[extropy-chat] Taking a stand

[Brett Paatsch]

John Grigg wrote:

> Attempting to impeach the current president is not a realistic plan 

Why would you think that? 

If the founding fathers can found a republic with a constitution that
includes impeachment proceedings in a time when they are fighting
the British and in Lincolns time the country can go to an election 
during a civil war, what makes this generation of Americans, so inept?

The only answer I can come up with is that the current crop of voting
age American's are more stupid and selfish than their predecessors.

Mathematically, we outsiders are obliged to be anti-American by a
simple look at the numbers. 53 % supported Bush after the illegal 
invasion of Iraq.  

There has to be some sort of bystander calculus going on. You guys
must think that individually you can't do anything because you are
just individuals and that individually you won't be held accountable
by the rest of the world. What you don't seem to be rational enough
to grasp is that not only the world is turning on you but sooner or
later by setting aside the rule of law and allowing promises to be
conspicuously broken you are ensuring that you will turn on each
other. 

You are raising children, some of you, in environments where the
message you will be teaching them in your culture is keep your 
heads down and if your break your word thats fine so long as
your brazen or strong it doesn't even matter if you get caught. 

Its like you have a collective Easter Island style deathwish.

Any society or group of people that wants or needs to live
together with children and people of less than the highest
judgement (ie. most ordinary people) and character having 
freedom needs to have or to discover the simple economic 
efficiency of the social contract.

In simplicity, promises made cannot be allowed to go broken
lest no promises be kept.  Even three anarchists would agree
in a resource restricted envirnoment/world that it makes sense
for any two of them to disallow betrayal of the others by any
one of them.  The principle of keeping solemn promises and
upholding contracts is absolutely fundamental to freedom in 
any form of group where the individuals are not perfect.  

Brett Paatsch