"Never underestimate the power of human stupidity." - Lazarus Long

by MedfordTim on 12/30/2008 01:21:54 PM EST

It's going to take a lot of convincing before a certain group of people understand that reducing profits to increase long term productivity is a better plan than the instant gratification mentality that they suffer from now.

Every effort to better the masses is always met with naysayers who will immediately point to any set back along the way as unconditional failure.

They can't understand that the Wright brothers suffered many set backs before they actually achieved flight.

Left to these people after the first attempt the Wrights should have given up. Alexander Graham Bell should have called it quits when his phone didn't work with the first try. Of course we should still be lighting our homes with oil lamps because Edison should have called it quits after all the failures he had with the light bulb.

Pfizer should have never continued research on a pill for erectile Dysfunction......No I'm wrong there I'm sure that  they would have viewed that as worthy of continued research as long as no one tried to regulate them.

Bottom line you are always going to have a large, vocal, and well financed group who view long term investment on bettering the human condition as a waste of time, effort, and profits, Obama's most important job is selling these ideas to the masses to counteract the voices of the naysayers.

"Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservative." John Stuart Mill

by Hubble on 12/30/2008 01:24:01 PM EST

I agree with Hubble and Tim greatly here, and I think your asspirations for Obama are honorable, but I must say David, this is exactly the reason true Liberals don't hold power very long in this country - You "shoot for the moon" while the ground around you crumbles... To accomplish even 1 percent of what you offer would take an entire re-structuring of our economic system - basically by removing the profit motive that drives our lives - good luck with that! Try to get some goals that are actually doable, then you'll get my attention (and vote). :)

by bobo1 on 12/30/2008 02:01:02 PM EST

>What I want Obama to do is teach this country (and >the world) the value of being proactive, of taking action >BEFORE the problems occur.

nice thought, but honestly I don't see it, hopefully I'm wrong and Obama will take things in a direction no one has seen before.
A reasonable hope is that he might balance things out, bring America back to the situation under Clinton, but even that seems difficult, since Obama hasn't (so far) shown that he'll fight for the agenda most progressives want.
Even if he accomplishes universal healthcare, same sex civil unions and major infrastructure, including a new electricity grid, it would only put America on the same level as Wester-Europe and Japan (except on civil unions) on those issues.

> Let's regulate financial markets BEFORE the economic >meltdown. 

now this is something Obama can lead the way on, if America leads in this field, it will knock the wind out of the European conservatives' sails, the only defense they ever had for building in loopholes etc... in the regulation was the defense that is was needed in fear of economical disaster and that Europeans had to look at America. Now Europe needs more of the flexibility that the US has, but they should do it the right way.

> Let's educate kids BEFORE they become unproductive >adults.

more of an American problem, kids in Japan should probably get less hours of school a day, it's driving a lot of them mental 

>Let's fix bridges BEFORE they collapse.

American problem 

>Let's give people health care BEFORE they become sick,
>and let's get a system to pay for it BEFORE it >bankrupts people and companies.

American problem, just copy Canada or something and adjust for specifics

> Let's reduce environmental stress BEFORE >catastrophic environmental damage is caused.

true, something Obama can and must lead the world in

>Let's help people in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin >America BEFORE they become terrorists.

agree, something the whole Western World needs to do more

I would have had real hope of succes to achieve these things, if the Democrats had nominated Al Gore and he had won, but let's hope Obama nonetheless achieves those goals.

One more thing: vital for America's image abroad is a thorough investigation of and lawsuits against members of the Bush administration. If they get a pass, the USA will just be another hypocrit of a superpower.

by callisto on 12/30/2008 03:33:29 PM EST

 but the obstructionist conservatives are already saying the money it would take to  rebuild the countries infrastructure  would be  wasteful (even after Obama said no ear marks and they threw away 700 billion of our money supporting their fat cat buddies).  The conservatives are more concerned with seeming relevent as a way to help rebuild their party than they are with helping rebuild the country . Thankfully  every election there are less and less of them to have to contend with.

I think Obama can pull it off in  for the most part.

by Chinese Democracy on 12/30/2008 03:39:08 PM EST

What we're talking about is a change in collective consciousness; I think this will happen slowly - if it were to happen quickly, we would need to dismantle our culture and economy overnight.

But subtle and slow change is of value, it is the way of evolution.  The visionaries are usually well aware that they won't live long enough to see the changes they affect, which makes their [public] service all the more meaningful.

I think much of what you listed can be accomplished if the electorate holds onto the lesson they learned after 2 terms of Bush, and continues to elect our most intelligent and pragmatic minds....  I hope, anyway.

by MsGinger on 12/30/2008 04:07:36 PM EST

Dave, you've always struck me as a person of rigid logic, and I don't mean an unreasonable kind of logic, but that when you are presented with a set of circumstances your first instinct is to turn to your powers of logic. You perceive, then you evaluate options and outcomes for their positives and negatives, then you make a decision and all the while you remain open to new information, should it present itself. Sadly, you are in the minority.

All of those things you are pleading for make too much sense for them to ever actually be implemented. Not only does it not occur to most people what makes sense and what doesn't; many people lack the analytical thinking skills to even ponder the dilemmas of our day

One of the things that's so frustrating is that our problems are completely solveable. The answers are there, technology is there or will be, people can change and generally want to do the right thing. It's just that the solutions require forethought and initiative.  

For a bunch of upright talking apes we've done some amazing things but most of us are happy enough to beat our chests and have a snack, crap out of a few kids and call it a life.

Still, I'm hopefuly.  

by Badass4Peace on 12/30/2008 08:37:48 PM EST

...i feel so tainted in vision when i read you....

by sfinneganus on 12/30/2008 08:43:25 PM EST

Isn't that called a preemptive strike?

by nmaks on 12/31/2008 11:12:55 AM EST

by tifosies on 12/31/2008 07:16:51 PM EST

If you want to be so proactive, I guess you agree that entering Iraq was a good idea, and entering Iran in the future, and North Korea, and ...

Don't talk about religion or politics, my ass!

by TheRob91 on 01/01/2009 01:01:14 AM EST