ideology - Penalizing Prudence - infantile thinking at its most basic - [PEACE]
Many in the West are infantile in their often consumeristic and essentially narcissistic self centered thinking/ doing/ believing/ living. This is a fundamental problem. Perhaps we can riff on "we don't control our lives" to something like "many people, infantile consumers, do not realise that they do not control their lives". This too is a problem. A favourite line below: "The word ‘prudence’ is not trending very high in the public’s vernacular these days". Penalizing Prudence By Cognitive Dissonance 2020-10-01 - 15:17 https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2020-10-01/penalizing-prudence “Economy, prudence, and a simple life are the sure masters of need, and will often accomplish that which, their opposites, with a fortune at hand, will fail to do.” – Clara Barton “Affairs are easier of entrance than of exit; and it is but common prudence to see our way out before we venture in.” – Aesop One of my conceits, of which there are many, is the belief that because I have entered the third trimester of my life, I am now in possession of great volumes of wisdom and perspective. Thankfully Mrs. Cog is always nearby to efficiently and surgically remove any such thoughts of grandeur and omnipotence. That said, at some point during the flight of life, even birds of prey eventually turn their thoughts to the comfort of a nearby nest rather than their next fearless fight. Even the most reckless among us begins elevating to greater importance the preservation of resources rather than mindless squandering, especially when we are closer to the end than the beginning. This is a good thing, by the way. It adds balance to the socioeconomic system, both personally and collectively, as well as countering the self-destructive tendencies of those obsessed with endless consumption. There’s a reason we’re no longer referred to as ‘citizens’ in mainstream media or political speech, but rather the more personal-responsibility-evading ‘consumer’. If given even a minimum of thought, one quickly realizes this subtly propagandized term (consumer) is a significant, if not the only, component of the obvious agenda to infantilize the US (and global) population. Like the one year old who eats, sleeps, plays, defecates, eats, sleeps, plays……with no personal responsibility other than to be self-indulgent and consume food and attention, we are being reduced (distilled down might be a better term) to our most base impulses. I suspect most people, if told this to their face, would not react well to my observation, assuming instead I was being critical of them personally. Like mama always said…if the shoe fits, wear it. The word ‘prudence’ is not trending very high in the public’s vernacular these days, at least not until recently and still only by a few. The massively disruptive socioeconomic changes thrust upon the population in the name of saving the world from the COVID boogie monster reminds me of a famous quote from the Vietnam War. "We had to destroy the village in order to save it." – Peter Arnett, New Zealand-born journalist, quoting an unnamed Major during the Battle of Bến Tre. I’m not exactly the bastion of fiscal, emotional and professional prudence. Not by a long shot. If anything, over the last seven years Mrs. Cog and I have ramped up our spending when cash flow permitted in order to improve, expand and maintain our little homestead up here on the mountain. While we do indulge on occasion, our work is our play and we rarely spend frivolously on consumer treats. Except, of course, when we do. Overall, our focus has been squarely centered on sustainability, in essence the exact opposite of consumerism just for the sake of consumption. A prudent person considers the exit long before entering, knowing full well in advance (or at least making an honest effort to do so) what is, and is not, within their control. A mindless consumer thinks little of the exit, assuming it will always be there simply because it has always been there in the past. The very act of mindless obsessive consumption precludes any probing deliberation and thought. This is infantile thinking at its most basic, putting any naval gazing toddler to shame with our own audacity and hypocrisy. Today’s ‘adult’ is little more than an overgrown child with a credit card and an oversized sense of righteous entitlement. While we all love to point to this or that ‘authority’ as the entity responsible for our own self debasement (a typical infantile response) it takes two to tango. Just because we can purchase something doesn’t mean we should. Somewhere along the line “We the People” lost the ability to understand the difference between needs and wants. Or more accurately, we lost the desire to understand. Prudence and thrift were, not so long ago, considered admirable traits. Cultural phrases such as “A penny saved is a penny earned” or “A stitch in time saves nine” demonstrated the value assigned to conservative thought and practice. The viral spread of consumerism over the last several decades, turning exponential since social media exploded onto the scene, has branded conservatism (criminally conflated with the Republican political party, which long ago abandoned its core conservative roots) persona non grata in society. The cultural, political and financial pressure to disregard prudence and thrift, essentially abandoning time-tested practices by the side of the road, endlessly bombards us via every glowing screen we own or encounter. Today’s freshly minted crop of children have never been introduced to conservative thinking and practices unless their parents and guardians deliberating and consistently pushed against the overwhelming tide of profligate squandering promoted by everyone everywhere all the time. It is now considered a matter of national security that “We the People” (individuals, corporations and governments alike) continue our spendthrift ways, less the economy crater and the depression boogieman emerge from under the bed. In a finite world, infinite expansion and consumption lead to only one exit. National (global) bankruptcy and social disaster. As anyone (or any corporation for that matter) who has gone bankrupt can attest, one simply cannot spend themselves out of imminent bankruptcy. And yet this is precisely what we as a nation and as individuals are confidently told can, and will, occur from various conflicted and corrupted authorities and entities. A perfect example is Modern Monetary Theory or MMT, just the latest rationalization for unrestrained spending at all levels well beyond our means. https://www.investopedia.com/modern-monetary-theory-mmt-4588060 Sadly, tragically, we believe what we want to hear and there is no shortage of con artists, propagandists and politicians who will leverage our collective denial for their own personal benefit. NEVER MISS THE NEWS THAT MATTERS MOST ZEROHEDGE DIRECTLY TO YOUR INBOX Receive a daily recap featuring a curated list of must-read stories. It is said that any government can do pretty much whatever it wants for as long as it can shield the population from the consequences of its actions. The longer the shield holds, the harder the eventual fall. At some point, when the general population is mostly dependent upon the government for basic services, distribution, protection and order, those most vulnerable to personal disaster will defend and support the very entity that is destroying them. While reading about historical events that led to individual and collective disaster, I often wondered how and why they didn’t see it coming. From my historically distant and disinterested point of view, it’s obvious to me what was rapidly approaching for those who would soon be pancaked between a rock and a hard place. I think I understand now. Life experienced from within the boiling stew pot is not the same when viewed from an external perspective. Our tendency to rationalize and justify even the most insane conditions is beyond logical explanation. This psychological pathology, the so-called human condition, is precisely why while history doesn’t repeat, it most certainly rhymes. Welcome to the insane asylum.
On Thu, Oct 1, 2020, 7:09 PM Zenaan Harkness <zen@freedbms.net> wrote:
Many in the West are infantile in their often consumeristic and essentially narcissistic self centered thinking/ doing/ believing/ living.
This is a fundamental problem.
Perhaps we can riff on "we don't control our lives" to something like "many people, infantile consumers, do not realise that they do not control their lives".
This too is a problem.
A favourite line below: "The word ‘prudence’ is not trending very high in the public’s vernacular these days".
I spent 6 years resisting anti-prudence mind control after Occupy, lost the battle, am in contact with another who experienced this, and have seen it spread to others further.
Penalizing Prudence By Cognitive Dissonance
2020-10-01 - 15:17
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2020-10-01/penalizing-prudence
“Economy, prudence, and a simple life are the sure masters of need, and will often accomplish that which, their opposites, with a fortune at hand, will fail to do.” – Clara Barton
“Affairs are easier of entrance than of exit; and it is but common prudence to see our way out before we venture in.” – Aesop
One of my conceits, of which there are many, is the belief that because I have entered the third trimester of my life, I am now in possession of great volumes of wisdom and perspective. Thankfully Mrs. Cog is always nearby to efficiently and surgically remove any such thoughts of grandeur and omnipotence. That said, at some point during the flight of life, even birds of prey eventually turn their thoughts to the comfort of a nearby nest rather than their next fearless fight.
Even the most reckless among us begins elevating to greater importance the preservation of resources rather than mindless squandering, especially when we are closer to the end than the beginning. This is a good thing, by the way. It adds balance to the socioeconomic system, both personally and collectively, as well as countering the self-destructive tendencies of those obsessed with endless consumption.
There’s a reason we’re no longer referred to as ‘citizens’ in mainstream media or political speech, but rather the more personal-responsibility-evading ‘consumer’. If given even a minimum of thought, one quickly realizes this subtly propagandized term (consumer) is a significant, if not the only, component of the obvious agenda to infantilize the US (and global) population.
Like the one year old who eats, sleeps, plays, defecates, eats, sleeps, plays……with no personal responsibility other than to be self-indulgent and consume food and attention, we are being reduced (distilled down might be a better term) to our most base impulses. I suspect most people, if told this to their face, would not react well to my observation, assuming instead I was being critical of them personally.
Like mama always said…if the shoe fits, wear it.
The word ‘prudence’ is not trending very high in the public’s vernacular these days, at least not until recently and still only by a few. The massively disruptive socioeconomic changes thrust upon the population in the name of saving the world from the COVID boogie monster reminds me of a famous quote from the Vietnam War.
"We had to destroy the village in order to save it." – Peter Arnett, New Zealand-born journalist, quoting an unnamed Major during the Battle of Bến Tre.
I’m not exactly the bastion of fiscal, emotional and professional prudence. Not by a long shot. If anything, over the last seven years Mrs. Cog and I have ramped up our spending when cash flow permitted in order to improve, expand and maintain our little homestead up here on the mountain. While we do indulge on occasion, our work is our play and we rarely spend frivolously on consumer treats.
Except, of course, when we do.
Overall, our focus has been squarely centered on sustainability, in essence the exact opposite of consumerism just for the sake of consumption. A prudent person considers the exit long before entering, knowing full well in advance (or at least making an honest effort to do so) what is, and is not, within their control. A mindless consumer thinks little of the exit, assuming it will always be there simply because it has always been there in the past. The very act of mindless obsessive consumption precludes any probing deliberation and thought.
This is infantile thinking at its most basic, putting any naval gazing toddler to shame with our own audacity and hypocrisy. Today’s ‘adult’ is little more than an overgrown child with a credit card and an oversized sense of righteous entitlement.
While we all love to point to this or that ‘authority’ as the entity responsible for our own self debasement (a typical infantile response) it takes two to tango. Just because we can purchase something doesn’t mean we should. Somewhere along the line “We the People” lost the ability to understand the difference between needs and wants. Or more accurately, we lost the desire to understand.
Prudence and thrift were, not so long ago, considered admirable traits. Cultural phrases such as “A penny saved is a penny earned” or “A stitch in time saves nine” demonstrated the value assigned to conservative thought and practice. The viral spread of consumerism over the last several decades, turning exponential since social media exploded onto the scene, has branded conservatism (criminally conflated with the Republican political party, which long ago abandoned its core conservative roots) persona non grata in society.
The cultural, political and financial pressure to disregard prudence and thrift, essentially abandoning time-tested practices by the side of the road, endlessly bombards us via every glowing screen we own or encounter. Today’s freshly minted crop of children have never been introduced to conservative thinking and practices unless their parents and guardians deliberating and consistently pushed against the overwhelming tide of profligate squandering promoted by everyone everywhere all the time.
It is now considered a matter of national security that “We the People” (individuals, corporations and governments alike) continue our spendthrift ways, less the economy crater and the depression boogieman emerge from under the bed. In a finite world, infinite expansion and consumption lead to only one exit.
National (global) bankruptcy and social disaster.
As anyone (or any corporation for that matter) who has gone bankrupt can attest, one simply cannot spend themselves out of imminent bankruptcy. And yet this is precisely what we as a nation and as individuals are confidently told can, and will, occur from various conflicted and corrupted authorities and entities. A perfect example is Modern Monetary Theory or MMT, just the latest rationalization for unrestrained spending at all levels well beyond our means. https://www.investopedia.com/modern-monetary-theory-mmt-4588060
Sadly, tragically, we believe what we want to hear and there is no shortage of con artists, propagandists and politicians who will leverage our collective denial for their own personal benefit. NEVER MISS THE NEWS THAT MATTERS MOST
ZEROHEDGE DIRECTLY TO YOUR INBOX
Receive a daily recap featuring a curated list of must-read stories.
It is said that any government can do pretty much whatever it wants for as long as it can shield the population from the consequences of its actions. The longer the shield holds, the harder the eventual fall. At some point, when the general population is mostly dependent upon the government for basic services, distribution, protection and order, those most vulnerable to personal disaster will defend and support the very entity that is destroying them.
While reading about historical events that led to individual and collective disaster, I often wondered how and why they didn’t see it coming. From my historically distant and disinterested point of view, it’s obvious to me what was rapidly approaching for those who would soon be pancaked between a rock and a hard place.
I think I understand now. Life experienced from within the boiling stew pot is not the same when viewed from an external perspective. Our tendency to rationalize and justify even the most insane conditions is beyond logical explanation. This psychological pathology, the so-called human condition, is precisely why while history doesn’t repeat, it most certainly rhymes.
Welcome to the insane asylum.
On Fri, Oct 02, 2020 at 05:45:04AM -0400, Karl wrote:
On Thu, Oct 1, 2020, 7:09 PM Zenaan Harkness <zen@freedbms.net> wrote:
Many in the West are infantile in their often consumeristic and essentially narcissistic self centered thinking/ doing/ believing/ living.
This is a fundamental problem.
Perhaps we can riff on "we don't control our lives" to something like "many people, infantile consumers, do not realise that they do not control their lives".
This too is a problem.
A favourite line below: "The word ‘prudence’ is not trending very high in the public’s vernacular these days".
I spent 6 years resisting anti-prudence mind control after Occupy, lost the battle, am in contact with another who experienced this, and have seen it spread to others further.
Opposition to you having your own thoughts (and conversations) is rife today. Attempts to dominate the thinking of the weak minded. The classic foundational version of this - opposition to/ inversion of, 'discrimination'. Thus today's "systemic racism and subconscious racism" bulldust. In times past, discrimination was a basic dignity, the first step for a thinking man. You see if you don't discriminate, you bang any chlamydia dripping prostitute for example, or stuff your face with cheap carbs and plant based oils, taking no heed to their health effects. The inversion of discrimination - the hailing of "anti-discrimination", in statute law even - is a foundational attack on our conversation, and therefore on our thinking processes. I am endowed by my Creator with a conscience. By my conscience I know the difference between good and evil. I choose to do good, not evil. Create your world,
On Fri, Oct 2, 2020, 7:02 AM Zenaan Harkness <zen@freedbms.net> wrote:
On Thu, Oct 1, 2020, 7:09 PM Zenaan Harkness <zen@freedbms.net> wrote:
Many in the West are infantile in their often consumeristic and essentially narcissistic self centered thinking/ doing/ believing/
This is a fundamental problem.
Perhaps we can riff on "we don't control our lives" to something like "many people, infantile consumers, do not realise that they do not
control
their lives".
This too is a problem.
A favourite line below: "The word ‘prudence’ is not trending very high in the public’s vernacular these days".
I spent 6 years resisting anti-prudence mind control after Occupy, lost
On Fri, Oct 02, 2020 at 05:45:04AM -0400, Karl wrote: living. the
battle, am in contact with another who experienced this, and have seen it spread to others further.
Opposition to you having your own thoughts (and conversations) is rife today. Attempts to dominate the thinking of the weak minded.
Nobody is weak minded. The classic foundational version of this - opposition to/ inversion of,
'discrimination'. Thus today's "systemic racism and subconscious racism" bulldust.
In times past, discrimination was a basic dignity, the first step for a thinking man. You see if you don't discriminate, you bang any chlamydia dripping prostitute for example, or stuff your face with cheap carbs and plant based oils, taking no heed to their health effects.
The inversion of discrimination - the hailing of "anti-discrimination", in statute law even - is a foundational attack on our conversation, and therefore on our thinking processes.
I am endowed by my Creator with a conscience.
By my conscience I know the difference between good and evil.
I choose to do good, not evil.
Create your world,
Nobody is weak minded.
Biden has a weak pussy mind - dementia onset or blah. Friend o' mine has a literal mental six pack!! Man, it's amazin! And Mr Bean - Rowan Atkinson - his IQ is insane! 170+ from memory... (And remember, IQ is a bell curve so from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IQ we see "About 2.5 percent of the population scores above 130, and 2.5 percent below 70".) Trump and Biden? Like a heavy weight fighting a really old light weight boxer - not fun, not pretty, doesn't make much sense. Kayleigh "lady McLuscious" McEnany ain't got no bitch ass weak pussy mind, that's fer sure - she make the entire White House press corps suck eggs on command :D She is making history every other week - "mic drop" press sec champion, of the world! "Mic Drop" McEnany has good ring to it. BTW, what a ridiculously blessedly awesomely gloriously --epic-- year of epic years :) Create your world folks, -- And pray muh gritty muffaduckas :D Lotta people steppin up all over the place. Pray for them. And consider stepping up. Your karma points this year are literally tripled, so might as well double down :D Did we mention "pray"? Coz u know - karma. Clean up your metaphorical back yard. And your .sigs ;) And pray. Oh and BTW, if you're not much into prayin, then Vincent Ferrer is an awesome read - only from a few 100 years ago and he rocked it like few ever rock it - really awesome stuff! There's a sweet little book around, easy read paperback "St. Vincent Ferrer The Angel of the Judgment", author Pradel, ISBN 978-0-89555-686-8 - it was literally THAT enjoyable that I bought an extra 10 and handed to friends like lollies, with good reports - if you're skint, ask your library to hunt that muffa down :) Is a long .sig politically incorrect? Is it devious?
On Fri, Oct 2, 2020, 8:41 AM Zenaan Harkness <zen@freedbms.net> wrote:
Nobody is weak minded.
Biden has a weak pussy mind - dementia onset or blah.
I hit him in the head with a hammer by accident. He'll recover.
Friend o' mine has a literal mental six pack!! Man, it's amazin! And Mr Bean - Rowan Atkinson - his IQ is insane! 170+ from memory...
(And remember, IQ is a bell curve so from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IQ we see "About 2.5 percent of the population scores above 130, and 2.5 percent below 70".)
Measure something universal and you measure the biases of the people involved.
Trump and Biden? Like a heavy weight fighting a really old light weight boxer - not fun, not pretty, doesn't make much sense.
Kayleigh "lady McLuscious" McEnany ain't got no bitch ass weak pussy mind, that's fer sure - she make the entire White House press corps suck eggs on command :D She is making history every other week - "mic drop" press sec champion, of the world!
"Mic Drop" McEnany has good ring to it.
BTW, what a ridiculously blessedly awesomely gloriously --epic-- year of epic years :)
Create your world folks,
-- And pray muh gritty muffaduckas :D Lotta people steppin up all over the place. Pray for them. And consider stepping up. Your karma points this year are literally tripled, so might as well double down :D Did we mention "pray"? Coz u know - karma. Clean up your metaphorical back yard. And your .sigs ;) And pray. Oh and BTW, if you're not much into prayin, then Vincent Ferrer is an awesome read - only from a few 100 years ago and he rocked it like few ever rock it - really awesome stuff! There's a sweet little book around, easy read paperback "St. Vincent Ferrer The Angel of the Judgment", author Pradel, ISBN 978-0-89555-686-8 - it was literally THAT enjoyable that I bought an extra 10 and handed to friends like lollies, with good reports - if you're skint, ask your library to hunt that muffa down :) Is a long .sig politically incorrect? Is it devious?
On Fri, Oct 02, 2020 at 10:08:42AM -0400, Karl wrote:
On Fri, Oct 2, 2020, 8:41 AM Zenaan Harkness <zen@freedbms.net> wrote:
Nobody is weak minded.
Biden has a weak pussy mind - dementia onset or blah.
I hit him in the head with a hammer by accident. He'll recover.
Friend o' mine has a literal mental six pack!! Man, it's amazin! And Mr Bean - Rowan Atkinson - his IQ is insane! 170+ from memory...
(And remember, IQ is a bell curve so from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IQ we see "About 2.5 percent of the population scores above 130, and 2.5 percent below 70".)
Measure something universal and you measure the biases of the people involved.
Ah, but measurement requires observation, and observing these horrible whiteness biases introduces Schroedinger's uncertainty thus liberating us from such horrible strictive racism.
Trump and Biden? Like a heavy weight fighting a really old light weight boxer - not fun, not pretty, doesn't make much sense.
Kayleigh "lady McLuscious" McEnany ain't got no bitch ass weak pussy mind, that's fer sure - she make the entire White House press corps suck eggs on command :D She is making history every other week - "mic drop" press sec champion, of the world!
"Mic Drop" McEnany has good ring to it.
BTW, what a ridiculously blessedly awesomely gloriously --epic-- year of epic years :)
Create your world folks,
-- And pray muh gritty muffaduckas :D Lotta people steppin up all over the place. Pray for them. And consider stepping up. Your karma points this year are literally tripled, so might as well double down :D Did we mention "pray"? Coz u know - karma. Clean up your metaphorical back yard. And your .sigs ;) And pray. Oh and BTW, if you're not much into prayin, then Vincent Ferrer is an awesome read - only from a few 100 years ago and he rocked it like few ever rock it - really awesome stuff! There's a sweet little book around, easy read paperback "St. Vincent Ferrer The Angel of the Judgment", author Pradel, ISBN 978-0-89555-686-8 - it was literally THAT enjoyable that I bought an extra 10 and handed to friends like lollies, with good reports - if you're skint, ask your library to hunt that muffa down :) Is a long .sig politically incorrect? Is it devious?
On Fri, Oct 2, 2020, 7:48 PM Zenaan Harkness <zen@freedbms.net> wrote:
On Fri, Oct 02, 2020 at 10:08:42AM -0400, Karl wrote:
On Fri, Oct 2, 2020, 8:41 AM Zenaan Harkness <zen@freedbms.net> wrote:
Nobody is weak minded.
Biden has a weak pussy mind - dementia onset or blah.
I hit him in the head with a hammer by accident. He'll recover.
Friend o' mine has a literal mental six pack!! Man, it's amazin! And Mr Bean - Rowan Atkinson - his IQ is insane! 170+ from memory...
(And remember, IQ is a bell curve so from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IQ we see "About 2.5 percent of the population scores above 130, and 2.5 percent below 70".)
Measure something universal and you measure the biases of the people involved.
Ah, but measurement requires observation, and observing these horrible whiteness biases introduces Schroedinger's uncertainty thus liberating us from such horrible strictive racism.
Intelligence is a mental skill and I like to talk about it a lot because some people think they are stupid or smart because of who they are, rather than what they have done, had done to them, and eaten. It's obviously bullshit since most of our brain develops before we remember anything. Observing results in behavior change that others can further observe.
So, many of the communication channels could likely be built on marketing AI feedback. The AIs find properties of information that are useful for meeting their goals, and copy the properties around. It would make complex information flow between e.g. people who like knicknacks, but who have never met each other, via the marketing AIs they visit. The behavior of the AIs would adjust the flow of symbols depending on what trended to work for their goals at the time. They could even learn to influence each others' trending algorithms or even owners, to meet the goals of their own, because they're influencing smart human minds who can figure parts of that stuff out in response to them. Why do you always speak in political references?
Trump and Biden? Like a heavy weight fighting a really old light weight boxer - not fun, not pretty, doesn't make much sense.
Kayleigh "lady McLuscious" McEnany ain't got no bitch ass weak pussy mind, that's fer sure - she make the entire White House press corps suck eggs on command :D She is making history every other week - "mic drop" press sec champion, of the world!
"Mic Drop" McEnany has good ring to it.
BTW, what a ridiculously blessedly awesomely gloriously --epic-- year of epic years :)
Create your world folks,
-- And pray muh gritty muffaduckas :D Lotta people steppin up all over the place. Pray for them. And consider stepping up. Your karma points this year are literally tripled, so might as well double down :D Did we mention "pray"? Coz u know - karma. Clean up your metaphorical back yard. And your .sigs ;) And pray. Oh and BTW, if you're not much into prayin, then Vincent Ferrer is an awesome read - only from a few 100 years ago and he rocked it like few ever rock it - really awesome stuff! There's a sweet little book around, easy read paperback "St. Vincent Ferrer The Angel of the Judgment", author Pradel, ISBN 978-0-89555-686-8 - it was literally THAT enjoyable that I bought an extra 10 and handed to friends like lollies, with good reports - if you're skint, ask your library to hunt that muffa down :) Is a long .sig politically incorrect? Is it devious?
participants (2)
-
Karl -
Zenaan Harkness