Exactly.
Those who long for the "good old days" always pictures themselves as one of the ruling class. Odds are high that instead they would have been a serf, slave, peon, servant, or some other lowly individual.
What if Western civilization never got rid of slavery?
- Thread starter T. A. Gardner
- Start date
Exactly.
Those who long for the "good old days" always pictures themselves as one of the ruling class. Odds are high that instead they would have been a serf, slave, peon, servant, or some other lowly individual.
We still have slaves; we just don't call them that. What do you think of those who hire large numbers of illegals, pay them peanuts, and keep them from bitching (or even leaving) with the implied threat of turning them in to ICE?
PoliTalker
Diversity Makes Greatness
Hello Dutch Uncle,
We never were are we are not.
We are a nation of freedom of religion, which includes freedom FROM religion.
Then we wouldn't be a Christian nation for starters.
We never were are we are not.
We are a nation of freedom of religion, which includes freedom FROM religion.
PoliTalker
Diversity Makes Greatness
Hello ThatOwlWoman,
If you had not made this post I would have. Took the words right out of my thoughts. I was totally thinking the same thing.
And here's a parallel thought.
We are all still slaves.
We are slaves to capitalism.
It is ironic how so many people are so afraid of big brother, government snooping into their lives, running their lives.
Now we can see the real threat was capitalism. We have these giant corporations that are so powerful they tell government what to do. They are more powerful than either political party. That was completely apparent during the creation of Obamacare. Big insurance and big pharma TOLD government how it was going to be. No, there was not to be any public option. That was taken off the table. Our president was dictated to. He was told to take that off the table and he had to comply, he had no choice. He was told if you take it off the table we will support what you are doing. If you do not, then we will kill it. And he knew they had that power. He had to do as he was told.
The only way we could stand up to such power is for both parties to unite against it.
And that is why the power is being used to keep us bitterly divided so that will never happen.
If you had not made this post I would have. Took the words right out of my thoughts. I was totally thinking the same thing.
And here's a parallel thought.
We are all still slaves.
We are slaves to capitalism.
It is ironic how so many people are so afraid of big brother, government snooping into their lives, running their lives.
Now we can see the real threat was capitalism. We have these giant corporations that are so powerful they tell government what to do. They are more powerful than either political party. That was completely apparent during the creation of Obamacare. Big insurance and big pharma TOLD government how it was going to be. No, there was not to be any public option. That was taken off the table. Our president was dictated to. He was told to take that off the table and he had to comply, he had no choice. He was told if you take it off the table we will support what you are doing. If you do not, then we will kill it. And he knew they had that power. He had to do as he was told.
The only way we could stand up to such power is for both parties to unite against it.
And that is why the power is being used to keep us bitterly divided so that will never happen.
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Free market capitalism cannot exist unchecked. The reasons are obvious. The single mission of a corporation is profits. Corporations are amoral. Any philanthropic actions taken by a corporation are entirely self serving and intended to maximize profits. Period. It is the role of government to place guardrails around corporations and businesses. That is the governments regulatory role, and they fulfill it through various regulations regarding environmental impact, workplace safety, protections for workers, and tax policy. Without it, there would be no check on a corporations efforts to make a profit. Child labor? Cool. Dump your waste in the river? Nice and cheap. This is one of the reasons that libertarianism is an epic failure as policy.
When there is a push for deregulation and less government interference, capitalism will rush in to fill the void and take advantage. That's the reality. And yet there is now an entire party that is completely beholden to capitalism. And they now have a massive propaganda arm..... financed by... shocker..... greedy capitalists.
That half the country is completely blind to this reality is puzzling and disturbing. Now they are engaged in a literal attempt to install a dictator that is one of them. Why are so many people willing to help them? It's a mystery.
Dutch Uncle
* Tertia Optio * Defend the Constitution
The government is secular, but the Euro-American immigrants were overwhelmingly Christian then and now**. Jefferson and Franklin were Deists, among others. I support keeping government secular.
The Declaration of Independence is laced with religious references albeit non-denominational: https://www.redlandsdailyfacts.com/...at-bolstered-the-declaration-of-independence/
https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript
**https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-sociology/chapter/the-structure-of-religion-in-the-u-s/
It is common for many societies to be dominated by a single widespread belief. For example, Christianity is the largest and most popular religion in the United States, with around 77% of those polled identifying themselves as Christian as of 2009. Protestant denominations accounted for 51.3%, while Roman Catholicism, at 23.9%, was the largest individual denomination. One study categorizes white evangelicals, 26.3% of the population, as the country’s largest religious cohort, while another study estimates evangelicals of all races at 30–35%. Christianity was introduced to the Americas in the 16th and 17th centuries by European colonization.
Today, most Christian denominations in the United States are divided into three large groups: Evangelicalism, Mainline Protestantism and Roman Catholicism. Christian denominations that do not fall within either of these groups are mostly associated with ethnic minorities, i.e. the various denominations of Eastern Orthodoxy. Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement. In typical usage, the term mainline is contrasted with evangelical. Most adherents consider its key characteristics to be:...
Dutch Uncle
* Tertia Optio * Defend the Constitution
...and sex slaves in liberal bastions like New York, Chicago, LA and Trump's buddy on Pedo Island. All illegal, of course.
Eagle_Eye
Well-known member
You ask a ludicrous what if question.
Dutch Uncle
* Tertia Optio * Defend the Constitution
Disagreed on slaves to capitalism. We, the People can push for more regulation, but the nation seems a bit divided on that issue.
IMO, the best form of government on the planet, with our current level of tech, exactly what we have in the US: a constitutional federal republic fueled by a regulated capitalist economy and a socialist safety net for the poor, elderly and infirm.
I doubt if "liberal" cities are the only places with sex trafficking.
Dutch Uncle
* Tertia Optio * Defend the Constitution
PoliTalker
Diversity Makes Greatness
Hello Concart,
It is as much of a mystery as how the frog might be boiled.
We are the frog.
Capitalism is the stove.
It is as much of a mystery as how the frog might be boiled.
We are the frog.
Capitalism is the stove.
PoliTalker
Diversity Makes Greatness
Hello Dutch Uncle,
That was over a decade ago.
As time goes by, fewer and fewer people identify with a church.
It shadows how much knowledge is being gained through science.
That was over a decade ago.
As time goes by, fewer and fewer people identify with a church.
It shadows how much knowledge is being gained through science.
A thousand years from now, people will laugh at superstitious religions like Christianity.
'Can you imagine they thought some guy died for their sins and they would all go to heaven?' Too funny.
PoliTalker
Diversity Makes Greatness
Hello Dutch Uncle,
Agree as long as we have a big powerful government to keep capitalism in check. What we have now is not enough.
We want the good part of capitalism, but we have to actively manage the bad part.
Propaganda like: "All regulation is bad" is dangerous.
Agree as long as we have a big powerful government to keep capitalism in check. What we have now is not enough.
We want the good part of capitalism, but we have to actively manage the bad part.
Propaganda like: "All regulation is bad" is dangerous.
PoliTalker
Diversity Makes Greatness
Hello Concart,
If there are people to laugh then.
Perhaps life will be replaced by artificial intelligence.
If there are people to laugh then.
Perhaps life will be replaced by artificial intelligence.
I'm an optimist. The arc of history bends towards justice. I believe that. I think what you are seeing right now are the death throes of dogmatic religion in the industrialized world.
PoliTalker
Diversity Makes Greatness
Hello Concart,
I remain an optimist as well. We cannot predict the future but we can study the past and learn from it.
I remain an optimist as well. We cannot predict the future but we can study the past and learn from it.
Considering your political slant, I suspect you see a VERY limited role in government regulation. It's the area where you and I have the biggest disagreements most likely. In that vein, what is the best way to keep corporations in check? Do you view that as the role of consumers speaking with their pocketbooks? I don't trust that, and as exhibit A for why not, I give you Donald Trump. But it's an interesting discussion.
Dutch Uncle
* Tertia Optio * Defend the Constitution
It's still 76%+ with 70% Christian: https://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/
Note that "unaffiliated" (about 23%) is not the same as agnostic (4%) or atheist (3%). I'm "unaffiliated".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_the_United_States
The United States has the world's largest Christian population and, more specifically, contains the largest Protestant population in the world. Christianity is the largest religion in the United States, with the various Protestant Churches having the most adherents. The United States has been called a Protestant nation by a variety of sources. In 2019, Christians represent 65% of the total adult population, 43% identifying as Protestants, 20% as Catholics, and 2% as Mormons. People with no formal religious identity at 26% of the total population. When consolidating all Christian denominations into one religious grouping, Judaism is the second-largest religion in the U.S., practiced by 2% of the population, followed by Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam, each with 1% of the population. Mississippi is the most religious state in the country, with 63% of its adult population described as very religious, saying that religion is important to them and attending religious services almost every week, while New Hampshire, with only 20% of its adult population described as very religious, is the least religious state. The most religious state or territory of the United States is American Samoa (99.3% religious).