Subject:
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Re: Eh, what's a few dollars amongst friends...
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Tue, 16 Sep 2003 16:43:58 GMT
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Viewed:
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270 times
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Richard Marchetti wrote:
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, David Koudys wrote:
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What happened between the ‘70’s and now? Woodward and Bernstein spent many
days/months uncovering the problem, and with the current administartion, the
lies and ‘coverups’ (if they could even be called that’) are blatant and
easily realized.
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Yeah, I agree. Here’s the problem (and I thought I had touched on this
before...ah, yes http://news.lugnet.com/off-topic/debate/?n=21744): public
relations.
We aren’t having wars -- we are buying into a product. We aren’t believing
the lies -- the subject of public discourse is the lie itself.
Basically, it’s like this: all we talk about is the war with Iraq when we
really should be talking about the economy -- the world economy, for that
matter. He who controls the subject of public discourse wins. Consequently,
we aren’t talking about how to improve the quality of life for people living
on spaceship earth; instead we are talking about why we should/shouldn’t be
killing S.H., O.B.L., or Arafat.
And I think there is a very important related problem: comfort and apathy. To
illustrate this point I must recall an incident occurring between my SO’s
mother and myself about two weeks ago. We were having dinner out when all of
a sudden she starts up with tort reform and this ridiculous lawsuit against
McDonald’s. If people get fat on it it’s their own fault, she asserts. I
agree that while people have the primary responsibility for their own
problems, it’s also possible that laws should be passed to assure that
consumers are better informed of what precisely is at the end of their forks.
I cite concerns over genetically modified foods (terminator crops in
particular), and trans fatty acids (hydrogenated oils). She counters with how
people that smoke know that they are harming their health. I comment that
perhaps they didn’t realize they were smoking more than common tobacco --
that the industry engineered chemical increases in the tobacco to create a
pointedly addictive drug delivery system. She says everyone knows that
smoking is bad for you, just as is drinking to excess. I suggest that maybe
if alcoholic beverages were laced with arsenic it would be a consumer’s right
to know that fact. She says, “Aw, who cares? What can you do about it...?”
I ask, “You don’t care if your grandchildren don’t have decent crop strains,
or can assure themselves of product purity levels of the things they eat?”
She informs me that once you get past a certain age you just stop worrying
about such things. Moral of the story: she got hers, she doesn’t care if you
get yours.
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Apathy is rampant everywhere--what can one person do against the establishment?
is the common consensus.
As for the smoking thing--I’m pretty much on the fence--sueing tobacco companies
now ‘cause we didn’t know the harm of smoking... The term ‘cancer stick’ isn’t
a new one--a ciggy was called that in my grand dad’s day--coming up now and
saying that the tobacco companies ‘pulled the wool’ over our collective eyes is
pretty much ludicrous. Saying that they added highly addictive properties to
their smokes without telling anyone--who cares? Poison, even if it tastes
great, is still poison--we know smoking causes cancer--we’ve known it for
decades. Sueing ‘cause they’re addictive? Is like me sueing Wendy’s ‘casue I
like their burgers so much. If, due to health reasons, I have to stop eating
Wendy burgers (junior bacon--Mmmm-mmmm!) then I’ll stop--addictive ‘taste good’
properties aside.
My mom quit smoking, cold turkey, and she is known to have little to no
willpower for much. My friend Andrew quit smoking--sure he tried 4 times
before, but when he ended up in the hospital due to a cardiac arrest at the age
of 38, he decided that it would be in his best interest to quit. Addictive
properties my heinie--if folks *want* to quit doing something, they will quit.
All this other talk of “I can’t” just means that they don’t really want to yet.
Additives to food should be a concern, for all of us, and this ‘genetically
modified’ stuff--well, history will have to tell. When microwaves started
catching on, some adhered to the idea that eating heated food out of a microwave
would bring a higher risk of cancer.
We can only remain vigilant with what we eat and drink, and do what’s best for
us and try to educate ourselves as to what’s going on, and what’s going in what.
But to take it to the extreme--breaking into farms and ruining crops (read that
somewhere today) is wrong.
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Normally, I am not allowed to discuss politics with my SO’s far-right
relatives. But that’s how evil wins, when good people do nothing. Bread and
circuses keep them amused, then they do nothing. Hypnotized, paralyzed,
comfortable.
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I got that when this war first started--I’d talk about the money grubbing, oil
hoarding, imperialistic, lying about WoMD America and I was pretty much shouted
down at the family dinner table.
The last get together, otoh, I heard, “When is that moron Dubya going to be
ousted!” and it wasn’t me who said it.
I just stay quiet--I’ve got nothing to say.
snip
Mmmmm.... soma.....
Dave K
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: Eh, what's a few dollars amongst friends...
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| (...) I don't care about law suits, I care about information. Whatever I do, I believe in the right to enough information to make an educated decision. I may smoke tobacco infused with huge amounts of nicotine, I may ingest french fries dripping (...) (21 years ago, 16-Sep-03, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: Eh, what's a few dollars amongst friends...
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| (...) Yeah, I agree. Here's the problem (and I thought I had touched on this before...ah, yes (URL)): public relations. We aren't having wars -- we are buying into a product. We aren't believing the lies -- the subject of public discourse is the lie (...) (21 years ago, 16-Sep-03, to lugnet.off-topic.debate, FTX)
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