Paradise Is A State of Mind
It's not "arrogant" to want to live in peace and security, but people are understandably "ashamed," when they stand by doing nothing while innocent people are being abused and killed, thinking that if they just hope for peace, nothing bad can ever happen to them.
The world is a whole lot safer and better place than it was ten years ago -- and that is particularly true of Hawaii, which many have already forgotten was the place people were leaving in droves, and the previous role of the governors of Hawaii (and their henchmen), was to convince us that "last" was really "first," and that all the rules in effect all over the world, did not apply because this was "paradise."
It wasn't until President Bush's strong response to terrorism that Hawaii emerged from its decades long plunge into depression -- which we've forgotten already under the Governorship of Linda Lingle.
But those who forget and try to rewrite history, are doomed to repeat it.
Where we see the “rewriting” of history most is in the popular media -- which no longer bother to consult the academic “experts” because they’d just interject inconvenient facts and lecture endlessly on their pet projects -- distracting from their own quest for the noble prizes. The media celebrities have learned that it is not accuracy that distinguishes but outrage -- and so the more outrageous their claims, the more they are likely to stand out and get their own media program.
There’s always a market for people who will say anything as an expert liar -- "because everybody else does it and why shouldn’t they?" Besides, they rationalize, the cost of living in Hawaii justifies doing whatever one has to do to get more than their fair share -- and those who don’t, are jealous because they didn’t think of it first.
The traditional professions that were formed to protect the underclass and underprivileged, now claim they are the "underprivileged" and therefore must receive those monies intended for those social programs -- as highly paid (entitled) administrators.
And so the infrastructure of viable, responsive society devolves into present day Hawaii -- in which government exists to serve itself, while the people have to fend for themselves because there is no money left over once the government administrators are paid off.
And the media looks the other way because they wished they had thought of that first.
posted by Mike Hu @ 10:15 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Banning plastic bags while driving around single-occupant in their SUVs, is curing the pimple while the cancer rages on -- thinking one has does something meaningful, if not magnanimous.
And in fact, those who value the plastic bags the most, are those who walk, take the bus or ride a bicycle to carry home their groceries -- rather than driving around their eco-friendly bags and as much as their possessions at all times.
So while these SUV liberals are very well-intentioned and undoubtedly feel wonderful about their contributions to the environment, they have to weigh the larger cost-benefit considerations and impacts they imply.
If you're pissing gasoline out of your turbo-charged vehicle, don't begrudge those homeless people carrying all their possessions in plastic bags and shopping carts -- thinking they, of all people, should be using paper/cloth bags.
It is precisely because of the durability of the plastic bag that gives it its value -- and not just lasting the 10 seconds it takes to transport groceries from the cash register to the car and the front door, if it's not raining and other conditions are optimal to ensure the integrity of the paper bag for its singular use.
As Marie Antoinette said, when told that the people had no bread to eat, "Let them eat cake!" And thus was modern liberalism born.
Anything can be detrimental -- including drinking too much water and breathing in too much air. Hopefully, one doesn’t have to be a rocket scientitst to understand that. Undoubtedly, too much of a good thing can become a bad thing -- and so what one desires in life, is to find out that ideal balance that achieves the desirable effect -- and not a disastrous, imbalanced result.
Hormone abnormalities occur in those who take supplements and not -- but the way this expert testimony is written, seems to imply that human growth hormone was recommended, rather than contraindicated in the anecdotal example. These abnormailities are not proof that human growth enhancement is in every, or in the majority of cases bad, and in fact, in most cases, are desirable, as decreased serum testosterone levels and human growth hormone levels are coincident with declining health, ie., aging.
Now that athletes have “proven” the performance-enhancing and muscle-building effectiveness of these substances in real world tests, the question should be, how can we use that knowledge to benefit society more widely -- and not how do we suppress that information so that only the medical profession and drug companies can benefit exclusively?
Not even the most avid promoter of such substances would unqualifiedly approve of the massive overdosages that are injurious to one’s health and long term survival. But is there a therapeutic dose that prevents one from deterioration and decline -- that is more beneficial than becoming increasingly more susceptible to the ravages of decline coincident with decreasing hormone levels?
So we need to get over all the hysteria surrounding these issues, and rather than painting it all bad or all good, properly weighing the benefits/cost ratios and risks, and making informed personal decisions, rather than banning things for everyone, or requiring things for everyone -- as an intelligent and enlightened approach to life and conduct.
Post a Comment
<< Home