Has the past decade stolen the soul of Americans? Case study of recent DC Immolation with precedents

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan


Some people said they believed another man showed up with him and filmed it all on a tripod and left. Perhaps that man is going to release a statement in a week.

Or maybe not.

Or maybe he was made up.

joeraynor


What really captivates me here though, is the lack of any meaningful response of any kind from the American people or the media, or any politician. I mean a man just set himself ON FIRE in the middle of the most symbolic piece of earth probably in the whole country, and indicated both love of country and possible condemnation for the three ring circus in two houses going on in congress. This was an act of incredible desperation meant to pierce as deeply as this individual was capable into people's psyches. He mustered more passion and intent for a single moment than many ever attain at any time in their lives.

And his statement has been ignored.

Without sounding cold and callous here there are a couple things going on, we are a cellphone, computer, narcissistic generation, self-absorbed, and self-centered world. Most people these days want everyone to look at them, or ( The Look at Me Generation), but with the same respect keep the outside world at bay, if I don't like them I can delete them.

Don't believe me just take a look at Facebook, it tells everything about our society and how we view ourselves and the world.

Our society as a whole is ruled by their ego's, or actually have unruly ego's, thus gives way to what everyone of us see's daily.

Secondly, news and info came from only a few sources, or sometimes one source. Nowadays we create own news, and even are able to respond to news, but get so much of it that we almost become numb, sensory over-load so to speak.

I am hoping that we are in a growth phase and when we get to a certain point of critical mass and awareness the world will change for the better.


Peace,

RT

I find this so deeply disturbing that we are so jaded and tired as a nation to even really react to this event. I am normally somebody who tries very hard to maintain a positive outlook and keep hope, but the skies seem to be growing heavy with rain and I fear a storm is coming...

Realtruth

I am hoping that we are in a growth phase and when we get to a certain point of critical mass and awareness the world will change for the better.

I agree, I hope that what we are seeing are the labor pains of a re-birth of sorts. We are a stronger and better species than this and we have available the torch of life to carry into deep space if we choose to take it.

It's just a choice, between fear and love.

reply to post by daryllyn


Some call it progress. Frightening.

reply to post by joeraynor


Is someone somewhere not missing a father/brother/son/friend/employee/neighbor/renter/etc?

A man with nothing to lose....that might be interesting to understand. If no one has come forward to claim him yet....

reply to post by joeraynor


Well you can't build "history" on a Big Lie.

The American people need to smarten up and come to power as the power.

What's needed is a movement, and a new third party to split the middle.

If I had an extra billion dollars that's what i would do with it, help the people of the USA come to power and overturn the whole structure, make it bottom up again as a phenomenon containing the potentiality of every American citizen. That's what made the US "Great" in the first place.

People sure are fed up and at their wits end.

I think there's an "x factor" of some kind just waiting in the wings, something that hasn't yet been anticipated by the PTB and I think it will involve the continuation of the vast potential of computer networking combined with the death of the MSM and crap culture.

The IDEA isn't dead, and it will bust through the heap of crap they've thrown onto the American people while their whole old-boys networked "structure" comes crashing down in a great THUMP to gales of laughter at the utter absurdity and nonsense that it represented.

So not only must the present system be held up to ridicule, but something else needs to come in to take it's place.


Best Regards,

NAM aka Bob

Hmm, so what are you guys saying? They're going to kill us all if we don't buy insurance?

is it my fault that the guy burned himself up in the capitol?
Is it my fault some guy went into a navy yard and opened fire?
Is it my fault people went nuts and shot up theaters?
I suppose the civil war and the bombing of hiroshima was my fault?
How about vietnam and every war in history? did I do that?
Is it my fault people dont buy insurance? or that you dont have it and want it?
Is it my fault people have been prejudice?
Is it my fault some believe in god and some dont?
Is it my fault?

Is any of this your fault? are you to blame?

None of this is our fault. We are as much as at fault here as china. O.o blame china for some guy burning himself up on the lawn. Right? Do you write the laws? Do you send people off to war? do your collect taxes? I don't do any of this. Do you? No. Then why are we always responsible?

We should have Apathy? How about not having a choice. Howbout not being there to do something about it and understanding that people who were there tried to stop it. You werent there, what could you have done? get off the guilt trips. That's not who this nation is and there is too much of it going around.

Here you want me to solve this insurance issue?
Its pretty simple.
The right to privacy the right to choice, automatically nullifies the individual mandate as per the 13 and 14th amendments .GUB just so you all know. You wanna help poor folks? Go focus on education and jobs. BAMM. If people are educated and have work, they can buy insurance when they want to. There you go. Problem solved. We'll all be fine.

Now go raise the debt limit and lets get on with life.

The question.....Is America smarter than a 3rd grader? Answer......NO

If I have to hear one more person talk about "risking the full faith and credit of the United States", I think I'm going to explode. It's so bad now, that I see Nancy Pelosi's face anytime I hear it....yeah, it's that's bad.

How much does the Gov't bring in with taxes????? 3 Trillion roughly. What's the Interest on the Debt????? 700 Billion roughly. So when the President states this false narrative, he is either a fear mongering idiot (like BUSH) or he thinks we are idiots. Really, those are the only 2 chooses. He is educated, so I'm too assume that he thinks the American people can't do 3rd grade math. 3 Trillion minus 700 Billion = 2.3 TRILLION LEFT. The question is Which programs do you choose, and that my friend is really what the fighting is about!

We have a better chance of a Politician saying something Intelligent, than a chance of the US defaulting on our debt.

reply to post by JWB408


Yes yes we're all stupid. Its a trickle down affect apparently.

reply to post by JWB408


But don't we need to transcend that hyper-partisan, hyperbole (including your own), to get anywhere that doesn't fall victim to the left/right paradigm?

Also, if shrinking the size and scope of the Federal Government is the objective, then the Republicans have really dropped the ball here there and everywhere (just look at the Bush years for example).

A new movement, a new voice and a new third party MUST take form, or the USA is just utterly screwed as it sits.

Obama has lost his "mojo" (no that's not a racist comment), and it's madness on both sides and Hillary Clinton and friends sure isn't the solution for 2016.

The American people are ripe for a quiet revolution. Someone with the wherewithal needs to form a viable, new third party, call it something like Progressive Conservative (PC) or something like that, a Party which will shrink the size of the Govt including the Military Industrial Complex (transforming the military as a strategic strike force) and de-militarize the bureaucracy and work to restore the Spirit of Liberty which is the hope of the Nation. Obama didn't do it but it CAN be done.

And for a leader you simply have the committee select and recruit the very best, and most highly qualified American citizen who isn't in bed with Big Business, and run him!

The system isn't "geared" for more than the two party system and that too simply HAS to be changed.

Everyone knows that the whole lot of the existing cronies ought to be thrown out on their asses, and they're prepared to do it, so give the American people a real option that's what I say.


p.s. I'm just a Canadian citizen who loves his friend and neighbors to the south, and I wasn't paid to post the preceding opinion.

reply to post by joeraynor


To answer the question in the heading straight away ? YES !

reply to post by joeraynor


To set yourself on fire is probably the worst thing you can do to yourself. If he was trying to make a point then the point has been made. He wanted to die in the worst possible way. What ever his message was, we all know that burning to death is the worst. I don't think this is related to Obama or society in general. It's just a sign of helplessness and frustration. I know everyone thinks the world is coming to an end because of Universal Healthcare since we are the first nation in the world to ever have tried it (sarcasm). The real issue is that people don't know how to cope with change in their life. They turn to alcohol or even drugs (legal or illegal) just so they can live this "American Dream" that was promised in the Constitution. Well it's not real. It's a dream. People need to understand that in today's world nothing is promised and it can be taken away if you are not prepared. Learn from your failures. It's life, there will be more than a few.

I feel bad for that man, but that isn't the solution for the problems with our government or our society.

Nice thread, sadly this has been reported almost like a side note to the normal news. I brought it up at work and two people had no idea it even happened.

That does have to be one of the most powerful statements someone can make, generally most peoples ideas of the worst way to die would be burning to death. For someone to choose to do this to themselves, and in that area, I agree they felt extremely strongly about something and they were trying to make a statement of most likely disgust.

They gave their live in a gruesome manner to make a point and no one seems to want to touch the story. I hope when more information is found on his background that it is made available to the public. This is a sad story and unbelievable that someone would feel the need to do that in what we like to consider the greatest nation in the world.

People come from all over the world here because it has been possible to reach their hopes and dreams here and many places don't provide that possibility. We are ruled more by greed now, I have no trust in anyone in power on either side. This so called "Affordable Care Act" seems to be anything but affordable and seems to target low income who used to be able to choose between health insurance or rent. The way the House has moved forward has been despicable also.

Growing up in a family with all immediate relatives serving active duty and throughout our history also both WWI and WWII as well for sure. With all that history I grew up very patriotic, it sucks to think I am fast becoming disgusted with my country.

reply to post by randyvs


lol... My own topic reminded me of that song before you even posted it.

reply to post by Nephalim


All of your ideas would work. But we have an elite in this country that has a vested interest in keeping a lower class in the lower class in this country. Think of a pyramid. These low information voters and poor to middle class people keep the system afloat for the CEOs of this country. They need more poor people working not climbing the social ladder. The CEO's at Walmart pay their employs bread crumbs compared to what they make an hour. And no one has a problem with it because we are taught to believe that these CEOs "worked hard for their millions". They deserve it! "Who are we to tell someone what they are doing with their private business". We are hard wired to respect and believe we can be rich like them. One day after working very hard I can be like them! It's a sadistic joke. And they will continue to find ways to prevent people from entering their class. Things don't happen in this country unless Big Money says so.

reply to post by inquisitive1977

Growing up in a family with all immediate relatives serving active duty and throughout our history also both WWI and WWII as well for sure. With all that history I grew up very patriotic, it sucks to think I am fast becoming disgusted with my country.

I think many people have recently learned that it is possible to be disgusted with our leadership and yet love the country and form of government. That old 'argument', "What, aren't you a patriot? Then sit down and shutup!" is finally going out of fashion, thankfully. In fact, I would even go so far as to say I am disgusted with our government because I love the country so much.

I really want to see my country become more than this machine that just goes around invading 4 countries picked out of a hat a decade, and has so much of the world's wealth, but yet is terrified some of it might fall into the hands of someone without "CEO" next to their name, or god help us, "MBA". Just let the government get back to watching what needs to be watched, and get the hell out of the rest of our lives it is so cozy with occupying. The deficit will reverse itself to a surplus in 3 years time and we won't have these stupid debt debates where they get to punish poor people with "sequestration" or shutdowns, or whatever the hell else they think will get their lobbyists more money.

reply to post by joeraynor

lol... My own topic reminded me of that song before you even posted it.

Then I'd say you have a pretty good grasp of what that song truly is
about. I refuse to derail your thread over it so I'll just give you an SnF.

reply to post by joeraynor


I'm going to share something that we all know. I just feel like spelling it out, M'Kay?

When humans started out (and I don't care if you go with creation or evolution or both),
that doesn't change the narrative in any way;

We were weak; we had to band together in small social groups just to survive,
or the critters ate us; or we starved to death.. it took small groups to gather
and store enough food; to gather or hunt enough food. To build good shelter.

We survived because we HAD to work together, and we did just that. If we
hadn't --- none of us would be here.

Now industrialization and 'cubification' and x-boxization and kardashianization
and even many forms of mysticization, religiousization and scientization have
put us all into little boxes.. and we've forgotten how to survive the human
way --- together.

If there are real 'bad dudez' out there, they have 'won' by helping us build up
our egos, and think that we don't need other people.

Its simple divide and conqueror.

That's all I have to say on this subject at this time.

KPB

KellyPrettyBear
reply to post by joeraynor

 

Now industrialization and 'cubification' and x-boxization and kardashianization
and even many forms of mysticization, religiousization and scientization have
put us all into little boxes.. and we've forgotten how to survive the human
way --- together.

For sure.

I think this is the real reason I hate the recent cellphone craze. It makes me feel like an old man and am barely nearing 30. I can't stand to see all these people, young and old pounding away with their thumbs so they can consume whatever form of pre-packaged media is targeted at their personal demographic, while they could be having a conversation with the person next to them on the bus, or god help us, looking at their family members face in the face. People say that technology has connected us... that is true, but only half true. It has given us more opportunities to meet people we never could before, but the flipside is the relationships are all far cheaper, and the the pursuit of these trivial relationships costs us the real ones right in front of us.

Not everything about the past is peachy, but I envy past generations for being without those things.

reply to post by joeraynor


I'm 52 and I got my first smart phone about a year ago.
My entire being rebels at the thought of being electronically
tethered. But I can read ATS during breaks without running
afoul of the corporate firewall, so it's worth it.

I use the device to educate myself, and perhaps to keep in
touch with kindred spirits, though that has yet to happen.

We are so electronically tethered and electronically pacified
that if someday the electricity goes out, I think the western
world would just sit down and start crying in confusion.

KPB