Post Anything You Want Thread!
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Well I hope Jenny keeps an eye on here for the BAM!!!
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BAD King!!!
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letitbeamanda:
BAD King!!!
Do you want me to throw you in the dungeon for that?!
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letitbeamanda:
Well I hope Jenny keeps an eye on here for the BAM!!!
I just put her to sleep. I don't think so.
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letitbeamanda:
It's so funny that this thread stopped at my BAM!!!
I hope that doesn't translate to other areas of your life!
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BAM!!
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So, it's 3:30 A.M. and, while I'm tired, I still have a ton of energy right now. In fact, I am energetic, as well as philosophical. What does this mean? Not only should you be scared, but I will also sap your energy by the end of this! You see, often, I deal with people who love to spout off phrases that have become very common in today's society. Amongst those being "don't generalize," "don't categorize and put labels," and, my favorite, "you need to be more open minded and accept all ideas." Now, you see, there are two commonalities to every single one of those lines: one, well, they're utter crap, but two, and most importantly, they fail to realize the most rudimentary concepts of life and common sense. My theory is that the concept of open mindedness has changed today. What I mean is, the whole concept of "accepting everyone's ideas" seems to be something heavily preached today, and it's an interesting trend in a lot of places, be it in your own life, universities and the like. Yet the thought of accepting everyone's ideas I've always found, well, stupid. Like anyone, I have my set of beliefs and values, but I consider myself to be an open minded person in the sense that I am willing to LISTEN to people who have beliefs that are different than mine, i.e. be charitable. If during the discussion with them they are willing to provide evidence, substance, and a general sound argument behind their belief, then certainly I would be willing to alter my opinion on the particular subject. But the problem all too often today is that, generally speaking, we are being told to accept ALL ideas, even if they lack substance and are bad. What I find so stupid is that the reasons we should accept them is purely for the sake of it being "another idea" and for it being "diverse." If we fail to accept these ideas, then we are blindly labeled as intolerant and "close minded." So, for instance, if I came to you and said: "Hey, you know what, man, the world is rectangular" and I could not provide any substantial evidence, other than that's how "I feel," should you accept that? Or here's a better one: "Paul McCartney is dead. I can't provide any reason for it, but, dammit, it's how I feel!" By their theory, wouldn't you be closed minded for not accepting that viewpoint, as it's "diverse" and "different"? Which presents another issue that I notice with modern society. I have never understood the theory of doing things JUST for the sake of diversity. As if it's some sort of acceptable defense, I always hear people say: "Well, wouldn't the world be a boring place if everyone had the same ideas?!" Yet, for me personally, I would prefer living in a world that was more interested in getting it right, and searching for the truth, than a loony diverse world that was purely interested in conforming to non-conformity at the expense of actual thought. When you eat every day, and put things into your system, do you not monitor what goes in? Language is a very powerful thing... should the same principles not also apply to the mind? There is a distinction between learning and mindlessly accepting everything people do at the same time just because it shows this sense of "diversity". And that's what bothers me whenever I hear not to generalize. To the people who always spout that off: guess what? You just DID it, just by saying it (those who generalize and those who don't). And you do it every single day of your life. From the moment you check the weather report, to going to the store and picking one brand or avoiding it, due to your previous experiences, to the generalization that the sun will even rise tomorrow or, for that matter, that you will. These are all generalizations that we assume every single day of our lives, which are so ingrained that we do not even really realize them. Hell, statisticians make a living on generalizing. You have to generalize. The only other option would be to become a mindless schizophrenic. It's like with music. Generally, I hate rap music based on what I have heard. Yet, if we apply that logic, then I shouldn't make that generalization, because I haven't heard every single rap song in existence yet and, for it, I need to hear all of them. Essentially, that's what brings me to my point. By preaching to accept all ideas, isn't that contradicting the point? Accepting every single idea is being just as close minded as they remain stubbornly set on a dead end style of thinking. By having this point of view, they go into a free fall and will believe everything. Also, most importantly, it further leads to the mistreatment of people. Once all ideas become equal, then the blame shifts to the person during disagreements. If you can no longer say "your idea is wrong," the only other options are to launch into ad hominem attacks, thus being branded as racist, sexist, homophobe, etc., etc. Essentially, the tolerance of thought leads to the death of thought. G.K. Chesterton said it best: "Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions." What's also sad is that, speaking of diversity, true intellectual diversity has been lost. We are constantly told that superficial factors such as race, gender, sexual orientation, and ethnicity are not supposed to be important. I agree, yet, isn't it ironic that it is these very same alleged non-important factors that are obsessed about when talking about and selecting diversity? It's always amazing to me how when you can get a group of the most diverse people on the earth, superficially, but they are the most intellectually monochrome people that you will ever meet. Go to your local university. The point of this whole thing? Well, I really don't know, I'm just bored, but I suppose the message is: never let someone tell you not to generalize. Besides the fact that they're doing it by saying it, you have to generalize in order to function in life and you do it every day, even when you don't realize it. Now keep in mind there is a distinction between generalizing and inaccurately generalizing. The latter is bad, but to avoid generalizing altogether is foolish. Secondly, label. A chair is a chair, a duck is a duck and, as with generalizing, saying not to categorize/label is doing it right there (those who label and those who don't). While life is not essentially black and white, you cannot be you if you are everything. And if you are everything, then you are nothing. Lastly, never accept all ideas purely on the merits of it being solely an idea or for it being diverse. If an idea is crap, then it is crap, regardless of how different it is. Higher standards of thinking and enlightenment can never take place if everything is believed; as said earlier, the tolerance of all thought kills thought. Always monitor what you put into your brain. So, as we begin 2008, be wise, folks. Don't fall into the traps of the people who are first to condemn people for making judgments on people they do not know and then try to combat this by... making judgments about people they do not know. Why should you avoid these traps? Because you're good enough, you're smart enough and, doggone it, people like you! And if you disagree with this, then you're just close minded... P.S.: Jen, you can wake up now...
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As I head to bed now, I would like to congratulate myself for accomplishing an impossible feat: I am now putting myself to sleep. So I shall depart now and leave you with one of the best songs I've heard this year... all cheesy video aside (although she is kinda pretty)...
Goodnight! -
King.......that was very long, and I am going to read it twice. BUT, it sounds great!!!
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I agree totally with your long post...it is "mindless schizophrenia" and I keep hearing the lines " Isn't he a bit like you and me" and "thoughts meander like a restless wind inside a letter box" drifting through my own spacious, yet deeply life concerned pinhead!!! Welcome to Cracker Box Palace! ...We've been expecting You! ~ peace y'all...y'all peace ~ Your post is precisely why one should love and promote democratic democracy forever!!! Father Sky and Mother Earth...The King and Queen of the Universe
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Matthew_Montoya:
letitbeamanda:
BAD King!!!
Do you want me to throw you in the dungeon for that?!
Pretty mean.....I am so sorry your Royal Highness....You are always right and never wrong. PLEASE don't throw me out. It was a terrible mistake.
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Your post is precisely why one should love and promote democratic democracy forever!!!
....I don't think that is quite what he was after.... Read it again..
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JennyLP:
Your post is precisely why one should love and promote democratic democracy forever!!!
....I don't think that is quite what he was after.... Read it again..
Jen!!! Why are so down on your King? Cause you know him better than we do?? LOL
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letitbeamanda:
JennyLP:
Your post is precisely why one should love and promote democratic democracy forever!!!
....I don't think that is quite what he was after.... Read it again..
Jen!!! Why are so down on your King? Cause you know him better than we do?? LOL
Yes, I do know him better than anyone and that is why calling him a King is the funniest thing ever.... Down on him.......Never! I agree with him.....
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LOL!! You are too funny Jenny!!
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Nah.....just honest...
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Ha ha!!! The board is quiet tonight!! Boring....
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SurSteven:
Your post is precisely why one should love and promote democratic democracy forever!!!
I want to cry.
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Don't cry King!!
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Matthew_Montoya:
As I head to bed now, I would like to congratulate myself for accomplishing an impossible feat: I am now putting myself to sleep. So I shall depart now and leave you with one of the best songs I've heard this year... all cheesy video aside (although she is kinda pretty)...
Goodnight!Wow - she's got a lot of tallent!!! Never heard this song before - here's a live version of the same:
and one more with a bigger backing band: Thanks for posting it, Matt