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Tuesday, November 24, 2009 - 11:34amSanction this postReply
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The only way to send a politicians head into a tail spin is to ask, "how much of mine is mine".
That is the question that will prevent them from blinding you with the double speak, not one politician can explain the right others have to take from you to give to them.
Don't try to understand them, just simply defeat them with reason.
That is what truly free people do.


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Tuesday, November 24, 2009 - 2:29pmSanction this postReply
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Jimmie,

The frightening thing is that more and more people seem lack a basic understanding of logical reasoning. Too many people today are so wedded to the popular perceptions of events, that they seem unable to relate to or recognize facts or logical arguments. Instead, they cite their convictions or conclusions as though they were fact, and do not understand when you tell them that those are not arguments. They do not or cannot differentiate between assumptions and actual evidence, the result being that they are no longer capable of assigning proper weight to anyone's statements - everything, the illogical and the logical, seems equally valid. It is almost as if being correct is an entitlement. They feel their opinion has just as much right to be accepted as anyone else's demonstration of fact.

It is Gresham's theory applied to logic and reason. The old assumption that rationality will win out, is no longer safe. And to the extent that it falters, neither are we.

Scary new world...

jt
(Edited by Jay Abbott on 11/24, 2:51pm)


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Tuesday, November 24, 2009 - 3:48pmSanction this postReply
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Blame public education for that, Jay.

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Tuesday, November 24, 2009 - 4:03pmSanction this postReply
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Teresa is right - he problem is the stream of dumbed down students that graduate with fuzzy liberal policies and a lack of critical reasoning skills.

Jay, you don't have it quite right. In any argument where the opponents are nearly equally matched in every way except for the rationality or logic of their argument, the more rational and logical will end up triumphing over time. But it would not be reasonable to expect that we could leave the media, legislative-bodies, and educational systems in the hands of the irrational collectivists (as we have) and expect those historical and numerical differences to disappear overnight.

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Tuesday, November 24, 2009 - 5:37pmSanction this postReply
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The problem is this pervasive attitude of emotional intrinsicism. The idea that whatever feels right must be right, and further deliberation is just not required. It can be observed in almost any cultural context. With healthcare, you concentrate on the feeling of empathy you have for the sick and uninsured, but make no further deliberation on how one could solve the issue that actually accomplishes more quality health care for more people. So long as someone comes along like a politician that says he can do it, well the emotional intrinsicist is just taught to act on any emotional impulse, "He sounds trustworthy, and I don't want people to suffer, so what further thought do I need? It feels right"

Any romance movie is based on falling in love with someone because it just feels right, no further introspection is required, no examination of why one feels the way they do. "I love her" the main character may say, but he won't know why, the emotion is all that is required severed from any rational value. So he will pursue the love interest because one must act on any feeling, even if it is an irrational one.

"Do what feels right" is what we're constantly bombarded with. So the lesson is to just act on any emotional whim.

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Tuesday, November 24, 2009 - 7:49pmSanction this postReply
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Steve,

I guess I'm saying 'suppose you won an argument, but nobody (listening) knows?" When the other participants can't recognize the difference between facts and opinions, success becomes a craps shoot. People are going to react and act based upon what arguments sounded 'okay' to them, including sometimes grossly flawed arguments. That is scary.

jt

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Tuesday, November 24, 2009 - 8:13pmSanction this postReply
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Jay,

I recognize your concern. You've voiced it before. And I keep thinking that you give too much potency and power to ignorance and irrationality as such. They have nothing that isn't given to them by someone who choses to be a victim - they live by victims sanctions. This is closely related to force and fraud that have no ability to create, only destroy or steal.

When you couple (as is often the case) irrationality with the initiation of force there is a problem for everyone that values freedom and productivity but it's like a rabid dog problem, or a hurricane... you deal with it as best you can and move on.

You do NOT have to convince those that are irrational - if anywhere deep in your psyche there is a nagging feeling that all will not be well till everyone see's the light, till all ignorance is gone, and till all arguments are won by the good guys... you'll never feel truly secure. You don't have to cure rabid dogs, or stop hurricanes to have a happy life and to feel relaxed - not even in a culture heavily infested with idiots.

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