The Wild Maniacal Ride of the System as Told by Ghostsniper

by Vanderleun on January 29, 2020

“It’s not the people, the politicians, as history has proven time and time again, it’s the “system”. You too would be just like them if you were in their political shoes. You may be the most honest god fearing do-rightest person on the planet but you would fold right in with the mix and probably be pretty good the lying and thieving. Everybody is when they get in that position.

Sit back, pull that little handle on the side of your chair, lean waaay back, all the way. Close your eyes….and dream. Dream of a job where you get you paid a lot of money and have lots of assistants who just adore you. They do all the heavy lifting for you. All-day long, day after day, you are exposed to numerous opportunities to gain wealth and power. You sit in meeting after meeting with like-minded people that have one thing on their mind – wealth and power no matter what. Quickly you learn that you have to lie, repeatedly, with a straight face, and ignore your conscience. In a very short time, you’ll be lying like a pro and your conscience won’t even be a distant memory.

You will never be held accountable for your behavior no matter how despicable or illegal because all the people that could hold you accountable if they wanted to are even more despicable and criminal than you. Before too long you will figure out that the more despicable and criminal you are the higher up the ladder you will scale, and the more wealthy and powerful you will become. Yeah, you could get used to that.

Your 5 multi-million dollar houses, your million dollar wardrobe, your chauffeur, butler, and maids, the hookers and blow, all of the things that are part and parcel of the American kings. If anything ever threatened your new legal criminal lifestyle you would fight nail and tooth to not just derail your attacker but to absolutely destroy him, mind and body, as fast as possible.

Open your eyes, sit back up, push the handle back in, and think. People are people wherever you go and when they find themselves in an environment that benefits them opposite from what they always believed those same people adapt to that environment for it is most pleasing, and most pleasing is what life is all about. Yes, you too could be a politician and you could be dammed good at it.

One more time. It is NOT the people. It IS the system. It is deeply flawed and has been since it’s conception. Back when a million bux was really big money Jefferson stole 15 of them and bought Louisiana when he had no legal authority to do so but was he drawn and quartered because of that massive theft? The criminal US political system was already working as it should in 1803 and has excelled more than Tom could have ever imagined, just look around.

Political skirmishes come and go but the system broadens its criminal reach every single day until such time that it will no longer bear its incredible weight. There is no tool for which the citizens can wrest control of the system and therefore must go along on the ride. Many of the citizens like to think of themselves as front seat drivers, of a sort, giving silly directions, keeping track of the journey, etc. Some of the citizens have remained clear-headed and realizing they too are along on this maniacal ride and there is nothing to be done about it, they believe themselves to be hostages on the hot rails to hell. Cast that vote and reap that whirlwind. Or, understand that you are considered a criminal that can be caged and killed in an instant, and live true to yourself and everyone you know directly, and stand firm in your conviction that you will never be party to criminal behavior no matter how popular and stylish it is. Be an honest human being. Or be something else.

— Ghostsniper @ Linkskrieg!: Big Yucks from the Losers to Be of 2020 and a Big Win Watch for a Vietnam Vet

Comments on this entry are closed.

Bunny January 29, 2020, 9:08 AM

Okay, I’ll play. Someone else could no doubt do a much better job of it, but such a righteous screed, kudos to GS, deserves a response.

It seems to me this argument proceeds from two faulty ASSumptions. The first is that man has no free will to choose between good or evil intentions or actions. The second is that because he has no agency, he is determined to ape the worst behavior of those around him in a strictly self-interested fashion. These views are erroneous, as proven by examples in human history of moral action in the face of evil, even up to the point of self-sacrifice.

Furthermore, “You will never be held accountable for your behavior.” Seems that way, doesn’t it? But never say never, it’s a very long time. Since we have seen the opposite occur, it’s likely still a possibility that at some point the guilty may be held accountable, not that I’m holding my breath.

“…most pleasing is what life is all about.” While it’s true that most people generally seek pleasure and avoid pain, it does not follow that pleasure is what life is all about. In fact, most philosophers of a non-nihilist bent would disagree.
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/life-meaning/
Even Epicurus wasn’t that hedonistic.

As for the Louisiana Purchase, Congress approved the treaty and the money, and as stated by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall, “The Constitution confers absolutely on the government of the Union, the powers of making war, and of making treaties; consequently, that government possesses the power of acquiring territory, either by conquest or by treaty.”

The system as it stands is flawed and needs reform, but I agree with John Adams that “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” Maybe that’s crux of the matter. We’ve reached a low point on that score. Our government as founded depended on citizen participation. The U.S. has low levels of turnout. That in itself could be a signal to the “system.” What standing has someone who fails in that regard to criticize anything that happens in the polity?

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captflee January 29, 2020, 12:36 PM

The anti-federalists are looking pretty damned prescient here of late, no?

Patrick Henry certainly smelt that rat…

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Auntie Analogue January 29, 2020, 5:38 PM

Geez, ghostsniper, you sure used a hell of a lot of syllables to say what Lord Acton said:

“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

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Bunny January 30, 2020, 5:40 AM

Speaking of Lord Acton…
“Power does not corrupt people; rather corrupt people abuse their power. Power does not do things; people who have power do things. And whether the power is used properly or corruptly is up to the person…Acton was speaking of politics, so perhaps we should ask: Is political power unique? Political power is an awesome force, the costs of political power’s abuse are high, and we can never be sure of the character of our politicians. So prudence dictates that we should not concentrate power and that we have checks in place. But even here, politicians can use their power for good or bad. The power itself brings options with it, but the politicians choose which options to exercise…Taken literally, the ‘power corrupts’ line says that the power is the agent and the person is the vehicle through which power works. But that’s to reverse the order of causation. The person is the causal agent, and the power’s manifestation is the effect.
https://www.stephenhicks.org/2012/09/20/power-does-not-corrupt/

https://www.stephenhicks.org/2012/09/20/power-does-not-corrupt/

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ghostsniper January 30, 2020, 10:51 AM

I can’t figure how you 2 managed to read my entire “screed” and STILL not get it right.
I explained it again in the more recent post here

http://americandigest.org/john-adams-and-the-democracy-suicides/

let’s see if you miss it again.

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