Will America become Hindu by the end of the century?

Spirituality Religion
#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."

#330

Oh, but money is evil. Economics is evil. It degrades humanity and our character

Let’s say I am good at making chairs and you are good at making shoes.

I can make a chair in an hour, but it takes me eight hours to make a pair of shoes. Likewise, you can make a pair of shoes in an hour, but you lack chair-making skills and equipment, and it takes you eight hours to make a chair.

So if I need a chair I can make my own. But why should I work eight hours to make a pair of shoes? Instead, I could work just one hour and make a chair, and then trade it with you for a pair of shoes.

You and I would both benefit from this transaction. This is “economics.” This is good.

Where I think the greatest mischief can be done is not in the free trading, but when the government gets involved and wants a piece of the action. So I trade ten chairs for ten pairs of shoes, but the government wants three of the pairs of shoes to pay for necessary costs, but also to give themselves some new shoes, or to pass out as favors to those who will vote for them.

#331

[QUOTE=thomas;47647]Let’s say I am good at making chairs and you are good at making shoes.

I can make a chair in an hour, but it takes me eight hours to make a pair of shoes. Likewise, you can make a pair of shoes in an hour, but you lack chair-making skills and equipment, and it takes you eight hours to make a chair.

So if I need a chair I can make my own. But why should I work eight hours to make a pair of shoes? Instead, I could work just one hour and make a chair, and then trade it with you for a pair of shoes.

You and I would both benefit from this transaction. This is “economics.” This is good.

Where I think the greatest mischief can be done is not in the free trading, but when the government gets involved and wants a piece of the action. So I trade ten chairs for ten pairs of shoes, but the government wants three of the pairs of shoes to pay for necessary costs, but also to give themselves some new shoes, or to pass out as favors to those who will vote for them.[/quote]

That is more of a barter/“home economics” sort of system. You specialize in making a certain thing. You make it and trade it with someone who has something you desire.

We speak of capitalism as it is recognized with its mass production, competition in all sorts of levels from big corporations to small businesses, and etc.

#332

[QUOTE=oak333;47637]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."[/QUOTE]

Hello missionary666. You seem to be failing in maintaining a hermetic sealing of your true identity. It was not a "covenant" but an "umma." Second, you know nothing of Islam. There are a lot of bogus Hadith out there containing fabrications of what Mohammed said/did during his lifetime. This most likely is one of them. Christians and Jews are known as Al-Kitab in Islam and the Q'uran. This means no jizya and some level of toleration. That does not mean they are at peace with each other; the Muslims consider their religion the most correct of the Abrahamic faiths. Christians and Jews are still considered kaffirs to an extent. A Christian or a Jew will still have a fatwa issued on him if he utters blasphemy in a Muslim country (look at Pakistan), faster than they can finish saying "Allah is a false god." Besides, the Christian West has raped the world and the M.E long enough for Muslims and most other religious groups to hate Christians for eternity. Any sort of ties between them is solely the product of your perverse mind. Sorry but you will have to try harder to gain converts. Don't play the game of pretending to be tolerant. Most religious groups have learned not to trust most Bible totting Christians, especially when they say they respect other religions (but they really mean "I just want to convert you").

It is strange that this appeared in Canada. Why didn't the wise lady send it off to Iran, Saudi, Pakistan, Iraq, and etc to be published? Why didn't it appear there? I wonder...hmm....

Learn from Thomas.

#333

[QUOTE=Nietzsche;47649]That is more of a barter/“home economics” sort of system. You specialize in making a certain thing. You make it and trade it with someone who has something you desire.

We speak of capitalism as it is recognized with its mass production, competition in all sorts of levels from big corporations to small businesses, and etc.[/QUOTE]

It’s the same principle.

#334

[QUOTE=thomas;47652]It’s the same principle.[/QUOTE]

But capitalism is on a far more complex (wages, private ownership, supply/demand, investment, etc) and on a far larger and far more impersonal scale. Sure, it encourages growth; material growth, and often at the expense of someone or something, whether it is the livelihood of a person or the success of a business. It cultivates vices and negative qualities, such as material accumulation, desire for power/domination, etc…

#335

What’s the alternative?

Because of capitalism we have all kinds of good things, including hospitals and cures for diseases which would have killed people in their youth in pre-capitalistic days.

At what point does it become evil?

It’s just a system. A system isn’t evil. Sure there could be evil people exploiting it, but I think any other system could be exploited in worse ways.

In the US a person can be in an independent business with practially nothing, and build up to something substantial. There is room for all to grow and prosper, and this growth and prosperity is not at the expense of making someone else poorer.

It’s just like my example of trading shoes for a chair. Each party becomes richer in the process.

#336

[QUOTE=thomas;47655]What’s the alternative?

Because of capitalism we have all kinds of good things, including hospitals and cures for diseases which would have killed people in their youth in pre-capitalistic days.

At what point does it become evil?

It’s just a system. A system isn’t evil. Sure there could be evil people exploiting it, but I think any other system could be exploited in worse ways.

In the US a person can be in an independent business with practially nothing, and build up to something substantial. There is room for all to grow and prosper, and this growth and prosperity is not at the expense of making someone else poorer.

It’s just like my example of trading shoes for a chair. Each party becomes richer in the process.[/QUOTE]

Yes, all that is fine. Materially. Take the U.S for example; we have all the “merits” you have mentioned. But what does the majority of society show for all of it? Americans are also some of the most ignorant people in this planet. Willfully ignorant to be exact, the worst kind of ignorance. America provides many opportunities and the ones who are mostly taking advantage of it are immigrants. Most entrenched Americans do not have a clue about anything; they reject Global Warming (even though it is a scientifically verified theory), always bathe in stereotypes and racism, care little about intellectual development, know more about pop culture than anything else, are far too insular and narrow minded (thinking their country is the best country in the whole world, trashing other countries and making fun of their poverty), are easily swayed by the media and societal dogma, fail to look holistically look at a particular circumstance affecting their individual lives (resulting in the incumbent political party being made a scapegoat for the suffering)…need I go on? America is economically and intellectually failing nowadays no matter how one likes to pass it of by saying “China has a horrible human rights record,” “Chinese education system is based on rote memorization,” and etc. I ultimately attribute this to a mixture of capitalism and mobocracy.

Capitalism can go both ways you know. It is a fragile system in the long run.

#337

[QUOTE=Nietzsche;47654]But capitalism is on a far more complex (wages, private ownership, supply/demand, investment, etc) and on a far larger and far more impersonal scale. Sure, it encourages growth; material growth, and often at the expense of someone or something, whether it is the livelihood of a person or the success of a business. It cultivates vices and negative qualities, such as material accumulation, desire for power/domination, etc…[/QUOTE]

Yeah, but you said “there’s nothing wrong with me having a few extra dollars in my pocket”, meanwhile the money you may spend at Starbucks every month could feed a third-world family for a year. Either it’s wrong, or it’s not. Evil, or not. Just because it applies to you, that doesn’t make it okay.
This is another example of your hypocrisy. Don’t point at other rich people, other rich kids, universalize or shut up.

#338

"Bark Bark! Bark Bark Bark! Woof woof! Foams at mouth Feral gleam in its eyes - Indra Deva’s previous post which I cannot see.

#339

[QUOTE=Nietzsche;47671]"Bark Bark! Bark Bark Bark! Woof woof! Foams at mouth Feral gleam in its eyes - Indra Deva’s previous post which I cannot see.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, that <IGNORE> function’s working like a charm :lol::lol::lol:

#340

Nietszche can see through ignores…,…,he has the power…but he is at school at present or tucked up in bed…bless, he will see this later…