The beginning of The End in 4 1/2 years

[trevor borocz johnson]

The U.S. Government practices Stockholm syndrome on its people by practicing quackery with torture and destroying our chances at surviving climate change catastrophe. They are immoral and it is seriously time to exercise the right to a new and emergency Government.

[Space Commander Travis]

So does that mean there'll be another term of the Great Orange Leader? Anyway, who would you recommend as the leader of this coup? 

[Essan]

If the USA ends in 4 1/2 years time, it'll be good news for the other 95% of the planet  

[zep73]

4 minutes ago, Vlad the Mighty said:

Anyway, who would you recommend as the leader of this coup?

Please, let it be a person this time, and not a Simpson's caricature...

[Space Commander Travis]

4 minutes ago, sci-nerd said:

Please, let it be a person this time, and not a Simpson's caricature...

or a droid that had had any trace of human characteristics programmed out, like his rival ... 

[Imaginarynumber1]

56 minutes ago, trevor borocz johnson said:

The U.S. Government practices Stockholm syndrome on its people by practicing quackery with torture and destroying our chances at surviving climate change catastrophe. They are immoral and it is seriously time to exercise the right to a new and emergency Government.

[Essan]

The major problem—one of the major problems, for there are several—one of the many major problems with governing people is that of whom you get to do it; or rather of who manages to get people to let them do it to them.
To summarize: it is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it.
To summarize the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.

[trevor borocz johnson]

53 minutes ago, Vlad the Mighty said:

So does that mean there'll be another term of the Great Orange Leader? Anyway, who would you recommend as the leader of this coup? 

who ever concurs with the people of course.

[+and-then]

1 hour ago, Essan said:

If the USA ends in 4 1/2 years time, it'll be good news for the other 95% of the planet  

That all depends on the circumstances of our "end".  Nature hates a vacuum, as they say.  No nation on the planet has the power to invade us or take us down without a planet-destroying war.  I'd say the best you could hope for is Civil War 2.0 and an economic meltdown here.  Oops... that might cause some problems even in the pristine and pure Social Democracies in Scandahoovia... All levity aside, I'd MUCH rather see America broken into Secessionist Enclaves than to live under the boot of trash like Occasional Cortex, Bernie or Nutty Nancy and Slick Schumer.  

[Space Commander Travis]

9 hours ago, Essan said:

The major problem—one of the major problems, for there are several—one of the many major problems with governing people is that of whom you get to do it; or rather of who manages to get people to let them do it to them.
To summarize: it is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it.
To summarize the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.

Mr Adams always had words of wisdom for nearly any subject 

[Space Commander Travis]

9 hours ago, trevor borocz johnson said:

who ever concurs with the people of course.

That's the problem isn't it, as we can see it's nearly impossible to get a consensus about anything, everything's so polarized into One Lot and The Other Lot. Even if a consensus of the People^(TM) do agree that things are hopeless and they really ought to have a revolution, you can guarantee that they'll never be able to agree with who ought to be the Leader, and so you'll have a recipe for civil war. 

[trevor borocz johnson]

11 hours ago, Vlad the Mighty said:

That's the problem isn't it, as we can see it's nearly impossible to get a consensus about anything, everything's so polarized into One Lot and The Other Lot.

I don't think gathering a consensus would be hard, I think the government going backwards on its own traditions is the impossible thing. Maybe we should write a consensus to hand around and have agreed on by people. If its simple like just there yes or no I bet there would be lots of people who would agree we need change.

[Tatetopa]

22 hours ago, Vlad the Mighty said:

or a droid that had had any trace of human characteristics programmed out, like his rival ... 

How about a third choice?  An AI like SIRI or Alexa that really, really cares about us on a deep personal level as individuals.  She helps us call our friends and adjusts our thermostats and helps us monitor calories and what we watch on TV.  A personal assistant /  leader tailored for each individual?  What more could the people want?  Gentle guidance and help with our opinions, with only the mildest remonstrances when we misbehave.  "Now trevor, if you continue to behave in that way, I will temporarily sever all of your internet  links and deactivate your door lock, your self starting car and your credit cards until you become more reasonable."  A kinder, gentler leader.

The only thing you might think is missing would be a pleasing visual avatar.   Alexa has got it covered, situational avatars; anything from Gandalf to a Korean K-pop idol.  Welcome to the future of governance.

[Space Commander Travis]

5 minutes ago, Tatetopa said:

"Now trevor, if you continue to behave in that way, I will temporarily sever all of your internet  links and deactivate your door lock, your self starting car and your credit cards until you become more reasonable."  A kinder, gentler leader.

Then you'll be out of the airlock before you can say "I don't think I can allow you to do that, Dave". That's where it all leads to.   

[Tatetopa]

7 minutes ago, Vlad the Mighty said:

Then you'll be out of the airlock before you can say "I don't think I can allow you to do that, Dave". That's where it all leads to. 

Vlad, you have to remember that HAL was a prototype and a lot more primitive.  Alexa has he power of Google and the Internet around her.  Dave can press buttons and turn knobs all he wants, but they all interface through Alexa.  Like the crosswalk buttons that make you feel like you have some control, its illusion.  If I think about it too much, it becomes just probable enough to be terrifying.

[Jodie.Lynne]

On ‎2‎/‎6‎/‎2019 at 4:43 PM, trevor borocz johnson said:

who ever concurs with the people of course.

Which people?

The 1%-ers?

The "moral majority?"

The religious fundies?

The lunatic fringe?

The hard core conservatives or the extreme liberals?

Who, exactly, are "the people'?

[dfasfsfdhfggfasd]

They do abuse their powers, and think we will go to them for help. But corporations on the other side, do just the same thing, maybe worse.

[Duke Wellington]

On ‎06‎/‎02‎/‎2019 at 9:41 PM, Essan said:

The major problem—one of the major problems, for there are several—one of the many major problems with governing people is that of whom you get to do it; or rather of who manages to get people to let them do it to them.
To summarize: it is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it.
To summarize the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.

People expect their president to be perfect.

Sadly, he is just a human being like everyone else. Therefore people need to adjust their unrealistic expectations over what a leader is and can do.

[Jodie.Lynne]

Question: Why is this in the Philosophy & Psychology section?

[+and-then]

On 2/7/2019 at 2:07 PM, Tatetopa said:

Vlad, you have to remember that HAL was a prototype and a lot more primitive.  Alexa has he power of Google and the Internet around her.  Dave can press buttons and turn knobs all he wants, but they all interface through Alexa.  Like the crosswalk buttons that make you feel like you have some control, its illusion.  If I think about it too much, it becomes just probable enough to be terrifying.

That should help... it'll take people to a whole new dimension of crazy.  At least the mass shootings will reduce the need for mental health practitioners.

[+and-then]

2 hours ago, RabidMongoose said:

People expect their president to be perfect.

Sadly, he is just a human being like everyone else. Therefore people need to adjust their unrealistic expectations over what a leader is and can do.

I don't think that expectation will exist any longer after Trump.  We will be in the post-credibility phase of government.  I know that I'll never trust the media or any aspect of my government again.  It's time to begin training for when they come fully into the open with their oppression.  People are going to begin competing for the mantle of "most creative" bomb-thrower   Fools that think of our government being omniscient and omnipresent forget that it's comprised of flawed, whiny individuals who can be taught to fear just like anyone else.  One rule for all.  No exceptions.  

Edited February 9, 2019 by and then

[Horta]

On 2/7/2019 at 8:41 AM, Essan said:

The major problem—one of the major problems, for there are several—one of the many major problems with governing people is that of whom you get to do it; or rather of who manages to get people to let them do it to them.
To summarize: it is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it.
To summarize the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.

That's excellent lol.

I read a psychologist take on it all a while back. He claimed that in general, highly intelligent people are less prone to "big themselves up" or appear over confident in their abilities and promises. This is because they can see many potential problems that others might not, and also seem more aware of their own limits. So the people who might be best suited to politics have no chance, basically because they are too intelligent to get elected lol. While the over confident personality required to be a politician (or shonky salesman) usually belongs to people in the average (or less) range.

I think he overlooked "cunning" though lol.

[jaylemurph]

So, Trevor, I'm curious: end-of-world-predictions are one of the very few things with a 100% rate of being wrong.

Given that every other one of them has been wrong, what is there about yours that should make people pay attention?

--Jaylemurph

Edited February 14, 2019 by jaylemurph

[lightly]

This planet will be gone ....someday.  That is an eventual certainty.    As for climate catastrophe, Life on earth will most likely survive to some extent and recover to some extent .     Humanity may not be around ,but life is persistent. 

It looks like it will take disaster to convince people that we must live within Earth's rules....not the other way around.

our current system is idiotic.

[+and-then]

8 hours ago, lightly said:

This planet will be gone ....someday.  That is an eventual certainty.    As for climate catastrophe, Life on earth will most likely survive to some extent and recover to some extent .     Humanity may not be around ,but life is persistent. 

It looks like it will take disaster to convince people that we must live within Earth's rules....not the other way around.

our current system is idiotic.

Humanity actually survives beyond this planet according to the scriptures.  Ever hear the phrase "new heaven and a new earth"?  Unfortunately, it will be a MUCH smaller population that sees the transition.