Can we agree on this? Biggest problem in the world today.

[Moochkin]

Political correctness, the suing culture and the way that minorities and illegal immigrants get more rights than the actual people of that nation get.

 

[Joselyn]

Is it a modern day Roman Empire? I'd disagree with that.

As would I.

I also agree, at least the roman empire were competent.

I also concur with the aforementioned.... the U.S is nothing like the Roman Empire...
.....

 

[Skalman]

The biggest problem in the world IS the United States. We arm small nations that would be otherwise be harmless so they can fight proxy wars for us and it turns around to bite us and our allies in the ass, we rape the environment harder than anyone else does, we consume more resources ourselves than any other country in the world despite being nowhere near one of the largest countries, our people are ignorant of cultures external to ours, our leaders care more about winning elections and their own wallets than they do about the well-being of humanity or even the well-being of our own local population, our corporations and mass-media are closely in league with our government in order for each entity to make as big of a profit as they possibly can, our military continues to build bigger and badder weapons and thus we have enough nuclear firepower to kill every human being alive over 300 times, and all the while our citizenry sits idly by and lets it happen.

If all of that does not make a country a threat to global security and stability then I don't know what does.

This.
So many times This.

/thread

EDIT:

Religion, I frankly blame that for the worlds downfall. Religion on a political, economical and 'insane people' level.

I'm probably more scared of Christianity these days than Islam. And that's coming from a soldier.

Religion is dangerous not only through the way it clouds the mind with faith, but also through the way it is used as a method social control. That's always been the purpose of religion.

and this.

 

[Sir_Montague]

Personally, greed is the bane of everyone's existence. People kill because of it, and lives are ruined daily with greed in mind.

Cmon now, greed is human nature. No reason to complain about it.

But surpressing it would save so many lives and rid the world of so many problems if people could just control themselves. Yes it's human nature, but there's so many reasons to complain about it.

 

[cuddly_tomato]

;Sigh;

Why do you assume that as an atheist I support the idea of an "Atheist State" instead of a secular state?

"Enforced Atheism" is the hallmark of tyranny.

Secularism is the hallmark of humanist states, and the vast majority of atheists are humanists above all, not wannabe tinpot dictators.

The thing being raised by many religious bigots in this thread has been that religion should be swept aside. As fundy atheists are so fond of saying - where is the evidence for this? So please, tell me of an atheist state which has actually worked, or butt out.

God damn, get some freaking perspective, you nutjob.

I never said the majority of atheists, I said fundamentalist atheists.

"Stopping religion" requires nothing more than decent education.

[CITATION NEEDED]

There's a modern brand of militant atheist that can appear horribly smug and superior. It's an attitude that can be summed up as, "Aren't religious people stupid? All over Africa they're stupid, and the Middle-East. And the Romans, believing in all those two-headed animals, the morons. Aristotle with his unmoved moving God, as if. Descartes, Isaac Newton, Bob Marley, they all fell for it. In fact everyone who ever lived up to about 1800, and most people since then have been stupid stupid stupid."

Simply wrong.

These "atheist states" don't work because they're backwater banana republics with tinpot crackheads in command, not because they're atheist. The whole gist of what you're saying is that enforcing atheism makes the water stop working and the fields stop being fertile, or some such nonsense. Atheism is simply a lack of belief in god and hey, if widespread atheism makes a country go down the toilet, I'll be first in line to pick up my crowbar and tins of beans to defend my right not to believe in an invisible sky fairy.

The gist of what I am saying is that blaming religion for anything is as senseless as blaming atheism too. As you (rightly) say, those states fail not because they are atheist, but because of circumstance. Likewise the same where so called "religious" strife occurs, it does so because of circumstance. To blame anything on religion is as dumb as blaming it on atheism.

All I did was turn the anti-religious argument around and point it at the atheist, and therefore demonstrated the absurdity of it. I hope a few pots around here can leave the kettles alone now.

Also, could you do me a personal favour and leave out the "fairy" comments please? Thank you.

In Short: Your arguement makes no sense

Well done in completely failing to see my point and attacking the complete opposite of what I was getting at.

 

[Frank_Sinatra_]

Hanna Montana, and people like that.
Sorry...

On Topic:

The biggest problem in the world IS the United States. We arm small nations that would be otherwise be harmless so they can fight proxy wars for us and it turns around to bite us and our allies in the ass, we rape the environment harder than anyone else does, we consume more resources ourselves than any other country in the world despite being nowhere near one of the largest countries, our people are ignorant of cultures external to ours, our leaders care more about winning elections and their own wallets than they do about the well-being of humanity or even the well-being of our own local population, our corporations and mass-media are closely in league with our government in order for each entity to make as big of a profit as they possibly can, our military continues to build bigger and badder weapons and thus we have enough nuclear firepower to kill every human being alive over 300 times, and all the while our citizenry sits idly by and lets it happen.

If all of that does not make a country a threat to global security and stability then I don't know what does.

Dang it why did you have to read my mind.
Well I agree with you.

 

[mokes310]

Is it a modern day Roman Empire? I'd disagree with that.

I wouldn't. For example, we continue to build outward instead of upwards. Imagine that by 2050, our population is close to half a billion and we've continued the same expansionist policies. We are running out of oil and we have no viable alternative. We haven't invested in mass transportation, so just about everything slows to pre-1900 speeds.

Think about it. Our entire way of life in the US revolves around oil. How does the food you buy in the supermarket get there? How do you get to work? When you go shopping, how do you get to the mall, grocery store, or any other commercial location? Our biggest failure in the US is not building up our rail or bus systems to the level that they are at in the Western European countries.

 

[Sir_Montague]

Is it a modern day Roman Empire? I'd disagree with that.

I wouldn't. For example, we continue to build outward instead of upwards. Imagine that by 2050, our population is close to half a billion and we've continued the same expansionist policies. We are running out of oil and we have no viable alternative. We haven't invested in mass transportation, so just about everything slows to pre-1900 speeds.

Think about it. Our entire way of life in the US revolves around oil. How does the food you buy in the supermarket get there? How do you get to work? When you go shopping, how do you get to the mall, grocery store, or any other commercial location? Our biggest failure in the US is not building up our rail or bus systems to the level that they are at in the Western European countries.

See? So I didn't necessarily think of it in those terms, but in more ways than one, we are headed towards collapse unless we act soon, and our society mirrors some of the Romans flaws (more than their successes)

 

[Arkenium12]

Bad things - if we had more good things it would be better.

obviously, but i agree.
greed and intolerance r imo the biggest problems in the societies of the world.

 

[mokes310]

Is it a modern day Roman Empire? I'd disagree with that.

I wouldn't. For example, we continue to build outward instead of upwards. Imagine that by 2050, our population is close to half a billion and we've continued the same expansionist policies. We are running out of oil and we have no viable alternative. We haven't invested in mass transportation, so just about everything slows to pre-1900 speeds.

Think about it. Our entire way of life in the US revolves around oil. How does the food you buy in the supermarket get there? How do you get to work? When you go shopping, how do you get to the mall, grocery store, or any other commercial location? Our biggest failure in the US is not building up our rail or bus systems to the level that they are at in the Western European countries.

See? So I didn't necessarily think of it in those terms, but in more ways than one, we are headed towards collapse unless we act soon, and our society mirrors some of the Romans flaws (more than their successes)

Just think of it this way. You don't have a car, you've slipped and hurt yourself, and you need to get to the hospital. How easy would it be to take the bus/train to get there? Now, just think about how difficult it would be to get to any other location where you live.

Granted, those that live in big cities have it a bit easier, but where I went to High School, Madison, WI, the bus system was criminal. There is one route there that takes three hours, two transfer points, six transfers (the two transfer points included), travels close to 45 miles and the distance between the starting point and finish is 6 miles. True, that's probably the worst of the worst, but it still shows that we aren't planning properly for the future.

 

[Syndef]

The United States collapsing sounds like a very, very far-fetched idea to me. In fact, I still don't know what you mean when you say "collapse". Do you mean that the states will become so divided that we'll be seeing some secessions? Or do you mean that our economy will suffer so much that we'll become "the sick man of the west" and become conquered and absorbed by other nations? Or do you mean something else entirely?

 

[I_LIKE_CAKE]

As cool as it seems to be to hate on the U.S. in this thread, I am going to have to say that Ignorance is the greatest threat. Ignorance is at the root of religious fanaticism, stupid foreign policy decisions, racism and prejudice in all its forms.

Is it a modern day Roman Empire? I'd disagree with that.

There are actually more parallels between the U.S. and Rome then I would like to admit, the most frightening for me being the constant fear mongering leading to the accumulation of power in the executive branch.

You don't have to resort to third world counties to find an example of a failed atheist state, anyone heard of the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror? Then again, theocracy doesn't have the best track record either, just ask the people of Iran.

 

[Sir_Montague]

The United States collapsing sounds like a very, very far-fetched idea to me. In fact, I still don't know what you mean when you say "collapse". Do you mean that the states will become so divided that we'll be seeing some secessions? Or do you mean that our economy will suffer so much that we'll become "the sick man of the west" and become conquered and absorbed by other nations? Or do you mean something else entirely?

Everything from a failed economy and the national debt rising to (more) ridiculous proportions to civil war. Our own "Melting Pot" culture clashing with itself due to outsourcing, ignorance, greed, and hatred all culminating in our nation. A physical collapse to where the world doesn't care to emulate our decisions or respect us as a power anymore. Collapse can mean lots of things

 

[Emperor Inferno]

The world will eventually burn, killing all those unfortunate enough to exist.

 

[Ken Korda]

Neo-Liberalism

(It doesn't mean what you think. It's nothing to do with the Democrat Party)

 

[Syndef]

Everything from a failed economy and the national debt rising to (more) ridiculous proportions to civil war. Our own "Melting Pot" culture clashing with itself due to outsourcing, ignorance, greed, and hatred all culminating in our nation. A physical collapse to where the world doesn't care to emulate our decisions or respect us as a power anymore. Collapse can mean lots of things

Oh. Well yeah, we are losing our influence and seem to be portrayed in bad ways more often, but it could just be the sheer volume of these ideas that you're exposed to everyday, leading you to believe that America truly is declining rapidly.

Yes, there are some countries that hate us, and yes, I know people that are now training their cheaper replacements at work (they're being forced to outsource themselves, basically). Still, everyday, our immigration offices are pressured with lines upon lines of people that want to legally make America their new home. And every hour, our broad borders are crossed by those that are too anxious to go through formalities--in numbers far greater than those that want to do it legally. At the college I attend, I see new faces at the international students office everyday. America is very much alive my friend.

Still, it would be sad if we were to "collapse" in any way. It would be more of a pity, really--we've only been around for 300 years or so. Even if we were to dissolve, the American ideals would surely live on (who cannot cherish freedom and having one's faith and hard work rewarded?), and as long as that holds true...buddy, America will never die.

 

[Baby Tea]

Cuddly_Tomato. I just had to get back into this, even though I said I wouldn't.
*Sigh* Forgive me!

Believing in something without evidence IS pretty stupid, no matter what way you dice it. It just is.

Then I'd like evidence for abiogenesis, please.

And besides that, people feel they DO have evidence, just not in the way you'd like it presented. Prayers answered, lives turned around from the brink of self destruction, and other similar situations are plenty for people to believe. Not everyone, sure!

But why belittle those who do believe?
What does one hope to accomplish by mocking or raging against a type of worldview that can, and does, give billions of people a hope and comfort?

Cuddly_Tomato and I believe starkly different things. But we both want the same thing in this case: Just simple respect for those who think differently then you. You don't believe in God or gods? Fine! I do, and so do others, and we just want a mutual respect among differing worldviews.

And don't throw extremist examples at me. That's not me, that's not the majority of religious people I know, and that's not a reason to use generalizations for why you don't like religion. I could say that all atheists are pig-headed, pretentious jerks from what I've experienced, but that wouldn't be true, now would it?
And even if you meet those people who shove it down your throat everyday, why take the hypocritical road and try to shove down other's throats that they are stupid for having a faith?
People will always act like idiots. Blame the person, not the group they claim to belong to.

 

[LiL'Tic]

The biggest problem with the world today is people are scared of what they dont understand. The key to peace on this is not love, but tolerance. we all dont have to hold hands across the earth to have peace, but just being able to tolerate the existence of another race, ethnicity, religion, etc. is the key to a much more peaceful earth