Comments on: America’s Painful Divide

By: Dale

Dale — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 23:28:00 +0000

“Diversity is the essence of freedom” What politically correct claptrap. Freedom and the acknowledgment that freedom and rights come from nature and God is the essence of freedom. The Founding Fathers had it right in the Declaration and Constitution.

By: Daryl Davis

Daryl Davis — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 22:56:26 +0000

It’s unrealistic to adopt as an aim a broad consensus in politics; and it isn’t a sign of our failure that our communities are dividing into like-minded enclaves. Diversity is the essence of freedom. We don’t all start at the same place; and we won’t finish there.

Ideally, our political system would preclude even what partisan consensus persists today, by virtue of the two-party system, forcing candidates and voters alike to put forth ideas as individuals. Toward this end, the Congress ought to be replaced by a constitutionally-curbed direct democracy:

http://whatdirectdemocracymightbe.wordpress.com/51-2/

By: Samantha

Samantha — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 23:18:23 +0000

I can not recall one example in history where divided societies ever came together spontaneously, without revolution or war, that lasted very long. Sure, the Soviets and the US put aside differences during WWII, but as quickly as WWII ended, the Soviets (or US) reverted to its former self. You’re talking human nature here, the core of personality, the soul. You might as well try to change the orbit of the moon than try to change human nature. For example, say you’re Jewish and I’m Christian. We both desire a truce but you demand that I become Jewish, first (or I demand you become Catholic). People don’t switch constitutions as easily as though clothing. Some people are content with a trough, some are not content and want more, perfectly willing to indulge not in consumption but production, instead. If a single trough feeder would ever just show gratitude to those producing what he consumes, well, it’d be a monumental start towards aspiring to impracticable perfection. In any exchange economy, there’s no such thing as hunting and fishing, as with aboriginals in the wild. But humans, unable to rise above ancient instinct, continue to want things for the taking, as a lion takes a wildebeest on the savannah. It explains the popularity of gambling and lotteries, shoplifting and bank robbing, identity theft and online fraud — not to mention, of course, food stamps, Medicaid, public housing, and (let’s not forget) the biggest trough feeders of all — corporations (and executives earning a million dollars weekly).