How Do Atheists Handle World Events: Scenario 1 Totalitarianism

[Searching1981]

Theists love orgies too. They just feel guilty about it and ask forgiveness for even thinking about.

OK, so I talk about fighting and then you immediately make it absurd. Fine, you don't drink, don't smoke, you don't do pot...yet, somehow I'm supposed to believe you have Orgies. What posers. What Posers. None of you have been in an Orgy like I have and you say you have because you are internet people not living life, not fighting back...afraid for your physical body.

What a joke you are presenting. You make up a life on the internet you cannot not live in real life and then call yourselves hedonist when you do not do anything but pray for nothing. Come on, who do you think you are fooling here, you are more moral than a Christian without any of the fight in you. Have fun with your lies, you theorize a Christian while we are sleeping with beautiful women and then you feel superior because you did nothing.

 

[QuestioningMind]

Religious people and Atheists are both welcome to reply. I'm not kicking anyone out of this thread as is the practice with some people.

Now, we are living in interesting times; these are times that test the soul. Except, how do people handle these times who do not believe in a soul or everlasting life, what is your calculus of decisions and how do you react. Please be authentic and honest, you are anonymous to me and this is just a message board.

So, let us go to Scenario 1: Totalitarianism.

You live in a world where the Media and Government work in concert to control your lives. It's worse than 1984 in that you are not even aware of it. The Media pretends to oppose the Government and the Government pretends to oppose the media but The Media helps get the Government elected and through a series of coordinated Reality TV the Government feeds the Media Ratings.

As this world develops your Health Care is being taken away as are your Rights of Speech, but the Government and Media control this by introducing catastrophic war reasoning, "only a degenerate would speak out against the Media and Government during a time of Crisis."

The Media and Government convince you opposing them aggressively is only something degenerates do, what you need are endless peaceful protests the Media will not Cover and the Government does not care about. In short, you and society are cornered because no one is willing to fight for you unless you fight for yourself.

Over time, there is talk of genocide maybe of the Korean and Japanese people or maybe of the Hispanic people. Then there is talk a great recession as regulation put in place to prevent it are removed and you or others will lose your well-being and retirement as a result.

In short, this is totalitarianism.

How would you handle this crisis as an Atheist?

UPDATE !: More Details

In this society they raise the prices of cigarettes, alcohol and criminalize pot...anything that makes you think and reflect and spend time inwards is deemed bad and either criminal or expensive so only the wealthy can do it. They say it is for your health, but really it is to stop from getting you thinking, talking, congregating.

The movement starts out as a People's movement with the Leader a Wealthy Demagogue. You can't just vote the person out as both political parties are in on it. One party given you bad, unlikeable candidates and the other party selects one Demagogue after the other. Over time this People's movement like Soviet (a movement of People) Russia, China and North Korea just plain rig the elections but because freedom of speech will get you killed no one can discuss it.

Then there are Hacker groups who pretend to be on your side but are all on the side of the Demagogue. As you follow their Twitter you see them tear down any party that is not for totalitarianism all the while appealing to freedom while they undermine it.

How would an Atheist handle this scenario?

There are as many potential ways for atheist to respond to this situation as there are atheists. Just as there are as many potential ways for theists to respond to this situation as there are theists. It's a rather silly question.

 

[QuestioningMind]

Hey, I dig everyone's response I'll try to respond to everyone but, but, but it was asked by Skwim what I as a Catholic would do? OK, I'm game.

What I would first do is make myself a target for the government and their sympathizers. I'd do this by posting thought provoking, yet reasonable, points of view on Twitter and various Message Boards, starting my own Tumblr. Some of my views would seem outrageous at first, but over time people would see their truth.

Now, the method to my madness is to spread awareness, but it is also to make myself a target. Just like the Franz Ferdinand Song, "Take me Out," (Franz Ferdinand being the start of the war) "You don't now? I don't know. Take me out,"..."I'm just a cross hair, here waiting for you." Now, the purpose of making myself a target is 1) to test people and their respect of freedom of speech and human life 2) get them to come to me.

All the while I make myself a cross hair, I build a small local revolutionary group in my small town community. This small town revolutionary group is based off of a bigger group called the Blue, Right, Folk or Dogs. I would make myself a scout where I patrol the entrance of the community to see what outsiders are coming in. The only outsiders coming in are totalitarians and their sympathizers incensed with my writing. Instead of me going to them, they come to me. Wonderful method.

There is so much more, but it works rather well when you have God on your side.

I imagine that there are plenty of atheists who would respond in the exact same way. And I suspect it would work equally as well, with God on their side or not.

 

[QuestioningMind]

as an atheist why have children? If you believe there is no logic in this place wouldn't it be the cruelest thing in the world to insert new life with the burden of this existential struggle only to know there is no happy ending?

As an atheist I do not see life as this horrible struggle that has no happy ending. I see life as something filled with endless potential joys... one of which is bringing children that you love into the world. I find it terribly sad that some theists apparently see this life as nothing but a struggle and that the joys in this life simply aren't worth it if there isn't some eternal bliss awaiting them in the end. There IS turmoil and strife in life, but I think our goal should be to always find the joy that exists within the turmoil and strife. It makes me wonder if having this 'heaven' to look forward to prompts some theists to not even bother trying to find and appreciate all the wondrous joy that is available here on Earth.

 

[Ricktheheretic]

Religious people and Atheists are both welcome to reply. I'm not kicking anyone out of this thread as is the practice with some people.

Now, we are living in interesting times; these are times that test the soul. Except, how do people handle these times who do not believe in a soul or everlasting life, what is your calculus of decisions and how do you react. Please be authentic and honest, you are anonymous to me and this is just a message board.

So, let us go to Scenario 1: Totalitarianism.

You live in a world where the Media and Government work in concert to control your lives. It's worse than 1984 in that you are not even aware of it. The Media pretends to oppose the Government and the Government pretends to oppose the media but The Media helps get the Government elected and through a series of coordinated Reality TV the Government feeds the Media Ratings.

As this world develops your Health Care is being taken away as are your Rights of Speech, but the Government and Media control this by introducing catastrophic war reasoning, "only a degenerate would speak out against the Media and Government during a time of Crisis."

The Media and Government convince you opposing them aggressively is only something degenerates do, what you need are endless peaceful protests the Media will not Cover and the Government does not care about. In short, you and society are cornered because no one is willing to fight for you unless you fight for yourself.

Over time, there is talk of genocide maybe of the Korean and Japanese people or maybe of the Hispanic people. Then there is talk a great recession as regulation put in place to prevent it are removed and you or others will lose your well-being and retirement as a result.

In short, this is totalitarianism.

How would you handle this crisis as an Atheist?

UPDATE !: More Details

In this society they raise the prices of cigarettes, alcohol and criminalize pot...anything that makes you think and reflect and spend time inwards is deemed bad and either criminal or expensive so only the wealthy can do it. They say it is for your health, but really it is to stop from getting you thinking, talking, congregating.

The movement starts out as a People's movement with the Leader a Wealthy Demagogue. You can't just vote the person out as both political parties are in on it. One party given you bad, unlikeable candidates and the other party selects one Demagogue after the other. Over time this People's movement like Soviet (a movement of People) Russia, China and North Korea just plain rig the elections but because freedom of speech will get you killed no one can discuss it.

Then there are Hacker groups who pretend to be on your side but are all on the side of the Demagogue. As you follow their Twitter you see them tear down any party that is not for totalitarianism all the while appealing to freedom while they undermine it.

How would an Atheist handle this scenario?

Why is totalitarianism undesirable? Haven't people been happy in totalitarian states? If people don't know any different, and as long as they are well fed and not mistreated, aren't they happy? In many Communist nations the standard of living went up when dictators came to power, think of the Peoples Republic of Albania and the socialist Republic of Cuba. I do question if in countries where there is free-enterprise (China, Vietnam, Laos) the standard of living is any better than in hardline Communist states like DPR Korea and Cuba. I know that in the Peoples Republic of China citizens have certain social and economic rights that Americans don't, such as free public healthcare, the right to a job, and the collective/communal ownership of land CONSTITUTION OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA . I wouldn't give up my life in a free nation for life in a Communist nation, but I do ask: what is freedom? Are we really free in the U.S.A where the rich owners of the "means of production" (read the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx) determine what is the way of life for the rest us? Doesn't economic privilege mean power? Are not working class people under some kind of economic control just because they weren't born into richer families? Welfare states like Sweden, Denmark, Canada and the U.K try to make everyone equal through socialism, sounds like the right path to me, but with certain checks and balances and more programs to create jobs with some free market initiatives.

 

[Ricktheheretic]

Why is totalitarianism undesirable? Haven't people been happy in totalitarian states? If people don't know any different, and as long as they are well fed and not mistreated, aren't they happy? In many Communist nations the standard of living went up when dictators came to power, think of the Peoples Republic of Albania and the socialist Republic of Cuba. I do question if in countries where there is free-enterprise (China, Vietnam, Laos) the standard of living is any better than in hardline Communist states like DPR Korea and Cuba. I know that in the Peoples Republic of China citizens have certain social and economic rights that Americans don't, such as free public healthcare, the right to a job, and the collective/communal ownership of land CONSTITUTION OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA . I wouldn't give up my life in a free nation for life in a Communist nation, but I do ask: what is freedom? Are we really free in the U.S.A where the rich owners of the "means of production" (read the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx) determine what is the way of life for the rest us? Doesn't economic privilege mean power? Are not working class people under some kind of economic control just because they weren't born into richer families? Welfare states like Sweden, Denmark, Canada and the U.K try to make everyone equal through socialism, sounds like the right path to me, but with certain checks and balances and more programs to create jobs with some free market initiatives.

If anyone asks why my reply looks this way, here's why: I wanted to ask some questions on totalitarianism, why is it bad? what does it mean? who decides what is totalitarianism? I'm a leftist and I see that history is full of oppression, and that the Western American capitalist way of life has always viewed itself as right and condemned those who fought for greater equality. I also have to tell what my answer is to social problems, and everyone is free to disagree with me.