On Jan 31, 2009, at 1:14 PM, Jordan wrote:
Matthew Taylor wrote:
On Jan 31, 2009, at 12:05 PM, Jordan wrote:
John Emmerling wrote:
Some general observations (I make some assertions without proof,
feel free
to provide contradictory data):
1.) Compared to other western countries, Americans are
significantly more
religious. Religious folk seem to see life's problems as being
between
themselves and God, and don't have much use for the government.
BTW I don't
mean this as a criticism.
I don't think it's rational to view life through a "God" lens, or
make decisions based on religious beliefs. The middle east is what
you may get.
Wow - for many people religion = moral code of ethics. What should
inform their decisions?
Either you are moral or you are not. It comes from empathy. There is
even some evidence that there is a genetic element to this.
Define morality then in a value neutral "rational" way.
The rural areas of Europe do this to a far greater degree than here.
Citations please.
For starters, watch travel shows.
Sputter. Travel shows, perhaps the ultimate in feel good vicarious
fluff entertainment (right next to cooking shows [I love "Good Eats"])
as citations. Am I supposed to take that seriously?
3.) Americans have come to expect government initiatives to
fail. They
consider a career working for the government (except in the areas
of law
enforcement and national security) as a refuge for the
incompetent. Largely
a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The radical right has worked for years to make people believe
this. But it doesn't have to be that way.
I am neither radical right nor left. My experience with
government, both personally and as a contractor to, has not left me
with a positive impression of government.
Then Bush and the boys were successful!
You make a lot of assumptions. I never worked for Bush and the boys.
I spent the Bush years working for a non-profit and then a county
funded community college. I spent some of the Clinton Gore years
working for the Army though. The uniformed personnel were top notch,
the civil servants except for the vets were scarily incompetent.
Matthew
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