Quick little jot. Got this link from a friend. Needed the boost to my mood.
'via Blog this'
Friday, February 3, 2012
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Politics and Fast Food
I had a rather disturbing conversation this evening. I was hanging out with these two girls from the writing department, Lindsay and Jill, at Taco Bell. For some reason, the conversation turned to politics. We started discussing the welfare system, and I cited this article, which may or may not be true. I haven't really looked into it fully. Though a brief perusal indicates that while the numbers are a bit skewed, the premise is still fairly solid if this is to be believed. Again, I'm just skimming through things dug up through a shallow google search.
Anyway, I digress. Point being, we agreed that the system is broken. We don't believe in a welfare state. We adhere to the belief that people should be allowed to earn their own way. Not nearly to the point of Social Darwinism, but a human being's survival should be his own responsibility. I'm not anti-taxes. I believe that there are some things that a government is required for, and that the citizens are responsible for that government, just as the government is responsible for the citizens. But a government is there to protect and uphold society. People should NOT be able to make a living off of the government, unless they are actively employed by said government.
We also agreed that America is either going to become fascist or communist, depending on which extreme gains control. The only way to stop it would be total reform from the ground up, or a revolution. Either way, things would have to get worse before they got better.
Why is this conversation disturbing, you may ask? Well, it's disturbing because we are the future. We are the rising generation and we have no hope for our society and no faith in our country or government. Where did we go wrong? Like I said, I used to be idealistic, but nowadays, I'm cynical and have little faith in the system as-is. I believe in democracy(to a point. People are stupid.) and I believe in capitalism, as long as there are checks and balances. Sadly, the system is too easy to play, but if everyone plays the system, the system breaks. This leaves decent people breaking their backs to support cheaters and thieves with no reward to show for it.
Maybe someday we'll get this fixed. I hope so. And I hope I live to see it. Sadly, I don't see enough evidence of intelligent people willing to do something. Maybe I'm part of the problem. I probably am. But at least I realize it.
Anyway, I digress. Point being, we agreed that the system is broken. We don't believe in a welfare state. We adhere to the belief that people should be allowed to earn their own way. Not nearly to the point of Social Darwinism, but a human being's survival should be his own responsibility. I'm not anti-taxes. I believe that there are some things that a government is required for, and that the citizens are responsible for that government, just as the government is responsible for the citizens. But a government is there to protect and uphold society. People should NOT be able to make a living off of the government, unless they are actively employed by said government.
We also agreed that America is either going to become fascist or communist, depending on which extreme gains control. The only way to stop it would be total reform from the ground up, or a revolution. Either way, things would have to get worse before they got better.
Why is this conversation disturbing, you may ask? Well, it's disturbing because we are the future. We are the rising generation and we have no hope for our society and no faith in our country or government. Where did we go wrong? Like I said, I used to be idealistic, but nowadays, I'm cynical and have little faith in the system as-is. I believe in democracy(to a point. People are stupid.) and I believe in capitalism, as long as there are checks and balances. Sadly, the system is too easy to play, but if everyone plays the system, the system breaks. This leaves decent people breaking their backs to support cheaters and thieves with no reward to show for it.
Maybe someday we'll get this fixed. I hope so. And I hope I live to see it. Sadly, I don't see enough evidence of intelligent people willing to do something. Maybe I'm part of the problem. I probably am. But at least I realize it.
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