Inequality, student debt and millennials

a reply to: Metallicus

one of the few points I agree with you on...

and I'm not just saying that as a college student.

originally posted by: Nechash
a reply to: tavi45

People haven't been selfish. People have been materialistic. There's a difference in my book.

IMHO, there is nothing more selfish than demanding someone else pay for your ride.

originally posted by: Nechash
a reply to: tavi45

To some degree, but if you constantly sacrifice your own dreams for just a few more dollars, what is it that you truly value? I judge myself based upon my priorities. Materialists judge people based upon their outcomes. I'm truly selfish, and while I'm working to rectify the areas in which my selfishness injures others, I see no problem in accepting a diminished lifestyle from a materialist perspective if it means being more true to my own self.

Honestly, I think if we all behaved this way, leaving just a little room for friendliness and generosity, the world would be amazing. We might not have as much impressive stuff, but I think we'd all be happier and we'd get to live in a world where amazing people did amazing things on a daily basis instead of grinding away in a land where everyone struggles until they just can't keep it up anymore.

I don't disagree. A lot of unhappiness is rooted in comparing what you have to what others have and the continual struggle for more "stuff." There is lot to be said for living a simple life.

Aww, squirming a little already? Don't like the way you made your bed, oh, what a shame. Boo hoo. But look on the bright side! You'll have so many new challenges ahead! Like seeing the country to go hell in a handbasket.

Kids dropping out of college, people unable to get prescriptions filled, or see a doctor. Watching our kids kick the obesity epidemic, the baby boomers might even (whew! go ahead and start dying off! Maybe a teacher per 80 or 90 students. Oh, and if you can afford a big-ass gas hog, get one now! Might come in handy on those bumpy pot-hole filled roads you're going to be driving on. (Hint, surely they will remember to let you know when the bridges are no longer safe.) Oh, wait! They're not now.

Besides! College and universities were only intended for the wealthy from the git-go! So you're getting what you wanted.
Be quiet, now, and admire what you done.

Wallow in it.


And just think! We will probably be at war by the first of the new year! Think of all the tv ads you'll get to see with our soldiers coming home from this fruitless war with no arms, legs, with blindness and trauma spinal cord injuries. And hell yes, some sick person has the nerve to come to YOUR country........oh Man! they are OUTTAHERE! Hopefully it won't cost you a nickel.

a reply to: NavyDoc

If we exile a people to the desert and accuse them of laziness and uninventiveness when they can't summon forth paradise to raise them up, I think we engage in shortsighted prejudice. The people of this planet are victims of robbery and propaganda on a massive scale. Until those issues have been set right, I'm uncomfortable of accusing them of almost anything.

a reply to: NavyDoc

Exactly. If you do anything in life just to impress someone, or for the sole purpose of one upping someone with the latest material possession, you are living a lie. That type of narcissistic outlook on life is what causes so much pain and suffering for others around the world who just want to live a peaceful, and humble existence.

a reply to: onequestion

That's what the guidance of good mentors and parents can help erradicate from our society: Stupid college kids. The colleges aren't going to do it, and their "advisors" certainly don't do it.

I'm a huge advocate of personal responsibility, and at 19 years old I was trusted to live on my own in Germany and be prepared to fight for my country as a Soldier, during which time I was entrusted with aiding in both the prosecution of and defense of (at different times, of course) Soldiers accused of violating the UCMJ. I was intelligent enough to realize that going directly from high school to college was not for me because I needed a break from both schooling and my home town. I did something to rectify that issue--I took responsibility for my own life's direction, did not go in to debt, and now have a superficial degree and I graduated with honors (summa cum laude, which means nothing in the real world).

Every child who is expected to go to college has the mental capacity to reflect on their life and figure out what's best for them. Giving these kids a break is what causes the problem, not aid in solving it. Holding them accountable for their decisions (and their mentors, if any exist) is a step in the right direction.

a reply to: Nechash

But eventually they'll have their own country on the Mediterranian coast and be in a perpetual war with other countries, so why doesn't exiling a people to the desert sound like a good idea?

/sarc