Posted on 04/14/2012 11:40:37 PM PDT by Talisker
It's struck me that JimRob's absolute RomneyZot has created a situation rarely seen in the world, especially on a mass scale: a koan.
A koan is a technique used in Zen Buddhism to stop the endless thoughts of the mind, and thereby enable a genuine spiritual breakthrough when the ego finally shuts the hell up. Traditionally, this is done by giving the acolyte an impossible question, and demanding an answer.
While somewhat inverse tactically, JimRob has created a similiar situation on Free Republic. Freepers are already faced with an impossible situation politically, and JimRob has (at least on FR) removed the easiest answer.
Real koans are not merely trick questions, as most people think (you can even buy books with "answers" to traditional Japanese koan questions, so clueless is what passes for understanding these days). Rather, koans are a method by which a person is forced to examine their most fundamental assumptions, in a desperate attempt to resolve the pressure of the paradox. As result, a more profound understanding is eventually reached that sheds light on what usually is realized to be a self-created cycle of delusion. In politics however, cycles of misery are exactly what the Left was created to maintain, precisely to deny the clarity that would lead to freedom.
So JimRob's making Freepers sweat it out. This is a remarkable thing - and rare. And I predict it will lead to a whole new level of clarity about political dynamics here, because that's what happens when you stand your ground and say: "Enough." You drop the self-indulgence, because you simply can't afford it anymore. And isn't that a perfect paradigm for what needs to happen in America?
Which brings me to my trademark mixed metaphor. Once upon a time, two frogs fell into a cup of milk. They could paddle around, but couldn't reach the rim. As time went on, they grew exhausted, and one of the frogs decided the whole effort was pointless, and despite the entreaties of his friend, he gave up, and drowned. But the other frog kept going, determined never to quit, despite how bad things looked. To that frog, it was the principle of the thing, even if he drowned too. So he paddled on... and just when he was about over, to his amazement, he felt something under his foot. It was a clot of cream he had churned through his incessant paddling. And he was able to brace upon it, and hop out.
So here's another koan: after going though that experience, who did the frog vote for?
Was the frog clapping with one hand?
You sound like a propaganda minister with all of this “our leader” crap, and this “we” will meet our goals and “our” Jim.
Here’s an idea... Why don’t we vote for a frog that chose not to fall into the cup full of milk to begin with.
If the govt had made the rim of the cup safer with some railings, there would be no falling in...
In your situation, prolonged chills are bad. Life or death bad. Take your temperature, then call your doc or go to the ER. Seriously.
“So he paddled on... and just when he was about over, to his amazement, he felt something under his foot. It was a clot of cream he had churned through his incessant paddling. And he was able to brace upon it, and hop out.”
Why didn’t the stupid frog just step on the dead frog and jump out?
I guess because frogs don’t vote.
An interesting treatment of the Romney Zot philosophy as a Zen construct.
All I have to do is get rid of my ego which tells me I have enough intelligence to analyze differing points of view and come to a rational conclusion and accept the conclusion of a Leader and follow orders.
Wie Sie Befehl, Mein Fuhrer!
Those are your fears and you must live by them. I don’t share your fears. I refuse to compromise with evil to advance the illusion that I am somehow doing something good.
“KEYWORDS: kungfupanda”
LOL
NOT for Mitt.
FreeRepublic has a zero tolerance policy toward Romney supporters. Period. If you show any prolonged, repeated or overly passionate support of Romney, for any reason, you get banned.
Hey, it is the site owners prerogative that we are all here and he can “zot” anybody he wants to.
As to the term “zot” for being banned, I think it comes from the cartoon BC.
See the “History of Zot” in the link below, and more discussion in the 2nd link:
http://www.freerepublic.com/~adminmoderator/
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2035915/posts
In the primaries he voted for who he believed was the best candidate.In November he voted for the individual who wasn't Obama and did have a chance to win...namely,the Republican nominee.
He voted as he did in November because he knew that,given another chance,Obama would have stabbed him in the back and called it a suicide.
And this is what I fully expect to happen to me.First,because "JimRob" has twice called me a coward in the last week or so and,second,because I have repeatedly expressed unwavering support for *whoever* the nominee is...even Romney (for whom I have no strong love).
Hey,it is the site owners prerogative that we are all here and he can “zot” anybody he wants to.
I suppose that's true.But I wonder how *wise* it is to do so...wise,particularly,for the future of this once great nation.
Yes, that is the official position of Free Republic. The official position is “do not vote for the GOP nominee RINO who was foisted on us by the GOP establishment after crushing all conservative opposition”.
The GOP establishment treats conservatives the way the Democratic party treats blacks.
The Democrats know that blacks will never vote en-masse for Republicans, so they throw them a very small bone in rare circumstances and abuse them all the rest of the time.
The GOP establishment yields to conservatives in rare circumstances and then ignores us the other 95% of the time, knowing we will support them despite having no representation of small government or constitutional restoration from them.
I mean, what are we going to do, vote Democrat?
I believe the official FR position is, conservatives are being taken for granted by the GOP establishment, and the only way to force them to represent us better is to starve them of support and make them earn it.
It is a risky gambit because by doing so, we guarantee more Democratic Party Presidents and Senate and House majorities, at least in the short term.
If conservatives do this and the GOP RINO establishment is stubborn, then we will see a stranglehold of Democratic Party hegemony for decades.
Also, the influence of this website is still rather small on the national stage, and so it is not likely that a wholesale defection of conservative support of the GOP will result from such a position by people frequenting here.
So all it may do is cost the GOP the margin of victory in election after election, while being to small a difference to get the GOP’s attention that they need to better represent conservatives.
In other words, they may misunderstand, as they typically do, why they are losing election after election, and do something stupid like continue to ignore conservatives, while they say put on a full court press trying to woo the Hispanic vote, pandering with leftist entitlements and embracing amnesty.
So this could backfire.
Meanwhile, the Democrats would have a stranglehold on US governance, and the race leftward would accelerate.
It is a risky gambit, but the site owner has made his call and we’ll see where it ends.
For my part, I think we are doomed, as Tyler said, to a roughly 200-year joy of Democracy that is pre-ordained to end shortly after that brief period, and I believe we are racing toward “dependency” on our way back into “bondage”, as listed below, so I think we are just fighting a rear-guard delaying action, and I believe by voting the “lesser of evils” we are delaying better, than if we starve the GOP and hand the nation over to the commie leftist Democratic party election after election:
Tyler: “The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence:
From bondage to spiritual faith;
From spiritual faith to great courage;
From courage to liberty;
From liberty to abundance;
From abundance to complacency;
From complacency to apathy;
From apathy to dependence;
From dependency back into bondage.”
Will be praying for you, wardaddy.
Actually on a slightly more serious level I was thinking they should cooperate and each drink as much milk as possible lowering it until they could stand on the bottom. That would buy them some time to think of the next step at least. Until they started peeing it back out. Which would negate a repeat of that strategy.
Sure, why not? He’s not going to mind. lol
They're just frogs for crying out loud!
They're not going to convene a grand jury if one kills the other.
You don't remember the Bush Purges?
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