Modern Day Issues Compared To Previous Issues

Seil · 02-19-2011, 01:17 AM

Y'know, I sit at home and watch movies like "Talk To Me," that's set when Martin Luther King was assassinated, or "Watchmen" that was set during the Vietnam War and I think that I was born in the wrong era. Like Brad Pitt says in Fight Club, "We're the middle children of history... ...No great war..." I want to fight for a great cause.

Well, really, it's a stupid idea. There's not really a lot to fight for. Nothing really seems important to me right now. There's the riots going on in Egypt, there's the man who set himself on fire in Tunsia protesting bleak prospects of its citizens...

This just came across as a thought - I don't know why I'm posting this... But there's the desire there - the desire to be a part of something great, to take a stand for what I think is right. To be... active, for lack of a better word. Right now all I can do is to sit down, drink my whiskey, smoke my smokes and watch riots in the streets over something that happened afore I was born.

Should I take an interest in History, then? Should I try and get into Political Science next semester? What is there to fight for, let alone something that a struggling student could achieve?

Sithdarth · 02-19-2011, 01:23 AM

Go kick NASA in the ass and get them to send you to Mars. Potentially cheaper than a war, a much bigger deal historically, and much fewer potential casualties. Doing great things and being part of something big does not always mean killing people or fighting for a cause.

Or you could wait around for the technological singularity and sentient AI if it ever happens. That is another good one and I guess there is the potential for a great war there as well.

rpgdemon · 02-19-2011, 01:24 AM

If you're looking for a cause to fight for for the sake of being a part of something and fighting, you're really going about things wrong.

Aerozord · 02-19-2011, 01:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sithdarth

Go kick NASA in the ass and get them to send you to Mars. Potentially cheaper than a war, a much bigger deal historically, and much fewer potential casualties. Doing great things and being part of something big does not always mean killing people or fighting for a cause.

problem is NASA lost its funding, so no more missions to anywhere. Actually, fight for that, lack of a national space program seems kind of a legit complaint to me

Professor Smarmiarty · 02-19-2011, 03:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seil

Should I take an interest in History, then? Should I try and get into Political Science next semester? What is there to fight for, let alone something that a struggling student could achieve? [/color]

The millions of people dyin gevery year of preventable causes so somebody can have his 6th SUV?
If you're taking your philosophy from fight club you're doing it wrong.

Premmy · 02-19-2011, 07:08 AM

The amount of privileged white-boyism in this post is damn near painful, excellent seil-posting, man.

Professor Smarmiarty · 02-19-2011, 08:54 AM

White man's burden sucka!

Magus · 02-19-2011, 10:47 AM

The current problems seem just as important. I'm not sure what you can do for the people rebelling in various Middle-East countries other than being informed about it and informing others about it and maintaining solidarity. If there is anything specific you can do via Facebook in spreading these people's message, I guess you could do that.

I don't know what you can do to "change the world" besides live as honest a life as you can and, if you have children, or have relatives with children, instill in them values that make them at least mildly less prejudiced and selfish than the current generation of people in the world today. There are always little things you can do such as donate money or even actively help out with various movements, or in your local community, but "fighting a great war" is not how actual change is brought about, it's brought about by people volunteering their time and money on local-level issues, in the places where they see problems. The locality might be the Middle East or Africa or Asia or what have you, it might be your backyard. Armed conflict has basically not solved any problems I can think of--the Civil War didn't solve racism and prejudice in the south, for example. It took regular people marching and sacrificing their time and money and often their lives over the course of decades to "solve" that problem (to the extent it has been--obviously there is more work to be done, not only in the south but now in the southwest, the north, everywhere in the U.S.). Basically shooting somebody hasn't solved any of the actual problems of humanity, it's only been a short term solution because people are forced to act a certain way, as opposed to wanting to act that way--that kind of societal change takes years of hard work.

Professor Smarmiarty · 02-19-2011, 11:05 AM

Magus reminds me: Don't have kids, don't own pets, don't eat meat- there you go you, you've helped the world a lot.

Magus · 02-19-2011, 11:08 AM

I thought everybody was allowed to have two kids. Or one kid and a dog (seems to work out to about 1 and a tenth of a kid--in fact you could maybe have two dogs and one kid?)

02-19-2011, 01:17 AM	#1
Seil Super stressed! Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: British Columbia Posts: 8,081	Modern Day Issues Compared To Previous Issues Y'know, I sit at home and watch movies like "Talk To Me," that's set when Martin Luther King was assassinated, or "Watchmen" that was set during the Vietnam War and I think that I was born in the wrong era. Like Brad Pitt says in Fight Club, "We're the middle children of history... ...No great war..." I want to fight for a great cause. Well, really, it's a stupid idea. There's not really a lot to fight for. Nothing really seems important to me right now. There's the riots going on in Egypt, there's the man who set himself on fire in Tunsia protesting bleak prospects of its citizens... This just came across as a thought - I don't know why I'm posting this... But there's the desire there - the desire to be a part of something great, to take a stand for what I think is right. To be... active, for lack of a better word. Right now all I can do is to sit down, drink my whiskey, smoke my smokes and watch riots in the streets over something that happened afore I was born. Should I take an interest in History, then? Should I try and get into Political Science next semester? What is there to fight for, let alone something that a struggling student could achieve?

02-19-2011, 01:24 AM	#3
rpgdemon Not a Taco Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 3,313	If you're looking for a cause to fight for for the sake of being a part of something and fighting, you're really going about things wrong. __________________ I did a lot of posting on here as a teenager, and I was pretty awful. Even after I learned, grew up, and came to be on the right side of a lot of important issues, I was still angry, abrasive, and generally increased the amount of hate in the world, in pretty unacceptable ways. On the off chance that someone is taking a trip down memory lane looking through those old threads, I wanted to devote my signature to say directly to you, I'm sorry. Thank you for letting me be better, NPF.

02-19-2011, 07:08 AM	#6
Premmy Stop the hate Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: In a nice web on fifty first street Posts: 4,466	The amount of privileged white-boyism in this post is damn near painful, excellent seil-posting, man. __________________ Drank

02-19-2011, 08:54 AM	#7
Professor Smarmiarty Sent to the cornfield Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: K-space Posts: 9,758	I actually don't know what you're getting at? White man's burden sucka!

02-19-2011, 10:47 AM	#8
Magus Archer and Armstrong vs. the World Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 7,164	The current problems seem just as important. I'm not sure what you can do for the people rebelling in various Middle-East countries other than being informed about it and informing others about it and maintaining solidarity. If there is anything specific you can do via Facebook in spreading these people's message, I guess you could do that. I don't know what you can do to "change the world" besides live as honest a life as you can and, if you have children, or have relatives with children, instill in them values that make them at least mildly less prejudiced and selfish than the current generation of people in the world today. There are always little things you can do such as donate money or even actively help out with various movements, or in your local community, but "fighting a great war" is not how actual change is brought about, it's brought about by people volunteering their time and money on local-level issues, in the places where they see problems. The locality might be the Middle East or Africa or Asia or what have you, it might be your backyard. Armed conflict has basically not solved any problems I can think of--the Civil War didn't solve racism and prejudice in the south, for example. It took regular people marching and sacrificing their time and money and often their lives over the course of decades to "solve" that problem (to the extent it has been--obviously there is more work to be done, not only in the south but now in the southwest, the north, everywhere in the U.S.). Basically shooting somebody hasn't solved any of the actual problems of humanity, it's only been a short term solution because people are forced to act a certain way, as opposed to wanting to act that way--that kind of societal change takes years of hard work. __________________ The Valiant Review Last edited by Magus; 02-19-2011 at 10:50 AM.

02-19-2011, 01:23 AM	#2
Sithdarth Friendly Neighborhood Quantum Hobo Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Outside the M-brane look'n in Posts: 5,403	Go kick NASA in the ass and get them to send you to Mars. Potentially cheaper than a war, a much bigger deal historically, and much fewer potential casualties. Doing great things and being part of something big does not always mean killing people or fighting for a cause. Or you could wait around for the technological singularity and sentient AI if it ever happens. That is another good one and I guess there is the potential for a great war there as well.

02-19-2011, 11:05 AM	#9
Professor Smarmiarty Sent to the cornfield Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: K-space Posts: 9,758	Magus reminds me: Don't have kids, don't own pets, don't eat meat- there you go you, you've helped the world a lot.

02-19-2011, 11:08 AM	#10
Magus Archer and Armstrong vs. the World Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 7,164	I thought everybody was allowed to have two kids. Or one kid and a dog (seems to work out to about 1 and a tenth of a kid--in fact you could maybe have two dogs and one kid?) __________________ The Valiant Review