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| English: Photographs of Occupy Wall Street from Zuccotti Park on Day 9, September 25. Wall Street remains closed to the public. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
… because it sucks to be you.
Related source » A Political Glossary: Part III: 'via Blog this'
[This related source is recommended in its entirety.]
“Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes said that a good catchword can stop thought for 50 years. The phrase "social justice" has stopped many people from thinking, for at least a century -- and counting. […] The baby born into dire poverty might belong to a family in Bangladesh, and the one born to extravagant luxury might belong to a family in America. Whose fault is this disparity or injustice? Is there some specific society that caused this? Or is it just one of those things in the world that we wish was very different? […] Making a distinction between cosmic justice and social justice is more than just a semantic fine point. Once we recognize that there are innumerable causes of innumerable disparities, we can no longer blithely assume that either the cause or the cure can be found in the government of a particular society. […] If you study history in addition to geography, you are almost forced to acknowledge that there was never any realistic chance for all peoples to have the same achievements -- even if they were all born with the same potential and even if there were no social injustices. […] Every group trails the long shadow of its cultural heritage -- and no politician or society can change the past. But they can stop leading people into the blind alley of resentments of other people. A better future often requires internal changes that pay off better than mysticism about one's own group or about "social justice".”
— Thomas Sowell, Jun 28, 2012 (townhall.com)
Timshel — thou mayest. You are born into circumstances not of your choosing. But you are born with choices you can make. Your life is a combination of events over which you have no control and the choices you make. That's about it. The sooner you realize these facts of life, the sooner you can proceed with the life you choose to live.
We have all been conditioned to hearing the wisdom of the ages distilled down to bumper-sticker philosophy, such as: "You are what you eat"; "Be all you can be"; "Shit or get off the pot"; and many other such catchphrases. My own colloquial favorite is: "You is what you is, mofo. Deal with it." But the Judeo-Christian God's admonition says it all: "Timshel!" You have choices. It's your call.
We have all heard admirable stories of individuals who overcame incredible obstacles on their way to great achievements. Some of these stories are actually true. But not everyone is capable of such heroic efforts. To varying degrees, however, we are all capable of incorporating an optimization strategy to make the best of the hand we've been dealt. Some do; many don't. Those who do have chosen an active role in shaping their destiny. Those who don't choose passivity — "Poor me." "What did I do to deserve this?" "How come I can't have an iPod like Johnny has?" "Why won't George Bush leave us alone?"
Liberals like Barack Obama cultivate the "Poor me" demographic. They want people to remain mired in the dead-end state-of-mind so that they can promise them free lunch in return for their vote. It is that simpleminded a strategy. Fine. They provide you with government cheese, while they jet to Martha's Vineyard to snack on caviar and Pinot noir. Yeah; that sounds fair to me, provided you have chosen to be a loser all your life.
The ball is in your court, mofo.
Post 1,835 “Be all you can be …”
We have all been conditioned to hearing the wisdom of the ages distilled down to bumper-sticker philosophy, such as: "You are what you eat"; "Be all you can be"; "Shit or get off the pot"; and many other such catchphrases. My own colloquial favorite is: "You is what you is, mofo. Deal with it." But the Judeo-Christian God's admonition says it all: "Timshel!" You have choices. It's your call.
We have all heard admirable stories of individuals who overcame incredible obstacles on their way to great achievements. Some of these stories are actually true. But not everyone is capable of such heroic efforts. To varying degrees, however, we are all capable of incorporating an optimization strategy to make the best of the hand we've been dealt. Some do; many don't. Those who do have chosen an active role in shaping their destiny. Those who don't choose passivity — "Poor me." "What did I do to deserve this?" "How come I can't have an iPod like Johnny has?" "Why won't George Bush leave us alone?"
Liberals like Barack Obama cultivate the "Poor me" demographic. They want people to remain mired in the dead-end state-of-mind so that they can promise them free lunch in return for their vote. It is that simpleminded a strategy. Fine. They provide you with government cheese, while they jet to Martha's Vineyard to snack on caviar and Pinot noir. Yeah; that sounds fair to me, provided you have chosen to be a loser all your life.
The ball is in your court, mofo.
Post 1,835 “Be all you can be …”
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