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bananaman said:
Almost everywhere I go, there's a layer of concrete between the Earth and I.

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bananaman said:
I'm just a normal guy trying to psychologically fix this backwards society

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bananaman said:But I guess I'm different.

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bananaman said:
Well I can thank my loving parents for helping me out there.

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The economy is hurting a lot of good people though, you're definitely right. Breaks my heart seeing the rich get richer while the poor get poorer. -These are all symtoms of a money-addicted society, by the way.

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This is why I am doing the "focus on college" route. I want to find my calling, and excel at whatever it is, so the world doesn't take a dump on me.

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HeavyToilet said:
You're a hypocrite. You're telling people to live their life a certain way, but you aren't following it.

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bananaman said:

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HeavyToilet said:
You're a hypocrite. You're telling people to live their life a certain way, but you aren't following it.

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No I am not a hypocrite. Yes I am on a computer right now (so are you). Yes I have a car. Yes I like electricity. This doesn't mean, however, that I can't try to spread a message of anti-materialism.

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bananaman said:
I am trying to spread a message of anti-materialism. But mainly I am focusing on consumerism- the obsession of buying things. So what if I am using a computer? A household item used to access the web to post my thoughts is different than a having a blinged out Mercedes and silk pants.

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bananaman said:
There is no definitive answer but I thought we could at least start brainstorming but I got totally sandbagged. Welcome to the shroomery lol.

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No disrespect, just that we've heard this a thousand times both on the shroomery and off it. Even hippies can get cranky. 

I worked my ass off to get to a really great college and worked my ass off there.  I have friends from my old graduating class who are making over $100,000 a year now, but I do more socially/nonprofitty sort of hipster shit, have a lot of free time, and am technically below the poverty line.  I'm happier and better off than anyone I know.  So I agree with you in spirit.  But that doesn't work for most people, so I let them be.  Big changes come slowly to people, mostly through them noticing small things about you or your philosophy.  People get defensive when you come at them with a Big Idea.

Welcome to the Shroomery, you'll have a great time here.

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bananaman said:

And no I'm not a communist, or an anarchist

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bananaman said:
I'm just a normal guy trying to psychologically fix this backwards society

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Desert Elf said:
Yep. Anarchy is a natural default. There is and always will be anarchy. For any system of governance or rule that we create as a collective is just a set of rules in a game we are playing. All it takes is enough people to stop playing the game and its over.

Remember you always have the option to opt out. If you do, perhaps you will need to treat the system as some kind of natural predator in your environment. Perhaps you don't totally disagree with it and can get along with it. Either way you must accept it's existence  in your world.

The trick is to live with it but not pander to it. Dont let your young mind tell you everything about the world you live, and dont box everyone into the 'society' idea you have of the world. There is nothing wrong with material things. Or cars, electricity, computers, fashion... not even the dreaded and ugly mainstream music industry. These things have there place in the world.

You are allowed to form your own ideas you know. You can live by your own principles and create your own style of existence. In fact, this is all you can do. Realise that any alternative world you can imagine... may not ever come to fruition, but realise also that the world as it is, is just fine. Really if you have a problem with living a certain way, then don't. Just live your own life of principle and others will follow... or not.

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Putting a value on sta­tus
will cause peo­ple to com­pete
Hoard­ing trea­sure
will turn them into thieves
Show­ing off pos­ses­sions
will dis­turb their daily lives.

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OrgoneConclusion said:
1. You are exempt from all such purchases?

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OrgoneConclusion said:
2. When was it ever different?

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I never implied that I was nor does that have any bearing on the truth or falsity of my claim.

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So I am to assume that something is better or correct simply because it "has always been done"?

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bananaman said:
Wow, I guess there's an anarchist in all of us. At least those of us that can sense that we are being manipulated. We are the "livestock." We are being "farmed," yet we are under the illusion of structure, cooperation, and democracy. I mean, think of Hobbes' state of nature. That, in essence, is anarchy. But Hobbes holds a highly cynical view of human nature and suggests that that domination is the only answer.

Very ineresting video. Real eye opener

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Glad you liked it you should check out more of this guy's videos if the topic interests you.

I really like what Robert Anton Wilson says about Anarchism
"Instead of Governments we should have contractual associations"

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bananaman said:
Yeah, I'll be back. Just wait.. You don't like young people trying to give a fresh perspective on money because they "don't know what its like to work for it." That's cool. I get that.

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bananaman said:
We are being "farmed,"

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i like cow poo said:
OP you bring up a good point on materialism. Sorry that the shroomery tore you a new asshole.

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You can say that again


sweet aurora pic by the way

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i like cow poo said:
OP you bring up a good point on materialism. Sorry that the shroomery tore you a new asshole.
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Materialism is bad because it is destroying are earth, and agitating greed and hatred, and driving us farther away from the things that really matter (family, love, and relationships). I'm sorry to say I think shit is going to have to hit the fan before it changes.'
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The worlds really fucked up, we destroy beautiful forests just to put tar down on the earth so are cars can transport us to work at shitty offices. Perhaps the humanity is one massive chemical reaction that has a pre determined outcome....Alas I digress.
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My ADVICE. Major in something environmentally related! Try not to drive any. Try not to eat too much meat, because cattle produce MASSIVE amounts of methane. Love as hard as you can. Eat shrooms and have your mind explode looking at the stars. This is life. God bless you

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I agree with this guy ^

I feel the same as you OP, and I'm just a college student too. We may not have the experience that older people have but I think your views still have some credibility. You're just looking at things from a different perspective and humans learn by looking at things from different angles. As for the materialism, I suppose you can fight it by "leading by example." Not much else we can do but spread the word and try to buy less. Materialism/consumerism is what the world runs on. If suddenly no one bought anything, world economies would collapse. I don't much care for it or understand it either but it's the world we were thrown into and if we don't at least play the game we won't be able to do anything. So play the game, and use the fact that you know how it works to your advantage.

That's just my two cents. Sorry if it offends anyone (that's not its purpose), just wanted to share. Oh and Sorry if it sounds spacey, I'm a little 
Peace.

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bananaman said:
I'm sad today, because I realized nearly every single thing in my room is made in a factory. By a machine. Almost everywhere I go, there's a layer of concrete between the Earth and I.

We have all these roads, street lights, and stinky cars so people can go make and spend money. Isn't there more to life than money? Why do people need to buy all this stuff to be happy? I don't get it. Can't people see the bigger picture? People are so obsessed with new clothes and ipods. It's crazy. And it looks like the world is becoming exponentially more and more industrialized and globalized. Even the fruit at the grocery store has all been genetically altered and mass produced. Shit, we do anything on the internet now. And I mean anything (including buying more stuff). Everything has a price tag on it. For example, if I want to take a trip to Big Sur to get away from it all- it costs money. I can barely think and breathe without there being some sort of tax on it.

What if we all realized how much all this bullshit is really just dominating our lives. Draining our savings. Turning us into greedy zombies. There would be a higher quality of life, in my opinion, because all these materials wouldn't be in the way. Less crime, less greed, less shitheads trying to prove themselves to society.

Think about it. Just the slightest revelation amongst many people could have profound effects. Will this realization ever take place? Highly unlikely. But hey, anything's possible. I don't know how exactly to change the world, but if people everywhere changed their thinking, I know for a fact things would be better.

And no I'm not a communist, or an anarchist or an occupy wall street guy, or a guy scheming up some sort of dictatorship. I'm just a normal guy trying to psychologically fix this backwards society

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Why are you waiting for others to see the "error of their ways" before you can change your lifestyle?  Head for the hills mountain man and leave the rest of us to handle things our own way.

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Why are you waiting for others to see the "error of their ways" before you can change your lifestyle?

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Answer is obvious.

*to other posters* And nobody tore bananadude anything besides himself. This forum exists for the examining of ideas. It appears that there are at least three whiners here who dislike things the way they are and yet indulge to the max while lifting nary a finger to be the change they want to see. Pathetic and impotent.

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Not much else we can do but spread the word and try to buy less. Materialism/consumerism is what the world runs on. If suddenly no one bought anything, world economies would collapse.

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zzripz said:
I would rather that than see nature collapse which is what will happen if this sorry shit continues!

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White Beard said:
There are also polar bears, but I'm hoping they will evolve into sea bears.

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zzripz said:

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Not much else we can do but spread the word and try to buy less. Materialism/consumerism is what the world runs on. If suddenly no one bought anything, world economies would collapse.

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Oh, is that so. So cause it is like it is everyone just gotta conform, is that it? Well as I can see it, I do not give a fuck that world economies could collapse because I would rather that than see nature collapse which is what will happen if this sorry shit continues!

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Then get rid of everything you own and live in the mountains somewhere. If you do anything besides that then yes, you are "conforming". And yes you have to "conform" in some ways if you wanna get anywhere. Some people are truly happy in nature and are perfectly content living off the map. If your not, then you better start conforming

And don't worry, societies collapse before nature collapses. We would have to fuck up big time to ruin all life.

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Diploid said:
When folk who pretend to care about nature say that they really mean their particular cozy living environment

This is a point I try to make often but tree-huggers always seem to miss it.

One consequence of a warmer Earth and more CO2 is more vegetation growing in the Earth's forests and oceans. Since plants are more or less at the bottom of the food chain, more plants means more and better-fed animals who have less of a struggle to stay alive.

So, while global warming might be bad for ONE species on Earth that likes to build cities near the ocean, many (most?) other species will benefits from global warming and the abundance of vegetation it brings about.

Global warming is only bad for humans. The rest of nature will simply adapt and go on exactly like it has for billions of years. It amazingly arrogant to presume that the best ecology for humans is the best ecology for everything else that lives on Earth.

I'd prefer humans to not destroy the forests and to not force other species to go extinct

Why not? We'd be in good company.

Nature has caused five REALLY BIG extinctions (and many smaller ones) that wiped out as many as 75% of all species each time. Yet here were are again. The Earth is not a shrinking violet. It's 5 billion years old to our 100 thousand, and if history is any guide, it will still be here long after we're gone. Of all the species that have ever existed here, 98% have already been killed off by nature. At the Cretaceous–Tertiary boundary alone (the one that killed the dinosaurs) 75% of all species were wiped out. We can't hold a candle to that even if we tried.

You are worrying about a single blade of grass getting stepped on by a human running from a giant lava flow that is wiping out an entire forest. The human is inconsequential. The Earth won't even feel an itch from our efforts. The arrogance of your statement is astonishing. Even all out nuclear holocaust will mean shit to the Earth in the grand scheme. A mere million years later (0.02% of the Earth's age) the radiation will be long gone and a whole new crop of species will thrive.

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You make some good points. And now I realize mother nature will prevail over our destruction. Never the less, I believe it is in most peoples best interests to be more environmentally "friendly."
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Humans are part of nature and I think living in a society that forgets that is unhealthy and is missing an important part of what makes us human. I don't want to live in a smog filled world where you never see birds or deer, only walmart and McDonalds. Humanity would be much happier if we could be closer to "nature". IMHO

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i like cow poo said:
Try not to eat too much meat, because cattle produce MASSIVE amounts of methane.

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coming from a guy who likes cow poo