Just heading out for the night, but I'm just curious about something. Do people want peace on Earth, and in what form do they see it? Acceptance of all races and ethnicites? Acceptance of religion? What?
As in the absence of war, because people are using negotiated means to resolve conflicts in a fair way? Of course.
There is a monkeypaw problem here. I would love peace on Earth, but not at the cost of, for instance, an all-dominating totalitarian government. I want peace on Earth because our ability to solve problems peacefully has finally overtaken the extent of our problems. Meanwhile, I will settle for trying to get more people to understand just how high a cost war comes with, and how high the threshold should be to fight one. But the threshold is not insurmountable.
Of course! However, man is an animal. It's all a tug of war. You even don't have to look at the big picture, but at the small things of everyday life. It's always a power struggle. Human relationships are far from fair. We still function like apes, and we will continue to do so. Only social pressure keeps us from going for each others' throats. No angels live in the hearts of men. Of course things can change with time. There is always hope. But when things go rough, it's brother against brother for the profit of another. The game points, nobody wins. That's life.
I would like it. But we're a bunch of war-like apes who won't be happy until the very last member of the species finishes strangling second to last one.
It's worth noting that despite our daily news, wars have gotten less and violence has gotten less on this planet, as Steven Pinker has argued in great detail. That shows it's worth striving to get things straight, even if perfection is out of reach. Things do and can get better.
Not wanting to label homosexual unions a "marriage" is not oppression. Beyond that, why does it matter what I'm in favor of? What bearing does that have on the argument?
Because you like oppression, and you like war. Your pretense at only liking the latter in necessary opposition to the former is an obvious sham.
Obviously I see it from the Christian viewpoint of accepting inward peace in our hearts as well as a lack of outward armed conflict, but overall for me it takes the form of getting along with each other, of getting the big things right and being willing to accept differences in the little things*, or to debate and discuss the little things without causing violence or undue stress or hurt feelings or the like. There will always be differences, so there will always be stress and conflict, but there doesn't have to be hatred over differences. And from hatred springs oppression and violence. *Begging the question of which things are big and which are little of course, which is another can of worms
I very much agree! Life itself (complex life at least) cannot exist without getting it's energy from devouring another life. Taken further, the resources that support your lifestyle requirements (shelter, quality food, clean water, strength itself so you won't get devoured) have to be defended. So considering mankind's entire lineage originates and can be traced back to the first life forms and there has never been a period when "eat or get eaten" was not in play, logic would dictate we are hard-wired for combat and will remain that way. That's why women choose men who are alpha/winners as mates - they are more likely to breed more winners (because genes matter) and keep the species going. Of course almost all primate females choose alpha males, so unless you don't believe in evolution it's pretty simple why war will never end. Also the more war the more money I make so I can do my alpha male thing of providing for my family (including my kids of course) so that they can keep the "win" train going. Other men trying to survive might try to kill me or my family - I respect that and expect that - that's life!
Do you mean no more war or the definition that hippies use: smoke weed all day and not have to pay bills?
Small world - my son just moved out of a house full of weed smoking lethargic procrastinating hippies (or the modern day version of them). The takeaway lesson - extreme vetting of your house-mates before you all move in together.
Most of the things in the Greatest Hits thread are things I've never actually said. A number of people here deliberately alter what I've said.
Really, it boils down to him wanting to deliver the former, and having someone else fight the latter. Most small men are like that.
