Patriot's Rant Thread

[Patriot]

I'm starting this thread as my own blogspot of sorts, nestled, as it were, in the heart of RantWeb. Any and all participants are free to join in. Please note, however, that this thread is not geared toward any particular topic. Rather it will be inclusive of a great variety of topics, indeed anything I feel like blasting to smithereens.

Today's topic: psychobabble and the psychos who babble it.

It is a known fact that the greater number of psychologists and psychiatrists you have in any given area, the higher number of "mental disorders" suddenly appear in that region. A greater need for "therapy" suddenly arises, more cases of "depression" are noted, more "sexual issues" come into the limelight, etc. In other words, the whole area becomes mentally ill. This is followed by treatment plans, insurance coverage for mental health, etc.

This bullshit just disgusts me. Why didn't Thucidydes ever tell of "therapy" in his annals of Rome? Possibly because it was non-existent? Indeed.

If you want to be a strong country, you better harden your citizens. Heck, even back in the early 20th century psychiatry was a relatively new practice, few if any pioneers ever sat on a couch balling their eyes out to a shrink. But now, our culture is actually being encouraged to do this! In fact, if you don't see a therapist at some point in your life, you are now considered "abnormal" in many urban areas.

As near as seventy years ago, Americans with personal difficulties did what the Bible instructed them to do-- seek prayer and guidance from religious authority, a trusted Elder or Deacon, perhaps a Minister. This was the era when Boy Scout leaders were not gay. Back then, the crime rates were nothing akin to the staggering crime rates of today. Back then, the heinous acts of misused sexuality were for all practical purposes non-existent. Back then, you lived and died by the Word of God and everything that was Americana.

But today, this is what "tolerance" has brought us: higher crime rates by people who spit on tradition, a melting pot of foreign folks who don't give a damn about our national heritage, a new academic elite of psychologists and psychiatrists who've never fired an M-16 in their lives (would probably piss their pants just trying to load the magazine). These are the folks that are running this country, and running it into the ground!

Turning our otherwise strong young people into "teenagers with sexually repressed issues", blah, blah, fuckin blah.

No it's not popular to take the road less traveled. Not a single son or daughter of any US Congressman is serving in the military these days. Nary a one! And I fear for this country, and everything it stands for, because we're all so dependent on the "authority" of so called "experts" who, truth be told, are a bunch of weak minded fools running from their own personal problems. The strong ones are denied a voice! The strong ones are drowned out in the overwhelming chorus of wimps!

[Ian]

Well, I suppose it's time for me to get off the couch and grumble about what's bothering me in a more (albeit slightly) productive format

My rant of choice for today: Demagogic Democracy

As I watched Neil Cavuto report on Hamas' logical rise to power in Palestine, or what he called "a stunning and most unexpected Election Day victory", I couldn't help but have my thoughts thrust back to the arguments my closest friends and I raised when GWB's WMD hunt suddenly shifted to an installation, by American blood, of democracy in the Middle East. Provided only the foggy, undeveloped facts of a theory put forth by the Neo-Con establishment, my cohorts and I were able to predict that democracy does not equal peace and that this fact could be revealed no easier than through a Muslim application.

How, you ask, could anyone come to such an unconventional prediction? Why, through simple logic.

If we are to believe that Middle East Muslims are fanatical, savage beasts who can’t throw a wedding or funeral without launching into rabid displays of gun power, then how are we to expect these same so-called “radicals” to freely elect a contrastingly moderate leader? The short answer is you simply can’t. In fact the very opposite is true.

A democratic population’s political persuasion is analogized by the leaders it elects. For example, the United States’ academic scores rank consistently near if not at the bottom of the list of all the industrialized nations in the world. This fact is mirrored by the election of George W. Bush and John Kerry’s reception of over 59 million votes. Idiots will elect idiots and radicals will elect radicals.

Somehow with a seemingly boundless budget and access to the most insightful minds in the world our government was unable to come to this most obvious of conclusions. Instead, the powers that be launched upon a region-wide cultivation of democracy. Democracy in the Muslim world is an assistance, rather than a hindrance to Muslim “fanaticism” because Muslim “fanaticism” does not exist. The Muslim world in large majority does not, and will never accept the existence of Israel. No amount of democracy will end these mind-sets, it will only breed them.

As a final thought, our occupation of Iraq has done nothing to impede the awkward march of what one ranter penned “Ali Ahmad's camel” it has only succeeded in weakening if not eliminating our leverage on the principal threat in the region, Iran.

[Patriot]

Given the diverse range of topics that might be covered in this thread, I thought I'd offer a few thoughts on physical fitness today.

Statistics show that the heaviest nation, per capita is Finland. The United States, however, is among the top ten for obesity. www.annecollins.com/obesity/worldwide-obesity.htm

Now, being overweight has occassionally been stylish at various times in our grandiose history-- William Howard Taft, for instance, was a president who weighed over three hundred pounds. But, maintaining a healthy bodyweight is crucial to lifelong health.

There are many useless "programs" and "exericse machines" being marketed by (as usual) pretenders trying to make a few fast bucks. All it takes is fiddling around in your garage with a few old pipes to construct some sort of pseudo workout machine which is then modified by a professional draftist and sold en masse in sleek metal grey aluminum (think Bowflex).

The best exercises, however, are those which have been used over the course of thousands of years, beginning with the Greek athletes of the earliest Olympics. They require no machinery, they build strength and stamina better than any "program", and they can be done anywhere at any time. These exercises are:

1. The Pushup
2. Tricep Dips
3. Neck Lifts
4. Situps
5. Standing Calf Raises
6. Glut Raises

I personally do 100 of these every night, Monday through Friday, resting on weekends. The exercises came to me by way of Stew Smith, a navy seal, who has his own bodyweight exercise website at www.stewsmith.com. Stew recommends that you wait a day between workouts to allow the muscles to recooperate. I have found that the "pump" is retained if these exercises are done every day, so I have elected to skip the recooperation day and simply rest on weekends.

The pushup in particular is an amazing exercise, a real "old school" means to build the arms and shouders. Being able to complete 100 pushups in a single set is one of the greatest sources of personal pride in my life. So much effort was put into finally reaching this capability, that the knowledge of my hard-earned ability to do this instills an almost uncontrollable swagger in daily life. It's like being able to walk down the street, staring down every punk you see, knowing "I'm the strongest guy out here..."

[midcan5]

My rant is posted here:

www.politicalpass.com/2005/12/end-of-democracy/

[midcan5]

Regarding the first rant, be aware that mental problems are similar to physical problems and sometimes require help. Do not take his macho attitude as a way of living in the real world.

If instead of ranting on so-called PB you may want to read an excellent book on depression, check out William Styron's Darkness Visible. Seems like a real man to me.

www.speakersworldwide.com/Styron.html

[Ian]

Spoken like a true girly-man.

[Patriot]

Do not take his macho attitude as a way of living in the real world. If instead of ranting on so-called PB you may want to read an excellent book on depression, check out William Styron's Darkness Visible. Seems like a real man to me.

The real world, eh? Let me tell you a little about the real world. Prior to the world you now know-- the artificial bubble of civilization, contrived by modern man, the real world was a deathtrap for the unsuspecting. Wander too far from camp and get malled by a wild animal. Venture past a line of demarcation and be killed by a savage enemy. The real world hasn't changed, only its appearance has changed. Today, people are soft. They have access to technology and "resources" from "professionals" whose "guidance" is "necessary" to maintain continuity in the daily lives of metrosexuals such as yourself.

All that, however, means piddly shit. If a meteor hit your hometown, you wouldn't see folks running to the psychiatrist. That's because, when the rubber meets the road, psychiatry and the like are useless professions. When overeducated people get too much time on their hands, they start inventing white collar jobs, inventing mental disorders which never seemed to plague the population before (ADD?), etc.

The truth is you don't have the first darn clue about the "real world" other than what youve seen of it: which isn't much at all.

[Patriot]

In pondering what I should bring to this, my beloved rant forum on a fine Friday's night, I thought, perchance, I might compose a poem, dedicated to Midcan, on behalf of all wholesome redneck saints at Rantweb.

Oh Midcan,
Your skewed eye-glasses haunt us.

Bespeckled and freckled,
brunette and balding,

You weave a tapestry of tripe.
Which we, in turn, are forced to swallow,

As the mouse swallows the termite.
Your gaze, dear wayfarer,

Is like a blank inglorious stare,
protruding from a Potato-like head,

which churns the two IQ points
nestled therein.

Like a dumb deer, you blinketh not
when the headlights barrel your way,

But rather, sit still, like a pile of snot,
awaiting each new day.

And so we post,
awaiting your usual tirade,

knowing that you have nothing else to do,
and can't get laid.

[midcan5]

Patriot, not bad, some of the images are gross but not bad.

Ian, is Stryon a girly man ? check the link. It's weird though the man who said that phrase does not strike me a manly? Arnold almost seems feminine to me. That voice! Guess my idea of a manly is more tied up in the James Dean or young Brando or Steve McQueen image.

members.tripod.com/~stvmcqueen/

"I'm out of the Midwest. It was a good place to come from. It gives you a sense of right or wrong and fairness, which is lacking in our society." SM

[Ian]

midcan5 said:

Guess my idea of a manly is more tied up in the James Dean

That explains it...

patriot2 said:

Oh Midcan,
Your skewed eye-glasses haunt us.

Bespeckled and freckled,
brunette and balding,

You weave a tapestry of tripe.
Which we, in turn, are forced to swallow,

As the mouse swallows the termite.
Your gaze, dear wayfarer,

Is like a blank inglorious stare,
protruding from a Potato-like head,

which churns the two IQ points
nestled therein.

Like a dumb deer, you blinketh not
when the headlights barrel your way,

But rather, sit still, like a pile of snot,
awaiting each new day.

And so we post,
awaiting your usual tirade,

knowing that you have nothing else to do,
and can't get laid.

[scrap]

As most of you know by now after reading a few of my posts I speak in very plain terms.

I'm not as educated as most of you seem to be so my terminology is more in the three and four letter words as opposed to the bigger variety.

My leanings are apparent as are most everyone elses here.

I am sometimes astounded by the historical events that are brought up in some of these topics and I must confess a lot of them are over my head.

I read them and think boy I should have stayed in school longer or maybe I should do more reading on my own.

One can't go back in time and it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks so I guess I'll just do my best to understand and do some research when time allows.

With that being said I'll get to one of my pet peeves...Protesters..

Where do their rights end and the right of the protested begin. It's an all too familiar site be it a War protest, abortion clinic, or whatever else is on someones agenda.

The war protesters at least the true believers look back to the Vietnam Conflict and see how those efforts brought about change. The Servicemen bore the wrath of a public fed up and were hurt tremendously by their civilian counterparts. War was bad enough but to be treated as they were by a Public they swore to protect had to feel like being stabbed in the back.

I posted a topic awhile back about these morons from Kansas who are going out to Servicemen and Womens Funerals and spouting their hatred about gays in the Military and how these deaths are Gods retribution.I realize these nutcases are just that, "nutcases" Shouldn't some behavior be so abhorrent that they can't cry out that their Freedoms under our Constitution are being taken away. What gives these people the right to set up outside private services and cause a commotion by spewing their hate filled crap along with their hate filled signs to wards Families who are still trying to come to terms with their loss.

A persons Funeral, whether Military or civilian is a solemn event shared by family and friends. What gives these people the right to offend grieving Family members at a time like this.

I read not to long ago that some States and at the local level are trying to do something about this type of behavior.

There will be more peeves in the future and this seems like as good a place as any to get them off my chest.

I promise they are not all Military in nature.

[midcan5]

Scrap, I have never heard of anyone protesting at funerals? I do remember the piece you referred to but that seemed aberrant and off the wall.

Three of my closest friends served in Nam, two in combat, my brother in combat, and later several friends who I meet in the corporate world served there, many in combat. Not one, and I mean not one, has ever faulted a single protester for protesting that war. These are people I know well and some I still see after 40 years.

To me the swift boat and others was more about personal bitterness and partisan politics, it was about the smallness of some men. I know of no one who felt as they did.

But I will say this, war affected each of the combat veterans, some to this day will not talk about it, others shrug, others suffer a kind of depression that is hard to understand, all were changed and some were strong enough to survive intact. Recently one confided in me how he had been unable to face it, to talk about it until he saw a piece my brother wrote and only then could he open up.


www.politicalpass.com/2005/11/magnetic-patriots-and-buying-american/

[Patriot]

I think there is a difference between officers and enlisted men, or should I say, officers/NCOs and enlisted privates (after a few years, the profession of arms mentality kicks in), as concerns experience in combat and post-traumatic stress afterward.

Those I've known who have exemplified deep personal problems in the wake of war, are neither officers or NCOs but rather, enlistees. These newbies, plucked from the safe environment of their American homes and sent abroad, return as "different people", sometimes for the worse. But this can't be blamed on the war per se-- it is due, in part, to a lack of previous exposure to the hard facts of life, perhaps also to a lessened degree of stringency in Basic Training, which despite its general coherence is much dumbed down from yesteryear's training regimens.

I have yet to see an officer, or an NCO, in other words "professional soldier" return from war emotionally scathed in a manner requiring intensive psychiatric treatment. Even POWs, who are officers or NCOs, tend to fair quite well because their mentalities are strong.

Every generation has its war. The only difference today, is that for the most part, the home turf is soft. War is not something that is hawked like it used to be. When enlisted vets return to a population seething with hatred for all that the war stood for, it is little wonder they perhaps lose a part of their identity-- either as soldiers, or citizens.

[midcan5]

The military is a complex melting pot or stew for a study of human nature. I would agree that the more hardened veterans can more easily adjust to a bad situation but that is training as well as personality. I think it depends on the experiences and the way you are able to handle them that makes the different. Officers differ little from enlisted people in their core.

content.nejm.org/cgi/reprint/351/1/13.pdf

[Patriot]

Midcan, as ever, speaking as an expert on something he knows nothing about.