Where do you stand, On different social things Options

[Hartmann]

I am guessing that given the more left leaning of this board, the answers are fairly obvious but I was wondering where people stood on the ideas of self-reliance, government intervention, and work.

My firm belief is that people as a whole must be self-reliant, that government should stay out unless it is needed, and hard work is necessary to succeed.

Where do you stand?

I listen to my brothers talk about what they want to do and I'm amazed at their goals. Nothing to do with hard work or being self-reliant but more along the lines of American Idol and "famous". It is one thing to dream of being a baseball player when you're young but I get this impression that we are becoming more and more focused on the easy route rather than the tough but rewarding one.

[Seeker]

I'm not advocating being completely self-reliant; just more-so than we all are today. I think cities foster an unhealthy dependence on corporations and the government. I think we should do away with large urban centers and live in small rural communities scattered across the States. I think we should do away with corporations and each one of us take up a skill. For example, I could be the local shoe-smith in my village and provide shoes for everyone. If someone doesn't like my shoes they can go to a neighboring village and buy some from the shoe-smith there. Corporations would become a thing of the past and that would be a good thing as Corporations are too powerful and get away with too many evil things. They also lobby the government for changes that are beneficial them but not for individuals or the people as a whole.

[Inferia]

I'm not advocating being completely self-reliant; just more-so than we all are today. I think cities foster an unhealthy dependence on corporations and the government. I think we should do away with large urban centers and live in small rural communities scattered across the States. I think we should do away with corporations and each one of us take up a skill. For example, I could be the local shoe-smith in my village and provide shoes for everyone. If someone doesn't like my shoes they can go to a neighboring village and buy some from the shoe-smith there. Corporations would become a thing of the past and that would be a good thing as Corporations are too powerful and get away with too many evil things. They also lobby the government for changes that are beneficial them but not for individuals or the people as a whole.

Well, I think that small rural communities scattered across the States would mean a major source for global climate change. That "going" to a neighboring village means that there will be 200 million cars on the street to buy that shoe you can't get in your village. This would also be an unhealthy dependence on unreliable, nonrenewable fossil fuel which is government by large governments and large corporations. As unhealthy and polluted as cities may seem, they are "better" for the environment. Instead of every family destroying a piece of natural land to build their 3 bedroom house with a garage, you build up inside of wide. Shipping of material goods are more centralized, and people are less dependent on motor transportation in their every day life. Perhaps the US can afford to "sprawl", the rest of the world can't afford to do such a thing, if they did so, there wouldn't be room for farm land, thus making them even more reliant on someone else.