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Cynicism is Intellectual Cowardice ... a Cop-Out to Rationalize Fear and Laziness
Cynicism Is Not Smart, Sophisticated or Detached … It’s a Cop-Out
Preface: Obviously, giving up cynicism and getting active doesn’t mean adopting phony hopium. It means abandoning both fear and laziness – on the one hand – and false hope on the other.
In other words, question authority and be cynical of those in power. But don't be cynical of the desirability - and necessity - of acting to challenge the destructive or criminal acts of those in power.
We have overwhelming numbers (and see this). If we worked together we would win.
Why aren’t we?
A large reason that we are failing is that people are copping out … by adopting a cynical attitude.
Many of us pretend that we are too smart to think anything can change. Too smart to get emotionally involved in the destruction of our prosperity or our liberties.
“Cynicism is nothing but intellectual cowardice”.
- Henry Rollins
“Cynicism is not realistic and tough. It’s unrealistic and kind of cowardly because it means you don’t have to try.”
- Peggy Noonan
“A cynic is a coward …. Cynicism always takes the easy way out. It is a form of laziness that provides someone with an excuse for not making any attempt to change the world …. Cynicism is a way to hide …. Cynics are afraid …. So, instead, they pass judgment on anyone who is trying to make a difference. They ridicule the efforts of individuals and organizations that are working hard under incredibly difficult circumstances …. Being cynical is often thought of as being composed and detached. It is considered to be a sign of sophistication. Cynics are mistakenly given credit for possessing a deep awareness regarding the limits of what humans can accomplish which is somehow lacking in those who spend their time in passionate efforts to change the world …. Being filled with cynicism is indeed a cowardly and sad way to go through life. ”
- Michael Crawley
We’ve previously noted:
The ironic thing is that if all of the people who think of themselves as cynics or skeptics made noise, things would instantly change for the better. In other words, the millions upon millions of cynics/skeptics/self-described “realists” aren’t raising a ruckus against the fraud being committed by the giant banks, the corruption of our political system, or the lawlessness and imperial arrogance of our military-industrial complex because they think things can’t change.
But by staying silent, they are actually creating the conditions in which nothing can change.
If the millions of cynics woke up to the fact that they are a huge group – especially when combined with the people who are already actively working for the restoration of a democratic republic, justice, and the rule of law – they would suddenly realize that collectively we can change things in a heart beat.
***
Skepticism, cynicism and “realism” is an act of fear, of cowardice, of apathy. Because if the skeptics just got off their backsides and made some noise, things would change.
The Real Hero Fights Without Knowing Whether Or Not He’ll Succeed
The optimist – whether a person of faith or plain old positive temperament – is sure that he’ll succeed.
The pessimist - i.e. the cynic - is sure he'll fail. Indeed, the powers-that-be try to instill pessimism (see number 2) so that we won't try.
But the truth is that we never know in advance whether we’ll win or not.
How do we know if what we’re doing will really have an effect or not? How do we know if we are being called upon to struggle in order to succeed in changing things for the better … or for the heck of it?
***
We are called upon as part of our core purpose to struggle to try to make the world a better place. But we are not privy to fruits of our actions. We are not granted a view of the future … we will never know how many people we will help, and how we will change the course of history.
We are called upon to struggle, but we can never know the end result of our efforts … that is not for us mere mortals to know.
Chris Hedges – the Pulitizer-prize winning reporter who challenged the indefinite detention law and amazingly succeeded against all odds in having a judge strike down that law, saying:
None of us thought we would win.
Another judge – amazingly – halted all nuclear construction and licenses until disposal risks are addressed.
They didn’t know until they tried whether or not they could win.
And – even if we lose the immediate battle – we will help win a long-term war. Specifically – as bad as things are (and yes, we know things are getting worse) – they would be much worse if millions of people worldwide hadn’t struggled.
As Hedges writes:
The battles that must be fought may never be won in our lifetime. And there will always be new battles to define our struggle. Resistance to tyranny and evil is never ending.
So how can we fight not knowing whether we’ll succeed?
F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote:
The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function. One should, for example, be able to see that things are hopeless and yet be determined to make them otherwise.
Hellen Keller pointed out:
Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.
And Czech leader Vaclav Havel said:
Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense regardless of how it turns out.
Go Viral … It’s Contagious
Courage is contagious (and as scared as we may be of the powers-that-be, they're terrified of us as well.)
So is the ability to think.
As we’ve previously noted:
[Studies show ] that even one dissenting voice can give people permission to think for themselves. Specifically:
Solomon Asch, with experiments originally carried out in the 1950s and well-replicated since, highlighted a phenomenon now known as “conformity”. In the classic experiment, a subject sees a puzzle like the one in the nearby diagram: Which of the lines A, B, and C is the same size as the line X? Take a moment to determine your own answer…The gotcha is that the subject is seated alongside a number of other people looking at the diagram – seemingly other subjects, actually confederates of the experimenter. The other “subjects” in the experiment, one after the other, say that line C seems to be the same size as X. The real subject is seated next-to-last. How many people, placed in this situation, would say “C” – giving an obviously incorrect answer that agrees with the unanimous answer of the other subjects? What do you think the percentage would be?
Three-quarters of the subjects in Asch’s experiment gave a “conforming” answer at least once. A third of the subjects conformed more than half the time.
Get it so far? People tend to defer to what the herd thinks.
But here’s the good news:
Adding a single dissenter – just one other person who gives the correct answer, or even an incorrect answer that’s different from the group’s incorrect answer – reduces conformity very sharply, down to 5-10%.
Why is this important? Well, it means that one person who publicly speaks the truth can sway a group of people away from group-think.
If a group of people is leaning towards believing the government’s version of events, a single person who speaks the truth can help snap the group out of its trance.
There is an important point here regarding the web, as well. The above-cited article states that:
When subjects can respond in a way that will not be seen by the group, conformity also drops.What does that mean? Well, on the web, many people post anonymously. The anonymity gives people permission to “respond in a way that will not be seen by the group”. But most Americans still don’t get their news from the web, or only go to mainstream corporate news sites.
Away from the keyboard, we are not very anonymous. So that is where the conformity dynamic — and the need for courageous dissent — is vital. It is doubly important that we apply the same hard-hitting truthtelling we do on the Internet in our face-to-face interactions; because it is there that dissent is urgently needed.
Bottom line: Each person‘s voice has the power to snap entire groups out of their coma of irrational group-think. So go forth and be a light of rationality and truth among the sleeping masses.
And a recent study shows that when only 10% of a population have strongly-held beliefs, their belief will often be adopted by the majority of the society.
This is true of soldiers as well as civilians. Indeed, if the soldiers, sailors, seals, flyboys, intel operatives and law enforcement officers wake up to what is really happening, things would change overnight.
Some historical quotes may be helpful in illustrating the importance of struggling to make things better …
It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.
- Robert F . Kennedy
We must never despair; our situation has been compromising before; and it changed for the better; so I trust it will again. If difficulties arise; we must put forth new exertion and proportion our efforts to the exigencies of the times.
- George Washington
There is no act too small, no act too bold. The history of social change is the history of millions of actions, small and large, coming together at points in history and creating a power that governments cannot suppress.
- Howard Zinn
If you don’t like the news, go out and make some news of your own.
- Scoop Nisker
To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities.
- Bruce Lee
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I think many of us have been in the same quandry when it comes to random acts of kindness and compassion. To give or not to give? My cynicism kicks in too often these days, but I generally proceed from the notion that an act of kindness or compassion may have been squandered by the recipient, but that those (if any) who may have observed this gesture may in the future be compelled to do the same. Somewhat of a pay-it-forward mentality. What can it really hurt? I go away with a sense of, at least I made an attempt.
A cynic is a person who has given up on humanity. (It does not mean he stops doing what he believes to be the right thing.)
The only question worth discussing is, if from a realistic point of view he was correct in doing so.
there are different types of cynism. that is where this article fails to shed light.
some cynics are the kind of people that see a fight between two people and correctly identify they will be better staying out of the fight, then trying to change the outcome because they identify that there is no possible 'best case' outcome. and that the fight must take place without interference for the dispute to be settled.
other cynics just say 'fuck it' what can i do? to everything. and yes, can be considered lazy.
I spent a lot of time with occupy wall street. at best, they are foolhardly lefty's and worst they are actually co-opted lefty's who's vain attempts to trick themselves they are going to achieve anything, are just actually reflecting the maniuplations of a top down control system that is using the brand name to attract and then neutralize dissent by using various tactics to dispatch with fools.
the problem is that the masses are fools , almost by definition. and they cannot easily identify who are the genuine critical thinkers out there that are worthy of their allegiance. instead they are 'wowed' into following the loudest or most irate or most pushy of the crowd.--the so called rabble rouser or whoever else-----the end result is that while many of the occupy crowd understand the dems/publican are a one party system, they themselves are not immune to the same lapse of judgement that your average voter is immune to in picking between their own dem or pub.
the net result is occupy's leaders or lack therof guarantee that occupy will morph into a populist socialist movement of the most predictable kind that will be in turn used by counter-revolutionary conservatives to justify the status quo, or if you ask me, push the status quo even further---for example using the over-exxagerated threats and limited self-generated/instigated conflict between government and domestic 'terrorists' who are just dissenters----in order to push forward further domestic repression and then ultimately to obliquely make the case for war with iran===think about how 9-11 made the case for war with iraq --guilt by association and stirring the pot of the masses to cow them into accepting whatever bullshit excuse you put in front of them.
the next set of 'terrorists' who help the government demonize a group and scare the public are setting the public up for accepting whatever exuse it is that the govenrmnet needs to rationalize the necessary syrianification of iran and possible escalation of full scale conflict.
it's coming. and occupy wall street will be played like puppets.
they will accomplish nothing but stoking the fire of anger. or supporting democrats. other 'groups' of dissidents---anarchists in the pacific northwest----or gun crazy anti tax wingers-----will also be made useful if they can be.
how's that for cynicsim?
i share your observations. across the board, the occupy camps simply replicated the top-down control structures of the "system" they were supposedly fighting against, all the while masking these structures in the "war is peace" newsspeak of "horizontal consensus". as such, the most venal, selfish, manipulative, untrustworthy individuals rose to the top and became "leaders" of the "leaderless" movement.
same as it ever was.
upon reflection, it seems to me that this was able to occur so easily and quickly because most everyone participating refused to see beyond the "us vs. them" "winning & losing" "good vs. evil" dichotomies. thus, the battle was lost before it ever begun.
so i will ask G-Dub: who's "we"? what is the definition of "winning"?
p.s. here's a quote to add to the pile:
The hand of Vengeance found the bedTo which the Purple Tyrant fled;
The iron hand crush'd the Tyrant's head
And became a Tyrant in his stead."
-DubbyBlake
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. We won't be fooled again.
Restore our liberties. Stop crony capitalism/socialism/fascism. End the Fed. Stop the imperial wars of impression.
That's what the American people - the Tea Party, Occupy, and all Americans - want (and
see this)
oh that's all?? consider my cynical for a reason....we just want to change everything!. yea.
occupy wall street is called occupy "wall street" and even this basic precomittment device of NAMING oneself was not enough for them to keep themselves focussed on wall street.
the movement if you can call it that is a catch-all for disaffected youth . It feeds on poverty and disatisfaction at large . they had a general 'may day' strike that the teamsters afl-cio explicityly rejected. occupy is dumb. but i do wish them good luck. theyre a bunch of cute nice kids with what they believe are altruistic intentions.
they want to change everythign , they want a revolution blablabla.i lived with some occupiers. a bunch of pot heads are not going to change the governing structure of this country. i'll guarantee that.
_________
for example, i remember having a discussion with someone who is a community organizer type guy about energy policy. he looks and me point blank and tells me he doesn't give a fuck about learning about how the energy infrastructure of the country works in order to come up with better policies, because everything is bullshit and that when occupy gets control of the govenrnment they would just change things the way they wanted them.
someone with this lack of focus and reality will never be able to gain control of a government with an organized security apparatus. how , with this kind of intellectual leadership, can a movement succeed against an organized govenrmnet , let alone, organized private opposition?
it cant.
assuming that there are enough Amerikanos to want the above to not quibble over the use of the word "all", there is a simple solution to every single one of those issues:
a wholesale rejection by "all" Amerikanos of the Federal Reserve Note and a refusal of any top-down managed currency as a replacement.
now do you honestly think that "all" Amerikanos at this moment have the will and the knowledge to implement such and more importantly, each take the responsibility to create a network of alternative 'bottoms-up' currency systems to maintain a functioning economy?
if not, might it not be best to begin seriously exploring these and similar issues intellectually and practically, instead of constantly preaching to the choir of Cassandras and giving the "oppression" that everyone else is either complicit or a coward?
(breaking rule #1 i might add)
see this
http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/2012-08-13/15-rules-web-disruption
Problem isn't the cynics though George. It is that your contention that there are enough people to rebel. I will acknoledge that there are many who see today's problems. The real issue is that instead of speaking out as you wish, they want to use conventional methods to solve the problems. The majority of people in the Tea Party, the Occupy movement, even disenfranchised dems and repubs truly believe that simply voting in the next election will solve our problems. They have yet to acknowledge the true depth of our problems nor how systemic they have become. I am a cynic, but I will act when I perceive that a greater number truly acknowledge the problem. Until then, we are all simply a bunch of crackpots to the average dissatisfied American.
"rebel...Against what?" -Marley
methinks that rebellion and revolution is integral to the problem, fueling the fire of the dying beast, only to watch another one rise up in its ashes. haven't we seen that film one too many times already?
we were all born sovereign human beings with free choice (at least on our most visible planes of consciousness). no fictitious organization endowed us with those rights, and it is each one of us who volunteer them to be taken away when we choose to "stand under" certain codes written by other equal sovereigns (especially those who proclaim themselves to be 'more than equal'). i/o/w, our sovereignity is not taken from us, we willingly give it away. that's the evil magic genius of the "system".
there is nothing to rebel against, except a fictitious phantom. unfortunately, that phantom will continue to exist as long we each agree to not see it for what it is -- a fiction able to be rewritten at any time by any 2+ sovereigns that enter into an agreement of trust.
of course, this will require each of us to take responsibility for our own sovereignity, which seems to be the real stumbling block that humanity trips over time and time again, especially when our consciousness is constantly distracted by hucksters selling us fear & desire.
one more quote : "I prefer not to..." -Melville
Plus sixteen trillion George, if I may...
Until trust is restored, a healthy dose of cynicism will be required.
It is my earnest wish to bridge "this thing" and turn it on those who use it to divide us.
I see the same in you at times.
For example, you were one of the first to agree forcing anyone to buy something was un-constitutional, I have a very long memory...it was unpopular with your readers when you said it...another point in your favor (to me and now to them, its cred)...and our opinion turned out to be correct...no matter what SCOTUS eventually said.
Props where due.
Its going to be a long, hard slog, I still say we can do it...the dollar and the debt attached to it are doomed but the people will always remain...its what we rebuild from this afterwards that will matter the most.
I will have to guard against being a cold heartless bastard...lol...and you against every sob story ever invented by the misfortunate or lazy...same as it ever was ;-)
Are you a creditor-side or debtor-side bankruptcy lawyer?
You don't write like a bankruptcy lawyer.
You sound scared and lazy.
/sarc
an alternative to cynical distrust of The Powerful is an ironic double-think pretense that The Powerful are great and trustworthy.
leading to obsequious communication styles like the following:
your magnificences and you, most noble and most distinguished sirs, will graciously deign to remember how .. I was instructed by your magnificences and you, most noble and most distinguished sirs, to abide in all things strictly by the customs hitherto followed at the public divine service, and not to make any innovations; and how you graciously assured me that you would favor me in this matter with your high protections. ..
-JS Bach, 1728
my small act: FU GW Bush for taking this Great Nation from full of Hope tp full of Despair.
Yes, but ... Obama: Angel of Death?
GW
You seem to have missed the obvious.
Cynicism is NOT primarily to rationalize fear and laziness.
Rather, cynicism is the logical outgrowth of the social/economic model of, for lack of another term, "capitalism".
The socio-economic model is based on individual greed being the primary human motive, looking out for #1, and expecting all the resulting conflict/competition to work out for the greatest good by virtue of the "hidden hand".
So, of course there is cynical disbelief whenever someone claims to be acting for the common good.
Of course there is cynical disbelief whenever there is a call to reorganize the economy for the common good.
So long as individualistic materialism is believed to be the primary motivation for human conduct, cynicism will follow.
Cynicism existed before 'Americanism'
What you refer to is much more cruelty: 'Americans' knows that the reorganization of society for the common good will inflict suffering, painting as common good is an additional dimension to cruelty.
I'm beginning to think you are a masochist and enjoy the down arrows, and from my observations, you have earned the most of any troll so far. Even outdoing Robotrader, and that's sayin' somethin'...
What AnAnonymous refers to is much more insanitation.
Chinese citizenism citizens know that instituting indoor plumbing for the common good will inflict flush toilets. Painting the common roadside with their excrement is an additional dimension to smelly AnAnonymousity.
What AnAnonymous avoids is any facts that in a general sense, how putrid a society his is. I know first-hand having been there a dozen times in the last 3 years and traveling to some of the worst places ever. It's a dog-eat-dog and generally compassionless society. The average chinese citizen proceeds from the self centered notion that rules apply to all others except themselves. I can't count the number of times I've pushed some dipshit back out of line when they tried to cut in front. When crossing a street, I make sure there's a person to the right and left of me. Lastly, when returning to the land of American Citizenry, I find I must de-Chinasize myself and shed the callousness, rudeness and hyper-aggresiveness that I had to take on.
The religion of "hidden hand capitalism"
is based on the socio-economic theories of
Thomas Hobbes
and Adam Smith.
Bellum omnium contra omnes bitchez!
It isn't a "social/economic model" it is called political economy, and it ain't capitalism for the last 150 years or so, unless you subscribe to that lousy expression "crony capitalism," it was mercantilism. Real capitalism is laissez faire and is a level playing field and where governments actually prosecute acts of force or fraud rather than participate.
Wow - the only quotes regarding cynicism from Henry Rollings (Who I personally saw at a Black Flag concert in the early 1980s jump face first on the ground and mash broken glass into his face); Peggy Noonan (a loon) and a guy in his PJs blogging. Was John Edwards busy?
Who the fuck is Henry Rollings? Was he the front man for The Rollings Stone?
I know, I know: you're just trying to be friendly
This is my too small act: FU G W Bush for taking this Great Nation from full of Hope tp full of Despair.
A nice post. However framing the current struggle as some aspect of all previous struggles -- for justice, for equality, for whatever -- misses an important point:
We are now struggling against the world itself, fighting to maintain a familiar way of life which itself cannot go forward. There is no evil and there is no enemy and there is no opponent, except that the opponent be our own expectations. We will have to lose in order to win. And this is simply not how we do things.
I am watching and waiting for 10% of the world to say "we cannot go forward from here" and I suspect that I will never hear it, not in my life time, not in any life time, not ever.
But we will not go forward, all the same. Though we will surely set fire to all of Heaven and Hell both in the battle to do what instead must be undone.
Cynicism is an interesting topic.
It is one of those conceptualization that was so manipulated by 'Americans' it started to mean exactly what the cynics blame.
Cynics laid blame on certain things, certain attitudes, certaion behaviours and finally, thanks to 'Americanism', cynicism has got to mean stuff that cynics strongly disagreed with.
Unsurprisingly, this article by well known 'American' propagandist is a collection of false statements about cynics so to reinforce that impression.
For example, a good rule of the thumb is to notice that usually 'Americans' prefer to use cynical instead of cruel. Most people 'Americans' refer as being cynical are not cynical, they are cruel.
But cruelty is a term that has disappeared from the 'American' lexicon to depict themselves as 'Americans' live to see themselves as charitable.
So the obviously cruel 'American' is now refered to as a cynical.
Another great legacy from 'Americanism' to humanity, that perversion of cynics...
Your attempts at obfuscation and deflection are well known and evident in nearly every one of your down arrow ridden posts. Americans are by and far the most charitable nation on earth. Where does China stand....
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-06-25-charitable_N.htm
I'm not "American Citizen" but I still don't like you.
Same drivel day after day.
Get a life. Walk a dog. Make love to a human.
...yeah..like wherever you live is so pious, generous and kind....fool.
Leave it to a cunt like you to morph it into the anti-American citizen bullshit you peddle on here.
You smell of shit so bad sirens should go off......and probably do.
" a good rule of the thumb is to notice that usually 'Americans' prefer to use cynical instead of cruel "
A better Rule of Thumb is "when a Chicom apologist denigrates Americans, his use of the English language is understandably limited to infantile comparisons.
"Out, out, damn poop stain. Out I say."
More fantasy...
US citizens have deep troubles with self perception...
More Chinese citizenism bullshit.
AnAnonymous has deep troubles with self perception, thus his psychological projection of his flaws and shortcomings onto "US citizens". What a pathetic dweeb.
Indeed, and I am beginning to think he hates his own society so much so that he tries in futile desperation to find fault with America. America is not its government, but the people who live and toil and still find the compassion to aid those who are sworn to kill them.
His Great Device Makes Him Famous.
GW. Now that was hilarious... and cruel.
"Courage my friend, it is not too late to make the world a better place." T.Douglas
Everyday, I make this world a better place. The sense of urgency expressed in the quote above is taken in honor but, butt...
This is an example of a meme implantation you may buy at your peril.
The simple math of all the stuff going down is that no one knows what the fuck is going on.
The myth is what we make it as story tellers.
So I bow down to a better place as you say.
Courage.
Don't worry about me, I'm not in any peril of buying into your 'meme implantations'.
Your faith is not complimented by your conceit.
T. Douglas' faith was complimented by his actions.
And you'd better get off your ass and figure out which way the wind is blowing, right smartly too, because a growing number of people have a good idea exactly what the fuck is going on, even if you don't; I suggest that you spend less time bowing down to imaginary places, and more time catching up with reality. That would be a story worth telling.
Yeah I'm a lazy coward.
Forgive me though. After being thrown out of the plane at 15,000 feet, I stopped trying to flap my arms after I'd fallen for 10,000. This last mile is gonna be all about me, being cynical and saying Fuck You Idiots!.. a lot.
Also, I'm gonna try to land on a central banker or something.
Well at least you're still trying!
No. A healthy dose of cynicism is critical. It allows you to examine a problem from all angles and figure out the best solution. Every reader on this site has a well deserved feeling of cynicism towards the government.
The post does NOT argue against cynicism against government. Have you read anything I've posted over the last couple of years?
It is arguing against cynicism against taking ACTION
then simplify GW. cynicism against taking action = defeatism
I like this quote from Teddy Roosevelt:
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
People think the French Revolution happened when peasants finally had enough. That's not true. The revolution happened when the minor aristocracy, small businessmen etc saw their livelihoods threatened. Those are the ones who rose up (read Citizen by Simon Schama) and brought about the change. Later, when the revolution went too far, did the peasantry climb aboard the Robespierre bandwagon, the guillotine was used primarily peasant against peasant, to "protect the revolution".
So when the 5% in America finally get fed up with their kids having a worse life than they do, less job prospects, less wages, less health care, lower standard of living...then maybe they are the ones who will do something against the .0001%?
I read your headline, "Cynicysm is cowardice." Does that count?
Incoherent writer is incoherent.
(regardless of how many incoherent rebuttals are put forth)
Historians will look at 2001 as the beginning of coup d'etat by bankers to overthrow - through violence - world democracy and freedom.
This is still work in progress.
The approach was borrowed from Italian fascists - beat up the opponents and take what u think its yours.
GWB is 21st century mussolini.
I agree GW. The hopelessness of some conspiracy theories is by itself a problem. Yes there are big problems to be solved and systemic changes that need to (and will) occur. Starting with the premise that the perpetrators are invincible is both wrong and cannot lead to victory.