GSTARR

Has it ever occurred to you that it's not that people can't critically think, it's that they don't care to? What changes have occurred that will actually affect the average person's life in the past few years, maybe even since 9/11. None in mine, except for summer water bills in Texas, which can kiss my ass. Harvey will help though. That's why people don't care. This whole forum seems to not understand that the average american (along with every single person on this forum) could go for decades not reading or hearing about the news and every single day would not be affected. Besides maybe a lack of topics when conversing, they would be just as happy going to work and going back home to their family. It's not that people can't critically think, it's that you have 40 year olds, 30 y/os, even 20 y/os like myself who have lived life long enough (I haven't lived long enough, but seeing my mom's life, and seeing my dad's life, I know this to be true) to know that everything works itself out in the end, and you just have to keep walking through it and do what you think is right. That's all there is to it. I don't believe hellfire is coming, if anything it's already here in certain parts of the world, even here with everything going on in the US over the past couple years. And if it does come, so be it, that will be another step where I do what I think is right. I'm sorry you have such a morbid view on people, but what it ultimately boils down to is that you look like the guy you see in the movies when you say hellfire is coming, the one who stands on the street corner with a sign saying "Death is coming" or something ominous like that. There's a reason they're mocked. You may have reasoning but to everyone else, who's critical thinking skills may be just as sharp, but coming from a different slice of life, it's complete nonsense that's trying to connect too much. There's also the fact that there's always that person. There is always a group of people pointing to some hellfire in the distance that nobody else can see. And then you have everyone else, who passes by each and every day and watches the group say the same thing, from the time they're a child, till they die. You become at odds with society when you start talking political views and about hellfire, yes, partially because they don't care and don't believe you, but mainly because you have set your personality far apart from the rest. See what I'm saying? People will always be put off when you talk about impending doom, but if you get in the right situation, and start talking to people about their views, nobody is going to try and shut you up. They might not debate you, they might feel unprepared for such a talk, but they won't act as stupid as you seem to think they are Note: I made a paragraph, deleted it on accident, rewrote another, then realized i had the old one copied, so i merged them. If something doesn't make sense in here grammar/syntax-wise I'm sorry

Barnsley can I ask you a personal question?

The key to willpower is need I originally said want, but to some degree there are some things we want but could live without. But there are things that we want to the point that it becomes a need, and we do what we can to obtain that "thing"

And you are a thinker? I would hope somebody who's so "thoughtful" might also have a little empathy. I don't like the way you've shot down almost every person doing online dating, calling them all zombies, putting yourself on top pretentiously proclaiming you're a thinker and everyone else is brain dead, using that to justify why you can't find someone like yourself. I'm willing to bet that the majority of people who do online dating, don't choose it as much as they resort to it. They are uncomfortable with others, anti-social, or they just haven't had success, etc. They list their hobbies because what they like to do, what they like to spend their time on, it shows alot about their character, if you read into it. On a different note, it just shows what they spend their time on, and something you'll have to deal. Ex. you look at a mechanic's profile who says he spends hours at the track on the weekends. That sort of thing people want to know beforehand. You're going to try and date somebody who spends all week at a job, and then spends half of the weekend at the track. Is that something you're up for? Does that bother you? Do you happen to like cars too and could you join him? Lacking in virtues and consistency makes no sense to me. If you could explain that some more I could respond. As for curiosity, most people are content in life and don't question things around them because they're generally (and not superficially) happy. But wanting somebody who is always looking to learn isn't a bad thing, I'll give you that. But I have to tell you that I see "Always looking to learn" or "Always trying to look at things from a different perspective" or some other proverb trying to show analytical thought, as stereotypical of an online profile. I think you're wrong, and that most people have something like that on their profiles, in my experience. I think you just haven't seen something that displays "your" type of curiosity. Which is to say, you haven't met anybody who has the same political beliefs and is against society. It's like a republican looking at a liberal base and going wow there's nobody here who's trying to help the world. Of course they're not helping the world in the republican's view, he thinks the complete opposite in alot of things. As for empathy, well I'm not sure you would recognize it.

How are you at odds with society

what made you think of this question?

I literally spent the past thirty minutes with four tabs open so I could quote what you were saying, and what I was saying, and putting them all together into a comment to try and get you to realize why I'm frustrated with each new comment you and everyone else make. That's a ridiculous amount of effort for an online forum and I'm kind of disappointed in my self. I don't like ignoring people as much as this thread says otherwise, and I gave you a lot of attitude when you didn't deserve it, so i want to leave you by saying that the first sentence in your reply is exactly my problem with you and everyone else that is arguing with me. You all are not reading what I'm saying, you're taking it literally as if there were no extra projected scenarios included in my words. I.E. you all read what I have to say, then argue with me, and present the same points that I argued against with different wording. I refuse to argue against the same points I've addressed simply because I didn't directly call those scenarios out. And I'm certainly not going to do it with you, and four other people. - Gstarr

You did not look at my comments as a whole, you looked at them individually, shown by the way you formatted your comments. And when you do that, you get the sort of arguments that you have right there, technical arguments. You didn't look at my picture as a whole, you thought about the wording of my sentence, then moved onto the difficulties of moving and decided that my statement was stupid for assuming it's easy, when in fact most of my paragraph was spent trying to explain why moving was your best option and outweighed the costs. In addition to the fact that you ignored most of my message, you ignored the last sentence which summed it all up into a no nonsense statement Edit: Well it looks like I gave you all the attitude, but everyone else did the same thing you did. Nice. Sorry about that.

I don't know what I am. I know what I think is right and what I think is wrong. The sole reason I added that last sentence was because I was fearful of people degrading my entire argument just by saying that sometimes governments aren't truthful with what they do about our money. So I pointed it out that dishonesty, embezzlement, etc. does occur, before somebody could point it out as if my entire statement hinged on it.

Well I don't know, there was so much attitude in your response I just stopped trying to figure it out.

Well the unfortunate part that you probably won't like is that, you are given a choice. You can move. I personally do not and will not view it as theft because when you enter a country, when you become a citizen, you sign a contract. When you grow up, and decide to stay in a country, you are agreeing to abide by that contract. It is not a crime when in a time of war your country forces you to fight is it? No, it's not. Because you know that there is a draft, if you are in America over the age of 18 you have already signed up for Selective Service. If you truly think it is theft, then you need to accept that the majority of people view this "theft" as beneficial to the majority (which is to say, it will not be stopping anytime soon) and you need to go somewhere where you feel your rights aren't violated. I don't say that passive-aggressively, but seriously. Taxation is always going to be present, and if it really bothers you to the point you think you are being robbed, you should go to where you don't feel like that. If I felt like I was being robbed, I would be extremely angry. If I was "robbed" all my life, I would feel oppressed, and honestly I can't even imagine how bad that feels. If you feel like you're truly being robbed, you need to go somewhere where people agree with you. The only thing you could possibly say about moving is that it's inconvenient. But how could it possible be more inconvenient than feeling like you are truly being robbed your entire life.

It seems to me that if you're going to treat taxes as something to opt into, then you also should treat the outcome of taxes as something to opt into as well. And your decision in one leads to the same decision in the other. i.e. If you're not willing to pay taxes, then you should not use any roads but dirt roads and toll roads, you shouldn't have access to anything researched and developed through taxes etc. etc. in all areas of life It's not theft, it is creating a revenue of money to generate easier access between people and cities (yes, most likely for more revenue and therefore more taxes, but the fact of the matter is that everybody grows because of it) and add small quality of life changes to society. Taxes are the reason we're here talking on the internet right now about how they're theft. At the end of the day, the people who think it's not theft for the most part will always outweigh those who think it is. And thank goodness too. The only thing in my mind to argue about is how long it's going to take to get people that will do taxes honestly and a government that will do the same all the time.