Another Reason that More Government Can Really Screw Stuff Up

Cerebus · August 17, 2015

Is man inherently good or evil? Join us on GMG.com as we answer this question by spouting random names and reporting anecdotes we can think of for the next few days to finally resolve this century old question of the nature of mankind.

Well nature is red in tooth and claw. Man is probably the only animal capable of both realizing their own death, and trying to mentally grasp that cessation. If there is a common thread that runs through all of mankind it's narcissism.

It's been argued that those two axiomatic positions lead directly to the denial of death through immortality projects. Mankind being able to see and understand the finality of death also has a deep desire to deny it. All of Human Culture, starting with ceremonial burial (you'll need this bronze knife in the next life because you [and by extension I] are not really dying) to the creation of heroic ideals in culture (you gain immortality by spreading the one true religion, or this other one true religion, or by saving the fatherland, or by spreading the equality of communism, or stopping the scourge of communism, or by saving the environment, or by creating a perfect environment for the children won't someone please think of the children), is really just a way to deny death.

The problem with these little immortality projects is a is that because the end goal is (in effect) you not ever dying, people can easily be convinced to do incredible harm to each other. Hitler marched a few million people into camps because the Thousand Year Reich was the German peoples immortality project, Stalin and Mao upped the ante for their death denials. The common go along with it because they want to live forever too. Somewhere in Highland Park @malonish is having his poor children pose with Peruna just so he can live forever in them.

I guess your interpretation of the above is what makes you decide if evil in inherent.

Edited August 17, 2015 by Cerebus
Apparently too ignorant to know how to spell "ante"

GTWT · August 29, 2015

Most of us are in favor of less government. EXCEPT, of course, for those things that matter most to a person. Concerned about illegal immigration? Then you will probably favor spending billions of taxpayer dollars to hire more border patrol & build a wall. Concerned about the red menace, or radical Islam, or whatever? Then you will probably favor spending billions of taxpayer dollars building new aircraft carriers & F35 jets. Government programs are garbage, except when they are programs we agree with.

oldguystudent · August 29, 2015

If there is a common thread that runs through all of mankind it's narcissism.
Sometimes the formatting on this new software really sucks balls. I get trapped in an infinite loop of useless quote boxes. Anywho, I was reading your post, and all I could think was, "Wow! This post is totally about me!"

Edited August 29, 2015 by oldguystudent