Mercnbeth
Posts: 11766
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quote:
Genuine happiness will never be achieved through support for self-interest driven Conservatism.
Gent,
I don't see how political identification has anything to do with happiness, genuine or other. I find self awareness and contentment in that knowledge more critical to happiness and more valuable to the goal of enjoying life. I also leave the labeling to others. I find it amusing and identify it as an asset to be sometimes identified as conservative, moderate, and even liberal label among varying issues. I never found that ability among the liberals. It gives me great, and sadistic, pleasure to point out the lack of understanding and openness to those so inclined to only see themselves as liberal. It's too easy a topic, but there is no liberalism among the liberal anti-smoking community. They'll rationalize the subject on personal health issues, but it's a smoke-screen.
If materialism brings no happiness or contentment, and is superficial than why the drive to re-distribute wealth? Using your argument against "self interest driven conservatism" it would be better that any potential to realize material goods should be discouraged. The poor and unfortunate should be kept that way and lectured daily about how good they have it because they aren't encumbered by material items and therefore genuine happiness is achieved. It's an argument against social self-improvement programs. Even I wouldn't try to sell that.
quote:
I can't help but wonder how you have drawn the conclusion that having a social conscience equals complaining.
I define complaining as any opinion given without viable alternative. Social engineers fail miserably when it comes to projecting the consequences of their actions. I have not discounted social conscience. In fact by not considering anyone less able than myself I put all people at an equal level of potential. For the most part social conciseness is misdirected self loathing. Perhaps it comes from being guilty of the exact prejudices and stereotyping that they are against. The bottom line is there have been no socially engineered successes.
Edited to add response to E.D:
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What you should appreciate is that the people you're deriding as failures are the people that keep a country on its feet.
Nowhere did I identify anyone as a failure. People fail in situations. I've failed, fairly regularly, in various situations. I bet I fail in some way just about every day. What I said was, don't expect someone else to come by and clean up your mess, or blame someone else.
Your point about stockbrokers and miners is consistent with my belief that people obtain the exact level of success they've earned. There are as many definitions of success as their are ways to obtain it. The variety of skills and inherent ability fills the world's need for stockbrokers, miners, dock hands, and all the other jobs that need doing for the country and the world to function.
Why resent anyone? Why expect a government to be the source of your comfort?
< Message edited by Mercnbeth -- 8/7/2006 4:59:17 PM >
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RE: Where do you get your news? - 
Profile
. And who you calling a conservative? 
I am happily all over the map, so to speak, politically.
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