Jon Stewart on Charleston

The majority will press for further 2nd amendment protection.

bnw wrote:

The majority will press for further 2nd amendment protection.

Right. Because in the face of tragedy, most Americans’ first response is to hug their guns more tightly.

I don’t think the country is mentally ill-whatever that means. I do think many, many people have no genuine compassion for others and are interested more in themselves regardless of their political persuasion. I believe that is a direct result of upbringing or lack of. It’s the “I don’t care what’s happening around me I only care how it affects me”. And it gets worse and worse with more people who shouldn’t be having children are and those that should are not. Sadly few actually care enough to make themselves heard. Maybe what I’ve described is mental illness.

waterfield wrote:

I don’t think the country is mentally ill-whatever that means. I do think many, many people have no genuine compassion for others and are interested more in themselves regardless of their political persuasion. I believe that is a direct result of upbringing or lack of. It’s the “I don’t care what’s happening around me I only care how it affects me”. And it gets worse and worse with more people who shouldn’t be having children are and those that should are not. Sadly few actually care enough to make themselves heard. Maybe what I’ve described is mental illness.

Yes the family is personal and the impersonal nanny state is a disastrous substitute.

That phrase “nanny state” is such a buzz word for me, I gotta be honest.

It’s just never used to stimulate discussion and it’s almost never used in a meaningful context.

Worse, virtually every anti-government argument I’ve ever heard is complete bullshit.

Tired of roads, bridges, Police, Fire fighters, the MILITARY, clean water, clean air, clean FOOD and the TENS OF THOUSANDS of functions the government does? The government does these things and more, sometimes well, sometimes adequately, sometimes not well enough, but it does them.

Are we to simply devolve into a non-functioning dystopian Lord of the Flies where in a matter of weeks, it’s like Mad Max on the roads?

You do like refrigeration, yes? Well, you have a national power grid because of the “nanny state” Federal Government, NOT because of some beneficent group of energy corporations (like the defunct Enron…).

It’s one thing to argue for BETTER government. Fine. Do THAT. And we all have different definitions of what that is.

But all this “nanny state” rhetoric which simply is LOADED and cannot be extricated contextually or historically from a host of other arguments is just a crock of shit.

The alternative is idiotic. As in, it’s literally Mad Max because 99+% of people including MOST gun owners have NO idea how to actually provide for themselves without civilization INCLUDING most casual hunters, fishermen and farmers.

Can WE make government better. You bet. Let’s talk about it. Let’s do something about it.

But first, let’s disabuse ourselves of ANY notion that the government isn’t ABSOLUTELY AND INDISPENSIBLY NECESSARY for the functioning of our society as a first world nation.

Normally, I don’t go off like this anymore, but certain things just aren’t options anymore.

1) Stupid isn’t an option, anymore.

2) Disputing Climate Change isn’t an option, anymore. See #1

3) Saying Government is the enemy isn’t an option, anymore. See #1

Now, if by “nanny state”, you mean that we as a First World country have a citizenry that is incapable of truly caring for itself, living off the land and carrying on the Pioneer spirit and, thus, MUST RELY on the function of Government in order to survive, let along prosper, then YOU BET, we live in a Nanny State. Unapologetically. We have football, the internet, and medicine. I’ll take that over cholera, wolves and a 50% infant mortality rate every day of the week.

We can’t just say “it’s the system” when the only countries that have this level of gun violence are third world nations, nations without functioning governments….and the USA.”

If it were systemic, we’d see it other places in the first world and we don’t.