trenton

You make a good point about the corruption in capitalism. This is how much it can hurt a single nation. the fact that I am from the wealthiest nation in history means nothing if economic well being does not translate to human well being. What I am curious about is how much could capitalist corruption possibly hurt the entire world. This can include wars. What is the cost of being the wealthiest nation in the world? On one other interesting point, there are right-wing conservatives who don't even debate free medical care around the world. I find that fascinating and foreign given the current state of affairs in the U.S. Sometimes I think the U.S. Should pay more attention to other countries and ask their leadership why they made the decisions they did and how much has It helped them.

What I have gathered so far is that terms like "radical left" are used to scare people. I am not sure what to make of "military Bernie." I will try to clarify the subject. I am attempting to learn how much money is made through exploitation across the globe. Is it true that socialism for on side is destruction of imperialism for the other side? How dependent is the U.S. Economy on human rights violations and war crimes? Is it possible to create a global economy that does not depend on exploitation? The reason this is important is because politics looks like a zero sum game if other countries and people must be hurt for our benefit. For example, is it true that rich countries like the U.S. can't exist without poor countries? I hope this clarifies the topic.

@Jacob Morres I know what you are getting at. I make the distinction toxic feminism vs. Evolved feminism. The mainstream media leans toward toxic feminism and is bought into the narrative of women overcoming oppression. Men's rights are seen as less significant and frequently ignored. Evolved feminism recognizes that gender equality is impossible without addressing the unique ways in which men and women are oppressed. This is why man hating and inappropriate use of the term "mansplaining" are not feminist principles. toxic feminism leads to a disregard for men's rights and a lack of empathy for those falsely accused of rape. This is related to how The educational system is disadvantageous for boys because of the difference in preferred learning style. The narrative of women overcoming oppression becomes problematic and one sided. I can share some examples of evolved feminism. These are not the mainstream views. Conservatives are reacting to the dark side of modern feminism. Without appreciating the unique oppression of men and women, feminism becomes hypocritical. Even feminist forget that men and women are supposed to be equal. Feminism is not that women are superior. Here is toxic feminism.

@Husseinisdoingfine I am trying to imagine what kind of economic reforms would be necessary in order to stop imperialism. what exactly does the social Democratic economic system look like? If the social democrats depend on imperialism, then what would an economy look like without imperialism? What economic system can we envision that would stop the exploitation of third world countries? What would it take to implement these changes? How long would it take to achieve This new system? This issue seems challenging and I am left with a ton of questions. I need a better education on economics.

@Blackhawk excellent job on your research. You made very informative responses in this forum. The neutrality argument does not hold up when you take into account the secret alliances Sweden has in spite of its professed neutrality. If Russia knows about the secret alliances, Sweden could guarantee defense by joining NATO. Swedish neutrality can get very ugly if it helps both sides in a time of war. Sweden can't be neutral if it helps other countries kill more people. I don't see any more potential downsides to address. The country needs to let go of its false neutrality if it wants to help protect the countries it protects anyway.

I would like to add child marriage to our thread of ignored political issues. There are loopholes in the laws against statutory rape and many states do not set a minimum age at which a person can get married. Child marriage also facilitates human trafficking and modern slavery. The global slavery index recommends that the minimum age of marriage should be raised to 18 with or without parental consent. Our laws vary from state to state, but this legislation would ban all child marriage if it applies to all states.

@BipolarGrowth I never heard of the possibility that psychosis could be a good thing. people with these mental disorders are easily demonized as they end up in prison without their spiritual development. One thing related to this issue is how anxiety pills are designed to suppress anxiety. The alternative is to frame anxiety as a good thing as in some situations it makes us more alert and more active. Anxiety could help us if the issue were framed in different way. This is a recent development in the field of medicine.

@Husseinisdoingfine thank you for clarifying. this is the first time I started learning about modern imperialism. What I find concerning is that higher wages in countries like America could make imperialism worse by inflating the value of goods we export. For example, the current minimum wage in the U.S. Is around 10 dollars, but a living wage is 20 dollars. Would this be disastrous for poor countries? If it is terrible for poor countries, it explains why Sanders would support imperialism. This helps me to appreciate the need for worker rights across the globe because if we are self absorbed and only care about American workers, it comes at the expense of hurting other countries through unequal exchange. This looks like a massive elephant in the room that is not acknowledged. I never thought of trade as being this serious of an issue. We are definitely in the dark ages and have a ton of development that has yet to be done around the world.

@DocWatts I watched both of the videos you sent. I watched the video with intense interest when compared to other videos I watch. I noticed how the community often failed to take the issue seriously as they attributed virginity rates to a skyrocketing gay population. The reason I took it seriously is because I don't socialize much. I could be underestimating the psychological benefits of forming healthy relationships rather than no relationship. This is similar to the fatherless epidemic. Children who grow up without A father have psychological problems such as A lack of courage. I was affected by this issue and I want to fully understand how much I could be affected by the environment I grow up in. A good take away is to treat everyone the same as you would treat any other human being. A mistake men make is that they think they have treat one woman differently, but this makes her uncomfortable when she picks up on sexual innuendos.

@Blackhawk I looked through your posts and it looks like you have done a lot of research. I see a lot of reasons Sweden and other nations would benefit from this membership. The common positions against joining NATO are... Sweden does not want to be put in a position in which they have to fight in Afghanistan because of the need to defend the United States. Secondly, Sweden only spends about 1% of its GDP on defense. NATO would encourage Sweden to double the defense budget. Sweden values neutrality in war, and NATO membership would require their involvement. How do you respond to these arguments? I think one of your key arguments is that Sweden is not really neutral and it would improve the safety of other nations if they did join. I find this thread of unknown political issues to be very informative and educational. Thanks everybody for your help so far.

@Blackhawk I am curious about what arguments you are using. I did a little bit of research on this unknown issue, and it looks like Sweden is mixed in the issue. for example, the people in favor of joining NATO are in nearly equal numbers to those against it. It seems unclear as to what is the most secure option for Sweden. This is a very divisive issue and the country is split.

@DocWatts I am a part of this trend. Without a clear life purpose I don't see the value in forming relationships. I will probably need to watch this video. I have already resigned myself to living alone and dying a virgin. This may not be the healthiest way to live my life. I don't understand what psychological difference the lack of a relationship leads to. One reason I don't seek a relationship is because I think I will regret letting a woman into my life for several reasons. This probably leads some people to mansplaining. I probably have a lot of bad assumptions about women in relationships given that I have never been in one. I think she is going to turn into a distraction, an economic burden, and someone to fight with. I think I am projecting stereotypes onto potential dating partners. If I were to let a woman into my life, it could be someone who is okay with me being myself. Most people are not okay with it because my well meaning actions are often interpreted in the worst way possible. This might be why I get a little sad sometimes. Thanks for the post.

@Husseinisdoingfine I never heard about modern imperialism. It is probably related to modern slavery when low income countries are exploited for cheap labor. Both are motivated by capitalism and it would be very threatening to the status quo to acknowledge these widespread human rights violations.I Where did you learn about this?

@Preety_India you make a good point. You are noticing how people can be hurt because of trigger happy social justice warriors failing to appreciate the complexity of the issue. There is often a kernel of truth in the other side of the issue of we pay attention. This seems to go back to the issue of education. It looks like an issue worth reading into. If there were improved internet connection in rural areas, the employment rate would likely improve not only in rural areas, but also in urban areas. Rural areas have a hard time attracting teachers from the city. In cities there are often more than enough teachers. Those left behind could become online teachers for under privileged rural areas. This would explain why people in rural areas could become racist or xenophobic if they were hurt because of illegal immigrants.

@Boethius I heard of that issue before. I forgot about it because nobody talks about. This is related to men's rights and stepping beyond the feminist narrative out society is sucked into. We do not appreciate that boys and girls have immutable differences and preferred learning styles. I did have a hard time sitting still in classes and I was especially weird because of autism. My brother was also having a hard time with school, so I needed to help mentor him. Rather than scald him for his poor grades and tell him how important it is to take school seriously, I focus on relating to him as much as possible without saying "we all had to go through this so suck it up.". This is a much more effective way to mentor boys struggling in school. I explained some of the real problems with the educational system. For example, my brother felt like a worthless failure because he did bad in math. He was studying not because he was curious and wanted to learn, but because he had to. Our schools are often poor at bringing out a child's curiosity and we need to personally hone our passion for learning because school can't do it. Math can be a beautiful thing to learn if school does not make it harder than it needs to be. I then shared with him various strategies to make school easier and he is much happier now. I also emphasized the the importance of emotional mastery and he received a lot of benefit from it. He finds it difficult to grasp with the fact that school did not teach this subject at all. Without emotional mastery, boys are subject to the stereotype that we are supposed to be emotionless robots. This leads to reduced emotional intelligence in men, contributing to psychological problems and potentially worsening crime rates. Crime is also more likely if you drop out of school. The consequences of our poor educational system are serious.

@Opo im sorry to hear that your classmates are annoying you. If all else fails you can try being honest that you are annoyed by this. I hope they learn to leave you alone.

I ran into a handful of Mormons in the past. When they start trying to convert me, they start asking why I am not joining the religion. There are several reasons I could give. Pick the reasons which are most authentic for you. 1. Modern religion needs to transform radically in order to properly address sexual abuse in churches, mosques, and synagogues. 2. Because religious beliefs change over time, it is likely that the religion of today is not the religion of tomorrow. This is related to the theory of evolution when applied to religion. 3. I don't know which religion is right and I should wait until I know for sure. 4. I wish to focus on making life on earth better rather than pursue an after life. 5. I would rather seek out God as a direct experience rather than as a belief system. 6. Religion is problematic in its dogmatism. I don't want to lock myself into a narrow worldview and I am interested in exploring many worldviews. 7. The beliefs are inauthentic for me and I don't want to wallpaper over my doubts until the day I die. How frequently do you run into them? I ran into them on 5 different occasions. One time I told them that I don't know the most polite way to say no to religion without getting sucked into a debate about why I am not joining them. This one might be a good response if it is honest for you. I haven't been bothered by any Mormons since. I can still be friends with people from all kinds of backgrounds.

I have mixed experience with stage blue. First, I recognize a unique advantage that the pre-rational has over the rational. Stage blue is more open minded to God as a direct experience. When I tell deeply religious people that it may be possible to create an experience of God, they light up and listen intently. I don't go around trying to convert everybody because I realize that not everybody is open minded. I only tell them If they are ready. If stage blue is hateful toward other religions, I don't bother trying to convince them. They are too strict in their worldview and they do not see any validity in other religions. Sometimes stage blue recognizes the deep similarities they have with other religions. They even admit that all religions are fallible and written by people. When they do this, they are more open minded in a way that makes them more loving. These are the kind of people who can change and might be open to change. This is why I only told one of my grandmothers about experiencing God. She was very grateful to learn about this possibility. One of my grandmothers is subscribed to the theory that Obama was a Muslim and she seems hateful toward Islam. I did not tell my siblings or mother because they are not interested in this topic at all. I could tell my aunt, but someone in the family committed suicide. I will have to wait until after the funeral to tell her. My aunt is open to other religions though. Some deeply religious people will be open to meditation, journaling, shadow work, and more. I don't tell them about the psychedelics though because in my experience nobody is open minded to that possibility. I don't really try to convert people. Instead I work with their worldview. If I work against them, they will be too stubborn and I may cause more harm than help. If I run around telling everybody about this, I might further entrench them in their worldview, making them even more toxic and hateful. As for the specific video you sent, I never ran into stage blue people who are closed to video games. I think the culture will evolve on its own and I don't need to change anybody on that front. I can just do my own thing and let progress win out in the end. If you are interested in working with stage blue, you need to wait for them to be open. I hope you found this useful.

I would love to be a chess teacher. The problem is that this job is rare. I found a opportunities in California and New York, but I live in Ohio. In order to be a better chess teacher I also need a better rating. Currently there are only online tournaments. I started playing over the board tournaments as soon as I got out of college, but they all shut down about a year ago due to the virus While I was in college I became lost and undecided because I could not find a clear path to get what I wanted. I was not optimistic about the career prospects in philosophy, psychology, sociology, political science, computer science, or engineering. I never had and passion with engineering, but based on my aptitudes, I excel in mathematics and would be suitable for this. I finished an associate's degree in General studies. When I felt lost, I started watching actualized.org. I pressured myself with personal development because if i don't change my life situation, then I could be a bag boy at Kroger, living paycheck to paycheck after my grandma dies and i have nobody to support me anymore. These future possibilities make me feel stuck and frustrated. Although spirituality and philosophy are interesting, I don't think it is what I need. Possible back up plans. I am considering going back to college for business. I don't have a passion for business now, but it may be necessary to make a back up plan. My goal would be to build my own chess school where I can train people to become masters. I could expand on this idea of a school, by including personal development like emotional mastery. I also want children in low income families to be able to attend because I don't want poverty to cause people to waste their talents. I could give scholarships to some of these families like the school in New York did when I tried to join. If I can't join a school to become a chess teacher, then I could build my own school. My other back up plans include engineering because of my mathematical aptitudes and writing because it helps people to understand autism when I reflect on my thoughts. I often laugh out loud instead of in my head. This can be problematic and makes me stuck on what to do about my immaturity. How else could I form a back up plan? Should I go to college for business and education or engineering?

@freejoy I took the vaccine. The needle was much less painful than other needles. You do not need to worry about getting the vaccine. The pain that comes afterwards is worse and your arm will hurt for a couple of days.

It seems that issue of police brutality will continue to be framed in a misleading way by the media. When will it stop and when will the public recognize a better approach to the issue? How do you think the media should be framing this issue? If we frame a problem the wrong way, it can make us less effective at tackling the issue. If you need a clearer example of police brutality, you could try this video. It demonstrates that police are not properly trained to deal with the mentally ill. I found further evidence of this on the global slavery index. The victims of modern slavery are deeply traumatized. Human traffickers also target illegal immigrants because of the language barrier and the fear deportation. You can check out this site for more about police brutality in the recommended section. Slavery is related to BLM through police brutality. https://www.globalslaveryindex.org/2018/findings/country-studies/united-states/

@Forestluv what should a person do if it seems like they really can't awaken? This is important to know in spirituality because it demonstrates that we can't judge people for being selfish devils. The circumstances of their birth and upbringing could pose real obstacles to awakening. If people can't experience God directly, then it looks like they have no choice but to either be religious or be an atheist. Cases like these could sow the seeds of doubt in future spiritual groups. It could lead to atheism if we don't let people know that spirituality does not work for everybody. Imagine the disappointment people would face of they ended up like the unfortunate woman you described. I think gurus might ignore this because people can easily turn this into a limiting belief.

That is a good point. In the United States people would get in trouble substance of abuse. It is possible that most of us will not have access to psychedelics any time soon. For most of us, techniques are the best we have. The advantage to emphasizing the benefits of psychedelics is to undo our programming created by the war on drugs. At first I was close minded to psychedelics because my parents were drug addicts. Other people may have a harder time opening their minds to psychedelics and it is driving people away from this site. Maybe we should make a greater effort to emphasize the power of techniques available to the majority of humanity. Psychedelics could have a stronger emphasis in politics because this is preventing people from growing their consciousness.

I just got my vaccine. I am scheduled to get the second dose in three weeks. It is important for me to get the vaccine because I work at Kroger. I come into contact with many people every day from bagging groceries, collecting carts, and cleaning restrooms. I have a high risk of getting COVID and spreading it to other people. If you are not in a high risk environment, I still recommend that you get the vaccine. The point is that it improves the immunity of the general population in order to prevent mutations of the virus. There are a few side effects of the vaccine. I have aches in my body and head. My heart is also beating faster than usual. You probably should ask your doctor if the COVID vaccine is right for you if you have a heart condition. You could be hurt if you have other health conditions.

This mindset reminds me of religion. Religion becomes susceptible to the "no true Scotsman" fallacy when they say somebody didn't really believe or have faith. In the case of other spiritual groups there are many people devoted to spirituality who never awaken through traditional means. We need to be careful when attributing a failure to awaken to a lack of desire for self knowledge. Maybe we could be committing the same fallacy as religion when we assume anybody can awaken by traditional means if they have a strong enough desire to do so. From this point of view it also does not make sense to act as if spirituality is for everybody because there is evidence that it isn't. If somebody is not spiritually gifted and they are resistant to psychedelics, how would they awaken if they were truly passionate about Truth?