Leftist Turn More Pinko

[wallie_x]

A disturbing trend is taking shape in the universities across America. Political correctness and censorship are now becoming the norm. Moreover, liberal teachers are now portraying the early history of the USA with utter contempt. They focus exclusively on the negetive things: slavery, the treatment of the American Indian, and the sufferages of women etc. They will not introduce students to the historical classics, Plato, Aristotle and the very writtings of the fore-farthers of this great nation, let alone other classical thinkers. Instead they focus almost exclusively on the disgruntled minorities. Newspapers enspousing a different point of view are stolen off their racks with no sanction against those who pervert the right of free speech. The radical leftist's teaches a self-rightious bigotry that censors any thought alien to their's. How more un-American can you get than to censor the right to free speech. Yet I witnessed this first hand not to long ago. At the junior college I was studying at, our political science teacher censored me during a oratory report about the candidates in the up coming election. He commanded me to stop, when the libral candidate he supported was cast in a bad light by my research. Liberal used to mean that conflicting ideoligies could co-exist in the same camp. Now the far left enspouses totalitarianism more than liberalism.

[herosrest]

Politics S***S
Politics corrupts Democrocy.

[tking]

This disturbing trend isn't a trend at all. It's always been.

Politics, religeon, racism, nationalism, culturalism; they all work to one end: to segregate people into groups so that individuals in that group can benefit strategically. When a clique gets a stranglehold it uses it to subdue their fellows.

Any group in human history that gained a strategic advantage used it to subdue opponents. It's human nature. In 50's USA politics it was the conservatives (aka republicans) wallowing in McCartheism, today it's the liberals wallowing in political correctness. What I gag on is how whatever they're selling becomes the truth when they get powerful enough to make it so.

The only time a group looks for a "fair solutiion" is when it's jockeying for power. Once it's got it it doesn't need or want a fair solution. So enjoy your current political environment (your professor is, it's probably how he got his job)! It's bound to change (always has). Maybe one day you'll be able to collect a group of likeminded people together and work your way into a position where you can tell others what they can think!

There are two choices: victim or victimizer.

Nicolas Machiavelli spoke the truth. The Catholic Church (then the power brokers in society) labelled him Satan and banned his writings.

Have a nice day!:)

T (who warns everyone: if you read too much Nietzsche it will do the above to you!!!):confused: :cool: :confused:

[wallie_x]

Nicolas Machiavelli spoke the truth

According to what, the law of cynicism? I read some of his writings. In the least he was a cynic whose world was varying shades of gray. One might even consider him a reprobate. However, reality is not an either or proposition. Reality may present itself as being a dichotomy, but that is only on its surface. It is much more complex than most people give it credit. As I remember classical liberalism was almost synonymous with one word: tolerance. Now it has mutated into a virulent intolerant group, which manipulates the uneducated masses not by meaningful argument, but by appealing to their emotions. Worse, it is now fueled by a self-righteous bigotry that blinds it to its own faults.

[tking]

There are far more things on heaven and Earth, Horatio, than dreamt of in your philosophy!


Re: Complexity of reality

Too true! Unfortunately Machiavelli focused on human nature which is (in spite of our best efforts) far less marvelous than the natural world around us. I'd even go so far as to say that since we've isolated ourselves from the natural world with our lame attempts at justification and security we've become less of a creature than most.


Re: Liberalism blinded by its own bigotry

Also spot on. Like the Spainish Inquisition, the witch trials, McCarthyism, Roman conquest, the British Empire (and ad nauseum), those groups who force their way to the front became perfect in their own eyes. It's a lot easier to kill innocents when you think you're right.

I guess the brilliance of the original spirit of American independence and freedom still lurks somewhere. They are only talking at you, not pointing guns and telling you how it is or else.

How's that for a bright side? :rolleyes:
T

[wallie_x]

we've become less of a creature than most.

In some instances yes, though far from absolutely. The biggest problem humans have is with the duality of our nature. It’s quite easy to feed the animal and starve the spirit. We admire those virtuous souls who aspire to go beyond themselves at great cost to their very selves, some we even call saints because they penetrate our spirit with the light of their virtue. Unfortunately, lessons of virtue and vice have fallen by the wayside, cast there by these very same liberals who think the epitome of all truth is moral relativism. I believe they couldn't be more wrong. In the continuity of reality there are many more universal truths than one might imagine. However, there is a contingency: one must first know spiritually what is good before one can recognize them, and that takes effort and a spiritual virtue with a dreaded connotation: humility.

[tking]

Originally posted by wallie_x
The biggest problem humans have is with the duality of our nature. It’s quite easy to feed the animal and starve the spirit.

I know this is a big issue, but why is being an animal considered somehow inferior? If we start with what we are (an animal) instead of what we wish we were (the likeness of God ?!?), I think we'd be on a far better footing. Our spirit is an animal spirit. I'm not saying that we can't extend beyond it, but it must be the starting point of any exploration.

When I see an animal I see honesty and humility, something living as what it is. Humans don't do this and it makes them dangerous and destructive in ways other creatures can't even comprehend.

Most of what we need to learn we could learn from nature, instead we'd rather spend our energy developing fancies (religion, nationalism) designed to subdue our fellows.

Excellent thread Wallie. It's been a while since I could use the philosophy degree in a conversation. Most people get mighty frightened by this kind of talk.

Thanks,
T

[wallie_x]

Classically, we may not even have an argument here. I believe that one must agree to the terms involved before one can debate the issues. "Animal" to me has all the domestication of a baboon. If we follow social trends what generation has been more the hedonist than the Hippies? If we follow further we see those same 'flower children' blossoming into one of one of the most materialistic, self centered 'me first' generations ever to populate one of the most powerful societies ever to exist. Hippies, by virtue of their Hedonism (one might say) were attempting to live in utter denial of the existentialists delemna. What animal lives in a state of anxiety when it muses about the future? And what animal resorts to drugs to quell it fears? For all we know there is only one: humanbeings. It will forever set us apart from the rest of biological life, here on this planet. And yes we might be fools to believe we are unique, seeing such a vast expanse of stars, and the myriad diversity of life wrought from one small water/rock in space (earth).There are far more things on heaven and Earth, Horatio, than dreamt of in your philosophy! I agree.

[$1500-P4 gamer]

Ah leave the hippies out of it. There hearts were in the right place, just there brains werent. Like how they would put down soldiers and spit on them for killing children in NAM! But yet at the same time say peace, love and be kind to all man. Practice what you preach! What do you expect though they turned into yuppies anyhow, sold out on all beliefs and became a part of the capatilistic slime they were against. What do you get when you offer a dirty hippie a $30,000 a year job a new car and a office- A clean Yuppie! The real prob. is bigotry- the holier than thou complex I call it. Its one thing to want something, another to do it, and finally another to stand behind that one thing! We cant even manage peace, yet we are trying to cure world hunger and over population???? Mans biggest flaw is being man! Just my thoughts on it. And wallie_x I think you got the whole thing streight in my opinion!:t

[wallie_x]

P-4, Que Paso? There were some virtuous things that came out in those days. Some of the music about love and brotherhood I still listen to because it feeds my soul. I am part romantic, but very much a realist. When I play with my young 3yr old daughter, the rhythm of life has never spoken to me deeper. When I praise her for catching a ball (something she is just learning to do) you should see how she lights-up, beams, to be more precise. In that moment there is nothing that needs to tell me that nurturing my daughter with love is a holy thing, both our spirits irradiate reality with the statement. Love is strange thing; while not completely rational, one cannot say it is irrational either. The odd thing about it is that it takes a different mode of apprehension to begin to appreciate it's lovelyness, and that mode is almost wholly intuitive.
Peace, brother :t

[wallie_x]

tking,

I believe I understand a little of what you’re trying to say, but I must return to the idea of sentience and the duality of human nature. Partly, what I mean by duality is spiritual duality. We cannot un-become a spiritual being; either by existentially rewriting the definitions of reality (as secular existentialist wish) or even by living a life more in tune with nature. We are what we are even though we might wish to alter that. The reality is, is that we are forever at the crossroads of choice. We can choose to serve that which is more base in ourselves, but the consequence is usually slavery not freedom. If we eat too much constantly, we get fat; and if we drink too much frequently we will usually end up a drunk. If we feed the lower part of our sexual nature, we will most likely end up a pervert or worse. Your statements reflect disillusionment with what you see in humans spiritually, as opposed to the simplicity and transcendence in nature. You describe it as “honesty, humility, something living as what it is.” But an animal never has the potential to go beyond the limits of it’s self. We, by virtue of our spiritual nature, almost always do. We can choose to help life, instead of selfishly always trying to take from it. We even have a word for those things which suck life out of another living thing; we call them parasites. Those who would selfishly use or hurt other person or animal and derive pleasure from it are no less parasitic than a leech. Unfortunately, modern man chooses to attempt to live in denial of the above. In the name of 'political correctness' no secular university teaches the spiritual classics, or any other spiritual virtue. The continued slow decaying of society, and the people within that society are the one’s who suffers worse for this. These 'politically correct' are the ones I consider closest to animals as they live in almost continual denial of their humanity.