Our basic freedoms!

[BikerDude]

http://pd.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/fa/2011/08/20110824_fa_01.mp3?dl=1

[meekon5]

OMG!

That's fucking frightening.

Are you suggesting this is how we start to move with Dudeism?

Take over politics and business then rise up and roll over the capitalist system?

Come the revolution!

[Rev. Gary (revgms)]

Dudeminionism.

We need to Dudecise the demons from this unDudely world!





ROLF

[meekon5]

Yeh we were going to have a revolution but went bowling instead!

[Rev. Gary (revgms)]

I read about these nut jobs in Rolling Stone, scary shit mang.

[BikerDude]

OMG!

That's fucking frightening.

Are you suggesting this is how we start to move with Dudeism?

Take over politics and business then rise up and roll over the capitalist system?

Come the revolution!

How in God's name do you possibly get that?
Good God no. These people are nut jobs. And they have huge traction in politics here.
Michelle Backman is a real "legitimate" candidate and she is 100% in this group.
Mike Huckabee is also. Each presidential election it gets weirder and weirder.
We are in serious danger of going in a very bad direction.

Another jaw dropping thing to check out the book "The Family" You are from England so I doubt it would be of any real interest but it's pretty frightening.
http://www.amazon.com/Family-Secret-Fundamentalism-Heart-American/dp/0060560053/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2

Interview with the author.
http://pd.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/fa/2009/11/20091124_fa_01.mp3?dl=1

[meekon5]

OMG!

That's fucking frightening.

Are you suggesting this is how we start to move with Dudeism?

Take over politics and business then rise up and roll over the capitalist system?

Come the revolution!

How in God's name do you possibly get this?
Good God no. These people are nut jobs. And they have huge traction in politics here.
Michelle Backman is a real "legitimate" candidate and she is 100% in this group.
Mike Huckabee is also. Each presidential election it gets weirder and weirder.
We are in serious danger of going in a very bad direction.

Is it me or is there a sudden drastic drop in the level of humour on this forum recently?

Look I know Cakes spat the dummy and stomped off (a shame but if that's how he feels then that is his business), but my basic premise is humour in my posts.

As for:

Another jaw dropping thing to check out the book "The Family" You are from England so I doubt it would be of any real interest but it's pretty frightening....

Sitting here in England the US is obviously less of a central theme to my daily deliberations than it would be if I were actually sitting there, but I am aware that we hang by a gossamer thread between both the US and mainland Europe (I use the phrase particularly there as we have been a part of Europe for much longer than most of my countrymen would like to admit).

I personally have great interest in the nature and development of the US political system as it very much influences the UK directions. Also I studied polatics as part of my Degree and continue to have an interest.

You can probably read in many of my posts I personally am not against Christians, but do find many of it's flavours very distasteful.

The major problem with apocalyptic religions is that when the foretold fall doesn't occur they tend to want to make it happen, and if these people are as embedded into the US system as this article suggests then they may pull the whole of the US economy down with them.

Even more (or possibly equally) worrying is the development and acceptance of a number of Fascist candidates in the Mainland EU.

There are days when I do wonder if we are not actually sitting on the cusp of the collapse of the entire western civilization.

[Busmum]

Is it me or is there a sudden drastic drop in the level of humour on this forum recently?

well, i laughed (quietly, since everyone is still asleep in these here parts) when you proposed revolution  perhaps you have to go back to the blinding practice of  inserting  smilies  to  indicate  your  making  a  funny  ?

There are days when I do wonder if we are not actually sitting on the cusp of the collapse of the entire western civilization.

my feeling is, we are in the actual midst of collapse, and have been for some time-- but it's a can't see the forest for the trees thing.

[BikerDude]

There are days when I do wonder if we are not actually sitting on the cusp of the collapse of the entire western civilization.

I think much of it will change to something like fascism or some type of religious / corporate state.
I doubt western civilization will collapse but it may become something a lot less free. And probably
knock the living crap out of the rest of the civilized and uncivilized world on the way to it.

[Rev. Gary (revgms)]

This is our concern dude.

[meekon5]

The Chinese will have taken over before that happens. In fact they will use the religious/fascist in fighting as a distraction as they buy the whole rug out from underneath us all.

[BikerDude]

Oh and on the continual topic of "moving Dudeism forward" one thing that we do probably need to do is be somewhat clear about our views of "Religion" overall. I think much of the reaction that we get from others has a lot to do with the perception (or observation) of a impiety and lack of respect for other religions inherit in the frivolous nature of Dudeism. Much like the "Church of the flying spaghetti monster" etc.
In my case I have very little respect for pretty much any organized religions. And the ones that I manage some respect for are those that don't require buying any mumbo jumbo like the virgin birth and burning bushes and stuff.

You see I can already hear that we by and large don't dig organized religion and don't buy most of it but we Abide it. But you see that's the rub. For "them" that's not enough. They can't abide that and  by implication can't abide us. I doubt there is a lot of Abiding going on in someplace like Suadi Arabia or Iran where they might waterboard you because of yer shirt or something.

So you see this is where the rubber meats the road.
Sure you could carry "Abiding" all the way to passive resistance but I admit I wouldn't make it even half way there. I don't believe the Dude was Ghandi and I know I'm not.
Accross this line ....

[BikerDude]

The Chinese will have taken over before that happens. In fact they will use the religious/fascist in fighting as a distraction as they buy the whole rug out from underneath us all.

I doubt it. As I've said they won't go quietly.
I firmly believe that the "true believers" would pull the temple down on there own heads before they would allow "godlessness" and communism to triumph. Heck they positively long for the end of the world. You think they are gonna bat an eye at all out thermo nuclear war. Hell no they'd hail the very nut that goes ahead as the second coming of Jesus.
It really is that bad.

[meekon5]

On the point of revolution, I see a Dudeist Revolution as an oxymoron any way, much like the revolution we allegedly had in the UK (late 1700-1800's), it rained so everyone went home (I don't know how much of that is apocryphal, but it makes my point.

[meekon5]

I doubt it. As I've said they won't go quietly.
I firmly believe that the "true believers" would pull the temple down on there own heads before they would allow "godlessness" and communism to triumph. Heck they positively long for the end of the world. You think they are gonna bat an eye all out thermo nuclear war. Hell no they'd hail the very nut that goes ahead as the second coming of Jesus.
It really is that bad.

I know what you mean about the christians not giving up, imagine a whole cuntry going the way of the Branch Davidians? But on the subject of china taking over the world:

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23517837-how-chinas-taking-over-africa-and-why-the-west-should-be-very-worried.do

and:

http://people.howstuffworks.com/china-taking-over-world.htm