. Anybody who doesn't want to go along with that better be at the level of a Weiner (no pun intended) or forget it. I think you are going to see force enacted on your fellow citizens at a level you've never seen before. I've been patiently, silently watching the laws getting signed here in California, executive orders by the Prez (just saw a hot one from Friday - he loves doing that on Friday)...watching how things are getting tee'd up for real force. Best of luck to all of you.
But, being a nation of laws, she has them, sadly, on her side if the fools elect her.
The ultimate for the government would be medicare/medicaid centers that doled out care according to their formulas. Im sure if they had their way, they would forbid doctors from practicing except those in large groups that were 'approved" by the government.
Just last night I had an intimate, quiet conversation with my son in his room. He, 11, expressed that he is frightened by Hillary Clinton because he understands she will force vaccines on the population. She will. He's right. In his case, he suffered a debilitating neurological effects from early application of the MMR vaccine. He has clawed his way back like a true champion. Now, we face this. In my research into becoming an expat I have found that a lot of families looking into going expat are in the same boat. I will not sacrifice my children.
Are you using any special ammo ? A higher velocity ammo could be louder;^)
You can also practice with .38 ammo to cut down the noise and the recoil (and cost.)
I used to have a Ruger GP100, a Ruger SP101, and a 50's era Colt Python. The GP100 was very good, the SP101 recoil was a wrist destroyer. The Colt was absolute heaven to shoot. The trigger, oh, rapture!
https://www.americanrifleman.org/arti...
I suggest you detach emotions from politics or you might very well become suicidal.
PS. I enjoyed seeing that you too...see hiltery as a "Creature"...don't know What it is but it sure ain't human...
Believe her dad headed CBS radio and Doodles & and Spike Jones were a riot.
But then, here we are, psychoanalyzing the guy 240 years later.
Therefore, the first group loves Hillary and HATES trump (and they DO hate Trump). The second group loves Trump and wants to lock up Hillary forever.
I am not so sure at all that there are that many who hate both candidates.
I dont believe the media at all any more. They all fall into the first group and cant be trusted.
Many people don't even know anything about the people that rule us. They know nothing of Obama's history and little of Clinton's corruption. They vote as good brainwashed fools.
It is very frustrating many no longer read a book or challenge themselves to expand their knowledge. I know that Some find it to depressing to give it a lot of consideration. With many families having 2 full time workers and a rat race to keep up with all the demands, in addition to the media brainwashing, sadly the PC and collectivism wins. I try to avoid all discussion with family, in laws and the nieces and nephews. My wife is glad for the gulch as I can discuss these issues with informed reasoning like minded folks.
Me dino saw that movie at the best theater in Dothan, AL.
Now its an added space for the court house parking lot.
Dang, old dino be old.
I'm just like the TV Show "Whose Line Is It Anyway" where everything is made up and the points don't matter.
It had a huge curtain that would roll open and shut.
There was even a balcony but that was for blacks only at first.
I tried that balcony out when the South became integrated and decided that's only seating for a filled-up theater like for The Song Of Music (saw it there downstairs) or some other blockbuster.
Oh, I did give you a +1 on top of that 0 by the way. Left that part out upstairs.
Took countless dates there . . ..
I'm afraid that we have reached a tipping point whereby votes are being cast not for what is best for the country, but for the freebies that candidate will provide to said voters.
It is a sad time in the history of our nation.
-- George Bernard Shaw
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quo...
My consideration is to have a triple-application to SSDI: Bad back, acute social anxiety disorder and fibromyalgia (the disease with the dubious distinction of being characterized purely based on its symptoms -- read, "fraud - it's all in your head.").
Then, after getting on the Gravy Train -- I would announce my "Retirement" on social media, making clear my bad back ... but the fact that I will continue to hike, climb mountains and run marathons. Why the hell should I continue to operate as a milch cow in full light of all the fraud around me? It is disgusting. I was doing a little math... about how the SSDI program should have fraud investigators... and how with 0.1% of the $180B a year SSDI payout budget -- those investigators could chip away at the 13M recipients of this govt program. But realistically, it is too damn late... we're party to the witnessing of Twilight's Last Gleaming ... I truly hope that I am around long enough to partake in the sweeping away of the host of maggots.
I'm glad you pointed it out, so many people don't realize how they shackle themselves.