Reading the bible, at least the old testament, it’s pretty obvious that the commandments generally apply only towards your fellow kin (that is, another devout person of the religion). Everybody else is usually fair game (for example, during war with an outside tribe you could [should] do whatever - murder, rape, kidnap, steal, etc.)

Thank you for explaining, and I agree.

For general reference, here are some books I’ve enjoyed that touch upon improving democracy:

• Getting Free: Creating An Association Of Democratic Autonomous Neighborhoods (James Herod)
• Turning To One Another: Simple Conversations To Restore Hope To The Future (Margaret J. Wheatley)
• The Great Turning: From Empire To Earth Community (David C. Korten)
• Beyond Outrage: What Has Gone Wrong With Our Economy And Our Democracy, And How To Fix It (Robert B. Reich)

Do you mean representative democracies? Or all democracies? If all then why, and what do you believe would be better?

They represent the bottom/extreme evil side, not the average. Human nature is a full spectrum of possible good behaviors and bad behaviors. People are mirrors, they reflect their environment, the conditions and ideas that they’ve been exposed to. They are shaped and limited by the overall systems that they are living under, that they did not choose/built themselves.

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they want to keep you riled up thinking someone is right around the corner waiting to get you

missing teenage girl posts

It’s tragically ironic, because they (the people at the top) could be seen as the biggest threat in these cases, with their system of sex trafficking/rape islands/etc.

COINTELPRO never went away

I doubt it but I hope it somehow signifies a lasting slowing down of imperialism, of protecting the interests/profits of foreign corporations over local populations.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953_Iranian_coup_d'état

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_involvement_in_the_Iraq_War

What’s needed is a program that analyzes and pinpoints the conditions that create violent behavior and uproots them (for example, living in scarcity with no economic security and feeling marginalized, having no empathetic communal support system, etc.)

(cc: James Gilligan)

This is heartbreaking. The psychopaths at the top are actively sacrificing human lives. Cutting back programs like FEMA/disaster aid.

The population. This theoretical organization would need to be safe guarded enough that the people would believe they can be frank in expressing their wants without being afraid of repercussions from their regime or external forces. (so for example, if the people say they want socialism, with things like cooperatives and local gardens, then the people from the international organization would help them achieve that)

The problem is that the people at the top don’t want informed citizens. There should be a citizenry(?) class through 3 years of high school, and there should be a sort of public access channel (including online) that disseminates all relevant political information (local and general).

Iranian people need to overwhelmingly decide to do it

The issue with this is that it’s terrifying for the vast majority of people to try and resist a murderous autocratic regime, especially when you’re not sure if enough other people in your vicinity will (successfully) have your back to make sure that you’re not kidnapped and tortured or shot right in the street.

Ideally, we should have an international nonviolent organization that could arrive wherever needed to help a population get out of the shackles (with no strings attached)

Or send their goon squad to your IRL location to beat some sense into you

I can only add my own personal experience - generally I can only stomach water in small amounts. It just doesn’t go down as smoothly as other drinks (juice for me). It feels like my mouth/throat rejects it a tiny bit.

(for reference, I drink some filtered tap water after every cup of juice)

In my wild dreams I see them carrying out a positive version of the Business Plot