Profiteering is based on cheating

Business profit is based on cheating.

By cheating I mean exploiting an advantage that allows one party to take advantage of another.

It could be getting something for nothing.

It could be not paying the whole true cost of the thing in question.

It could be using information that others do not possess.

It could be opportunistically using the current situation against a protagonist. Think China/Russian natural gas contract while Putin fiddles with Ukraine and the West.  Now, now after many years, a deal is made in the midst of a crisis.

It could be exploiting resources that others do not have and need desperately.

It could be nepotism, bribery, extortion...

It could be imperialism, or diplomacy at the end of a gun.

It could be a monopoly, duopoly, or exclusive rights.

Competition is expected to be fair. Fair is the least realistic aspect of life. 

Someone that gets ahead pushes everyone else backwards in that competitive arena.

Going into business, this must be understood.

Buddhism: The riddle of the chair

Here is my interpretation of Buddhist non-existence:

Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and imagine a simple white piece of paper.

 (Open your eyes.)

Now, imagine a chair.  What is it?

Imagine that chair with one leg missing. What is it?

Imagine that same chair with two legs missing.  What is it?

Imagine that same chair with three legs missing. What is it?

Imagine that same chair with four legs missing. What is it?

Imagine that same chair with four legs and the seat missing. What is it?

Now, to your mind, when did it stop being a chair? Everyone imagined it ends being a chair differently, so how can any one answer be true?

The truth is: it never was a chair. Chairs don't exist, it's the name of convenience for a set of parts we collectively refer to as a chair.

We, like that chair, don't exist.

Religious websites demonstrate the hollowness of God argument

Here is a simple way to tell if an argument is defensible or not.  Can the argument hold up to criticism?

Anything that can be proven, or demonstrated, can take any criticism. There's always a way to work to a solution. And when someone doesn't get it, you can guide them to the truth. Guidance requires dialog.

Not so with religious websites. Most give long dull self supporting arguments that cannot hold up against criticism. It doesn't matter what St. Doofus said. It doesn't matter if you have a Ph.D. Or not. If your argument is defensible it will stand on its own merits. Or not.

So if I had a doubt about God I should be able to ask you to clarify your argument and you could walk me through my ignorance. Seems reasonable?

Most religious websites have their comments turned off. They ignore all dialog. Why? Isn't the purpose of a website expressing ideas to communicate? No, to those that preach it's about acceptance and obedience and no questioning what is said. Why, even first century Roman society allowed free expression on the walls of the Coliseum. Anyone could post a written note and replies for ALL to see.

Maybe the Romans had a point? Maybe the absolute dogmatism of religious zealots is a problem?

You are free to comment. You can say whatever you like. If you say something interesting, I'll consider it.  If you're moronic, I'll laugh and ignore it. But I don't possess the sin of pride to think my views are omnipotent and above criticism. Religious people that preach demonstrate their arrogance and the hollowness of their argument.

Civilization versus Savagery

Outcasts and anarchists are not new problems for society. Their handling is a very old moral dilemmas for governments, what to do with people that reject society?

Easy. Anyone that openly rejects civilization does not need any protection from society. That is the way it was done. That is the way they want it. Civilization should not feel uneasy when dealing with anti-civilization elements harshly. It is the way civilization has survived. The problem will never go away. Everyone is given a choice to work within society or reject it and rebel. It is a conscious choice made knowing the consequences.

Before these two disaffected people there was Louis Riel:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Riel


Louis Riel had real grievances with how his people the Metis were treated by the government of the time.  He won election to the government and refused to take his seat in Parliament.  He could have advocated for his people through legal means and yet he chose instead to take over.  Riel refused to recognize the government, led a group of insurrectionists against society, and killed a prisoner to be taken seriously by the government.

 

He executed a prisoner and called it, "a good thing".

He led a provisional government.

Riel and his rebellion was fought to defeat and dissolution. Riel was caught, tried, and executed. 

Society must rise up and defeat radicals.

How you treat people

How you treat people that can do you no harm says more about you than how you treat people that can.

Pride is not a sin, it is the culmination of human achievements

To call pride a sin is to think that mankind, taking some joy and recognition in our accomplishments, attributes that success to themselves.  To call it a sin is to claim it is not deserved.

This is a dangerous idea to organized religion. It means people can assume they deserve to be happy in their own work and they may not need to refer to a higher power. This has been a long standing assumption.

But what shame or sin is there in recognizing what you did?  How can anyone prove your success was the work of a higher being? They certainly don't take credit for your failures they leave those to you!

The secret is you are the beginning and end of your success. To think otherwise is to rob yourself of the satisfaction you are owed. The church wants you submissive for its insidious preservation.

No, pride is a deserved outcome for a work well done.  We should take pride in doing well. We did it. We recognize it.  We, mankind, struggles everyday to make a difference.  Why must this go to another?

Life is hard enough. Survival is hard enough. Take the credit you deserve.

Honesty is ever a friend, secrecy is not.