Leaning

AMERICAN BORDERS

I'm not sure how well America 'can control it's border.

Especially in an age of planes, trains, and automobiles.

But then again, I'm not familiar with other countries circumstances, methods, and rates of success.

. . .

TRUMPS METHODS

Do Trumps public methods and actions, discourage attempted illegal immigration?

I don't know.

I've heard people argue in the past of crime, that people are more afraid of chances of being caught, than the punishment.

. . . But then, won't people figure they are more likely to get caught, if ICE and Trump methods are constantly being blared?

One questions the effectiveness of hanging petty thieves in England,

But I'd imagine the events being publicized increased in people's 'minds, the idea of being caught.

. . . Might be Trump is getting lucky with the amount of attention everyone is giving his methods,

Not that people 'shouldn't give his methods scrutiny, there is a lot disagreeable with them.

. . But I'd imagine ICE and Trump being so in sight, might increase the odds of being caught in the minds of illegal immigrants.

. . .

BINARY CHOICES

Reminds me of the drug wars,

Are you against drugs?

Yes,

So you want us to throw people in prison for petty drug offenses?

No,

So you want us to legalize drugs?

No.

Well, pick a choice, you have two.

. . .

Also remember Abortion debates and laws recently?

Again binary frustration,

Guns, also often binary frustration.

I suppose it might be a fear of slippery slope,

Sure people 'say there's no slippery slope, but what a load of bull.

DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES

Personally I think America is going to change vastly from immigration and demographic changes.

Just goes to show the error of groups with little to no identity in my mind.

Sure America is great for the individual, (For a time), but I don't think individuals have a lasting power.

PULLING FAMILIES AWAY

We could keep families together.

INHUMANE

Eh, I'm not sure it's inhumane to deport people.

The inhumane part maybe is in WW2 deporting them back to Nazi Germany,

I vaguely recall claims that modern America is departing people to countries other than country of origin, or to foreign country prisons, or to third world countries, or to situations where others are going to kill them gangs or government.

SOLUTIONS IN MY VIEW

Technology, Xenophobia, Tribalism, Isolationism, Community.

People who care about their blood and culture, should found new dormitory cities and counties, where residents and travel is closely tracked.

I don't think such is applicable to 'current America, maybe we shouldn't want it either,

But if one cares about one's blood and culture, one is going to need to create new nations within America I think.

I often wish food companies had to identify their products by each new change,

When changing the method, quality control, ingredients, proportions, something or other,

Should declare and admit it to be a new version, a new product.

@SergeantLynch

Well, no where to hide 'easily,

If one 'wanted to hide, wouldn't be too hard I think.

It's just that there are so many nice conviences by abiding and being in society normal like.

Eh, maybe we'll get lucky, and the next hundered to a thousand years will be awesome,

Heh, though maybe we won't and post WW2 to next major conflict, will be one of the greatest moments for humans (In some places).

@Leaning

Maybe design a game to be a game inside a game?

This way you won't be bothered by the difficulty of awesome science fiction and fantasy not clicking quite right with science?

In some forms of fictional magic, parts of a person are used as a medium of sorts.

Whether voodoo or tracking.

I suppose science can be similar in some ways.

Fingerprints can be used for tracking people, or allowing access through locked doors.

Some viruses and diseases, effect people of certain genetics more.

Dogs can track based on scrap of person or clothing.

People have talked about giving robots a sense of smell.

Knowing someone's true name,

Knowing someone's name and address,

Mailing them items.

I wonder if any country or cult is going to genetically engineer their people to no longer be able to produce with other humans.

'Othering outsiders, is often a strategy of some groups.

Or othering insiders.

I think video could be improved by debate in some form being introduced,

If it's not a livestream, I don't 'think it's bad to write a rough script outline, then dub it over with such.

I've never played Fall Guys,

Though Tetris was a bit fun the few times I've played it in life.

. . . But people closer to games, sometimes have a more established or quicker idea of aspects that can be debated.

One could debate the function of luck in Tetris maybe?

Or perhaps Fall Guys has some type of lore that could be debated or compared to real life existences.

Lot of game shows in real life for example, questions of whether sport is degrading to contestants, questions of whether shows have insurance or waivers for bodily harm incurred during competition.

Still, you say there is more coming,

And arguably debate aspect of channel can still take place in the comments.

It suddenly occurs to me, maybe the most possible method to have Gundam, person piloted giant robots,

Would be to have the story focus on a group of 'tiny aliens, maybe mouse or ant sized?

@SatanLucy

That's worried me before in the past,

Problem of identity I mean.

Ship of Theseus and all that.

Haven't thought about it in a while though.

I remember seeing a few pages of my talking about it in a past notebook I flipped through a few days ago.

I think I'd still have fun playing games I played when I was younger, I'm just busy.

@Self

World of Warcraft for machinima?

Hm, maybe a custom game server with more options?

More animations, characters, items?

A divergent history of Benedict Arnold could work pretty well with Arnold as Macbeth.

I've wondered that as well.

Some 'do seem pretty smart.

I also assume that surely scientists frequently try to teach other organisms various methods of language, to attempt to communicate with them.

Course, various animals also get compared to humans in various degrees of age.

Two year old human compared to a dog for instance.

Doesn't really make me happy either,

Best solution, remove humans from Earth, then destroy Earth.

That way we can be sure nothing nonhuman is suffering, as nothing nonhuman would exist.

Well, besides whatever we grow and eat on our spaceships maybe.

I wonder that economic gambling tournaments contests or bets are not more common.

Bah, sign me up then.

The world once looked clear, black and white,

The floor seemed solid,

One day it broke,

And I fell into a void, yet lit with light,

The colors mixed together gray, becoming indistinguishable,

Then burst in blue, orange, and every color conceived,

Whirled and flashed, meaningless,

Made me sick.

Someone once argued I was an Absurdist, rather than a Nihilist,

I prefer the label Nihilist,

It's the dissatisfaction I think, sickness and anger, frustration and horror,

Intellect at odd with Instincts learned or innate.

Absurdist's in my view, give up in a way somehow, accept the existence of it all,

The insanity of it all,

Somehow seem too 'happy.

Nor do I care to call myself an Existentialist,

Such a title seems to imply one can create or manage meaning,

But it's all illusion, a lie.

Better to admit such, even if one cannot help moving.

My first thought is what about local elections?

What if a town is 90% 18-29 year olds?

But eh, maybe that's not so likely.

Young adults are still developing and adjusting to freedom I suppose,

, , , Hm, but are also a fresh look at the world,

Maybe not as biased by it yet, still have connection to what it was 'like as a kid under various laws.

Just glanced skimmed through various journals of mine physical and digital ones,

2013 to now.

THERE WAS A LOT!

Looks like I read for the first time a 'lot of philosophy books after I joined the military.

Plato, Camus, Machiavelli, Mencius, Confucious, Marcus Aurelius, Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

Read lot of books about history events and people,

Nuremberg, American Civil War, China Cultural Revolution, Trotsky, Iran Dictatorships, WW2, Rwanda (Shake Hands with the Devil)

Fiction,

I remember I read the Sea Wolf for the first time, and was struck with how my own original thoughts were in the book. Connected with them.

Reread Crime and Punishment,

Read Candide by Voltaire.

More than what is mentioned.

Also sank more into Nihilism,

I recall I debated that 3 or 6 times on DDO,

Resulting in viewing all morality a bit indifferently, one path as good as another.

But one is human, and cares and settles on paths,

Even found around the time I joined Debate.org 16Nov2017,

There's a page in my notebook where I talk about how I've been thinking of joining the site, but worried about failing in debates or looking stupid.

Some 6 months later, another notebook page where I muse on how much my beliefs have changed.

Though I think it was more due to picking labels and vocalizing my thoughts, taking sides.

Early on my profile stated I was a flip flopper on Theism vs Atheism,

By 2018, I think I had settled on Atheist.

It occurs to me that as one labels themself, they solidify in that position, knee jerk agree with their label maybe,

Though even back in 2013, I have pages talking about my doubts in God,

But furthest back notes, I appear to still believe in God, I'm just not 'practicing or worshipping him, I'd already leaned towards Egoism and Selfishness.

But then again, 12Jan2018, I mention a horrible sensation of feeling close to God. Some experience or interaction triggering it. Followed by pain and aversion, and a intentional turning away by myself and ignoring of it.

2017 I mention on how much I dislike the Anti-Theists on DDO,

Some months or years later I talk of how much I value politeness.

I think my loss of religion resulted in my being more tribalistic.

Was also a lot going on in America on the news after I joined, well, always 'something going on I suppose,

I remember Ferguson being on the news in 2014.

I see frequent fears in my notebook 2013 and on about fearing being wrong or looking foolish.

Possibly due to my Dad, possibly due to loss of religion and fearing being wrong again? (Shrug)

2020 in a PM on DDO I state,

"I do not believe in the Christian God, or any afterlife."

20??

I noted my surprise at Trump first presidency,

Some point after he took office, I made some note on my dislike of politics and or media misrepresenting him in my view.

Military might have also pushed me more right.

20??

I muse on why aren't there more criminals?

I 'mean 'it when I say I was a bit crazy back then and selfish, though not 'acting evilly,

I had a 'great desire for enormous power and a longer life,

Surely I thought, people are capable of getting away with crime, why 'don't they commit it then?

Of course now I can see more reasons not to, and now 'feel various reasons not to.

And even then I had and felt some reasons,

But it confused me that if there was no punishment beyond Earth, why don't more people commit crime?

20??

One past thought I've forgotten, spoke on my doubt that I could ever fully 'not believe in God.

And there is truth to that, once I was a theist with some doubts,

Now, even now, though I am an Atheist, I am not free of doubts of God or an after,

Still, I feel sure enough, comfortable enough, that I label myself an Atheist, 'act as one doubtful of God or an after.

MORE NOT MENTIONED

But one only has so much time or willingness to muse on past thoughts,

And I muse on the difficulty of seeing oneself and one's journey through life.

Perhaps if I had different more structured journals, methods, or reviews.

Or the ability to control f my paper ones for search words.

Maybe if one spent each day rereading X amount and meditating or writing 2nd books with each notebook to better explain on old thoughts.

(Shrug)

When I do die someday,

Might be neat if they used my body for something artful, but not so useful as science.

Turn me into paint, then paint a canvas of me when I was last alive,

Turn my bone into dice,

Encase my body in molten bronze and polish out a statue,

Bury me in the Earth and plant a tree in my body,

Something cool.

Some people like sports, competition,

Whether watching or achieving.

Ranked and Unranked exist in video games,

Unranked being more casual relaxed I think.

Ranked, higher expectations of ability.

Separations of people is not always bad,

People look forward to high ranked individuals sometimes, ranking allows them to be more easily found,

Ranking allows people looking for even looking fights, to find people of similar skill.

Though I've never been terribly concerned with my rank in debates before.

What do you consider yourself now?

Atheist? Agnostic? Other?

Believe in

Objective morality?

Souls?

Even if technical, I'm curious.

#27

Heh, that thought 'did occur to me.

But I figured, eh, semantics, and close enough.

Regardless of morality and/or effectiveness,

The thought occurs to me that there is near always some individuals of degrees of suicidality.

Whether suicide bombers, kamikaze pilots, or assassins.

Even were one to only ask for volunteers, one could probably find willing individuals.

More or less depending on what is offered them,

Perhaps nothing,

Perhaps duty to their tribe,

Perhaps fame,

Perhaps money and support to their loved ones,

Promises in an afterlife,

Other.

Was looking at some past journal entries 2013-2018,

I look pretty crazy.

Lot of the entries talked about immortality, or at least life extension as seeming to me the most logical pursuit for a human.

I wondered how far an amoral scientific dictator focusing primarily on that, might get.

But alas, seems I've given up and was unwilling to take risks in life to try to achieve power and possible longer life.

. . .

Guaranteed?

Eh, even if 'technically nothing might be certain, such is not what a lot of people think or speak, I think.

People have expected certainties,

2+2=4, every empire dies eventually.

. . . Rule of thumb maybe, but (Shrug).

Lot of people have never heard or seen someone coming back from the dead, something beyond this life, or existing in a state by which they were immune to various erosions of time.

'Everything seems to die, or at least we expect such, even gold, even the sun.

Well, 'maybe not energy, but people are more than 'just energy some think.

Humans, we might have once thought it was impossible for them to fly,

But fly we have.

But some people dreamed.

. . .

Death, even with immortality, one might figure 'eventually something get's you.

Too much information, heart attack, knife attack, heat death of universe,

Probabilities, 'eventually something.

One can not become 'immortal perhaps, but somewhat persistent.

I really wonder what and why you believe.

I wonder if people prefer audiobooks that do accents and slightly different sounding voice, when reading different character lines.

Personally, I'm not terribly convinced that if God existed,

He would be responsible for everything,

Regardless of knowledge or influence.

Course I also think the Bible is pretty vague on 'what everything is, where it comes from and goes.

Sure one can 'say it says X pretty clearly, but I have a hard time telling metaphors, symbols, shorthand, sometimes.

. . . Or perhaps I am not convinced that even were God responsible for everything, that other people would lack responsibility themselves.

How did the change of faith influence other connected beliefs?

Morality?

Afterlife?

Souls?

Consciousness?

Meaning?

Human value?

Other?

"If you knew without any doubt that you had a year to live.

What would you do with your time?" - melcharaz

I'd probably give up on any ideas of creating anything great,

Though I might still fool around with some ideas for the sake of amusement.

I might eat a lot more food, play a lot more video games, go out more to look at forest trails, beaches, blue skies, mountains, and the moon.

Might also change 'nothing in everything I currently do. Unsure.

Four outlier possibilities are,

1 Desperately seek the truth of existence by talking with people in person of what they believe and why,

2 Desperately try to do good in world, by helping others, not minding if I risk my life (Not out of belief in afterlife, but wanting to have made a difference for good in the world that is)

3 Desperately try for good in the world by evil works.

4 Desperately try for evil and/or fame in the world by evil works.

"Who would you reach for?" - melcharaz

Probably myself.

What would be your main focus? - melcharaz

Probably myself

What will you leave when the year is up? - melcharaz

Most likely some money and possessions to friends and family,

Also regret, but I expect to regret no matter my age or achievements when I die someday.

I suppose I might leave some fond memories to friends an families,

Maybe I've help some strangers and acquaintances in small ways over the years,

Hopefully had some small positive influences on others.

Hard to say what outcomes result from actions,

Big or small actions, outcomes vary.

Big things can strongly help or hurt people.

Small things can strongly help or hurt people.

Big things can little help or hurt people.

Small things can little help or hurt people,

Long outcomes hard to guess,

Even small changes in direction can lead to more than we know.

"I could very easily alter my belief system to make it coherent, but that’s not an honest evaluation of reality, that’s just me picking and choosing what I want to believe then figuring out how to justify it." #28 Double_R

Hm,

When someone holds a strong belief, it seems reasonable to me that the belief is modified for a time until it becomes unlikely or untenable.

Long held ingrained theory seems the most obvious conclusion, so first one modifies one's most obvious theory.

If someone tells me they left the broom in the supply closet,

I may form a theory that the broom is in the supply closet, sub theory that it is on the specific broom hook that has the words broom over it,

Because that is where the broom goes, I have seen it there before, placed it there other times.

I go to the supply closet and do not see the broom on the broom hook.

Should a person discount their first theory of the broom being in the supply closet?

New theory emerging that the person has lied?

Maybe,

Some people are more or less trusting, some people more or less trusted than other people.

But it seems to me a reasonable reaction to first look around the supply closet, to see if the friend placed it somewhere other than the hook.

Even the theory that the friend 'put it in the supply closet may be true, maybe someone else removed it.

Out of curiosity,

Why not take a different view as to what Hell was/entailed?

People have a lot of different views as to what Hell might be.

I suppose one 'could make individual songs for each lost Primarch.

Either conspiracy theory songs or reminiscing by other characters, of what little bits are mentioned in the books.

Sometimes I click on YouTube videos, but don't watch them, I just read the comments.