By Alex Hutchins
INTJ’s are personality types that are found in 1% of the general population and the phrase that best describes us is: Builders of theoretical models and concepts. I was born into a middle class family and have remained middle class all my life. I was baptized and raised a United Methodist but in my late 50’s decided to be baptized as a Baptist, but not because I am “born again,” but because I like the way the minister explained the Bible. I made “B’s” and “C’s” in high school and “A’s” in College and “B’s” and “A’s” in Graduate School but I do not consider myself to be smart or intellectual. I am possessed with strong spiritual and family values and believe in telling the truth, integrity and ethics, being unconventional, and outspoken. I was raised a Democrat by my parents and have transformed into a conservative democrat (if there is such a thing) a few years ago when I realized that the public treasury cannot support the majority, and that those who want others to take care of them will never change their attitudes. I may not have much but what I have is mine.
I dislike immensely people telling me what to do because they perceive themselves to be correct and for me, that is the worst form of censorship. My Dad tried to tell me what to do and while his advice may have been sound, it was not for me; I had to find my own way. The Magic Dragon of his day and age was dead as is my magic dragon for my daughter.
In the 60’s when my generation was protesting, just as in the era of the “beatnik” it is a magic dragon of the times, never to be repeated. Thomas Wolfe said it best, you can never go home… just as tomorrow never arrives because it is always today.
Those that are protesting on Wall Street and all over the country are protesting the world’s affluence… Why??? It is this affluence that has brought us our technological advances in science, medicine, agriculture, physics, and the military. In my College classes, I ask the students if everybody in the class should get a “B” regardless of effort, to which they reply NO! I ask my students, what about me taking points away from the “A” and “B” students and giving them to the “F” and “D” students so that everyone gets a “C”, to which they again reply NO!
Wake up people, that Magic Dragon is dead! If we take points away from the better students and give those students to the poor students, there will be no incentive for the better students to be better. Unfortunately, this is what a majority of the Democrats want for this country: to have a country composed of all “C” students which to my way of thinking and education is socialism. And yes, unemployment, social security, welfare, Medicare and Medicaid are also forms of socialism but I think the real question here is how much socialism can the Republic of America sustain financially and still remain competitive globally?
And, once the masses in America take all the money away from the rich and share with everyone else, so that we are all “C’s”, and we need more money, are we going to China and ask for their money? Or, to Russia? Or, to India? When America can no longer defend her borders because the money from the public treasury is paying for the sick who are dying due to complications from obesity and smoking, are we going to try and force the other nations of the world to take care of us? How about the countries of OPEC to whom we paid billions for gasoline to power our large, comfortable vehicles, are we going to ask them for HELP?
Puff the magic dragon is dead… if you want the rich to take care of you, reduce your wages, reduce your weight, reduce your consumption, reduce your dependence… and, do not let people control you with what they think you should do, like I am suggesting in this article… follow your own dragon if you must or need to… but, remember, you will eventually run out of dragons and other people to blame.
If the masses were smart enough to run the country or to become rich by creating products and services that the masses needed and wanted, they would do exactly that and no longer be the masses.
8 comments:
I don't know about these masses being smart. Just look around.
While we were busy wasting our essence on mindless consumption, driving SUVs, staring at our iPhones, gaping at celebrities, marveling at athlete’s salaries, and engaging in two of the most deplorable activities of our gadget-ridden era — tweeting and texting — our country morphed into a full-fledged plutocracy that is constantly at war. And guess what? There isn’t a goddamn thing you or I can do about it. They’ve got us by the balls and they know it. Just how tightly do they have our ball sacks? This tightly: people are ordering food for the Wall Street protesters with their credit cards. The banks are making a profit off the people who are protesting their greed!
Well said Victor. Right on point!
I remember seeing PP&M in concert at the Greek Theater and Peter Yarrow denied the song about their magic dragon was about drugs. He got so angry about this he made up narrative about the Star Spangeled Banner being about drugs. He claimed that you can make anything rediculous if you want. Their dragon song was about the loss of innocence. A great song I might add, and not knowing who to feel more sorry about, the imaginary dragon left on the shore or the little boy losing his innocence.
Your narrative here sure sounds like you have been disillusioned by life. Did you ever think that just perhaps all of this is NOT real? Could the material world all be an illusion and one day we wake up and it was all a dream? I often think it is quite possible. Still we have our love of what was good in that life, and that my friend you can take with you.
As for the ITNJ's, I don't think you are saying they are the "same" 1% that is being tossed about right now are you? I happend to identify with those people, 'tho I am not in the 1%. In my business life I have always been skeptical especially of those who were in it for self gain. I was extremely independent even to the point of disagreement with management direction, as well as being demanding of both my workers, my superiors and others who were not working towards a common goal. I was persistant in my demands until someone proved me wrong. Plus I always admired those who could think beyond the box, especially those with the ability to see ahead. So it is my own selfish opinion that says we could use a few of these kinds of people to crack the whip and pull us out of our fairy tale world and get us back to the tough reality that is out there. We can begin by having a common goal, and we are all over the map in where we think we want to go. Most of us are stuck in "now".
Now is never good because it does not exist. Only the "future" now is coming into existance. What we refer to as "now" is already past and too late to do anything about.
Our future has already been observed and set in stone... and you are right, puff is about innocence and losing that as we grow older. The song is also about creation and pulling away from God.
Neither God nor the Government should take care of people, nor should it be the responsibility of business to provide jobs.
Our world, your world, is changing whether you want to look at it as now or later or tomorrow and it is leaving us behind - we are all puff...
My comment is not about my life or what I have lost or gained, it is about this country and what it has lost by creating a group of people who want others to take care of them...
There is no dragon... never was... the world owe people nothing and the only thing you have is what you acquire yourself... it is your honor, ethics, integrity, values, and morals and the fact that you cannot be bought by expecting government handouts...
And, I say again, if you want to work either study statistics or engineering or technology because that is where the jobs are. Also, companies are hiring workers that do not need benefits - and that is the now..... jobs are leaving this country because of high American wages and that dragon is dead...
If you want now, you must reinvent yourself and not play to the majority that will always be controlled by the few.
INTJ's are not the rich 1% and probably never will be rich. Look up INTJ on google. It is a personality type, it is how people view life. INTJ are big picture oriented and do not care about details. For instance, I want to know God's thoughts, everything else is mere details.
I have been a rebel all my life. I have been anti-establishment and will continue to be that way until I die. I am for the common man, up until that point where the common man holds his hand out without trying to help himself. Then, that person is on their own.
Business has us by the balls and will always have us by the balls, as Vic says. But, there is a way to fight back and it is not going up to wall street.
It is boycotting their products.
The housewives of this country organizing the strongest boycott to date in the 1950's that brought the beef industry to their needs by not buying beef...
That is what we do. Stop buying!!!
Watch how prices drop. Watch how jobs are created once we hit them in their pocketbooks....
I think it is subline irony and funny at the same time, how NYC is making money off the protesters, but WTF did anyone expect????
Stop smoking.
Stop drinking alcohol.
Stop attending sports events.
Stop going to the movies.
Stop going out to dinner.
Stop buying books and music.
Stop buying computers.
Stop buying cars.
Stop buying gasoline.
etc, etc, etc
then, sit back and watch the rich get nervous....
Start exercising and buy less drugs for related illnesses.
Start eating healthy so the healthcare industry does not make money off our obesity.
Rich people are rich because the masses buy the products......
the 99% can literally screw the 1% if we would organize....
That is what I meant when I said the dragon is dead.
The dragon is dead, well said. The positive thing about these protests is that at least American youth are waking up, so let's see where this goes. But I totally agree with what you say about controlling what we buy. We have a lot of power. We are brainwashed into thinking that our cutback in buying will cost jobs. Depends on where we cut. We have the power and can be selective about what we buy and don't buy. As I have said in other posts here, "Don't blame all the banks and the corporations. Just the bad ones." And NONE of them owe us a job, nor do we owe any of them our business.
You brought up God. I won't comment here, but will send you my brief "Creed" as it ties into this so well. Via email.
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