| Time | Text |
|---|---|
|
Obedience or Exit
00:04:44
|
|
| Most kids want stuff. | |
| Toys, candy, electronics. | |
| And of course they want their parents to pay for it. | |
| They have the idea that daddy and mommy just sort of have money. | |
| If you ask most little kids where that money comes from they will say daddy works or mommy works but they don't really get it. | |
| They don't really think about the future or deferring gratification. | |
| And they really don't understand what it means in the long run if their parents go into debt. | |
| Most voters want stuff. | |
| Pensions, health care, welfare. | |
| And of course they want the government to pay for it. | |
| They have the idea that politicians just sort of have money. | |
| If you ask most voters where that money comes from they will say uh... my taxes but they don't really get it. | |
| They don't really think about the future or deferring gratification and they really don't understand what it means in the long run if their government goes into debt. | |
| Parents often say that their kids should obey them because they pay the bills and in particular own the house. | |
| As long as you live under my roof, you'll live by my rules. | |
| If you don't like it here, feel free to leave. | |
| Of course, it's very hard for children or teenagers to leave home, so the threat is fairly empty, but it seems to squelch debate anyway. | |
| Patriots often say that citizens should obey the government because it provides services and, in particular, because it runs the country. | |
| If you live in this country, you obey the rules. | |
| America, love it or leave it. | |
| Of course, it's very hard for people to leave a country and go where? | |
| To another tax cage? | |
| So the threat is fairly empty, but seems to squelch debate anyway. | |
| In general, parents will take feedback from their children, but kids don't get any kind of binding vote. | |
| Parents also often bribe children to comply and punish them if they disobey, neither of which is any kind of rational argument. | |
| Governments will take feedback from their citizens, but citizens don't get any kind of binding vote. | |
| Governments also bribe citizens to comply and punish them if they disobey, neither of which is any kind of rational argument. | |
| Children who are spoiled with appeasement and unrealistic expectations will throw temper tantrums whenever their bribes are limited in any way. | |
| Government dependents who are spoiled with appeasement and unrealistic expectations will throw temper tantrums whenever their bribes are limited in any way. | |
| Patriotic propaganda explicitly references the family and uses parental metaphors all the time. | |
| The Founding Fathers. | |
| The Department of Home Land Security. | |
| The Fatherland in Germany. | |
| Mother Russia. | |
| The Strict Father Republican and the Caring Mother Democrat. | |
| Uncle Sam and Home Rule. | |
| Soldiers are Brothers in Arms. | |
| Stalin was father of the country. | |
| Mao was the father of the Chinese Revolution. | |
| And what's more American than mom and apple pie? | |
| Just look at the parallels. | |
| My country, right or wrong. | |
| And blood is thicker than water. | |
| The arguments are almost identical. | |
| If you receive government services, you owe obedience to the government. | |
| Just as if you take food and shelter from your parents, you owe obedience to your parents. | |
| Your parents own the house, so you have to obey them or leave. | |
| The government owns the country, and so you have to obey it or leave. | |
| These arguments make no sense! | |
| But we all hear them a thousand times from our parents, so when politicians repeat this crap, it's almost impossible to resist because it's been so deeply ingrained in our brains. | |
| This is why people take politics so personally, because they're really talking about their families. | |
|
People's Political Lens
00:01:23
|
|
| Numerous studies show that political biases tend to occur at the unconscious level, in patterns formed during early childhood. | |
| Don't you see the pattern? | |
| The government is an effect of the family. | |
| People try to change governments all the time, from the top down, using politics and laws and lobbying and voting, and it never really works. | |
| If you want to change the government, change the family. | |
| If you want a more peaceful society, have more peaceful families. | |
| Very, very few people can view politics outside the lens of their own family histories. | |
| Children eventually grow up and understand working, salaries, income and debt. | |
| Most voters never do. | |
| Most voters view government finances the way a five-year-old views his parents' money. | |
| And the reason for that is simple. | |
| Government schooling starts around the age of five. | |