Controversial Political Opinions

[Eric the Green]

(03-15-2022, 11:31 PM)JasonBlack Wrote: 1) Patriarchy, or at least some level of it, works much better than the so called "equality" we have now. Most women hold unassertive men in contempt and will continue to push them until they meet a guy who will push back. One of the reasons so many end up in abusive relationships nowadays is that the ones willing to push back the hardest...are usually abusive.

I don't understand your point of view on that very well. To me, the virtue of equality between the sexes is a given. Of course, men and women are different, but I disagree that biology defines who you are, at least not much it doesn't. Women have so much to contribute, and their views on things are generally much saner, especially in politics. I like it that women are now expected to be as much in control of a relationship as men. Women are better at human relationships. They are less confident and emotionally stable though, so the male qualities are still valuable too.

Quote:2) If you have been incarcerated for marijuana charges, you should receive reparations.

Agreed.

Quote:3) The idea that all votes should be created equal doesn't make any sense to me. It's more logical to rank people via tests of competence (say, a more comprehensive version of the ASVAB that covers more topics, allowing people to retake it if/when they feel they've become more competent in a given area) and weight their vote based on their score, with additional bonuses for things like military service and entrepreneurship. It's unlikely my own score would make it into the top percentile range, but so be it. People who are more competent than me, start businesses, have more life experience and/or serve in the armed forces deserve to have their voice heard more strongly than mine. (note: this has nothing to do with your worth as a human being. it has to do with your ability to make rational decisions about political issues)

Of course, votes should be equal. That's basic democracy. And there's no reason to think that any group in society is inherently less able to make good decisions than any other; although the poorly-educated these days have been lied to and taken advantage of by the conservatives who stir up their fears and prejudices (of whom Trump is top of the list). I would say military service and entreprenuership would make you less likely to vote for what's in the best interest of the people than others, if anything; unless they are also well-educated, informed and cultured. There's no reason they can't be, except that they often are not. It sounds like your priority is shaped by your conservative views than by what is really important, but then my priorities are certainly liberal ones. A just society that looks after its people, seeks peace, supports the arts and science, makes sure opportunities are open to all, invests in what serves prosperity and fulfillment, taxes fairly, puts people, law and ethics before profit, and treats all as equal citizens, is much better than the patriarchal society whose values are military, dominated by money, shaped by prejudice or which otherwise favors certain groups.

Quote:4) You need some level of collectivism to support individualism in the first place. Unfortunately, exactly how much you need is a much more difficult question to answer.

It is. The mixed society model is what I favor.

Quote:5) You still have to obey The Constitution during a crisis. There is no "except in cases of energy". It means you ALWAYS follow the Constitution.

You mean "in case of emergency?" Indeed, probably; although these days it seems all that's necessary to ignore the constitution is to put a narcissist bully or a war monger in power, especially if they have a R by their name. The "crisis" can then just be manufactured. It's not good for the nation.

Quote:6) IQ is real and extremely relevant to one's life prospects and potential. No, I'm not going to share my IQ, because my individual intelligence level is not the point. The point is that neither the liberal "they just need more opportunity!", nor the conservative "they just need to work harder!" proposals are going to work. I know, I know "but if we just raised children better, they'd have higher IQs"....nope, that's not true either past a certain point. We have a large swathe of the population (somewhere between like 10-20%) who are virtually unemployable because they lack the cognitive complexity to perform even an entry level job without substantial supervision.

Equal opportunity for all, but not necessarily equal outcomes for all. But kindness, justice and mercy toward all.

IQ is a very limited measurement standard. Human abilities are far more wide ranging than that. I probably would do well if IQ's the standard, or at least I would have when I was younger. But I was lacking in other ways.