Remember 2016 when the media gave Trump an absurd amount of free publicity by covering every stupid thing he said and did then he won? It wasn’t the only reason, but it clearly didn’t help.
2016? Shit the press gave him all the free press when he was doing the birther shit with Obama.
I have one for those that worked at Disney World. “What time is the 3 o’clock parade?”
I’m going to assume this isn’t “lottery” ultra-wealthy where you can spend it all and suddenly be back to destitute. So you say you wouldn’t live that differently, and immediately begin with “quitting work.” That’s the first step, because being wildly wealthy does change you incrementally because in this situation you’ve just bought yourself a commodity that once spent can’t be bought back, time.
You now have 40 hours a week that you were giving to someone else. Add on 5-10 hours for commute time (.5 to hour commute) that can get up to 50 hours for whatever the hell you want to do.
Buying a new car just a quick glance at Carmax and you’re looking at around $13,000 for a standard sedan. Not many have that pocket change going around, much less to buy the house that at low end houses cost $100,000 so you’re done, no worries, no muss, no fuss and you didn’t give some company your money in interest because you bought for cash. And on buying houses, as competitive as the market is, buying with cash right now at least in my region is about the only way to do it.
So lets assume you’re working from home right now, you gained back 40 hours. Hey, I want to have a party/trip/etc! Well, your buddies are all working, possibly can’t afford to go on trip, night out to eat. Offer to pay, but it’s still the getting the time off. They’ve got bills to worry about, the ones you’re not even thinking about. Sometimes they’ll show up, other times, not so much. So either you’re out fishing and working on your hobbies during that 40, or working to a new project job wise which really by this point is how the wealthy keep getting more and more money because build up a new thing, hire someone else to run it, passive income. But you don’t have your friends to hang out with, travel and the like, you’ll run into the others that don’t have those concerns because you can buy your way around inconveniences (airport seats are uncomfortable, but those lounges are nice. Why have to take connecting flights? etc) those are also going to be the ultra wealthy. And they have a standard of living that will look more and more “normal” to you. Little bit of peer pressure, little bit of “take a ride in my Lambo” and finding it fun, it’s a frog in the pot situation, you’ll go back to your roots and go “How did I live like this?”
Former Christian here… I’ll give the religion credit it allows for a lot of openness and exactly what the pope is talking about. The main icon of Christianity was all about accepting people, legit the time where Jesus got angry with whips and table flipping was because money changers and vendors were cheating the poor (long story: You had pilgrims that would come bringing currency that would not be accepted by the temple so the money changers would do exactly what was on the tin… for a fee, and then the temple was selling animals to be sacrificed, the doves being brought up specifically because they were sold to the poorest that couldn’t afford the bigger sacrifices.) This is the idealogical head of the religion who is said to have sat and dined with those considered sinners while shunning the so called “faithful”
Honestly even as parable the stories in the bible are perfect reflections of the way most Christians would react. It’s said regularly that the Christians would kill Jesus as a heretic if he came back… ignoring the fact that it was those that had power within the church that crucified Jesus in the Bible.
I got lucky in being raised to go to a church with a preacher that was big on critical thinking. Another fitting example of Christianity ignoring its own teachings, post 9/11 said preacher gave a sermon talking about a religious extremist with a middle eastern background that spoke out against the prevailing government at the time, explaining that was exactly who Jesus was, the sermon on not hating from statements just made by assumptions, had the magazine that on the cover that had the ‘real face of Jesus’ to show not your white long haired man but the middle eastern face as a part of the sermon… naturally said preacher was politely “let go” from the church.
When Hamas attacked I commented Israel would lash out with it’s usual fervor, making sure that any Palestinians that didn’t support Hamas wouldn’t have a choice. And that the US world would back Israel, providing more ammunition to the Muslim extremists in the middle east to want to continue to fight the US. And Israel working at that time to a potential deal actually worked out with Saudi Arabia would get smashed. Hamas played the world like a fucking fiddle and literally everyone danced along with the tune.
For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. 2 Corinthians 11:13-15
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Matthew 7:15-20
If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. Timothy 6:3-10
It’s funny. The Bible has a few things to say about these people. Shockingly not some of those things often taught, along with this gem.
Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. Mathew 6:1-8
Ironically followed by the Lords Prayer, the most repeated part of scripture THEN FOLLOWING
For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Matthew 6:14-15
As a former Christian gone Agnostic… I can’t help but to think that if the Bible is true, there’s gonna be an awful lot of shocked “Christians”
Username checks out.
And my axe!
Pre9-11 my dad liked messing with his coworkers saying W was making a hell of a democrat when they complained about what he was doing.
After he suddenly got in line like his daddy. Always figured it’s when he started listening to Cheney
I remember a time when Captain Planet villains seemed ridiculous.
You’re right, voting isn’t the most powerful thing you can do.
It’s getting involved in politics altogether, getting more people to vote.
And not “We got the president and maybe a senator” vote. The crowd that’s fighting climate change every step of the way has infested all the way down to the local levels making it harder to vote on the national platforms. I’d say this is a US thing, but if there’s voting, they seem to be infesting all of it.
Your complaints are valid, but I’m going to counterpoint US healthcare for those that reads this and is “Ah hah!”
The US is getting hit by the same med shortage, I’m not as strongly linked but I know a couple friends being bounced from one anti-depressant to another because one after another went short.
But our for profit system is literally shuttering hospitals across the country. What you’ll get is private investment firms that buy up hospitals, bleed them for capital until the hospital is unable to run and it closes. Kansas right now is one of the worst states for hospitals in rural places where they’re closing up left and right. One of my hospitals I traveled to that I was shocked didn’t close was because a doctor committed suicide and had evidence on his phone that he molested patients while they were under sedation. This brought JACO and every other hospital regulatory commission on this hospital where it was found the hospital was bought up by one private capital firm after another, their debt dumped on the hospital and sold off. Literally the commissions coming in is all that saved the hospital because the current firm is now being forced to modernize the hospital and get it back to standards.
And in the case of the abortions being criminalized, states that have it criminalized are now having OBGYN doctors leaving the state than have to be put into a struggle against their ethics and the draconian law, leaving birthing centers closed up in hospitals and leaving it to the ERs that are already over capacity from being the only safety net left to those that can’t afford insurance and all the hospital closures pushing more to those individual places.
I disagree with this. It’ll take some revolution, but can be avoided bloody.
On revolution I do say vote. The 2022 election was a turnout of 52% of the voting age population. Just barely over half, and that’s the second highest turnout to a nonpresidential election year since 2000. All the oxygen always goes to the Presidency but what OP is dealing with comes up in local elections, and the local and state shit deals far more with your day to day than the national. Hell, when national laws even come up, weed is still schedule 1 “more dangerous than cocaine” to the federal government but just about every state has legalized it.
It’s not a quick solution, and it’s not as simple anymore as “go out and vote” but gotta kick everyone up who hasn’t given a shit (if they’re not voting, think they’ll back you in a revolution?). It’s a fucking slow ass slog that takes daily fighting, like I’ve got a group that I’m the one who posts the ballots, the dates, the links, honestly do everything but bang on their doors and drag them to the polls but it’s a little bit that helps. As I saw “A vote is not a valentine. You’re not professing your love for the candidate. It’s a chess move for the world you want to live in.”
The Republicans have been doing that for years, they’ve never let a single dem run even for superintendent across the country uncontested. They worked slow and methodically to get the supreme court. Their revolution can be argued to have started as far back as Nixon. We’re arguably at their end game, but it seems like they’ve overreached this time, it’s time to start clawing back territory.
The reason though I’m against a bloody revolution is, yes it’s useful as a last resort, but it honestly is at that in the chess analogy above picking up the table, throwing it in the room and starting a riot. You hope you come out okay but at that point it’s really up in the air who comes out on top. Guillotines come up a lot, and France is doing pretty well right now. But remember between modern France and the guillotines was a messy time post revolution that was stabilized by someone who declared himself Emperor and attempted to conquer all of Europe.