Eric he likes to disagree and act superior.

Lets all try to think positively.

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Loving my BMW

I was thinking the same thing...

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'08 BMW X5 4.8i *'06 Audi A3 2.0T DSG *'05 Audi S4 Cabriolet

Vote Sprint Blue for a greater America

Nope not a trick question and not an attempt to be funny and mock anyone. It's just that people look at what others are trying to do rather than taking into consideration human beings and what their true aspirations are.

For every step forward mankind takes he gets setback two because the intentions of the heart are not set on the good of mankind but on selfish goals. That's why nothing meaningful ever gets done by legislators and politicians. Everyone has their own vision which is not shared by the next guy. Every one has their own opinion not shared by the next guy and the result is stagnation. Stagnation results in progress postponed or slowed to a snails pace. What ever progress is made is eventually overshadowed by another insurmountable problem, and it goes on and on and on and on.

Over the course of history mankind has only dug the hole deeper and deeper and the sad part is that they don't even see it. Yes there are honest hearted people who would love to see some serious changes made but the truth is the moral climate of the world will not allow it.

So in all honesty when i say "you actually believe this" I'm really asking everyone to look at the bigger picture. Look beyond the abvious. Don't argue for a band aid on a sinking ship. There is more to this than meets the eye.

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"What you hear in a great jazz band is the sound of democracy. “The jazz band works best when participation is shaped by intelligent communication.”
Harmony happens whenever different parts get to form a whole by means of congruity, concord, symetry, consistency, conformity, correspondence, agreement, accord, unity, consonance…….

I would say that for every 2 steps forward, there is a step back. When you study history, you find that we are gradually progressing, but every once in a while there is a setback for mankind.

For example, 250 years ago, every country in the world had a monarchy. Democracy had been written about for centuries, but it was seen as a pipe dream and those who were in favor of it were seen as idealists who were not living in reality. Today most of the countries in the world have a democracy or republic of some kind. There are very few monarchies still around.

And 100 years ago, racism was wide spread and most people in the world were racist. Yes, there were people who preached that one day there would be no racism, but they were seen as idealists who had visions of a utopia, and that we will never get rid of racism. But fast forward to today, and I think you will agree that not only is racism no longer considered acceptable by the mainstream, but most young people today are not racist -- probably the first generation where this situation exists.

Those are just 2 examples of major issues that mankind has tackled and come to grips with over the course of centuries. And yes, there have been setbacks. WWII was surely a setback for both of the above issues. But one could also argue that the response of mankind to WWII was to give an ever bigger effort to tackle these issues, and thus much progress was made in the period after the war. More democracies were born between 1945 and 1970 than in any other 25 year period in world history, and more was done to fight racism during that period than in any other period in world history.

If we learn anything from hisitory, what we learn is that new progressive ideas are first flatly rejected by the mainstream and those in favor of them are seen as extremists or radicals. Then when such ideas start to gain momentum in the general population, the mainstream resists them and fights against them with every available method. Then finally, the mainstream gives in and accepts the idea and works to force the progressive idea on any holdouts in the general population. Eventually the holdouts are few and far between, and they themselves are seen by everyone else as extremists.

This has been the patern of almost every major new progressive idea, whether we are talking about the idea of equality for all races, equality for women, democracy, labor laws, human rights, or new scientific ideas such as the earth being round and revolving around the sun. Much of what you today consider to be radical, will probably one day be considered mainstream.

And what does this have to do with the subject of this thread? Global Warming is following this exact trend. We have now reached the point where most of the mainstream is accepting, while some is still resisting the idea. In a few more years, this will no longer even be disputed, except by some extremists. We have even seen the Bush Administration cross the pond in the last couple of years.

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my experience on X5world when I spend too much
time posting in political threads in the lounge...

What part of that rant proves that Al Gore is right about Global Warming?

Who knows, Al's insane power bill????

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An unwavering defender of those I see worth protecting.

"promote the general welfare, not provide the general welfare"

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Eric: Thank you for your observations.

However: If your going to use history as an example your going to have to go back a lot further than 250 years ago to get a real picture of where we "the human race" is in the stream of time.

Most people tend to look at things from a worldly standpoint which shapes their point of view regarding the world we live in now and in the future. But that's only part of the equation.

Many people my age though, continue to ask a question that often get's ignored and that question is "What has happened to this world"? We ask that question because we know what it use to be and we know what it has become and it is very clear where it's headed. So when i say 1 step forward, and two steps back that's putting it mildly.

But please don't mistake these observations as mine alone, or a painted canvas i've constructed, and put on display for all to see, or a negative observation with no positive conclusion. I just encourage all thinking people to please look beyond the surface.

Please consider that "There is more to what you see than meets the eye. Keep on living and with your minds eye you will see.

And on that note i will end my part in this conversation. I have enjoyed the exchange.

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"What you hear in a great jazz band is the sound of democracy. “The jazz band works best when participation is shaped by intelligent communication.”
Harmony happens whenever different parts get to form a whole by means of congruity, concord, symetry, consistency, conformity, correspondence, agreement, accord, unity, consonance…….

You really should be more positive; I think most people are good and try to help each other. What may appear as a "band aid" (Prius) may be the first step toward improvement and positive change. No question that everyone cares most about themselves but a lot of people (like Al Gore) have lots of money and now spend time trying to help the world For that matter a lot of people of lesser means also donate time and money to charitable causes.

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Loving my BMW

#1 I couldn't be more positive about the future

#2 I agree "most people are good and try to help each other" It's the others
That keep us from making any REAL progress.

#3 When i mentioned using a band aid on a sinking ship it had nothing
to do with a Prius. The Prius is not a ship!!!!

#4 Remember "There is more to this than meets the eye

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"What you hear in a great jazz band is the sound of democracy. “The jazz band works best when participation is shaped by intelligent communication.”
Harmony happens whenever different parts get to form a whole by means of congruity, concord, symetry, consistency, conformity, correspondence, agreement, accord, unity, consonance…….