Those who believe in a higher power do better in terms of morality, gluttony, addiction, etc?
Beats me. I can tell you it makes a difference for me.
Here on a former rez the Native American community is having trouble with youth drug use, gang membership, suicide. It has been suggested that a cause may be a general lack of spirituality with the current generation, Native American spirituality or otherwise. Suffer a social setback, drugs make it feel better. Gangs substitute for family moral support. Suicide when one seems doomed to perpetual failure. Why not when there's nothing beyond how you feel today.
I think you see that in society at large, though not as acutely. Suicide rates have increased steadily since 2000 (NIH). I don't think I have to provide a source showing drug abuse and gang membership have grown markedly during the same period. Pew Research tracked a decline in religious affiliation.
Does the correlation mean anything? I don't know but it would be a good topic for investigation by those who enjoy Sociology.
Those who enjoy Sociology started predicting these results when I was in grammar school.
Yes, I know, what fifth grader reads Sociology papers? I did. Excerpts thereof, anyway.
Sociologists in the '60s predicted rising rates of crime, of homosexuality, of major mental illnesses, as human populations became more crowded.
There are simply too many people on the planet.
And even though America reached zero population growth in the late '60s or early '70s, the leftists are bound and determined to import enough people to ensure America receives her share of overcrowded misery.
Coincidentally, many of the leaders on the right need the population increases to prop up their ponzi schemes of deficit spending.
Originally Posted by nighthawk
Idaho Shooter, to me it gets down to questions that have been constant through the millennia. Why are we here? What's the point of living? And up pops Ethics, a rational person chooses to act in a way that (in his evaluation) brings about a preponderance of satisfying consequences. Without a higher purpose I'd be all over natural desires, lust, gluttony, and so forth. Where's the down side? Get caught and do an Epstein.
I would define rational as the ability to forestall immediate gratification to accomplish long term gain and the ability to make the unselfish choice to benefit your family and community.
Why am I here? Don't care, does not matter. I think, there for I am. Make the best of it.
What's the point of living? To watch my wonderful kids and then grandchildren blossom into adulthood.
These few quoted posts might just be the most interesting ones in this thread..............for me at least.
I'll agree (I think Gus does too) that "There are simply too many people on the planet. "
And that is likely the cause of a good many of our problems. However, as Idaho_Shooter points out, ponzi schemes or not, our economic system runs on growth of new consumers. Investment in companies, which drives a big portion of our system, demands returns fueled by growth and consumption. So I, for one, don't see any way other than a complete change in the system to address the underlying issues. Unfortunately, I don't know of a better system to propose that would allow for this: "To watch my wonderful kids and then grandchildren blossom into adulthood." Unless one wants to see them blossom into poverty.
Why am I here? Maybe just to continue the cycle and feed the worms. Actually the fishes if I get my wish to be buried at sea in a shroud with a weight on my feet. My "God/Supreme Being/Great Father/Master of the Universe/He/She/It/Them/" would allow for that to be my one and only purpose if that's the choice. Could their be a higher purpose? I don't know, but I think if I do as good a job as I can and try to live a good job, the fishes might end up happy.
Geno
The desert is a true treasure for him who seeks refuge from men and the evil of men. In it is contentment In it is death and all you seek (Quoted from "The Bleeding of the Stone" Ibrahim Al-Koni)
