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View Full Version : It feels DIRTY.




Agent CSL
01-19-2009, 01:58 PM
I don't want anyone or any Obama supporters to get the wrong impression. I believe volunteerism is great, I believe that it's great that more people are volunteering, I think it's great that Obama supports volunteerism and as long as it's voluntary I support it 100%.

It's just that it feels dirty. It feels ominous that Obama, before he even reaches the presidency, is being likened to a messiah or savior. Of course, this is very dangerous, and I don't think a day will come when anyone sees the evil they are unknowingly serving.

It's dirty to think that volunteerism will become a fad. Like the green movement, it's a double-edged sword. It's great but eventually people will either seek to gain more influence (ie: control others), and if that fails, they will just throw it by the wayside like all fads die. In matters of style fads, go ahead and throw it away, but this is a matter of principle and conscious so what effect would the end of this volunteer fad have? Remember, a bubble will always burst. An increase in aid will make more dependent, and if this fad dies, it effects real people. How will we handle this?

Just some food for thought. The magical omniferous is certainly an evil masquerading as good.

Elwar
01-19-2009, 02:04 PM
I think it's a great idea and will work for generations to come.

Just like how we solved the energy crisis under Carter by wearing sweaters.

Paulitical Correctness
01-19-2009, 02:05 PM
Reminds me of all the scenesters wearing chick pants that went "vegan" because their buddies were doing it.

The sad thing about Obama (particularly things like this) is that you can't criticize him because it all seems so "perfect" on the surface. I guess America's infatuation with aesthetics and refusal to look below will be its downfall.

As far as the messiah thing goes, yeah - no kidding. The local B&N has an eight or nine window display where new books, best sellers, discounts, etc. go. Filled entirely with Obama mugs, books, audio books, posters, and probably more (I looked away).

/sigh

FunkBuddha
01-19-2009, 02:20 PM
I'm waiting for him to ask us to build him a pyramid to save the economy.

danberkeley
01-19-2009, 02:30 PM
I'm waiting for him to ask us to build him a pyramid to save the economy.

lol

LibertyBrews
01-19-2009, 02:39 PM
Americans(most) are bunch of fucking morons, these fools are in for a harsh awakening when the reality slaps them in the face.

nodope0695
01-19-2009, 02:44 PM
+1

WRellim
01-19-2009, 03:13 PM
I'm waiting for him to ask us to build him a pyramid to save the economy.


Wouldn't that be yet another "pyramid scheme"?

And in a certain sense, aren't we actually already doing that? Multiple times over?

Fox McCloud
01-19-2009, 03:14 PM
Wouldn't that be yet another "pyramid scheme"?

And in a certain sense, aren't we actually already doing that? Multiple times over?

with SS, and medicare, at least ;)

lucius
01-19-2009, 03:46 PM
I'm waiting for him to ask us to build him a pyramid to save the economy.

http://images.despair.com/products/demotivators/achievement.jpg

:D

xd9fan
01-19-2009, 03:53 PM
I wonder if this freaky love was what Germany felt in 1933

danberkeley
01-19-2009, 04:06 PM
I wonder if this freaky love was what Germany felt in 1933

Perhaps.

yongrel
01-19-2009, 04:08 PM
The comforting thing though is that only ~50% of Americans voted for him. Unfortunately, they then voted for McCain. But still... they didn't like Obama.

Agent CSL
01-19-2009, 04:17 PM
I wonder if this freaky love was what Germany felt in 1933

If you read past accounts of Germany before the Holocaust, then, yes. This is exactly what people felt. This is why it makes me feel dirty.

angelatc
01-19-2009, 04:24 PM
If you read past accounts of Germany before the Holocaust, then, yes. This is exactly what people felt. This is why it makes me feel dirty.

I've had the same thought. Hitler wasn't a believer in socialism but he quickly recognized it was a valuable tool for winning support.

lucius
01-19-2009, 04:32 PM
I wonder if this freaky love was what Germany felt in 1933

Pretty close to the mark, this was best explained by contemporary German psychoanalyst, Wilhelm Reich in his 1933 classic, The Mass Psychology of Fascism [put this book on your must reading list...

jackers
01-19-2009, 04:36 PM
Americans(most) are bunch of fucking morons, these fools are in for a harsh awakening when the reality slaps them in the face.

James Madison would have disagreed with you.

blocks
01-19-2009, 06:00 PM
I agree with the OP...Obama's savior status and his unprecedented influence (at least unprecedented in American history) is a double-edged sword. He can and has influenced millions to volunteer and do voluntary service to better their communities. On the other hand, he can create millions of more serfs that look towards the Federal Government for all the solutions. We all just have to hope that he plays the first card more than the latter.

Bruno
01-19-2009, 06:27 PM
If you read past accounts of Germany before the Holocaust, then, yes. This is exactly what people felt. This is why it makes me feel dirty.

That's why I'm reading They Thought They Were Free : The Germans, 1933-1945

http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/511928.html

WRellim
01-19-2009, 10:17 PM
The comforting thing though is that only ~50% of Americans voted for him. Unfortunately, they then voted for McCain. But still... they didn't like Obama.

About the same percentage that voted for GWB (give or take a few %).

Point being that I know quite a few people who still think GWB walks on water. (And they are not the kind of people I would normally consider to be "dumb" nevertheless.)

I think the same applies to BHO -- people [I]want to believe so they delude themselves (in their own minds) into seeing him as what they want him to be, any and all evidence to the contrary is simply "not seen."

We saw this phenomenon in New Hampshire a year ago, when a lot of "anti-war" Republicans voted for John McCain because they somehow "thought" that he was/would be about bringing troops home, etc.


Face it, most people walk around in a "fog" of their own making. Its not so much that the media "blinds" them as that they self-select what media they WANT to watch or listen to based mainly on whether it reinforces the delusions/prejudices they want to maintain.

REALITY is a cold and harsh thing; the vast majority of people don't have the stomach (or the brains) to be able to handle it.

libertarian4321
01-20-2009, 10:16 AM
I know some of you people just want to be upset or cynical about everything, but volunteering isn't a bad thing- its good for the cause being helped, its good for the person doing it, and its good for the country.

I put in tons of volunteer hours for a lot of causes, as do many other people. Doing good is something my parents encouraged me to do, but I don't have a problem with a President encouraging people to volunteer as well.

Agent CSL
01-20-2009, 10:21 AM
I know some of you people just want to be upset or cynical about everything, but volunteering isn't a bad thing- its good for the cause being helped, its good for the person doing it, and its good for the country.

I put in tons of volunteer hours for a lot of causes, as do many other people. Doing good is something my parents encouraged me to do, but I don't have a problem with a President encouraging people to volunteer as well.

Thanks for reading the topic.

FrankRep
01-20-2009, 10:25 AM
I know some of you people just want to be upset or cynical about everything, but volunteering isn't a bad thing- its good for the cause being helped, its good for the person doing it, and its good for the country.

I put in tons of volunteer hours for a lot of causes, as do many other people. Doing good is something my parents encouraged me to do, but I don't have a problem with a President encouraging people to volunteer as well.


I like volunteering.

paulitics
01-20-2009, 10:39 AM
I know some of you people just want to be upset or cynical about everything, but volunteering isn't a bad thing- its good for the cause being helped, its good for the person doing it, and its good for the country.

I put in tons of volunteer hours for a lot of causes, as do many other people. Doing good is something my parents encouraged me to do, but I don't have a problem with a President encouraging people to volunteer as well.

I agree on the LOCAL level, it is healthy and beneficial for communities. But, what kind of volunteer work is the federal govt talking about?
The devil is always in the details. Unfortunately, the details are only vaguely being suggested, and my hunch is that it is not the volunteer work you are talking about.

lucius
01-20-2009, 10:40 AM
I like volunteering.

I do as well, makes for great memories/karma...beats building cluster munitions.