Damned Texans

[I_am_not_mafia]

I don't see what I have said that would generate a negative impression in a normal person, except perhaps (doubt it) I have been fed misinformation about liberals and my ideas about them are faulty.

This is the one single thing that I am trying to point out to you. I haven't been trying to do anything else.

I stated my thoughts and opinions, very nicely and respectfully. You have argued with me but really avoided what I was saying to simply attack how I was saying it or to point out how I'm generalizing...which, as I said, I'm aware of. Others have cursed me and tried to belittle me. Everyone has this holier-than-thou attitude towards me- hilarious attitude for an atheist site, I might add. This is EXACTLY what I expected from a liberal crowd. So I do know something about liberals.

You are assuming that I am trying to belittle you. All I have been doing is trying to point out how you are generalising and making assumptions that are wrong while complaining about how people are doing the same about Texans.

[Imaginaryfriendless]

I don't see what I have said that would generate a negative impression in a normal person, except perhaps (doubt it) I have been fed misinformation about liberals and my ideas about them are faulty.

This is the one single thing that I am trying to point out to you. I haven't been trying to do anything else.

I stated my thoughts and opinions, very nicely and respectfully. You have argued with me but really avoided what I was saying to simply attack how I was saying it or to point out how I'm generalizing...which, as I said, I'm aware of. Others have cursed me and tried to belittle me. Everyone has this holier-than-thou attitude towards me- hilarious attitude for an atheist site, I might add. This is EXACTLY what I expected from a liberal crowd. So I do know something about liberals.

You are assuming that I am trying to belittle you. All I have been doing is trying to point out how you are generalising and making assumptions that are wrong while complaining about how people are doing the same about Texans.

ok. I get that. But you have completely ignored everything I've said, except to surf through it and copy/paste things to show I'm generalizing. Great. EVERYONE generalizes. I'm talking about the liberal situation in the US, which you are not a part of. Although I have spent time in your country, I don't know the politics, particularly. My statements may be way off mark for England, but I think they're spot-on for America. 

Basically, when I saw that you folks maintained a royal family for no apparent reason I lost any interest in how you govern.

I'm of german descent. I spent every summer in Germany growing up. My family only spoke German on sundays. I have to disagree with you on quality of life. I would MUCH rather live here than in Germany, and I love the German people. The culture is so restrictive, they don't have freedom...I would feel smothered, and would probably wind up in jail.

Your impression of the US is incorrect. We don't have gun battles everywhere and mad-max style wastelands controlled by warlords, lol...in fact, the only places where you have a good chance of being shot are large LIBERAL RUN cities. This is a statistical fact.

Though we disagree, I like you- I like anyone who is passionate about their beliefs but doesn't resort to juvenile or violent behavior to make their point. Respect.

[The Grand Nudger]

I think that people forget that the us is mostly acre after endless acre of corn, soy, and sorghum.  Boring, quiet, decidedly free of shootouts.  
(except my place, obviously, constant smell of sulfur and the ground is solid spent brass)

Honestly, I've never gotten the whole "liberal this or that" thing myself. I constantly get accused of being a liberal (because I'm an atheist, ofc......)...in spite of being a southern redneck stereotype. It would make for an amusing thread...shattering liberal stereotypes one at a time. The members here wouldn't disappoint you, unless you were disappointed by that sort of thing.

[Imaginaryfriendless]

I think that people forget that the us is mostly acre after endless acre of corn, soy, and sorghum.  Boring, quiet, decidedly free of shootouts.  
(except my place, obviously, constant smell of sulfur and the ground is solid spent brass)

Honestly, I've never gotten the whole "liberal this or that" thing myself.  I constantly get accused of being a liberal (because I'm an atheist, ofc......)...in spite of being a southern redneck stereotype.  It would make for an amusing thread...shattering liberal stereotypes one at a time.  The members here wouldn't disappoint you, unless you were disappointed by that sort of thing.

I'm never accused of being a liberal- I'm VERY conservative- but I sure catch hell here for being an atheist. Of course, it would probably help if I didn't announce the fact loudly whenever I enter a room....

[account_inactive]

I think that people forget that the us is mostly acre after endless acre of corn, soy, and sorghum.  Boring, quiet, decidedly free of shootouts.  
(except my place, obviously, constant smell of sulfur and the ground is solid spent brass)

Honestly, I've never gotten the whole "liberal this or that" thing myself.  I constantly get accused of being a liberal (because I'm an atheist, ofc......)...in spite of being a southern redneck stereotype.  It would make for an amusing thread...shattering liberal stereotypes one at a time.  The members here wouldn't disappoint you, unless you were disappointed by that sort of thing.

I'm never accused of being a liberal- I'm VERY conservative- but I sure catch hell here for being an atheist. Of course, it would probably help if I didn't announce the fact loudly whenever I enter a room....

How conservative are we talking? What's your stance on stuff like LGBT rights? Sorry to derail the thread, I'm just curious.

[Imaginaryfriendless]

I'm never accused of being a liberal- I'm VERY conservative- but I sure catch hell here for being an atheist. Of course, it would probably help if I didn't announce the fact loudly whenever I enter a room....

How conservative are we talking? What's your stance on stuff like LGBT rights? Sorry to derail the thread, I'm just curious.

I guess I'm a bit of a weirdo conservative. I'm very big on freedom, i.e. who are you to tell me I can't have a gun, etc...and I'm an atheist. But that attitude applies to everyone- freedom. Why in the world would I care if two people of the same sex want to be together? I don't care about "in god we trust" on the money, I don't care if the 10 commandments are in the courthouse. Unless your actions HARM- not hurt their damned feelings but HARM, another person, you should be able to do what you want. I don't want men in the women's restroom, I'm not really a fan of this whole "I identify as a woman" thing, but I wouldn't worry about men who ACTUALLY identified as women, as kooky as I think they are- again, freedom. The problem is we have no way of telling men who REALLY identify as women from perverts. I raised two daughters...if a man tried to follow one of them into the restroom, he'd leave limping. But other than that, shack up with a Volkswagon as long as it's consensual and it makes you both happy!

Cheers

[account_inactive]

How conservative are we talking? What's your stance on stuff like LGBT rights? Sorry to derail the thread, I'm just curious.

I guess I'm a bit of a weirdo conservative. I'm very big on freedom, i.e. who are you to tell me I can't have a gun, etc...and I'm an atheist. But that attitude applies to everyone- freedom. Why in the world would I care if two people of the same sex want to be together? I don't care about "in god we trust" on the money, I don't care if the 10 commandments are in the courthouse. Unless your actions HARM- not hurt their damned feelings but HARM, another person, you should be able to do what you want. I don't want men in the women's restroom, I'm not really a fan of this whole "I identify as a woman" thing, but I wouldn't worry about men who ACTUALLY identified as women, as kooky as I think they are- again, freedom. The problem is we have no way of telling men who REALLY identify as women from perverts. I raised two daughters...if a man tried to follow one of them into the restroom, he'd leave limping. But other than that, shack up with a Volkswagon as long as it's consensual and it makes you both happy!

Cheers

Meh. Fair enough.

[Imaginaryfriendless]

Awkward...

Explain, please?

[The Grand Nudger]

You know, IF.....if you googled the term liberal, rather than trusting whatever sources you've previously relied on....you might find yourself wondering about yourself...lol. To me, you sound like a stereotypical southern liberal.

[I_am_not_mafia]

ok. I get that. But you have completely ignored everything I've said, except to surf through it and copy/paste things to show I'm generalizing. Great. EVERYONE generalizes. I'm talking about the liberal situation in the US, which you are not a part of. Although I have spent time in your country, I don't know the politics, particularly. My statements may be way off mark for England, but I think they're spot-on for America. 

Well I've made my point and I won't labour it. I can give my own thoughts about what you have said but it would be off-topic for this thread. Basically I find that explaining things in terms of non-equilibrium thermodynamics to be more enlightening. Central to any form of government is how effectively it uses the available energy in order to maximise entropy. You can't properly compare liberalism, capitalism, communism, feudalism or whatever without taking in account the free energy available and the constraints on natural resources. It's easy to be more liberal when society has tapped a new source of cheap energy and has few demands. Communism lost out to capitalism because it was not able to maximise entropy as effectively in a world of depleting cheap oil. Yet in a world of exponentially depleting resources capitalism will eventually eat itself. We may well end up going back to feudal systems where most of us end up as serfs with no freedom, little wealth and few prospects. Or maybe we will tap a new source of cheap energy with fusion power or by asteroid mining for resources which means that we can do more with the existing energy sources on Earth. In which case over population will require liberal attitudes in order for all of us to get along and not kill each other. Look at how polite people are in Japan and how overcrowded it is.

Basically, when I saw that you folks maintained a royal family for no apparent reason I lost any interest in how you govern.

I'd personally love to put every member of the royal family to the guillotine, face up so they see the blade come down. And I'd like to do it to everyone that publicly acknowledges how far in line to the throne they are. I think of the royal family as parasites and are the human face of the establishment to make it respectable. The establishment is a remanent of the feudal system that has persisted because we have never been conquered or had a proper revolution. The establishment burdens us with a class system that stops any form of social mobility while feeding off the productiveness of the masses and gives away just enough power to stave off the threat of revolution.

On the whole politics is actually quite fun to watch in this country because the established politicians in Westminster are so corrupt, incompetent and greedy, it's like a real life soap opera. But as a way of running the country it's utterly shit. This is why German politics is relatively boring. People just seem to get on and do the jobs that they're supposed to do.

I'm of german descent. I spent every summer in Germany growing up. My family only spoke German on sundays. I have to disagree with you on quality of life. I would MUCH rather live here than in Germany, and I love the German people. The culture is so restrictive, they don't have freedom...I would feel smothered, and would probably wind up in jail.

I understand that and expected this objection when I wrote it. My father is German and he has always preferred living in England for that very reason. I'm half English, half German and I prefer living in either Scotland or Germany. Your own personal values determine whether a particular country works for you or not. For example I never plan on living in England again because my own personal needs and values are fulfilled better in Germany or Scotland.

But as a society I consider quality of life in Germany to be better than in Britain because things generally work more efficiently and smoothly. The cost of that may be too high depending on your own personal situation and needs. For example, I'm a woman who works in a male dominated area and the cost is too high for me because I need to find work and do not want to stay at home having babies.

Your impression of the US is incorrect. We don't have gun battles everywhere and mad-max style wastelands controlled by warlords, lol...in fact, the only places where you have a good chance of being shot are large LIBERAL RUN cities. This is a statistical fact.

I never expressed an impression of the US. I will reveal though that my impression of the US is that it is a very harsh society if you are not rich and that this does not fit in with my own personal values. I do not want to spend my life in pursuit of wealth. It is more important to me to contribute something, which is why I am a scientist.