OT: Zeitgeist Movie

[Romulus68]

Here is an interesting watch: http://zeitgeistmovie.com

[Barronosod]

Yeah, pretty interesting stuff. Even if you're not into the conspiracy theory aspect of it, there's something to be said.

[Hugh Manatee]

I'm disappointed this apparently has nothing to do with the new smashing pumpkins album...

[Randallw]

All I make out is a picture of the 3 Magi.

Just as with bad commercials making me avoid a product, so 20 seconds of flashy lights does not persuade me to waste time watching any longer. Thus I know no more than the Magi picture and the quote.

As for the quote, I take comfort in Authority. Truth is relative. There exists the fact some people can devote more time to considering things than others. Does it not make sense to obey those who know more than you do? Those who oppose authority are merely unhappy with being told what is right and wrong. They would rather rebel and claim their desires are "truth".

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Simply because someone has power, it does not follow that someone has good ideas.

[Randallw]

Police have power. It is considered a good idea to obey them.

I speak of a philosophy of obeying authority for good or bad. Mistakes may occurr, especially as we are forced to trust people (a group I do not generally trust) but I believe in the long run less mistakes are made by obeying those who know better than arbitrarily delegating power by other means. Some people could advocate other philosophies also subject to good or bad. People advocate democracy, yet when the party they oppose is elected do they then oppose democracy because the result is a leadership they consider bad? In my opinion, the usual result is that they somehow attribute guilt to the people they disagree with, instead of considering that perhaps, because they are not in the majority, they might be the ones who are wrong. I mention this system because it is based on the idea that the majority know best. Not something I agree with.

Children are taught to obey their parents, because children can not be expected to fully understand the results of their actions. I merely push this to the logical limit. Some adults also need guidance otherwise they will make mistakes.

I find a system of strict rules to be safer than another system which allows modification based on the desires of people. People are generally ruled by their desires. They elect what they covet, not what they need.

PS. I have given some more consideration to the issue and come to the conclusion that the problem with the problem, if you will, is that any opinion is guided by one's ability to apply to the subject a value of trust ie. does the solver have trust in the subjects or not. One of the symptoms of my various ailments is an inability to empathise with others, the result of which is I don't intrinsically trust other people. I am incapable of believing that given a choice people will follow the best path but are instead predisposed to instead take the simplist path that "gains" them more. Thus I believe people must be guided. Even if I don't feel the same way, I can understand a person might have a differing opinion should they be able to consider that people can be trusted to make the right decision themselves.

[capnq]

Randallw said: People advocate democracy, yet when the party they oppose is elected do they then oppose democracy because the result is a leadership they consider bad?

Yes. Quite frequently. Kenya is the most recent example.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

It does not matter wether people can be trusted to make their own descisions or not. What matters is wether or not people are allowed to learn.