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Unagi604's Book of Randomness
Under Society's Thumb - Ignorance is bliss, but at what cost
I feel as though I am an intellectual thinker, and I know I would be happier if I wasn't. Sometimes I wish I was as dumb as the sheeple (sheep people) around me and just live life in ignorance, just going with the crowd. Like a lot of things in life, going on feelings only, it's always simple decision on the surface, but you may not know what it really means.

There's always an inherit "bad guy" in every argument, which is based on feelings. Because of this, stupid people get riled and bad decisions are made. It's just like Agent K said in Men in Black, "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it.". Without the influence of what society and social norms telling us how we should think, and instead using cold hearted logic alone, the world around becomes clearer, but more complex. Through the act of taking time to think, you may inadvertently become that "bad guy" that society doesn't like.

This is an example that actually happened to me. I came across a petition for an increase in prison sentences for *****. Obvious answer would be to sign it because those are ******** up people, and their actions are sick and wrong. But it's not that simple past the surface. I later told a friend about the petition, and before I could even get a chance to finish by saying I didn't sign it, he was already asking me where he could find it so he could get his name on the petition. I asked him, "Do you know what the current punishments are?", and he told me he didn't, so I asked him "Then how do you know the current punishments aren't enough?", and he had no answer. I didn't know what the current punishments were either, and I'm guessing a good portion of the people who signed it also didn't know. That didn't stop them from signing it though.

I'm not saying that I wouldn't sign the petition, but just because the petition exists, it isn't enough of a reason to be signing it. I would be asking, "What are the current punishments?", "Is there any evidence that increased prison sentences reduces offense rate once they're out of prison?", "How many tax dollars would it cost change the laws, and what is the cost to house the offenders in prison for the increased time?". If I told people I declined signing the petition without telling them why, they would just assume I'm one of those sick individuals. "If you're not with us, you're against us.". What ever happened to neutral? In a perfect world, I'd want people to be educated about the facts before making a decision. I mean really, if there was no reason at all not to increasing prison sentences, then they wouldn't need a petition to fight for it to begin with, it probably would have already been done.

I just dunno. People suck, they are the worst.


Unagi604
Community Member
  • [04/26/15 09:50am]
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