[at-l] Re: Hiker Stink

[icw39@ncfreedom.net (Clark Wright)]

So true, so true - and I say that with no partisanship, 'cause I
disliked all three.  Some of my most interesting trail discussions last
summer were with folks who voted for Nader, and hated George W. Bush. 
It is fine to say one must stick with one's principles above all else
[i.e., vote for Nader, knowing he would not win and knowing it might
well sap enough from Gore to elect Bush], but if one says that, then one
has to NOT whine about Bush, and take one's medicine when others rightly
point out that such a vote definitely in essence and in fact got "Dubya"
elected . . . I reckon this, too, is an example of unintended
consequences, the interrelatedness of all things, and the fact that
there are often no easy answers to life's real problems and dilemmas.  I
also would observe on the issue of why Americans do not get out the vote
that well that - no matter how we point to income disparities, etc. - we
are ALL so incredibly well off in this country [even those below poverty
line in America, with certain rural exceptions, generally have a car, a
TV and some access to health care, however screwed up it may be]
relative to the rest of the world . . . 
While we have hugely important issues, they pale in comparison with the
issue facing the electorates in so many other countries . . . let's face
it; here in America we suffer from what I call "the Rome complex;" we
are so well off that we have the luxury of screaming at each other over
things like protecting national parks, protecting the AT, hiking the AT,
saving endangered species, deciding about social security benefits, etc.
etc.  What an INCREDIBLE change that represents relative to almost ALL
of recorded human history - and note how those civilizations that get to
where they have it too good generally fall and degenerate under the
weight of their collective hedonism . . . I wonder if there is any cure
for such a condition; even those of us who head off into the woods for
long stretches are really, in the end, just kidding ourselves as to the
inevitable inertia of society as a whole . . . we are the most minute
minority if we stay in shape, stay relatively self-sufficient, and
continue to value true libertarian principles of self-reliance,
self-responsibility, etc.  I am a realistic pessimist, but a cheerful
optimist on living life well in the meantime . . . 

lots of food for thought!

thru-thinker

"Bob C." wrote:
> 
> "... he wouldn't alter his behavior even the tiniest bit, nor did he care about
> how his attitudes affected other..."
> 
>  You mean like Ralph Nader and the Greens -- oh, sorry, I got carried away with
>  politics.
> 
>  Weary
> 
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