Author Topic: How's That Boiling Frog Coming Along?  (Read 2075 times)

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Offline Hondo69

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How's That Boiling Frog Coming Along?
« on: May 10, 2017, 09:44:10 am »
The UFO's keeping an eye us must be puzzled to no end.  On one hand we are an intelligent civilization making incredible advances in science and technology.  But on the other hand we're racing headlong back to the dark ages.  What's an alien to make of it?

Terrorism, Sharia Law, and a mob mentality are globally trending up while individualism, democracy and the freedom to choose are trending down.  Sure we have Brexit and the election of Donald Trump as examples of anti-globalization, but they are outliers.  The larger trend is in the opposite direction.

And even within Great Britain and the United States half of the populations in these countries are demanding fewer choices, they favor oppression over liberty, and increasingly are willing to resort to violence to stop all means of self-determination.  Wouldn't our alien watchers view this as unusually counter-productive?

Maybe not.

If the aliens have been visiting us for a few thousand years they've seen the Mayans, Egyptians and other civilizations flourish in societies that were not exactly democracies or governed by The Bill of Rights.  Quite the opposite.  Yet these societies thrived and prospered with populations budding with arts and entertainment.  From an alien's point of view these were successful civilizations despite the fact the majority of the population were slaves.

It all makes for an interesting question to ask our alien friends.  Is the human species predetermined to become slaves or is there another way out?

Offline EC

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Re: How's That Boiling Frog Coming Along?
« Reply #1 on: May 10, 2017, 11:09:30 am »
Humans can adapt to anything that doesn't outright kill us. It's our sole talent and has put us at the top of the food chain. So, the question of predetermination can't really be looked at from a physiological standpoint.

Sociologically, we're pack animals, more on the pattern of wolves than lions - more or less independent within a strict hierarchy. If a heirarchy doesn't exist, one will appear as if by magic. No one makes it, it just happens, based on the combined conscious and subconcious urges of the group.

Psychologically, we're primarily concrete beings. Need something to point to, to touch, to smell in order to process it.

So, no. There will always be leaders. There will always be followers, and ranks within both groups.
« Last Edit: May 10, 2017, 11:11:08 am by EC »
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Offline LateForLunch

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Re: How's That Boiling Frog Coming Along?
« Reply #2 on: May 16, 2017, 02:15:05 pm »
Humans can adapt to anything that doesn't outright kill us. It's our sole talent and has put us at the top of the food chain. So, the question of predetermination can't really be looked at from a physiological standpoint.

Sociologically, we're pack animals, more on the pattern of wolves than lions - more or less independent within a strict hierarchy. If a heirarchy doesn't exist, one will appear as if by magic. No one makes it, it just happens, based on the combined conscious and subconcious urges of the group.

Psychologically, we're primarily concrete beings. Need something to point to, to touch, to smell in order to process it.

So, no. There will always be leaders. There will always be followers, and ranks within both groups.

True. There is a principle expounded in the I Ching under the general category of "Fellowship With Men" (or women-LFL) "Fellowship is based upon commonality of interest."

Where people believe that they have a shared interest, there also will they willingly cooperate with others both in endeavors and in defending each other against adversaries. 
GOTWALMA Get out of the way and leave me alone! (Nods to General Teebone)