PDA

View Full Version : Get Ready for a G.O.P. Rerun



BoomerJack
1/4/2011, 12:04 PM
By BOB HERBERT - New York Times

You just can’t close the door on this crowd. The party that brought us the worst economy since the Great Depression, that led us into Iraq and the worst foreign policy disaster in American history, that would like to take a hammer to Social Security and a chisel to Medicare, is back in control of the House of Representatives with the expressed mission of undermining all things Obama.

Once we had Dick Cheney telling us that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and belligerently asserting that deficits don’t matter. We had Phil Gramm, Enron’s favorite senator and John McCain’s economic guru, blithely assuring us in 2008 that we were suffering from a “mental recession.”

(Mr. Gramm was some piece of work. A champion of deregulation, he was disdainful of ordinary people. “We’re the only nation in the world,” he once said, “where all of our poor people are fat.”)

Maybe the voters missed the entertainment value of the hard-hearted, compulsively destructive G.O.P. headliners. Maybe they viewed them the way audiences saw the larger-than-life villains in old-time melodramas. It must be something like that because it’s awfully hard to miss the actual policies of a gang that almost wrecked the country.

In any event, the G.O.P. has taken its place once again as the House majority and is vowing to do what it does best, which is make somebody miserable — in this case, President Obama. Representative Darrell Issa, the California Republican who is now chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said recently on the Rush Limbaugh program that Mr. Obama was “one of the most corrupt presidents in modern times.” He backed off a little on Sunday, saying that what he really thinks is that Mr. Obama is presiding over “one of the most corrupt administrations.”

This is the attitude of a man who has the power of subpoena and plans to conduct hundreds of hearings into the administration’s activities.

The mantra for Mr. Issa and the rest of the newly empowered Republicans in the House, including the new Budget Committee chairman, Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, is to cut spending and shrink government. But what’s really coming are patented G.O.P. efforts to spread misery beyond Mr. Obama and the Democrats to ordinary Americans struggling in what are still very difficult times.

It was ever thus. The fundamental mission of the G.O.P. is to shovel ever more money to those who are already rich. That’s why you got all that disgracefully phony rhetoric from Republicans about attacking budget deficits and embracing austerity while at the same time they were fighting like mad people to pile up the better part of a trillion dollars in new debt by extending the Bush tax cuts.

This is a party that has mastered the art of taking from the poor and the middle class and giving to the rich. We should at least be clear about this and stop being repeatedly hoodwinked — like Charlie Brown trying to kick Lucy’s football — by G.O.P. claims of fiscal responsibility.

There’s a reason the G.O.P. reveres Ronald Reagan and it’s not because of his fiscal probity. As Garry Wills wrote in “Reagan’s America”:

“Reagan nearly tripled the deficit in his eight years, and never made a realistic proposal for cutting it. As the biographer Lou Cannon noted, it was unfair for critics to say that Reagan was trying to balance the budget on the backs of the poor, since ‘he never seriously attempted to balance the budget at all.’ ”

We’ll see and hear a lot of populist foolishness from the Republicans as 2011 and 2012 unfold, but their underlying motivation is always the same. They are about making the rich richer. Thus it was not at all surprising to read on Politico that the new head of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Fred Upton of Michigan, had hired a former big-time lobbyist for the hospital and pharmaceuticals industries to oversee health care issues.

I remember President Bush going on television in September 2008, looking almost dazed as he said to the American people, “Our entire economy is in danger.”

Have we forgotten already who put us in such grave peril? Republicans benefit from the fact that memories are short and statutes of limitations shorter. It was the Republican leader in the House, Tom DeLay, who insisted against all reason and all the evidence of history that “nothing is more important in the face of war than cutting taxes.”

But that’s all water under the bridge. The Republicans are back in control of the House, ready to run interference for the rich as recklessly and belligerently as ever.

olevetonahill
1/4/2011, 12:18 PM
AS if we dont have enough any direction leaning Whack jobs here. This dude comes out the closet :rolleyes:

pphilfran
1/4/2011, 12:47 PM
Whenever an article states "The party that brought us the worst economy since the Great Depression..." you can rest assured that it is unbiased and accurate...

The libs need to read up on Brooksley Born and banking turmoil during Clinton's term...

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/warning/interviews/born.html#

My Opinion Matters
1/4/2011, 12:48 PM
Cool, we'll blame the Republicans for the next two years. After that, when the Democrats regain control, we'll blame them. I look forward to repeating this process from now until the end of time.

Aldebaran
1/4/2011, 12:50 PM
Time has no beginning or end. It's a figment of our human imagination.

My Opinion Matters
1/4/2011, 12:50 PM
And if this doesn't bring Tuba out of hiding then nothing will.

dwarthog
1/4/2011, 12:50 PM
Pot, Kettle, Black...

Gotta love the moonbats at the NYT's....

My Opinion Matters
1/4/2011, 12:55 PM
Time has no beginning or end. It's a figment of our human imagination.

http://i52.tinypic.com/2d6skgp.jpg

The
1/4/2011, 01:01 PM
Time has no beginning or end. It's a figment of our human imagination.

You were on your way home when you died.
It was a car accident. Nothing particularly remarkable, but fatal nonetheless. You left behind a wife and two children. It was a painless death. The EMTs tried their best to save you, but to no avail. Your body was so utterly shattered you were better off, trust me.
And that’s when you met me.
“What… what happened?” You asked. “Where am I?”
“You died,” I said, matter-of-factly. No point in mincing words.
“There was a… a truck and it was skidding…”
“Yup,” I said.
“I… I died?”
“Yup. But don’t feel bad about it. Everyone dies,” I said.
You looked around. There was nothingness. Just you and me. “What is this place?” You asked. “Is this the afterlife?”
“More or less,” I said.
“Are you god?” You asked.
“Yup,” I replied. “I’m God.”
“My kids… my wife,” you said.
“What about them?”
“Will they be all right?”
“That’s what I like to see,” I said. “You just died and your main concern is for your family. That’s good stuff right there.”
You looked at me with fascination. To you, I didn’t look like God. I just looked like some man. Or possibly a woman. Some vague authority figure, maybe. More of a grammar school teacher than the almighty.
“Don’t worry,” I said. “They’ll be fine. Your kids will remember you as perfect in every way. They didn’t have time to grow contempt for you. Your wife will cry on the outside, but will be secretly relieved. To be fair, your marriage was falling apart. If it’s any consolation, she’ll feel very guilty for feeling relieved.”
“Oh,” you said. “So what happens now? Do I go to heaven or hell or something?”
“Neither,” I said. “You’ll be reincarnated.”
“Ah,” you said. “So the Hindus were right,”
“All religions are right in their own way,” I said. “Walk with me.”
You followed along as we strode through the void. “Where are we going?”
“Nowhere in particular,” I said. “It’s just nice to walk while we talk.”
“So what’s the point, then?” You asked. “When I get reborn, I’ll just be a blank slate, right? A baby. So all my experiences and everything I did in this life won’t matter.”
“Not so!” I said. “You have within you all the knowledge and experiences of all your past lives. You just don’t remember them right now.”
I stopped walking and took you by the shoulders. “Your soul is more magnificent, beautiful, and gigantic than you can possibly imagine. A human mind can only contain a tiny fraction of what you are. It’s like sticking your finger in a glass of water to see if it’s hot or cold. You put a tiny part of yourself into the vessel, and when you bring it back out, you’ve gained all the experiences it had.
“You’ve been in a human for the last 48 years, so you haven’t stretched out yet and felt the rest of your immense consciousness. If we hung out here for long enough, you’d start remembering everything. But there’s no point to doing that between each life.”
“How many times have I been reincarnated, then?”
“Oh lots. Lots and lots. An in to lots of different lives.” I said. “This time around, you’ll be a Chinese peasant girl in 540 AD.”
“Wait, what?” You stammered. “You’re sending me back in time?”
“Well, I guess technically. Time, as you know it, only exists in your universe. Things are different where I come from.”
“Where you come from?” You said.
“Oh sure,” I explained “I come from somewhere. Somewhere else. And there are others like me. I know you’ll want to know what it’s like there, but honestly you wouldn’t understand.”
“Oh,” you said, a little let down. “But wait. If I get reincarnated to other places in time, I could have interacted with myself at some point.”
“Sure. Happens all the time. And with both lives only aware of their own lifespan you don’t even know it’s happening.”
“So what’s the point of it all?”
“Seriously?” I asked. “Seriously? You’re asking me for the meaning of life? Isn’t that a little stereotypical?”
“Well it’s a reasonable question,” you persisted.
I looked you in the eye. “The meaning of life, the reason I made this whole universe, is for you to mature.”
“You mean mankind? You want us to mature?”
“No, just you. I made this whole universe for you. With each new life you grow and mature and become a larger and greater intellect.”
“Just me? What about everyone else?”
“There is no one else,” I said. “In this universe, there’s just you and me.”
You stared blankly at me. “But all the people on earth…”
“All you. Different incarnations of you.”
“Wait. I’m everyone!?”
“Now you’re getting it,” I said, with a congratulatory slap on the back.
“I’m every human being who ever lived?”
“Or who will ever live, yes.”
“I’m Abraham Lincoln?”
“And you’re John Wilkes Booth, too,” I added.
“I’m Hitler?” You said, appalled.
“And you’re the millions he killed.”
“I’m Jesus?”
“And you’re everyone who followed him.”
You fell silent.
“Every time you victimized someone,” I said, “you were victimizing yourself. Every act of kindness you’ve done, you’ve done to yourself. Every happy and sad moment ever experienced by any human was, or will be, experienced by you.”
You thought for a long time.
“Why?” You asked me. “Why do all this?”
“Because someday, you will become like me. Because that’s what you are. You’re one of my kind. You’re my child.”
“Whoa,” you said, incredulous. “You mean I’m a god?”
“No. Not yet. You’re a fetus. You’re still growing. Once you’ve lived every human life throughout all time, you will have grown enough to be born.”
“So the whole universe,” you said, “it’s just…”
“An egg.” I answered. “Now it’s time for you to move on to your next life.”
And I sent you on your way.

sappstuf
1/4/2011, 01:02 PM
Whenever an article states "The party that brought us the worst economy since the Great Depression..." you can rest assured that it is unbiased and accurate...

The libs need to read up on Brooksley Born and banking turmoil during Clinton's term...

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/warning/interviews/born.html#

Phil the libs keep this sign up for when you post that link..

http://www.michaelhanscom.com/eclecticism/graphics/2003/07/graphics/lalalala.gif

Aldebaran
1/4/2011, 01:07 PM
why human lives only?

My Opinion Matters
1/4/2011, 01:09 PM
You were on your way home when you died.
It was a car accident. Nothing particularly remarkable, but fatal nonetheless. You left behind a wife and two children. It was a painless death. The EMTs tried their best to save you, but to no avail. Your body was so utterly shattered you were better off, trust me.
And that’s when you met me.
“What… what happened?” You asked. “Where am I?”
“You died,” I said, matter-of-factly. No point in mincing words.
“There was a… a truck and it was skidding…”
“Yup,” I said.
“I… I died?”
“Yup. But don’t feel bad about it. Everyone dies,” I said.
You looked around. There was nothingness. Just you and me. “What is this place?” You asked. “Is this the afterlife?”
“More or less,” I said.
“Are you god?” You asked.
“Yup,” I replied. “I’m God.”
“My kids… my wife,” you said.
“What about them?”
“Will they be all right?”
“That’s what I like to see,” I said. “You just died and your main concern is for your family. That’s good stuff right there.”
You looked at me with fascination. To you, I didn’t look like God. I just looked like some man. Or possibly a woman. Some vague authority figure, maybe. More of a grammar school teacher than the almighty.
“Don’t worry,” I said. “They’ll be fine. Your kids will remember you as perfect in every way. They didn’t have time to grow contempt for you. Your wife will cry on the outside, but will be secretly relieved. To be fair, your marriage was falling apart. If it’s any consolation, she’ll feel very guilty for feeling relieved.”
“Oh,” you said. “So what happens now? Do I go to heaven or hell or something?”
“Neither,” I said. “You’ll be reincarnated.”
“Ah,” you said. “So the Hindus were right,”
“All religions are right in their own way,” I said. “Walk with me.”
You followed along as we strode through the void. “Where are we going?”
“Nowhere in particular,” I said. “It’s just nice to walk while we talk.”
“So what’s the point, then?” You asked. “When I get reborn, I’ll just be a blank slate, right? A baby. So all my experiences and everything I did in this life won’t matter.”
“Not so!” I said. “You have within you all the knowledge and experiences of all your past lives. You just don’t remember them right now.”
I stopped walking and took you by the shoulders. “Your soul is more magnificent, beautiful, and gigantic than you can possibly imagine. A human mind can only contain a tiny fraction of what you are. It’s like sticking your finger in a glass of water to see if it’s hot or cold. You put a tiny part of yourself into the vessel, and when you bring it back out, you’ve gained all the experiences it had.
“You’ve been in a human for the last 48 years, so you haven’t stretched out yet and felt the rest of your immense consciousness. If we hung out here for long enough, you’d start remembering everything. But there’s no point to doing that between each life.”
“How many times have I been reincarnated, then?”
“Oh lots. Lots and lots. An in to lots of different lives.” I said. “This time around, you’ll be a Chinese peasant girl in 540 AD.”
“Wait, what?” You stammered. “You’re sending me back in time?”
“Well, I guess technically. Time, as you know it, only exists in your universe. Things are different where I come from.”
“Where you come from?” You said.
“Oh sure,” I explained “I come from somewhere. Somewhere else. And there are others like me. I know you’ll want to know what it’s like there, but honestly you wouldn’t understand.”
“Oh,” you said, a little let down. “But wait. If I get reincarnated to other places in time, I could have interacted with myself at some point.”
“Sure. Happens all the time. And with both lives only aware of their own lifespan you don’t even know it’s happening.”
“So what’s the point of it all?”
“Seriously?” I asked. “Seriously? You’re asking me for the meaning of life? Isn’t that a little stereotypical?”
“Well it’s a reasonable question,” you persisted.
I looked you in the eye. “The meaning of life, the reason I made this whole universe, is for you to mature.”
“You mean mankind? You want us to mature?”
“No, just you. I made this whole universe for you. With each new life you grow and mature and become a larger and greater intellect.”
“Just me? What about everyone else?”
“There is no one else,” I said. “In this universe, there’s just you and me.”
You stared blankly at me. “But all the people on earth…”
“All you. Different incarnations of you.”
“Wait. I’m everyone!?”
“Now you’re getting it,” I said, with a congratulatory slap on the back.
“I’m every human being who ever lived?”
“Or who will ever live, yes.”
“I’m Abraham Lincoln?”
“And you’re John Wilkes Booth, too,” I added.
“I’m Hitler?” You said, appalled.
“And you’re the millions he killed.”
“I’m Jesus?”
“And you’re everyone who followed him.”
You fell silent.
“Every time you victimized someone,” I said, “you were victimizing yourself. Every act of kindness you’ve done, you’ve done to yourself. Every happy and sad moment ever experienced by any human was, or will be, experienced by you.”
You thought for a long time.
“Why?” You asked me. “Why do all this?”
“Because someday, you will become like me. Because that’s what you are. You’re one of my kind. You’re my child.”
“Whoa,” you said, incredulous. “You mean I’m a god?”
“No. Not yet. You’re a fetus. You’re still growing. Once you’ve lived every human life throughout all time, you will have grown enough to be born.”
“So the whole universe,” you said, “it’s just…”
“An egg.” I answered. “Now it’s time for you to move on to your next life.”
And I sent you on your way.

http://i55.tinypic.com/rtg5k5.jpg

DIB
1/4/2011, 01:13 PM
why human lives only?

ANIMALS DON'T HAVE SOULS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111111111

Midtowner
1/4/2011, 01:14 PM
Whenever an article states "The party that brought us the worst economy since the Great Depression..." you can rest assured that it is unbiased and accurate...

The libs need to read up on Brooksley Born and banking turmoil during Clinton's term...

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/warning/interviews/born.html#

True enough. It's basically a matter of historical fact that the deregulation of the 1990s made the crash in the late 00's possible. What has been absolutely astonishing is that since then, neither party has enacted any serious securities reform to look after the public interest.

If they kick the can down the road far enough, they're simply setting us up for a fairly precipitous fall.

Look at what we've accomplished just in the lame duck session of 2010's legislative term (aside from no serious securities regulation)

-- Lowered the social security tax--probably a good thing for a 31YO with a decent income such as myself. I pretty much write off my social security contributions as being the same as income tax. There's no way when I retire I'll see that money again. But in the aggregate, this moves the day when social security's liabilities exceed its income much closer. So that'll implode more sooner than later.

-- Didn't raise taxes on those who could most afford to pay.

-- Didn't reign in spending at all, continued to fund the absurd extension of unemployment benefits, continued foreign conflicts which are of marginal benefit to the U.S., continued absurd spending on social programs, continued to borrow from China to pay for it all.

-- Passed a massive unfunded health plan which is basically guaranteed to fail.

This government is setting itself up for eventual insolvency. Pretty much the only arguably good things to come out of this session came out during the 2010 legislative session was student loan reform, food safety reform and net neutrality (which is arguable because the regulations probably didn't go far enough).

My Opinion Matters
1/4/2011, 01:15 PM
tl;dr

Jammin'
1/4/2011, 01:20 PM
True enough. It's basically a matter of historical fact that the deregulation of the 1990s made the crash in the late 00's possible. What has been absolutely astonishing is that since then, neither party has enacted any serious securities reform to look after the public interest.

If they kick the can down the road far enough, they're simply setting us up for a fairly precipitous fall.

Look at what we've accomplished just in the lame duck session of 2010's legislative term (aside from no serious securities regulation)

-- Lowered the social security tax--probably a good thing for a 31YO with a decent income such as myself. I pretty much write off my social security contributions as being the same as income tax. There's no way when I retire I'll see that money again. But in the aggregate, this moves the day when social security's liabilities exceed its income much closer. So that'll implode more sooner than later.

-- Didn't raise taxes on those who could most afford to pay.

-- Didn't reign in spending at all, continued to fund the absurd extension of unemployment benefits, continued foreign conflicts which are of marginal benefit to the U.S., continued absurd spending on social programs, continued to borrow from China to pay for it all.

-- Passed a massive unfunded health plan which is basically guaranteed to fail.

This government is setting itself up for eventual insolvency. Pretty much the only arguably good things to come out of this session came out during the 2010 legislative session was student loan reform, food safety reform and net neutrality (which is arguable because the regulations probably didn't go far enough).

I'd argue that the student loan reform wasn't a good thing for anyone, except the gov't getting larger. The only state school using a version of that system BEFORE this passed was OSU. Maybe they were the smart ones all these years?

3rdgensooner
1/4/2011, 01:25 PM
ANIMALS DON'T HAVE SOULS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111111111http://www.aftertherapturepetcare.com/images/RAPheader.jpg (http://www.aftertherapturepetcare.com/)

Midtowner
1/4/2011, 01:38 PM
I'd argue that the student loan reform wasn't a good thing for anyone, except the gov't getting larger. The only state school using a version of that system BEFORE this passed was OSU. Maybe they were the smart ones all these years?

Well, student loan reform is probably just getting started. The current push is going to be going after all of these new for-profit institutions. Default rates on student loans in excess of a certain amount will make the schools ineligible for student loan money in the future.

Also, there is now (as I understand it) a better cap on what can actually be paid out to schools--the lack thereof was a huge reason for schools so precipitously increasing tuition. The unavailability of private student loans is a good thing for students, maybe a bad thing for lenders. No longer will private banks be able to loan money to college kids at rates exceeding 10% and remain immune from bankruptcy.

The government being in the student loan business makes sense. Otherwise, it basically translates into free money for the banks who put up the capital. Interest rates were and are decent, risk is very very low.

The folks who I think make out like bandits here are the "not-for-profit" (which is a joke) servicing companies.

jkjsooner
1/4/2011, 02:53 PM
True enough. It's basically a matter of historical fact that the deregulation of the 1990s made the crash in the late 00's possible. What has been absolutely astonishing is that since then, neither party has enacted any serious securities reform to look after the public interest.


While Clinton played a major role in the deregulation of the '90s, I'll still point out that this is a conservative philosophy and it failed miserably. I'd also point out the Gramm, Leach, and Bliley were all Republicans.

It's scarry how radical Greenspan was. We placed an Ayn Rand follower as chairman of the federal reserve. Any wonder why our economy collapsed?

Thaumaturge
1/4/2011, 03:08 PM
Alan Greenspan is a powerful wizard.

The
1/4/2011, 03:09 PM
Alan Greenspan is a powerful wizard.

Got any naked drawings of him?

Thaumaturge
1/4/2011, 03:10 PM
Got any naked drawings of him?

Are you wanting to commission one?

The
1/4/2011, 03:12 PM
Are you wanting to commission one?

Indeed. However, I cannay pay you in money. I am prepared to offer you chk's soul for proper compensation. What say ye?

Aldebaran
1/4/2011, 03:13 PM
He's so wizzard.

Thaumaturge
1/4/2011, 03:16 PM
Indeed. However, I cannay pay you in money. I am prepared to offer you chk's soul for proper compensation. What say ye?

A fair price.

The
1/4/2011, 03:18 PM
A fair price.

Be wary, it's twisted and dark. I use it as an oven cleaner. I trust you can find a more suitable use for it.

Midtowner
1/4/2011, 04:21 PM
While Clinton played a major role in the deregulation of the '90s, I'll still point out that this is a conservative philosophy and it failed miserably. I'd also point out the Gramm, Leach, and Bliley were all Republicans.

Unless you want to go and arrest those idiots, I don't see why blame matters. It was a bi-partisan effup and continues to be.


It's scarry how radical Greenspan was. We placed an Ayn Rand follower as chairman of the federal reserve. Any wonder why our economy collapsed?

There's absolutely nothing wrong with the libertarian philosophy if you're willing to apply it uniformly.

The
1/4/2011, 04:22 PM
\

There's absolutely nothing wrong with the libertarian philosophy if you're willing to apply it uniformly.


http://www.angryflower.com/atlass.gif

yermom
1/4/2011, 06:50 PM
actually, that's pretty awesome

pphilfran
1/5/2011, 09:38 AM
True enough. It's basically a matter of historical fact that the deregulation of the 1990s made the crash in the late 00's possible. What has been absolutely astonishing is that since then, neither party has enacted any serious securities reform to look after the public interest.

If they kick the can down the road far enough, they're simply setting us up for a fairly precipitous fall.

Look at what we've accomplished just in the lame duck session of 2010's legislative term (aside from no serious securities regulation)

-- Lowered the social security tax--probably a good thing for a 31YO with a decent income such as myself. I pretty much write off my social security contributions as being the same as income tax. There's no way when I retire I'll see that money again. But in the aggregate, this moves the day when social security's liabilities exceed its income much closer. So that'll implode more sooner than later.

-- Didn't raise taxes on those who could most afford to pay.

-- Didn't reign in spending at all, continued to fund the absurd extension of unemployment benefits, continued foreign conflicts which are of marginal benefit to the U.S., continued absurd spending on social programs, continued to borrow from China to pay for it all.

-- Passed a massive unfunded health plan which is basically guaranteed to fail.

This government is setting itself up for eventual insolvency. Pretty much the only arguably good things to come out of this session came out during the 2010 legislative session was student loan reform, food safety reform and net neutrality (which is arguable because the regulations probably didn't go far enough).

You can rest easy in regards to SS...

Even though SS will lose actual revenue due to the tax cuts, the fed, in it's infinite wisdom, is still going to fund SS to the full extent....as if the tax cuts never happened...they are going to fire up the old special issue bond printing press and put "money" into the fund even though there will not be enough money coming in to pay for the complete funding...

Oldnslo
1/5/2011, 11:26 AM
You were on your way home when you died.
It was a car accident. Nothing particularly remarkable, but fatal nonetheless. You left behind a wife and two children. It was a painless death. The EMTs tried their best to save you, but to no avail. Your body was so utterly shattered you were better off, trust me.
And that’s when you met me.
“What… what happened?” You asked. “Where am I?”
“You died,” I said, matter-of-factly. No point in mincing words.
“There was a… a truck and it was skidding…”
“Yup,” I said.
“I… I died?”
“Yup. But don’t feel bad about it. Everyone dies,” I said.
You looked around. There was nothingness. Just you and me. “What is this place?” You asked. “Is this the afterlife?”
“More or less,” I said.
“Are you god?” You asked.
“Yup,” I replied. “I’m God.”
“My kids… my wife,” you said.
“What about them?”
“Will they be all right?”
“That’s what I like to see,” I said. “You just died and your main concern is for your family. That’s good stuff right there.”
You looked at me with fascination. To you, I didn’t look like God. I just looked like some man. Or possibly a woman. Some vague authority figure, maybe. More of a grammar school teacher than the almighty.
“Don’t worry,” I said. “They’ll be fine. Your kids will remember you as perfect in every way. They didn’t have time to grow contempt for you. Your wife will cry on the outside, but will be secretly relieved. To be fair, your marriage was falling apart. If it’s any consolation, she’ll feel very guilty for feeling relieved.”
“Oh,” you said. “So what happens now? Do I go to heaven or hell or something?”
“Neither,” I said. “You’ll be reincarnated.”
“Ah,” you said. “So the Hindus were right,”
“All religions are right in their own way,” I said. “Walk with me.”
You followed along as we strode through the void. “Where are we going?”
“Nowhere in particular,” I said. “It’s just nice to walk while we talk.”
“So what’s the point, then?” You asked. “When I get reborn, I’ll just be a blank slate, right? A baby. So all my experiences and everything I did in this life won’t matter.”
“Not so!” I said. “You have within you all the knowledge and experiences of all your past lives. You just don’t remember them right now.”
I stopped walking and took you by the shoulders. “Your soul is more magnificent, beautiful, and gigantic than you can possibly imagine. A human mind can only contain a tiny fraction of what you are. It’s like sticking your finger in a glass of water to see if it’s hot or cold. You put a tiny part of yourself into the vessel, and when you bring it back out, you’ve gained all the experiences it had.
“You’ve been in a human for the last 48 years, so you haven’t stretched out yet and felt the rest of your immense consciousness. If we hung out here for long enough, you’d start remembering everything. But there’s no point to doing that between each life.”
“How many times have I been reincarnated, then?”
“Oh lots. Lots and lots. An in to lots of different lives.” I said. “This time around, you’ll be a Chinese peasant girl in 540 AD.”
“Wait, what?” You stammered. “You’re sending me back in time?”
“Well, I guess technically. Time, as you know it, only exists in your universe. Things are different where I come from.”
“Where you come from?” You said.
“Oh sure,” I explained “I come from somewhere. Somewhere else. And there are others like me. I know you’ll want to know what it’s like there, but honestly you wouldn’t understand.”
“Oh,” you said, a little let down. “But wait. If I get reincarnated to other places in time, I could have interacted with myself at some point.”
“Sure. Happens all the time. And with both lives only aware of their own lifespan you don’t even know it’s happening.”
“So what’s the point of it all?”
“Seriously?” I asked. “Seriously? You’re asking me for the meaning of life? Isn’t that a little stereotypical?”
“Well it’s a reasonable question,” you persisted.
I looked you in the eye. “The meaning of life, the reason I made this whole universe, is for you to mature.”
“You mean mankind? You want us to mature?”
“No, just you. I made this whole universe for you. With each new life you grow and mature and become a larger and greater intellect.”
“Just me? What about everyone else?”
“There is no one else,” I said. “In this universe, there’s just you and me.”
You stared blankly at me. “But all the people on earth…”
“All you. Different incarnations of you.”
“Wait. I’m everyone!?”
“Now you’re getting it,” I said, with a congratulatory slap on the back.
“I’m every human being who ever lived?”
“Or who will ever live, yes.”
“I’m Abraham Lincoln?”
“And you’re John Wilkes Booth, too,” I added.
“I’m Hitler?” You said, appalled.
“And you’re the millions he killed.”
“I’m Jesus?”
“And you’re everyone who followed him.”
You fell silent.
“Every time you victimized someone,” I said, “you were victimizing yourself. Every act of kindness you’ve done, you’ve done to yourself. Every happy and sad moment ever experienced by any human was, or will be, experienced by you.”
You thought for a long time.
“Why?” You asked me. “Why do all this?”
“Because someday, you will become like me. Because that’s what you are. You’re one of my kind. You’re my child.”
“Whoa,” you said, incredulous. “You mean I’m a god?”
“No. Not yet. You’re a fetus. You’re still growing. Once you’ve lived every human life throughout all time, you will have grown enough to be born.”
“So the whole universe,” you said, “it’s just…”
“An egg.” I answered. “Now it’s time for you to move on to your next life.”
And I sent you on your way.

If I believe this, am I a sociopath or a megalomaniac?

The
1/5/2011, 11:31 AM
If I believe this, am I a sociopath or a megalomaniac?

No, just someone who's eaten LSD or psilocybin at some point.

delhalew
1/5/2011, 03:45 PM
I got lost somewhere between Republicans are the debbil, and I am a god in pupa form.