Re: People Without Meaningful Lives Seek Power Over Others

On 8/27/2024 8:26 PM, John B. wrote:

On Tue, 27 Aug 2024 10:11:31 -0400, Catrike Ryder
<Soloman@old.bikers.org> wrote:
 

On Tue, 27 Aug 2024 18:30:48 +0700, John B. <slocombjb@gmail.com>
wrote:
>

On Tue, 27 Aug 2024 06:03:43 -0400, Catrike Ryder
<Soloman@old.bikers.org> wrote:
>

>
During the reign of Louis XIV, French mathematician and philosopher
Blaise Pascal diagnosed why some lust for power. In his Pensées,
Pascal wrote, “I have often said that the sole cause of man’s
unhappiness is that he does not know how to stay quietly in his room.”
Pascal explained that, out of the inability to sit alone, arises the
human tendency to seek power as a diversion.
>
https://intellectualtakeout.org/2024/08/people-without-meaningful-lives-seek-power/

>
I think that the comment " Ridley’s description of the grinding
poverty of the average person just a few centuries ago". Disregarding
the word "grinding" the difference between living when I was a lad and
living today show the same, rather great, differences. For example. We
lived a few yards short of 1 mile from the school - grade 1 through 3.
so I wasn't allowed to ride the school bus because the school bus was
for those that lived "more then 1 mile from the school". So from, the
age of six I walked a mile (less a few yards) to school, and home,
each day.
>
Most people in town walked a mile, or so, to work and home.Of course
most of them had a auto but why would one drive a car to work? It's
only a few minute's walk and the price of gasoline!
>
Cars were for Sunday afternoon after church when one might make a
short trip in their going Church clothes before Sunday Dinner. After
all. If one had a car one wanted the neighbors to know it, didn't one?
>
Generally, married women didn't work... "you mean you let your
daughter marry a man that couldn't support her?".
>
Not working, "being on the town", meaning you were on the dole and was
something to be ashamed of. I can still remember my mother telling me,
"don't play with those kids, they are on the town".
>
And, the strangest thing... we didn't realize how cruelly we were
being oppressed :-)

>
What a shame that mankind's drive to escape poverty has now turned so
many of them into fat, lazy parasites. What a shame that so many
politicians cater to those lowly individuals.

 Ah, Timmy is a bit off target. You see Tommy you live in a country
that prides itself on being a "democracy" and in a democracy
politicians listen to those that will vote for them.

USA is a Constitutional Republic.
Democracy is something else, for example where the Hutus wake up one morning and kill the Tutsis. Because they can.
Or more simply, two wolves and a sheep voting on lunch.
--
Andrew Muzi
am@yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971