Quote Originally Posted by trish
The perpetual war seems a tad counterproductive.
A tad; though on the other hand, since it's perpetual, it always gives us something to do. It's easier to fall into a routine than to think creatively and productively.
Well makework's always a problem, but I'm not so sure it's a mindless routine. We've put our own twist on it, but we seem to have fallen into the European hegemonic mindset. It worked. We control the world. Now what? It's like a dog chasing a car & then the car stops. "All right, I caught it! ...Uh..." What's he gonna do other than piss on the tire? We've been pissing on tires for a decade or more.

What're we doing? We already control the world's oil because the petroleum exchange runs on dollars. We're so busy pissing around that the Chinese are cutting deals all over the world without lifting a bullit. India decided they don't need to worry about Pakistan anymore, & they've gone on a development tear. Asia & South America are each looking real hard at setting up regional common markets, & maybe even common currencies. We shifted from Columbia to Venezuela as the Latin-American boogeyman, but nobody's buying it. Our military leases aren't being renewed, & our hand picked government leaders can't hold power anymore. The last 7 years have been a total disaster. We're fast turning into the crazy guys with the guns. We need to get out of war mode. We've been stuck in it since 1941. Time for a change.

Quote Originally Posted by trish
Thanks for the elaboration on your perspective, hippiefried. Gonna go get that globe now.
Yeah. Everybody grows up on stories. Mine came from my dad who was appalled by what he saw of the colonial powers, while in the China fleet back in the '30s. (think "Sand Pebbles") I'm also a babyboomer & was engrossed in the anarchist movement of the late '60s & early '70s. Hence the nickname.

A globe gives an entirely different perspective that you can't get from a flat map. Keep up those travels too. It keeps the mind open.