How democracy brings out the worst

There's an interesting scene in The Dark Night where the Joker sets up a social experiment where one boat must blow up the other boat in order to live. The civilian boat decides to put it to a vote. But in-spite of a majority vote by the civilian boat to save themselves by blowing up the other boat first, no-one actually has the guts to follow through.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rr03gGto1Iw

I think this highlights a major flaw in democratic systems. The majority of citizen's seem comfortable voting for a government that puts asylum seekers in indefinite detention. But what if they actually had to do the dirty-work themselves? To explain to an innocent child why they are not welcome and must instead be locked behind bars until they are returned to a life of poverty. I don't think anyone (except maybe a few sociopaths) could do it.

Happiness

☺☺☺☺☺☹☹☺☺☺ = ☹

The existence of extreme poverty in the world fills me with guilt. Governments place the happiness of their own citizen's over the happiness of the rest of the world. But I will never be truly happy until the ENTIRE world can also be happy.

Run Away

I never intended to go to university.
I only enrolled in the course to keep my parents happy.
Secretly, I planned to run away.
To never see anyone I knew ever again.

Sometimes when walking home, I felt the urge to turn around and never come back.

But would I be able to get a job? If I became homeless, would society help me, or would I be left to die of hunger? I figured I may as well go to university until I had planned everything out properly.

I’m the kind of person who has to pick the logical choice over the emotional one.

After doing my internship placement, for the first time in my life I had a substantial amount of money ($30,000). This was the chance I had been waiting for. Even though I disliked my parents, they did take good care of me, so I figured I owed it to them to at least let them know that I was leaving.

Awkward.

They didn’t understand. My dad told me to "think with your head" and wanted me to wait until I graduate.

I was so close to leaving. I looked at airfares to the next state. I printed a map of the city and highlighted housing, libraries and public transport. But my dad was right, I had to finish my university degree, especially now that I was already half way though my degree.

Shattered dreams.

I've finally graduated now. But I'm still living at home. I'm planning to start a PhD.

Why? Because I’ve realized that the problem isn't just with my parents. The problem is with the entire developed world. The level of poverty in the world is ridiculous. Rich countries squirm out of committing their 0.7% to help the developing world. 6 million people die each year from preventable diseases, and the media doesn’t seem to care.

Drowning Child Analogy from The Life You Can Save.

I’ve given up hope of my own happiness. I’ve accepted that I’ll probably be full of a deep hatred for the rest of my life. But that doesn’t matter anymore. When people are drowning, it’s no time to build sandcastles on the beach. People are suffering, and I’ll do whatever it takes to help them. And I’ll squeeze society for every every last drop of help I can get. Even if that means I have to live with my parents for a little longer.

Chill out.

The meaning(lessness) of life

The human brain is a CPU.
Consciousness is in the software.
Our entire universe is a mathematical object.
None of it really exists.

Utility of living = 0
Utility of dying = 0

What's 0/0?
Logic alone is useless.
Life is an emotional decision.

I am a Citizen of the world

"I am a citizen of the world"
— Diogenes of Sinope (412 BC - 323 BC)

Image: The Blue Marble

I believe that the entire world belongs to everyone equally. All borders are artificial. My country is as much yours as it is mine, regardless of where you happen to have been born. And the government has no right to decide who can and can't live here.

Deep Web

Image: Alice in Wonderland

I installed Tor. Lets see how deep this rabbit hole goes.

Decision Making

Sometimes I imagine my emotions as executives arguing within a boardroom inside my brain.
But they don't engage in rational debate.
Quickly the meeting turns to a war-zone.
As my emotions fight to the death for first place.