Faz, I've never had anyone walk up to me reading and told me that I'm a snob for doing so. Or experienced anything similar. I've never heard that education is a waste of time. And I'm fascinated as to what brings about the conclusion that corporations spend more money on bureaucratic bullshit than actual progress.
Sorry, missed this for a while. I get shit for reading for fun in Massachusetts, I doubt it's much better anywhere else. Nothing serious, just basic disdain and surprise that I'd spend my time doing something like that and actually enjoy it. I consider education a near-complete waste of time, we teach for the tests and students are ill-equipped to move into the real world after both high school and college graduation. There are some good teachers who challenge students intellectually. They are rare and unrewarded for their excellence. On top of that, students are not taught how to think critically or make reasoned decisions and as a result we have a population that can't be trusted to make sound political choices. Instead, we vote based on bullshit and elect candidates that have no intention of determining the best way for our society to progress and would rather spend years discussing talking points and dodging questions. And because we're so ill-qualified to challenge any political opinion, we sit there and take it. It's disgusting.
As for bureaucracy: look at the technological innovations that have been made over the past 30 years. And yet, people still work 9-5, still make roughly the same amount with respect to inflation, if not less, and we still have high levels of poverty and joblessness. So, where the hell did the extra work come from? Things have been made vastly easier but we as a society are no better off. That defies logic unless you account for an increased amount of unnecessary bullshit.
As for assimilation, I don't think that will help. I think that's the opposite of progress, to be perfectly honest. If everyone is doing the same things, we're pretending we already know the best way to operate- the most basic political lie. Government is not definite, it's experimental. People who think they have all the answers rarely have any, but there's the only ones we feel safe electing. I'd love for societies to branch out and be allowed various experimental policies that citizens choose. If there is one reason I support a weak central government, this is it.
When the entire world has converted to Christianity, the world will have progress an heYUUUUUUUUGE amount. That is the most important thing. Progression in science, lowering of poverty, improved technology, improved education, lack of wars, lowered crime, better morality, all these things would follow, but first must come the conversion of the world.
See, like this for example. Let the Christians go off and form their own society and see how things work out for them. They can wait for the rapture peacefully and stop holding up the rest of society. Maybe I'm wrong and they'll skyrocket with scientific advancements. Either way, there's no more conflict of interest. People can go live as they please under the mantle of a United "States", with free movement and trade between various areas.
None.