[thechat] "Democracy can be bad for you"

[Ben Dyer]

But there are very bright people out there who, for whatever reason ("My 
vote doesn't count", "It doesn't really matter anyway", "Both choices 
suck", etc.), don't spend more than 15 seconds on deciding who they want to 
lead the nation for the next four years.

And if that person happens to be an EMT, no, I don't care what his 
political affiliation is.

But the general public (or maybe it's just us Americans, beats me), does 
not seem to have the ability to determine potential outcomes of situations 
further into the future than beyond maybe three minutes.  Whether that be 
determining the next President of the United States or realizing that if 
they just parked in a parking spot that was further away, they'll make up 
the time in both walking to the store *and* walking back from the store to 
the car.

And maybe they are kind and caring, that doesn't exempt you from being 
"stupid."  Hell, it doesn't exempt me from being "stupid."  I just have the 
common sense to think about the consequences of my actions and the 
consequences of other's actions.  (Which, in an off-tangent, is why I 
didn't vote for Nader either.  Bush's view of oligarchic capitalism is no 
more correct than Nader's quasi-democratic socialism.)

So there.  Fight tangents with tangents.

--Ben

At 03:01 PM 4/4/01, you wrote:
> > From: Ben Dyer <ben_dyer at imaginuity.com>
> > Actually, you missed my point.  "Stupid," in this case, referred to the
> > public at large.
> >
>No I didn't really miss the point. I was going to defend the unwashed
>masses, but I got side-tracked on the dubya theme. I can, of course, discern
>that the general public is stupid - I just try to avoid saying it.
>One of the reasons is that a lot of the general public can turn out to be
>kind, caring, people who will do the right thing in a real crisis.
>
>If you are in an accident, whom would you rather be the first to stop and
>help?
>a) investment banker
>b) internet intellectual - perhaps even a fellow evolter
>c) person who works a full time grunt job, listens to Rush Limbaugh, and who
>pays to keeps his EMT certification up to date through regular training and
>testing in his "spare" time.
>d) artist
>
>Don't care who he/she voted for, I'll take 'c'.
>
>Is that the general public we're talking about?
>
>Or is it the general public who can't see past their navel? Who won't park
>in the vast sea of empty spaces, when they can drive around for 5 minutes
>looking for a spot that's 30 feet closer to their instant gratification?

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Ben Dyer
Senior Internet Developer
Imaginuity Interactive
http://www.imaginuity.com
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