Submit your Hamline confession here: (100% anonymous)
I've got the biggest crush on this guy. I'm pretty sure he thinks I'm a lesbian. The sexual tension is real. How do adults tell each other these things??!?
Bring the cats back on the cover photo. I like the cats more than you.
Today, while discussing local government in class, one of my fellow students suggested slavery as a method of economic development. He continued to seriously insist that it was, in fact, a method of economic development. All this in a college where if I voice my support for the police I might be lynched.
I used to be a really opinionated guy. I guess you can say I still am, in the sense that "having an opinion" is a difficult if not impossible cage to break out of once you've locked yourself inside.
How do we judge the best among alternatives? Popular vote? No, I bet not many among us with enough interest to be reading this believe that is the best way. The educated class says the common man knows little more than his immediate surroundings, and I'd argue that even in the age of information, this can be said of all people. A flaw of American democracy especially (but not exclusively) is the rent seeking behavior on the part of special interests, their attempts to influence the election through the twin levers of bribery and extortion.
I use the term "flaw" here as a convenience. From a strictly naturalistic point of view, there is nothing objectively "wrong" with anyone advocating for their own interests. Even the libertarian mantra of "do whatever you want, man, just don't harm anyone *inhales marijuana*" is empty because what it means to "harm" someone and establishing responsibility needs to be defined arbitrarily by some final authority with their own (likely) selfish agenda.
I'll cut to the chase now.
Can we use math and science and logic and reason to govern better? No. Even if we can come to a consensus on what "better" means (I believe it must be asked "for whom?" I also believe "the common good" is a meaningless false god), there will always be a Bernie Madhoff or a Wallstreet bankster, or a nonprofit manager, who will skirt the law and manipulate it.
PUTTING OUR FAITH IN MATH AND SCIENCE TO GUIDE POLICY DECISIONS MAKES IT MORE DIFFICULT FOR THE RESOURCEFUL TO SKIRT THE LAW FOR THEIR OWN BENEFIT, YES, BUT IT ALSO CONCENTRATES GREATER POWER IN THE HANDS OF THE SHRINKING POOL WHO CAN.
We can't trust ANYONE or any small group with the power to run the world, even if it seems to us little guys on the ground, being so far removed from the men behind the curtain, that the powerful "have objectivity on their side so it's ok"
"Well shit, it sounds like we can't regulate, and we can't NOT regulate, so is the answer some Marxist revolution to bring about the end of history?"
No. Communists assume human behavior is more malleable than it is. They undermine biology. Tribalism, and the morality which it expresses, has been a part of our survival strategy since the dawn of our species. It has left its indellible mark. For instance, research shows that despite varying material conditions, people all across the world lie at about the same rate. People establish hierarchies of care, whereby they care for more familiar people more than less familiar people. These expressions of morality which have been successful in the past have molded our brains. The problem is that culture has developed much faster than our brains can keep up, and besides, there isnt much for eugenic pressure anymore (anyone can reproduce, in fact, the poorest in the world reproduce the most). Besides that, even with collective ownership, there needs to be decisions about what to make, how much, and for whom, and none of that can be answered without either establishing some sort of hierarchy, establishing a system that can be abused (and as I hope I established, likely would be), or reverting to a primitive standard of living.
So what do we do?
The best I've come up with so far is "don't be a smug prick who thinks he knows everything." Leave people alone. Don't vote. I also like the idea of living under a religion that promotes this idea by emphasizing how stupid, silly, and assholish everyone is compared to Perfection. I see this in Christianity. But that might not be for others. But I don't know.
Tl;dr Everyone is a stupid, silly, asshole, including me and you. Don't worry so much about this world.
-The Minions poster
Ps dont vote
Does anyone have any rooms for rent? I'm a woman. Looking for one room for myself. I can't afford much more than $400 per month, $425 ish max.
It's my dOpe uncle c Columbuss birthday again. Represent. He gets a harsh wrap but i think if you look deap enough into yourself you can see we all are a little bit c Columbus. The other day i coughed on my roomates toothbrush and i dont even no if it was an acident. Thanks.
Can some SJW explain this to me? Why does social justice almost always focus on the most trivial things?
Like Native American suicide rates are staggering, there is rampant FGM being forced on African women every day, obesity among African Americans, etc. So what do they focus on? White people with dreadlocks. Why is that such a big deal while so much else goes almost totally ignored?
I wanna punch squirrels