Across the PONDering

First, thanks to James Hingham and the others who allow me the space to post my thoughts in a free speech format here at Orphans of Liberty. May God forgive them.

About me: I originate from Sunny South Florida. From here I write a blog, Science Fiction Writer. Recently, I completed my first science fiction novel. Elevator 37.

Free speech is at the heart of our Western style democracies. In an unfortunate turn of events, many of our governments attempt to impinge on those rights through the guise of political correctness and other silly excuses. For example, one of these inane attempts (a disclaimer) Historical recordings may contain offensive language.. The warning is offensive, contemporary recordings pornographic, crude, tasteless and nasty. That makes the warning doubly offensive.

Today, a tweeter lamented her boring middle-class upbringing . That prompted me to ponder the life cycle. Do we grow up mournful of the serenity we experience from a middle class upbringing (if we’re fortunate to have one) and rebel? At a later age, do we see the folly of our thoughts? Afterward, do we pine for the return to boredom?

In this rebellion, do we go out and seek the travails of life to escape the middle-class monotony that suffers us? Later, after the angst of the exciting life do we develop a world-weariness that compels us to return to the middle-class values we abhorred as young and restless people?

Can we take another path and realize the benefits of boredom?

Most of us, fortunately, don’t live in places where the strife of war and insecurity rule eternal—failing States in which central authorities fail to provide the basics of freedom, such as legitimate governance. Other features of these unsuccessful nations include, a lack of public services that most of us take for granted, constant war between neighboring states and internal political parties/tribes; the inability to control lands within national borders; a lack of economic enterprise, as well as massive corruption and criminality. (Not to say Western governments don’t share this problem.)

Several nation-states come to mind, but you can fill in the blanks with some thought.

One young person (a nihilist) with whom I had a discussion told me that all nations are the same. People in Iran or North Korea, live the same life, and enjoy the same privileges as people in Western democracies such as the United States, the United Kingdom or Canada. If only she knew the truth.

How do people come to believe such rubbish? If anyone knows the answer to that, please post it.

The amusing aspect of this is that I’m using the failed State model for the novel I’m currently writing MORB. It’s about a dismal place that chills the human mind.

Let’s take a gander at reality from the economic perspective.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) : GDP, considered the main economic indicator, represents the overall aggregate economic activity of a country.

The IMF lists the following. Note the absence of North Korea. Iran, placed 19th.

1. United States $14,657,800
2. People's Republic of China $10,085,708
3. Japan $4,309,432
4. India $4,060,392
5. Germany $2,940,434
6. Russia $2,222,957
7. United Kingdom $2,172,768
8. Brazil $2,172,058
9. France $2,145,487
10. Italy $1,773,547

Another view that reflects the reality is Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) . PPP estimates the amount of adjustment needed on the exchange rate between countries for the exchange to be equivalent.

1. Qatar $88,559
2. Luxembourg $81,383
3. Singapore $56,522
4. Norway $52,013
5. Brunei $48,892
6. United Arab Emirates $48,821
7. United States $47,284
--Hong Kong $45,736
8. Switzerland $41,663
9. Netherlands $40,765
10. Australia $39,699
(Iran shows at 73. North Korea doesn’t appear.)

So I ponder who indoctrinates youths to subvert Western democracies by feeding them false information. Why are they doing it? What is the goal of this misinformation?

This is cross posted at Orphans of Liberty" across the pond.