ProfD

Absolutely right. The American middle class has been expanded and satiated just enough to roll with the program. Gross consumerism is the opiate that keeps it in check. Working class and poor people don't stand a snowball's chance in h8ll of fighting an economic system totally stacked against them. Yet, we continue voting for these politicians who receive their campaign contributions from PACs that are funded by these big corporations and their lobbyists. Totally against our own best interests.

Of course, that is one of the fundamental principles of racism white supremacy. That's why I'm a huge proponent of AfroAmericans becoming self-sufficient. Stop depending on White folks for everything especially employment.. Entrepreneurship provides one with the freedom to play by their own rules.

Nothing wrong with that. There's no reason that we cannot have it all except one thing or reason...greed. As long as someone wants to have more than you and they want yours too...there's going to a problem. There are 10 men and 10 women...a 1:1 ratio. Until one dude decides he wants 3 or 4 women... A homogenous society does not have to lack diversity of any kind. The main component of it is fairness.

There is a difference between war and murder. I'm a proponent of folks protecting themselves by any means necessary. I don't think folks should kill each other out of envy, jealousy, greed, hatred or because their feelings got hurt. It is sad if one truly believes humanity cannot exist without violence.

As a society, people need to find a better way of airing their grievances that doesn't involve killing someone else. For that very reason, I'm a proponent of suicide. I would propose to a would be killer that they shoot themselves instead of shooting other people regardless of whether it's coworkers or an ex-lover or anybody else. That way, there's less grief and a lower body count and no court trial and less paperwork. Some people are too d8mn selfish.

@Pioneer1, human beings would do just fine under natural law. We don't walk into someone else's house and just start doing whatever we want unless there's a mental screw loose. That can be corrected too. Otherwisw, rules (laws) were constructed to dominate and control people. Freedom can be relatively broad. But, human beings really want fairness. It's not about lawlessness...being able to do whatever one desires regardless of how it adversely affects fellow human beings. Fairness is having the right to equal access to opportunities to survive and thrive within a society. It is also about justice....balance between all human beings. Democracy, dictatorship, socialism, communism, facism, etc., are words to describe how people are controlled. Fancy names for fences.

@Pioneer1, that was the point of my post....North Korea is obviously fine with their conditions or they would have overthrown their dictator decades ago. Same goes for Russsia and China and every other control ruled by dictatorship. These men control millions or a billion people. But, it makes sense when viewed through the prism of a relatively homogenous country. As long as people have their basic needs met....freedom is relative. Democracy gives the illusion of freedom. All is takes is a step too close to the proverbial fence in order to test the limits of it.

@Pioneer1, your questions and opinions may get challenged but remain valid and relevant nonetheless especially to this discussion forum. From the time we're born, we collect a lot of data and eperiences. Over time, we can make reasonable inferences from that information stored in our database=brain. Even if a hammer never hit our hand, we would assume that it would be painful based on the experience of another object (size, weight, force, etc.) hitting our hand and causing pain. Despite the stupid and ridiculous things we sometimes do and say, the human brain can be a very sophisticated computer.

North Korea isn't interested in being imperialized. Otherwise, a country with a population of nearly 26 million people would overthrow its dictator, Lil Kim with the bad haircut. Once Lil Kim is out of the way, North Korea could either align themselves with South Korea or allow the US to set up their government, er, show them how to conduct free and fair elections and build a democracy. Otherwise, I'm not convinced that the majority of North Koreans want to be rescued from living a deprived life under their dictator.

@Pioneer1, I didn't type that Section 8 was a great idea. To disperse or desegregate the poor is a way to enrich the greedy and keep confusion among the masses.

IMO, welfare doesn't encourage people to stay in poverty. It's a convenience that is attractive to folks who are naturally insolent. I know many people who grew up on welfare and in poverty and successfully got out of it. Takes a strong will and desire to overcome the obstacles. While I can agree that the projects should not have been torn down, I also understand the thought process behind it and expanding Section 8 to desegregate the poor. There's ZERO real reason for homelessness in America. No shortage of housing inventory. Poverty maintenance and criminalizing folks is an unfortunate by-product of hyper-capitalism. Greed forces people to make money by any means necessary.

Absolutely. Trash and treasure have been interchangeable for a long time especially as it relates to art. Many folks considered Rap music and Hip-Hop garbage. Yet, the music has generated billions of dollars and created a bunch of millionaires. Beauty and trash are ultimately in the eyes and ears of the beholder. Then, there's the folks who control the purse strings.

As long as we exist as human beings and have the mental capacity, I believe humanity can do a better job of taking care of each other and life in general.

Valid question. Human beings have come up with definitions from a combination of shared and/or similar experiences. But, we also have the capacity to describe things we haven't experienced directly by collecting information. Artificial intelligence is good example of how scientists are trying to bring it all together.

Therein lies the stalemate. It's like any other fight, cause or bad accident. Folks are just glad it isn't their problem. As long as people do not see a problem, there's nothing to solve and/or fix in their eyes. Most often it has to punch them squarely in the face.

Agreed. But as you already know by now, I believe Black folks have been bamboozled by spineless and weak Democats too. Our current political parties are two sides of the same coin. The maintenance of racism white supremacy by any means necessary is their main objective.

Pardon me for butting into the conversation but I had to quote this for truth. The human mind is extremely complex and capable as evidenced by our extraordinary accomplishments and failures. It's the capacity and capability of the human mind that inspires my eternal optimism as it relates to human beings doing a better job of making the world a better place by taking care of each other. So far, humanity is failing on several levels but there's always hope for the future. Back to your regularly scheduled program...

On cue and as expected, while I do not disagree with your sentiment, there's no shortage of AfroAmerican talent. You'll find a whole lot of AfroAmerican talent in black churches, performing arts schools, colleges and universities all over this country. Unfortunately, you will not find the best of AfroAmerican talent on the radio or music videos. Those outlets are designed to sell the McDonald's equivalent of music. There's a reason Jazz lost it's popularity. Not because it's unsophisticated music. To the contrary, one has to be talented in order to play Jazz at a high level. The reality is Jazz doesn't sell well. Any type of music or art in general that requires the listener to pay attention is usually an acquired taste. OTOH, simpler art is easier to consume whether it's music, movies, plays, paintings, etc. Commercial music has been dumbed down for many years. But, that doesn't negate the fact that plenty higher quality music is still being composed, written and produced. You just have to look harder for it. As long as AfroAmericans rely on White folks to finance, market and promote their music, rest assured they're going to invest in the trash that sells and makes the most money.

Prerequisite of being a politician is having the ability to speak with a forked tongue when necessary. However, POTUS PJB should not be accused of speaking out of both sides of his face this time. There's a clear and present danger being stirred up on the Right. POTUS should do whatever it takes to tamp down and/or extinguish it.

Belgium and Ireland are homogenous in terms of race. As I mentioned above, infighting within a race has been happening since the beginning of humanity. Ethnic cleansing and other dust ups similar to the current *war* between Russian and Ukraine is an example. The Hutus and Tutsis had their differences but they didn't come to major blows until the colonists (Germans and Belgians) instigated it. Interesting how Europeans have always traveled around the globe starting sh8t. Racism white supremacy is definitely the poison that keeps the world out of balance. Peace and harmony and demosocialism cannot thrive where racism rules the roost.

While a demosocialist nation may not be 100% homogenous, the minorities know their place. As a result, those countries do not have to deal with racism as it is practiced in the United States. Case in point. The overwhelming majority of the population is White. Just like within families, infighting among the same groups of people happens everywhere. Australia has an interesting history. The Europeans jacked the whole d8mn country from the indigenous people and relegated them to 2nd class citizens. White folks have been running the country for over 400 years. Then, there was the Stolen Generation where they took mixed race kids from their parents and raised them in orphanages. Since 1998, the Australians have been celebrating National Sorry Day for their mistreatment of indigenous people. Demosocialism definitely works in countries where over 90% of the population is homogenous and the majority rule it.

I like the term @Michel Montvert uses...Demosocialist. It seems to work in Nordic countries. But, it also ties back to a homogeneous society. Capitalism and socialism can peacefully coexist. There will always be people who are more industrious and driven than others. They deserve to make as much money as they can generate. OTOH, there will always be people who need help in one way or another. Unfortunately, American capitalism was built on it's original sin and it has has been corrupted by greed. Then, the United States isn't homogenous either. A lot of moving parts in this country.

When welfare was established back in the 1930s, it wasn't intended for poverty maintenance. Initially, welfare provided assistance to widows and working class folks to ease the burden of providing for their families. Welfare didn't become a way of life or poverty maintenance until the 1960s. Another by-product of that watershed time period. Fewer job training programs and shipping jobs overseas insured that under-educated and unskilled people would have a harder time finding work. This reality also insures despair, poverty, crime and addiction. A powder keg of negative forces. There's a reason a college education is so expensive and folks are pushing back against free community colleges and trade/technical schools. Colleges and universities have become big business. They pay tenured professors a hefty salary. They pay football coaches millions of dollars. The American job market caters to certain people. There's a finite number of slots. Meanwhile, welfare has gone from a hand up to someone working for a better life to an ankle weight especially for those who either don't want more and/or who don't feel like doing better.

I wonder why White folks aren't complaining about their socioeconomic conditions instead of trying to overturn elections and worrying non-white folks stealing their stolen country. The system is designed to keep the poor, disenfranchised and marginalized separate. If all of these folks realized they shared similar interests and struggles and united, they could be a major force. Instead, the majority of poor and/or disenfranchised White people will gladly accept their station in life because they're still better off than non-whites. A homeless white person could clean up tonight and have a job, food, clothing and shelter in less than 72 hours. There was a video around here a couple months ago showing what it meant to be White in America. One unemployed White couple got a $100k line of credit. They told the bank about their situation and inability to pay the bill. Didn't matter to the bank. They were good for it. Meanwhile, a credit score of less than 750, an outstanding student loan and one jaywalking ticket will keep a Black couple bringing in $250k per year from being able to buy a condo because a bank won't give them a mortgage. Otherwise, I think it would be awesome if people united and started a movement to truly make America great...for the first time.

The 1960s was a watershed moment that forced the United States to deal with its disenfranchised folks. Civil rights for AfroAmericans. Equal rights for White women. Calm down rebellious White folks (sex, drugs and rock & roll, antiwar protestors, etc.). The strongest AfroAmerican voices were assassinated. We haven't had a voice like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in over 50 years now. Voting rights and affirmative action were supposed to be some kind of panacea providing AfroAmericans with equal representation politically and quotas in the education and job markets. During the 1970s, AfroAmerican communities were flooded with heroin. Meanwhile, many of those former hippies only had to cut their hair and put on casual clothes and they were absorbed into affordable higher education and well paying jobs. During the 1980s, POTUS Ronald Reagan created opportunities that provided White folks with a windfall of cash. AfroAmerican communities were flooded with more drugs in the form of crack cocaine. During the 1990s, POTUS Bill Clinton stamped mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines for drug offenses disproportionately affecting AfroAmericans. The prison industrial complex sprawled into big business. America definitely looks different than it did back in the 1960s. The middle class of America has been expanded and anesthetized with gross consumerism. Yet, racism and socioeconomic problems remain unchanged. Now, Americans are being pitted against each other....Folks on the Right feel their sense of entitlement is being infringed upon. Folks on the Left believe a few handouts and benign neglect will make the real problems disappear. Overall, under the system of racism white supremacy, it's just a different generation of folks executing the same old plays. The promissory note of Dr. King's dream is still a bad check for many folks.