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Post by jdredd on Sept 17, 2022 12:23:41 GMT -5
I’ve pretty much been yearning for change from our status quo to a more just and peaceful world most of my life, but lately I’ve been wondering what the world would feel like if I was in fact fond of the status quo. And it’s been eye opening. First thing is that the world has not changed that much from how it was when I was born (1952) except that the world population was 2B or so then, and now it is an amazing 8B. But the world economic and political system is basically unchanged in the last 70 years, except if you were behind the Iron Curtain. They got their change. But psychologically, believing the world is as good as it can get and change is a negative, seems to be a lot less stressful than hoping for change. No wonder polls allegedly show righties as being “happier”, whatever that means.
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Post by jdredd on Sept 19, 2022 9:14:05 GMT -5
As I’ve said before, while conservatism is supposedly about , well, conserving, one of the biggest forces for change is the Free Market. For instance, buildings go up, buildings come down according to the market. Disconcerting. But what conservatism is really conserving is the institutions that underlie our political and economic systems. The wealthy want to preserve what made them wealthy. And if that requires creating winners and losers, so be it. Freedom and inequality go hand in hand as I repeat elsewhere. You can see the losers camped out all over the streets at least in my town. Are the institutions beloved by conservatives under any real danger?
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Post by jdredd on Sept 19, 2022 20:43:40 GMT -5
Here’s another way to make yourself miserable waiting for change: Hoping for a bad guy to drop dead. Sure, eventually everyone bites the big burrito, but most bad guys will probably be around when YOU kick the bucket.
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Post by jdredd on Sept 21, 2022 2:22:13 GMT -5
What could generate more serenity than the acceptance that nothing important is going to change in the world before I pass away? On a personal level, of course, I could be incarcerated in some old folk’s home at any time.
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Post by jdredd on Sept 23, 2022 0:47:07 GMT -5
Unfortunately for the fans of the “American Way of Life”, as the late Mr. Harrison reminded us, all things must pass. As they said in The Matrix, everything that has beginning has an end.
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Post by jdredd on Sept 23, 2022 23:40:26 GMT -5
Here’s another way to make yourself miserable waiting for change: Hoping for a bad guy to drop dead. Sure, eventually everyone bites the big burrito, but most bad guys will probably be around when YOU kick the bucket. Try as you might, a thing that works against preservative of the Status Quo is that eventually everyone dies. I’m sure there are people who wish Queen Elizabeth would have lived forever.
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Post by jdredd on Sept 25, 2022 0:15:04 GMT -5
Once more the Joy of Stasis is preserving my sanity. I just have to keep telling myself we are not on the verge of WWIII.
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Post by jdredd on Sept 26, 2022 0:55:53 GMT -5
Another way of looking at the Joy of Stasis is that people who are accepting of the way things are seem to be a lot better off than those who don’t.
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Post by jdredd on Oct 6, 2022 17:34:30 GMT -5
A word related to stasis is stability, a word JBP uses in a new podcast. I’m surprised it’s not one of his subjects in his Manifesto. But i suspect it’s true most people prefer stability over instability. Sadly, circumstances so often disrupt stability. And.time is stability’s enemy. Institutions and power structures get old and not as useful or effective. Is Nationalism the friend or enemy of stability? History has shown Nationalism so often ends in war, which is the antithesis of stability. Look at Russia and Ukraine. So why is JBP so pro- Nationalist?
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Post by jdredd on Oct 12, 2022 1:18:09 GMT -5
So if the Republicans Take Over Everything, how will they preserve Stasis? How will they keep America the King of the Hill? How will they make America Great Again? Fortress America? Close the border? Energy “Independence”, I assume. And ignore global warming. At home, purge academia and businesses of the Woke? And of course, cure crime like they always do: Build more prisons. That could cure homelessness, too. It could all be nonstop fun, fun, fun. We will be sick of winning.
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Post by jdredd on Oct 24, 2022 21:45:08 GMT -5
Another aspect of the Joy of Stasis is what I call the Ease of Tradition. Stick to tradition, and you don’t have to think. Tevye will tell you so.
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Post by jdredd on Oct 29, 2022 13:55:10 GMT -5
Of course, one of the biggest enemies of stasis is aging. Can’t escape that, even if you wanted to.
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Post by jdredd on Sept 24, 2023 2:51:08 GMT -5
I won’t be around to see it, but it seems apparent to me that a coming big threat to beloved stasis could be be AI. What couldn’t it change? And I’ll miss out.
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