Plagueround
3rd May 2008, 04:44
The first post on any forum is always crucial. You start out immediately on the wrong foot and you'll forever be doomed. Anytime you have something decent to say, you'll always been haunted by that bad first post. So bear with me, I'll try to keep it somewhat entertaining.
I've always felt growing up that something was wrong. I live in America, so like a lot of American kids we grow up learning that America is the land of the free, while at the same time glossing over a few chapters of history where we wiped out a majority of the indigenous races living here before us, persecuted any and all races that tried to immigrate after we settled down, exploited other countries through slave labor and "free trade", went to war over land, oil, money, and political posturing, and overthrew the governments of those that didn't believe in "freedom"; while being buddy buddy with Saudia Arabia and other countries who played along. And to think I even left out a few things there.
The other thing we were taught is that the alternative to all this was being stripped of individuality and handing over all your possession to a no good commie government who wouldn't allow you to express yourself. Good scare tactic because for much of my life I never gave it much thought, falling back on the old "oh, communism works in theory, but not in real life" argument.
As I grew older and more independent from what I was taught (I was raised in catholic schools...it takes a while to undo that damage) I started reading philosophy and psychology, as well as more history. And a lot of this reading not only challenged what I had been taught, but it also made so much more sense to me. They gave a voice to the thoughts I always had in my head but could never express.
To make my already long story shorter, I've become much more of an altruist, and I think that the eventual path of humanity, if it is to survive, is to learn how to become a community. A commune...and when I came to that conclusion, I was almost fearful, that old indoctrination tugged at my head, saying..."Communism!". So admittedly I tried to suppress that ideal in my head. Even after being completely engulfed in The Motorcycle Diaries, I still tried to find rationalization of some sort on why communist philosophy was wrong. But after more research, I decided that was stupid and that I needed to embrace what I believed.
So i set out to do some more searching, and eventually it lead me here. I've been lurking these boards for almost a month, reading and absorbing. While I've never been one to just blindly jump into something, I like a lot of what I see, and while my views differ with some of the things presented here I decided I'd start actively participating (Of course, it looks like differing views are obviously a large part of the board, so I don't think that's a bad thing). I have a lot to learn, and the reading suggestions and FAQs have been a big help in that regard, but I don't like sitting on the sidelines for too long.
So, for those that actually made it this far, hopefully you're not rolling your eyes too much.
ADHD version: Hi.
I've always felt growing up that something was wrong. I live in America, so like a lot of American kids we grow up learning that America is the land of the free, while at the same time glossing over a few chapters of history where we wiped out a majority of the indigenous races living here before us, persecuted any and all races that tried to immigrate after we settled down, exploited other countries through slave labor and "free trade", went to war over land, oil, money, and political posturing, and overthrew the governments of those that didn't believe in "freedom"; while being buddy buddy with Saudia Arabia and other countries who played along. And to think I even left out a few things there.
The other thing we were taught is that the alternative to all this was being stripped of individuality and handing over all your possession to a no good commie government who wouldn't allow you to express yourself. Good scare tactic because for much of my life I never gave it much thought, falling back on the old "oh, communism works in theory, but not in real life" argument.
As I grew older and more independent from what I was taught (I was raised in catholic schools...it takes a while to undo that damage) I started reading philosophy and psychology, as well as more history. And a lot of this reading not only challenged what I had been taught, but it also made so much more sense to me. They gave a voice to the thoughts I always had in my head but could never express.
To make my already long story shorter, I've become much more of an altruist, and I think that the eventual path of humanity, if it is to survive, is to learn how to become a community. A commune...and when I came to that conclusion, I was almost fearful, that old indoctrination tugged at my head, saying..."Communism!". So admittedly I tried to suppress that ideal in my head. Even after being completely engulfed in The Motorcycle Diaries, I still tried to find rationalization of some sort on why communist philosophy was wrong. But after more research, I decided that was stupid and that I needed to embrace what I believed.
So i set out to do some more searching, and eventually it lead me here. I've been lurking these boards for almost a month, reading and absorbing. While I've never been one to just blindly jump into something, I like a lot of what I see, and while my views differ with some of the things presented here I decided I'd start actively participating (Of course, it looks like differing views are obviously a large part of the board, so I don't think that's a bad thing). I have a lot to learn, and the reading suggestions and FAQs have been a big help in that regard, but I don't like sitting on the sidelines for too long.
So, for those that actually made it this far, hopefully you're not rolling your eyes too much.
ADHD version: Hi.