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Politics : The Trump Presidency -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Cogito Ergo Sum who wrote (2968)	12/21/2016 4:16:40 PM
From: epicure	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 361308

You probably remember the cartoon illustrating that- the "fair" race up the tree between the fish, the elephant, the monkey and the other animals. It's a good illustration of that point.

To: Cogito Ergo Sum who wrote (2968)	12/21/2016 4:25:06 PM
From: combjelly	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 361308

Humans are competitive. There is a difference between being competitive and being a sociopath. The influence of Ayn Rand over the past few decades means we have made our country safe for sociopaths. Until Trump, we have not elected one to the presidency, though.

To: Cogito Ergo Sum who wrote (2968)

12/21/2016 5:02:44 PM

From: koan

Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 361308

I am not sure what you are getting at? But it sounds like the old Horatio Alger argument put forth by the Republicans for the last hundred years. The mistake they always make is that they do not understand modern social and psychological science.

We humans are different than all other animals on earth in that we are the only existential animal. We do not have to live according to our biology as do all other animals. We are capable of developing an existential intellect more or less separated from that biology.

With regard to individuals, we have no way of knowing what genius lies in each person without educational development of one form or another, people with great minds are made, not born. We are all born stupid. What separates the great thinkers throughout history is not so much what they were born with as what they developed. If you examine the great thinkers the one common thing you find is that they were all thinking and learning 24/7.

I've been on this earth a long time and watched how people behave very closely. I have found very few people in my life that make a concerted effort to develop their mind. People routinely make 10 times the effort to develop their body as they do their mind. To be a good thinkers one needs to read the works of the great thinkers to see what they knew. How many people do you know that have read The Republic by Plato, Bertrand Russell's, or Einsteiin's biographies, or any of the great thinkers. Wise people read them daily!

Right now we have a situation, where the rich and academic kids are entering kindergarten years ahead of the poor and middle-class, who do not take the time to educate their kids at home and put them into preschool. The only way to resolve this, is free preschool for every kid in the country starting at age 2 1/2 with a hot meal.

That will do more to even the playing field than any other program on earth. People change. I was born and raised in a tough city, Richmond California. And the kids that got themselves educated lived very normal, very productive lives and demanded little from society.

The ones that stayed behind and paid no attention to education, languished and had a harder life. The Best and brightest is not a matter of innate ability, it is a matter of development of the mind. So where an individual may require handouts when they are functioning more on their animal brain, if they educate themselves and develop an existential mind, they no longer will need those handouts.

So society should be ready to give handouts to help people to survive and get educated, then they won't need them. A study that came out a long time ago said that for every dollar put into Headstart, the society got back $30 an increase productivity and reduction in crime.

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We may diverge on this one friend.. equal and fair are not the same.. anyone that raises more than one child well fully understands this concept. We as a society have a duty (not for altruism even but for the benefit of our survival and prosperity as a species) to ensure a fairly level launch pad.. I want a leader that is smart.. not one that attained status through privilege. So we need to ensure that good education and healthcare are universal .. Humans are competitive.. that is why we are on top.. we out compete ... You do not want the best and brightest falling through the cracks due to social standing of parents.. nor do you want folks attaining high positions due to same (which happens now) .. This is like the hand up vs handout argument.. It is in humankinds' best interests to offer hand ups.. but handouts should be restricted..