Will America become Hindu by the end of the century?

Spirituality Religion
#310

[QUOTE=thomas;47453]I didn’t deny the “facts” did I?

It was what was done with those facts that I have a problem with.

He presumes that if A has 10x the money that B has, that A has robbed B.

He plays the “politics of envy” and looks for support by appealing to jealousy and envy. He doesn’t want the rich to have any tax relief, but wants that extra tax money in the pockets of the government instead of in the private sector where it can be most efficeintly used to the benefit of all. When it is confiscated and redistributed, it is not used efficiently by anyone. There is no motive for efficiency.

And lastly, politicians like this are ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS prochoice. They NEVER side with justice or the unborn, so that should give you, or at least it does me, an idea of their priorities and concerns about “justice.”[/QUOTE]

I would much rather prefer that politicians run this country than clergy members preaching flat earth theories, burning heretics, advocating the conquering and wiping out of other civilizations, and spreading intolerance of other religions.

No matter how you dress it up, success of capitalism always depends on competition and so forth. For someone to prosper, someone has to suffer. It is a simple fact and the cornerstone of capitalist economic theory. I can understand why you are denying the recent Church sex and money laundering scandals but not the focal point of an economic system. To me, it is like rejecting the concept of limits. Horrifying…

#311

[QUOTE=Nietzsche;47516]I would much rather prefer politicians running this country than clergy members preaching flat earth theories, burning heretics, advocating the conquering and wiping out of other civilizations, and spreading intolerance of other religions.[/QUOTE]

You support half of those activities as long as your “side” is doing them… :rolleyes:

#312

No matter how you dress it up, success of capitalism always depends on competition and so forth. For someone to prosper, someone has to suffer.

Huh?

I can prosper by providing an amazing service or product that causes others to also prosper and have less suffering.

You say you come from a very wealthy family. Is that at the expense of the poor? Are others suffering because of your wealth?

If so, I think you know what you need to do.

#313

[QUOTE=thomas;47520]Huh?

I can prosper by providing an amazing service or product that causes others to also prosper and have less suffering.

You say you come from a very wealthy family. Is that at the expense of the poor? Are others suffering because of your wealth?

If so, I think you know what you need to do.[/QUOTE]

Wut.

#314

He must give all his money to the poor. Because of his wealth, they are poor (by his logic). So why not do the right thing?

#315

Capitalism raises everyone up. Even the poor in the US are “rich” by the standards of other countries because of capitalism and the free market system.

Automobiles are a perfect example. We wouldn’t have them without captialism, and I am richer for having one, regardless of the fact that an auto executive somewhere is a billionaire. His wealth is because of the service and product his company provides. He’s not picking the pockets of the poor or causing anyone to be poor.

That someone must lose for someone to win in capitalism is totally bogus and a total misunderstanding of economics, as if the economy is one big lottery system with winners and losers.

#316

[QUOTE=charliedharma;47422]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5OtB298fHY&feature=player_embedded

check dis bananas all round[/QUOTE]

Charlie is the avatar you?

#317

[QUOTE=thomas;47524]He must give all his money to the poor. Because of his wealth, they are poor (by his logic). So why not do the right thing?[/QUOTE]

You’re right. He should be the change he wants to see in the world. Change comes only from within, as they say.
But we know that he’s a steaming pile of hypocrite, he’s more than happy pointing the finger at everything on the outside that needs to change. All punk kids with just enough brains to get them in trouble pick a stupid inane cause & SD & Neechee have picked theirs… fighting for India while they would NEVER move back there to live the real life of an Indian commoner…
the kids will get it someday, or not :smiley:

#318

[QUOTE=thomas;47520]Huh?

I can prosper by providing an amazing service or product that causes others to also prosper and have less suffering.

You say you come from a very wealthy family. Is that at the expense of the poor? Are others suffering because of your wealth?

If so, I think you know what you need to do.[/QUOTE]

Well, my entire family back in India had two sources of wealth. Our first was our ancestry. My father’s side of my entire family is descended from a line of Hindu warrior kings called Rajputs. My mother’s family is descended from a line of wealthy landlords. Our ancestors were wise enough to not squander our wealth. This doesn’t have to do with capitalism.

The second source of our wealth was one of my relative’s (some complicated sort of relation) business. He was a bright man and got a full ride to Harvard. Unfortunately, he couldn’t go since his family (not directly related to ours) didn’t want to pay for it. So eventually started some sort of steel industry. And this Thomas, is where capitalism begins. All that hoopla involving the production of steel and so forth requires that one provides some sort of cheap labor, someone provide a cheap source of materials, and so forth. This creates an uneven distribution of wealth and monopolization and etc, etc. Now he was an honest man and tried to conduct as fairly as possible, but I do not doubt that he had to make some underhanded deals at certain times. Thats the nature of doing business. Out competing your competitors…

Are others suffering because of my wealth? You misunderstand what we are saying. At the moment, no one is suffering because of me having a few extra $$ in my pocket. We are saying the [B]entire process[/B] involved in your parents getting that $$ and $$ getting into your pocket has immoral foundations.

As for my relative (if you have been keeping track of my posts on my family history), he is the person who sent my dad to America to make him realize the value of hard work, integrity, education, and etc. He is the one that is responsible for the well being of my entire family. But guess what? He was influenced by some greedy “friends” (well after the success of his business and his great accumulation of wealth) of his who convinced him to operate some sort of underhanded sugar/molasses business, where the illegal product was to be distributed cheaply among the masses (it was a harmful one) in order to profit. I am sad to say that such a man with high morals and ethics agreed…and if I remember correctly, the night that he decided to go somewhere to finalize the plans was the night that he had an accident…and died. And I was a little boy when this all happened; I remember the anguish, the shock of discovering the nature of the business he was about to get into, the rites…All sentimentalism aside, such is the nature of capitalism and the cycle of suffering…

#319

[QUOTE=thomas;47527]Capitalism raises everyone up. Even the poor in the US are “rich” by the standards of other countries because of capitalism and the free market system.

Automobiles are a perfect example. We wouldn’t have them without captialism, and I am richer for having one, regardless of the fact that an auto executive somewhere is a billionaire. His wealth is because of the service and product his company provides. He’s not picking the pockets of the poor or causing anyone to be poor.

That someone must lose for someone to win in capitalism is totally bogus and a total misunderstanding of economics, as if the economy is one big lottery system with winners and losers.[/QUOTE]

It brings everyone up; materially. This, we do not deny. In the grand scale of things, it degrades one spiritually and morally. This, even you cannot deny. Business is dirty work…

#320

[QUOTE=kareng;47528]Charlie is the avatar you?[/QUOTE]

No Klaus Kinski , mad actor type, father to natassja kinski.
all the pics i have are from back in the day . Ill put one up maybe.

#321

[QUOTE=Nietzsche;47535]It brings everyone up; materially. This, we do not deny. In the grand scale of things, it degrades one spiritually and morally. This, even you cannot deny. Business is dirty work…[/QUOTE]

What you are saying is like saying money is evil.

Business is good. Capitalisim is good.

If evil or greedy people are involved–sure they can corrupt the system or find ways to cheat and exploit. But so could any other system.

I think it’s the best we can do, and the fairest for all, in spite of potential to abuse it.

But one very legitimate abuse is “croney capitalism.” When SOME business can get special favors by backroom deals with politicians, this is unfair and unjust, and does make things worse for some.

And nothing personal about your family. They seem like good people. I just said that to make a point.

#322

[QUOTE=thomas;47544]What you are saying is like saying money is evil.

Business is good. Capitalisim is good.

If evil or greedy people are involved–sure they can corrupt the system or find ways to cheat and exploit. But so could any other system.

I think it’s the best we can do, and the fairest for all, in spite of potential to abuse it.

But one very legitimate abuse is “croney capitalism.” When SOME business can get special favors by backroom deals with politicians, this is unfair and unjust, and does make things worse for some.

And nothing personal about your family. They seem like good people. I just said that to make a point.[/QUOTE]

Oh, but money is evil. Economics is evil. It degrades humanity and our character…ah, I could go on forever, but there is no point. It is hard to get a Westerner to see another side in this matter. No offense, it is just a reinforced mindset. This is one of the things that makes it so hard for a Westerner to understand Eastern traditions, along with Christianized biases. But one day, you will hopefully appreciate the beauty of simplicity.

#323

Ah, the means of production do evolve through time don’t they?
Hahahahah :lol: :lol: :lol:
(man, you are so full of it & don’t even know)

The second source of our wealth was one of my relative’s (some complicated sort of relation) business. He was a bright man and got a full ride to Harvard. Unfortunately, he couldn’t go since his family (not directly related to ours) didn’t want to pay for it. So eventually started some sort of steel industry. And this Thomas, is where capitalism begins. All that hoopla involving the production of steel and so forth requires that one provides some sort of cheap labor, someone provide a cheap source of materials, and so forth. This creates an uneven distribution of wealth and monopolization and etc, etc. Now he was an honest man and tried to conduct as fairly as possible, but I do not doubt that he had to make some underhanded deals at certain times. Thats the nature of doing business. Out competing your competitors…

Are others suffering because of my wealth? You misunderstand what we are saying. At the moment, no one is suffering because of me having a few extra $$ in the pocket. We are saying the [B]entire process[/B] involved in your parents getting that $$ and $$ getting into your pocket has immoral foundations…

You don’t understand the argument obviously.

#324

Nietszche you are in above your head…

#325

[QUOTE=Nietzsche;47546]Oh, but money is evil. Economics is evil. It degrades humanity and our character…ah, I could go on forever, but there is no point. It is hard to get a Westerner to see another side in this matter. No offense, it is just a reinforced mindset. This is one of the things that makes it so hard for a Westerner to understand Eastern traditions, along with Christianized biases. But one day, you will hopefully appreciate the beauty of simplicity.[/QUOTE]

Sorry for the grammatical error. Silly me, always forgetting to place modifying phrases adjacent to the word they modify. The 2nd to last sentence is supposed to read “This is one of the things, along with Christianized biases, that makes it so hard for a Westerner to understand Eastern traditions.”

#326

[QUOTE=charliedharma;47543]No Klaus Kinski , mad actor type, father to natassja kinski.
all the pics i have are from back in the day . Ill put one up maybe.[/QUOTE]

Its a great Avatar…scary…a barking bonkers look

#327

[QUOTE=Nietzsche;47571]Sorry for the grammatical error. Silly me, always forgetting to place modifying phrases adjacent to the word they modify. The 2nd to last sentence is supposed to read " This is one of the things, along with Christianized biases, that makes it so hard for a Western to understand Eastern traditions."[/QUOTE]

Oh good that has made it so much better…

#328

Looks like hypocracy Niteszche, your money is okay to have is it?

#329

Christianity and Islam fundamentally at peace

This is a report of today in the largest newspaper in Canada:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/opinion/silence-is-not-an-option-in-the-struggle-for-islams-soul/article1866207/

Please note the folowing point:

A few years before his death, prophet Mohammed announced the following covenant:

" ..to those who adopt Christianity, near and far, we are with them. Verily I, the servants, the helpers, and my followers defend them, because Christians are my citizens."