"I know you think poorly of the “masses.” It’s one of the ways you get to feel superior."
I thought a bit more about that statement even though it was not directed at me. I also have a low opinion of the masses. Here's a few reasons off the top of my head:
-People generally slow down and gawk at the scene of an automobile accident. Not even a bad accident, could just be a car pulled over on the side of the road. They are willing to cause stall and crawl traffic, make everyone behind them wait in order to get a glimpse of what is absolutely none of their business. Maybe 1 out of 10,000 will actually pull over and help if no police or EMT has arrived on the scene yet. But their gawking impedes not every other driver behind them, but also the emergency response. This isn't caused by one or two drivers...most people do this.
-The fact that political yard signs which only display the person's name and no actual position actually work and can change the outcome of elections. If they didn't have a significant effect, then campaigns would not spend money on them and time putting them up. This suggests that a large number of people actually have no idea what the hell they are voting for and only vote based on association and names that they have heard.
-The fact that all the corruption we complain about on here exists. Insider trading - members of congress can still directly profit from the impact of legislation that they control. Certain people are above the law and untouchable as long as their associated with the right people.
-We're $31T in debt and still doing record spending. You can blame politicians on both sides, but it's the people who elected them that are the real problem. This is because a politician who does not offer something without sacrifice won't get elected. Some people want tax cuts, some people want handouts, some want both. No one campaigning on promising a budget surplus would get elected.
-Vote buying the form of loan transfers from the irresponsible is allowed to happen with not that much public outrage. Many people feel that others who never even went to college should be forced to pay for their piss-poor decisions on getting worthless degrees. My body my choice, but my debt your problem. These are the same people that will steal from others as long as they believe they won't get caught and can find some way to rationalize it. There are a lot of them. Look at how the PPP funds were abused.
-The fact that you can sue a company for spilling hot coffee on yourself and win! This is not a recent case, but there are enough people on the jury to deliver a totally messed up verdict. I have not served jury duty, but a friend who did told me you never want to end up having your fate decided by a jury...way too many stupid and illogical people out there who can really mess up your life.
-A significant percentage of the population gets in favor of completely stupid ideas in favor of "social justice". Recent example being the defund the police initiative. There were enough stupid people to actually pass legislation that ruined major cities. Any logical person would know that if you remove disincentives for committing crime, you'll get more crime. Guess what happened! Same with decriminalizing hard drugs in Portland...people actually voted for that. Drug problem has gotten worse. Of course that would happen.
-You have a lot of cities which were nice places -- Seattle, San Francisco, Portland that have turned into homeless shitholes. People there keep electing the same people and expect a different result.
-Too many bad drivers not paying attention while driving. Common example is the person in the left lane blocking traffic. Either due to stupidity or laziness.
-Test scores. They keep going down. Graduation rates, same trend. More money, more problems when it comes to government run schools. Admittedly, this is a cultural problem. I think people have simply become too comfortable. Once they are comfortable and have food and shelter regardless of what happens, the Darwinian forces lose impact and people tend to degenerate. Some of it though is due to kids in bad conditions at home, malnourished, and bad broken family situation, dad took off. I feel sorry for those kids.
-Check out the content that is trending on Instagram or TikTok...see what is popular and what people pay attention to. That should lower your opinion of the masses.
-The fact that quiet quitting is a thing.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/30/is-quiet-quitting-a-good-idea-heres-what-workplace-experts-say.html There are so many job openings in the US. What kind of loser stays in a bad situation indefinitely? If you don't believe your hard work will pay off, then make a plan to leave. Work on getting valuable skills that are in demand and find a job that pays you for what you're worth. I can understand someone prioritizing school, maybe even taking work time to work on school, but that's not what the article is describing. It's people that have resigned to spending the majority of their weekday hours doing something they do not enjoy. That's just sad.
-I could go on, but tired of typing...no one probably reading this anyway. If you want more, listen to Doug Casey and Bill Burr, especially the cruise ship rant.
I don't believe I harbor those feelings in an effort to feel superior. Rather, it's sadness that I feel after realizing that so many people are not living anywhere near their full potential and unlike me and many others here, don't even bother to give a serious effort. We could be so much further ahead of where we are now.
