Why do Politics matter?

@Lash,

BTW Lash... That is quite the fitting name for you. Perhaps a bit sad in the true sense of the word... But fitting none the less. Wink

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@izzythepush,

Quote:

Politics does matter, if just a few more people had voted for Gore, or an educated, involved electorate had not allowed Floridian legislators to steal the presidency, then none of the above would have happened. Dick Cheney wouldn't be quite so rich though.

Izzy, I wish this were true. I have been voting for progressives all my life, 60 years, and the rich still get richer while the poor increase in numbers. For awhile after Kennedy was elected from about 1960 to 1980 things got better, than came Ronny Raygun and things went to hell and have continued to do so because the average citizen seems to have the voting IQ of about 70. They just dont seem to understand that money buys legislators whether Dem or Rep.

1 Reply

@onevoice,

onevoice wrote:

Please... I know this is off topic... But can you explain to me this Zen thing? I had an experience with it once... Well he called it Zen. It kind of baffled me. No wait... Crap... I don't remember what it was called... All I know is he said something about Zen or chi or something and As I stood there, focusing on the things he said to focus on he lifted me off the floor several inches... With his fingertips on my elbows only. I was like... Oh. Whoa... What the heck just happened? Perhaps I am confusing things... But in my brain it is still intertwined somehow.

What you describe doesn't have anything to do with any Zen-related practice. It sounds more like a demonstration of qi/chi gong. Looks like woo for the ultra-gullible to me, but you can judge for yourself.

https://www.google.co.kr/#newwindow=1&safe=off&q=chi+demonstration

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@FBM,

Ok. So what's Zen then? Woo for the ultra gullible... Lol Cant say I have never been gullible... How then is it I was lifted off the ground in such a manor? Serious question BTW.

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@onevoice,

onevoice wrote:

Ok. So what's Zen then? Woo for the ultra gullible... Lol Cant say I have never been gullible... How then is it I was lifted off the ground in such a manor? Serious question BTW.

Zen is a meditative Buddhist school. Among its chief tenets is that all things are devoid of essence. This is called sunyata or emptiness. It began to be emphasized when the Mahayana literature arose centuries after the Buddha's death. It was just a mole hill in the early Buddhist literature, but the Mahayanists made a mountain of it.

I don't know anything about what you experienced. I wasn't there and wouldn't speculate.

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@FBM,

So... You don't follow the Zen thing anymore? Just wanting to get to know where you are coming from is all. Not trying to convert you to anything, I promise.

BTW... Sorry about mixing the two up. At some point it all just seems to blend into this big weird pot of malarkey that doesn't even make sense anymore. However, that was a notably odd experience, I must say.

1 Reply

@onevoice,

onevoice wrote:

So... You don't follow the Zen thing anymore? Just wanting to get to know where you are coming from is all. Not trying to convert you to anything, I promise.

I'm not sure I ever followed it. Studied and reflected on it, yes. Koan practice is at the heart of Zen, and I kinda kept that at arm's length. If you're interested, you can learn more about here:
http://zenproject.faithweb.com/zen_teachings/koan_practice.html

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@FBM,

Thank you. Smile

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@FBM,

You really need to separate the the chinese, japanese, Korean and American versions of Zen. I hope to start a Zen thread tomorrow, let's not pollute this one any further.

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@hawkeye10,

I am looking forward to your response as well.

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@hawkeye10,

Trying to keep it short and simple, since this is a derail.

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@RABEL222,

We've had a similar thing going on over here, our meritocracy peaked with Jim Callaghan's premiership, then inequality became greater with Thatcher and still continues. We have voter apathy, a disengaged electorate who thinks all parties are the same, the rich get richer regardless of who's in power.

There has been a real change over here with the election of Jeremy Corbyn. He now is up against the full weight of the conservative media, some fear he may be unelectable, others that he galvanises the disengaged voters and brings about real change. Only time will tell.

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Why do Politics matter?

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