It's nice that you're idealistic. I just think you'll probably see things a different way as you get older. You'll realize that you should try to make your own life better because that's something that you can at least try to control.
I'm not "comfy" in my bed. I actually went out and did shit that everyone said was "impossible" instead of chatting about changing my life on a messageboard. You know in GTA Vice City when they have a fake ad on the radio: "Think about changing your life instead of actually getting off the couch and doing it."
Good for you God, I admire your success.
I don't know what GTA Vice City is.
I'm 38. I'm not sure about your assertion that I will grow up and see the world through your eyes.
The big straw man in your argument, that you keep coming back to, is that people who question the system sit around feeling defeated and doing nothing to better their lives. It's a central tenet to your argument. It's not a reality. Your reasoning that questioning the powers that be brings about a sort of lifestyle paralysis doesn't hold up.
Some of your comments seem underpinned with an assumption that that is how I live. Your arguments would be stronger if you avoided assumptions about people you don't know.
Drawing in MLK and WWII as an example in an argument that says put up with your rulers because someone will always kick you aournd is not a logical fallacy. It's an illustration that sometimes systems need to be resisted. It puts to bed the idea that people should always follow. It sets up the reality that each social system needs to be justified for what it is. Thus, if your system is good and just and not deserving change then state that, rather than saying put up with your rulers, someone will always shit on you.
You acknowledged the need for MLK to fight, yet his battles weren't over when he died. He had his sights firmly set on US militarism and spoke passionately against it.
I would argue that there are urgent reasons, as urgent as during WWII, for Western governments to be radically reformed. Mostly in the realm of foreign policy. As I see it, Western societies are involved in major aggressive actions at the moment. Especially in the third world. For myself, it is a priority to raise awareness and help to stop it. There is also the issue of some major rights being removed and / or watered down considerably. The right to arrest and trial being one among many.
Agianst the idea that we have always had cruel rulers I would say there has also been a long history of struggle with power being removed, bit by bit, from those at the top to be replaced by common rights, citizen control and transperancy. Do you believe the need for that is over?
The belief in competition as a mode of organisation for society is an Amercian one, shared to a lesser extent by some other nations, mine included. You have your right to that, all societies have the right to choose how they organise. However, most of our advances, both technological and social, have been a result of humans cooperating and working together.
That self interest is at the our core of human nature is an idelogical construction of humanity. It's a construction that supports the ideology of competition. The competition ideology has a certain dominance at the moment but will eventually fade. No proof can be offered to the assertion, other than that competiton and conflict occur sometimes. But so does cooperation, assistance and aid. I would say it depends on the individual and there are no broad rules about what motivates people.
I don't work to get rich or powerful, I never have and I never will. It does not motivate me. I live comforatbly and support a family of five on my income. On top of that I find time to pursue and hone my skills in various artistic spheres. It's not about money, it's about me becoming a better person and the world becoming a better place.
