While flag burning to demonstrate your hatred is reprehensible, people should have the liberty to do so. This all goes back to freedom of speech and as the saying goes "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.".
I hate all countries. They divide where there should be no divisions. And if I'm going to be punished for burning a piece of cloth in the name of "respect" then truly our race is more infantile than I have previously thought.
It's a cloth with colors. This is the reason I'm not proud to be human.
You mean someone is trying to disrespect your country and your response is to punish them for doing it? Sounds like bullying to me.
The government's or republican's notions of respect need to be left behind. They're rationalizations. If someone is not willing to give this respect, forcing it is a crime against humanity. America needs to drop e pluribus unum from their currency- it's so ironically hypocritical how they use that phrase.
Actually, from this day forth I am no longer going to identify myself as an American in everday speech. I am not American. I am human. We are all human. Holding onto flags like they're sacred is just a roadblock in the progression of intellectual and cultural development.
As a proponent of 'progression of intellectual and cultural development', you're embarrassing me. I wonder what it is that causes so many humans to be so self loathing.
As a self-observing, sapient entity, I find humans are about the only thing worth my time.
On a comparison of what we're capable of and what we're actually accomplishing, I am disgusted.
Allow me to illustrate. The computer control system that landed people on the moon isn't as powerful as a current day
mobile phone. Our strides in computing are actually quite remarkable, and our lust for miniaturization of our computers certainly makes something from Star Trek, where ships house giant computers, a fairly silly prediction.
But our development of science is completely outpaced by our culture.
Many humans are arrogant, ignorant, and uneducated fiends. There seems to be a great rift between the elite, our scientists and engineers, and our general populace. The spectrum of intellect is simply staggering, humans range from only marginally smarter than dolphins to being able to understand the fundamental way our Universe works. So while we have eliminated smallpox and rinderpest, we are still bickering over whether evolution, one of the most supported scientific theories, should be taught in our schools because a religious text claims otherwise.
We crave money and power; fueling the capitalist regime with great intensity. As a result, many do things in pursuit of both- but neither is a measure of true progress. Those who cannot beat the system and become the elite minds instead have them squandered. Allow me to illustrate using one subject I am familiar with: mathematics.
Mathematics training, from day 1, is based solely on memorization and quick draw from that memory. Before children are taught what numbers are, they are taught what 1 + 1 is. Why is left out of the equation entirely, as it is not deemed necessary to know why numbers do what they do. By the time a child has reached his teenage years, and finishes his formal education of arithmetic, he may know that a circle has an area of 2π, but he does not quite know why, nor does he know why 0.999… = 1. He begins his algebra training and fails to see its purpose, or struggles with its complications. We force memorization of the quadratic formula, but do not explain it nor the reasoning behind the FOIL method.
If he is lucky, he will be able to intuitively deduce these reasons from brute intelligence alone, and get a glimpse into the gears behind mathematics. He will be deemed good at mathematics, and put in accelerated classes to help "challenge" him. Instead, only his ability to memorize quickly is challenged. HIs previous insight into mathematics will become more and more convoluted as he may no longer rely on his intelligence alone. Those who do have a superior level of intellect beyond this accelerated level may rise to the top, and feel a good grasp on what they know.
This too, can only go so far, before their own abilities become far too taxed by the increased demand of a college-level accelerated course. Where others of his stature suddenly realize how hard mathematics can be. He may become a scientist or an engineer. But he will never become an accomplished mathematician. He is not good at mathematics. He does not understand it.
This reliance on intelligence only holds us back. Only those students who begin at the bottom rung, play with the gears, and learn how they work and slowly build on understanding- those individuals that need not memorize, because they know the why- those people are the mathematicians. However, this sort of pursuit is profitless. It takes far more time and effort to teach the why instead of the how. Time is money spent on a generation of people that will not need these skills. Memorization will destroy the person, but will reward the company.
In this, humanity has created a parasite. It acts as a dead-weight and enhances our ignorance. We are not taught to think, we are taught to obey. Furthermore, we become bigoted and hateful due to ignorance.
It is in this sense that humanity has disgraced itself. We have unleashed devastating weapons in our only biosphere. One of our greatest accomplishments was not for the betterment of us, but to show one country's superiority over another.
For shame.
Post has been edited 2 time(s), last time on Sep 7 2011, 3:49 am by Sacrieur.
None.