-In America today it is perfectly acceptable to boast about how you are addicted to a caffeine in pretty much any social situation. The same goes for alcohol,it is not only accepted but expected at most social gathering and sporting events are sponsored by manufacturers of beer and hard liquor and they featurecommercial celebrating beer. Even tobacco is acceptable if it is in cigar form. So three unhealthy, highly addictive drugs are not just accepted but celebratedbut marijuana is still considered and evil plant by most employers, the government and many citizens.
- I do not know if it hubris, laziness or bad judgement but it seems like all but a few people actually know anything about history. No wonder so many peoplecan be so easily plunged into panic or give into hyperbole. If you look at the Economic history of West, you would realize that life has improved with everypassing generation and recession is not a sign that a new dark age is just around the corner. If looking back a few centuries is too much work, try a decade ortwo. Right now people are sating that Bush is the worst president ever because during his term there were several years of high unemployment and a financialpanic. Both of those things happened under Bill Clinton's watch but he is considered one of the best presidents ever.
- The political left in America and else where are masters of repacking old ideas that have already been tried and failed miserably. Condemning the fact thatmore and more Americans have more cars, bigger houses and items that were once luxuries are dismissed as "urban sprawl""consumerism" and arape of the environment, this same attitude prevailed in the late Middle Ages when the clergy and old nobility were indignant at the new wealth of the urbanmerchant class and they even tried to ban their consumption of the luxuries that the old elite enjoyed. In the Middle Ages, the price of bread and almost allgoods where set based on what was considered a "just price" and it led to shortages and even famine because prices where not allowed to rise andattract imports from regions that where enjoying bumper crops that year, we see the same hardships being caused by modern rent control and "anti-gouginglaws" making housing scarce and shortages of supplies in disaster areas today.
- Many people who complain about the rich getting richer and the poor getting poor do not realize that much of this statistical disparity is because there aresimply many more good jobs available than in past decades. Adjusted for inflation, the number of six figure jobs have increased, a much larger percentage ofthe American work force is do much better than their parents. Meanwhile most Americans have only seen modest increases in their inflation adjusted income butno one has gotten poorer compared to their counter parts 30 years ago. A more accurate description is that over the last couple of decades no one has gottenpoorer and many who would be middle class a generation ago are now upper middle class or rich and while this has caused a larger standard deviation on theincome bell curve, the reality of flesh and blood human beings is one of every getting a a little richer and the middle class shrinking as a result of theupper middle class's ranks swelling over the last few decades.
- It seems like the new trend on NT is be up on politics and economics (or at least financial markets) and while it is great to see so many young peoplegetting interested in civic life and following the news more closely, it is a litle annoying to see so many kids acting like they are savvy politicos and/orstock market gurus. There are so man middle school and high school kids who repeat Obama's cliches about the Economy, repeat a few things they hear on thenews and proceed to say what stocks you should buy, sell, hold or short either that or they declare a coming collapse of civilization. It is vexing because themost important thing that I have learned in my 24 years and in getting my degree in Economics and History and spending countless hours talking to older familymembers about financial markets is that even the smartest person on earth know very little compared to every thing that is out there to know. So please kids,if you are not even in college yet, stop playing dress up and acting like Wall Street insiders, stop being in such a hurry to grow up, keep getting educated,keep following the news and enjoy the fact that you do not have to worry about starting a career in finance right now. There are some major upsides to being afull grown adult but there are some huge downsides as well, so enjoy being your time in high school.
- Another fad I have noticed on NT is never missing an opportunity to pay lip service to diversity. Every says how much they want to live in a more diversecommunity but most people picture diversity as having a threesome with a latina and an asian chick and then going out to get fried rice and chicken wings andyour local Chinese restaurant. Real diversity involves leaving your 'hood, barrio or gated community and living in an apartment where your neighbors cookfood that stinks up your apartment, the local restaurants serve food that is not Americanized, the people do not speak the same language as you and in manycases you cannot date the girls because their fathers only will let their daughters date some from their same village in the old country. The same applies toliving abroad, which is also something that NTers, looking to appear cosmopolitian and sophisticated, also like to praise, or at least praise the idea of it.Most of you guys would die of homesickness, not knowing the language (when ever a thread about how many languages you speak come up most of you guys brag/jokeabout only knowing English), being able to have food that you are used too and not being able to watch American Football.
- The most vewing fad on NT and in America in general is saying how stupid Americans are. Naturally the third person is always used, implying that the personmaking the statement is, of course, not one of those typical stupid Americans. I am not a fan of out of control patriotism or provincialism or nationalism butthere is not no evidence to suggest that Americans, measured against a randomly selected poll of non Americans, are any less intelligent. Obviously making thatstatement is an attempt to feel superior by implying that you are far more intelligent than average or that every one with whom you disagree politically isstupid.
- Politics brings out the worst in people. People who might otherwise be friends become enemies. There have ban countless acrimoniuos exchanges and lingeringhostility between fellow NTers because they disagree politically. Politics also robs people of reason and causes otherwise smart and rational people to believelies that were repeated long enough hand loudly enough enough. It also forces people to see the world in black and white and to see their candidate as flawlessand to see no redeeming traits in the opposing candidate. This is especially destructive during a situation like this financial meltdown, the desire to scorepoints politically caused policy makers to do the wrong thing and it caused the rank and file voters to refuse to see that many parties are responsible andthat it is not the fault of the political party that they do not like.
- It would be nice if more people could disagree, even disagree vehemently but still be civil and respectful and even friendly. It was so refreshing to discusscapitalism, Marxism and society with the conditioner a few days ago and we made or points, said what we agree upon, pointed out where we disagreed and rebuttedeach other's points and through all of it not only did we refrain from hurling insults at one an other but I felt a kinship with him and others who canhave a discussion like that because I respect people who can have a true discuss where real insight can be gained. People with whom you disagree should not bewritten off as idiots, as so many people do. People with differing views, who can make a great case for what they believe at necessary for meaningfulintellectual growth to happen.
- It is distressing how little people read. Many kids graduate high school without actually reading an entire book. Hell, some college students in some of thesoft majors probably do as well. I am not some snob who hangs out at borders or coffee houses reading all day and claims that any one who watches TV is anuncultured barbarian. I watch TV, play video games and indulge in parts of pop culture but I also make time to read history and class literature and morecontain age old lessons and wisdom and they act as the prologue to our world today. Since it is popular to be deep and intellectual, people should stop tryingto put up a veneer and actually establish their intellectual credentials the old fashioned way, by reading and learning.
