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Debating Memes: Silhouette Man
Scandinavian countries are awesome. At least that’s what all of my liberal friends tell me. These countries are virtual socialist utopias of equality and happiness, as well as a model for a progressive America. As one who remembers the meaning of the word utopia (no place), I am innately skeptical of such claims. The left wing meme generation machine ™ does not share my skepticism however, and has created a comic strip of sorts that explains why Americans are stupid for not giving “free” college education to all of our students. Meet Silhouette man.
The brain is not involved in many decisions made in socialist countries. I don’t see why their implementation of higher education would be any different.
Liberal arts degrees are the “ultimate” investment in the future? Perhaps investment is used here to mean spending money for any purpose, much the same way democrats in Washington use it. We “invest” in cowboy poetry festivals. We “invest” in solar companies that our actuaries predict will be out of business a year later. I “invested” in some new golf clubs earlier this year, and a double baconator for lunch today.
This particular vision of investing in higher education fails to draw any distinctions between useful areas of study for a future trade and the useless degrees that make up the bulk of those handed out at modern universities. Or as Iowahawk said it:
"Go to college" is to education what "put stuff in your mouth" is to nutrition.
— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) May 5, 2014
With the exception of a few specialties, most members of the human race work in jobs to which college provides little applicable knowledge or skills. Most people would be better served in a program that gave them an on-the-job apprenticeship, where the actual skills of their career could be learned.
Or they can get a degree in gender studies. Whatever works.
You don’t say…
Silhouette Man is suggesting that Scandinavian countries are paradises where equality and happiness rule the day. The truth is a tad murkier then this.
Denmark, for instance, consistently polls as boasting the happiest citizenry on the planet. This does, however, conflict with their status as the highest per capita users of anti-depressants in Europe.
In Finland, the leading cause of death for men is now alcohol, which is surely a sign of a healthy work and social life. This must be the stability that Silhouette Man is referring to.
I’m mostly thinking about whether or not the awkward abbreviation of obscenities is taught in Scandinavian universities, or if the debating style of Silhouette Man is primarily informed by Twitter. I suspect the latter.
Would it blow your mind if I told you that “free” education in Sweden isn’t free at all?
Swedish colleges and universities are free. Yep. Totally free.
But students there still end up with a lot of debt. The average at the beginning of 2013 was roughly 124,000 Swedish krona ($19,000).
Even if this education truly were free to the students, it is being paid for by existing workers who are being saddled with these massive college costs. When these students obtain work, their tax dollars will be paying the costs of the free education for new students, meaning all they have done is delay their payment for college until after they graduate. How this is dramatically different from the American system of low interest loans is a question Silhouette Man leaves unanswered.
If we had gone to real “schools” we would have learned the evils of profits.
Release most of our prisoners to save the money for education. Noted. You’re a good idea machine, Silhouette Man.
And people wonder why Americans grow weary of protecting Europe. Some naked self-interest from Europeans would be refreshing on the topic of American defense spending. Something along the lines of “Thank God you’re spending this money to protect Europe, because we’re not going to do it.”
This idea that we spend more on the military than we spend on education is complete nonsense. It continues as a liberal talking point because of the laziness and overall gullibility of those who have presumably been educated in “real,” not-for-profit schools.
In 2012, the Pentagon’s budget was $645 billion. The United States, meanwhile, spent $941 billion on education in the same year from all sources, governmental and private. Of course, therein lays the distinction: Spending doesn’t count unless it was done by the government. I eagerly await Silhouette Man’s explanation of why this is the case.
Unlike Sweden, a country that had only one effective political party until very recently — a party largely controlled by a couple of its wealthiest industrialist families.
Don’t think too hard my featureless friend. It doesn’t seem to be working out for you.
Published in General
In the case of convicts without free family members, do you believe that this comports with the 8th Amendment?
Put them to work. I have to work to eat not sure why inmates should be different.
Anyway I was not complaining about feeding them I was only trying to make Captain Picard and his buddies happy.
As for the 8th Amendment. So what, why should we pay attention to that one considering how much we are twisting and ignoring the others.
There are Mexican prisons that work that way. Heck, you don’t get a bed, or even a cell, unless you’re able to pay for it.
On the one hand, this can be seen as positive because inmates are free to run their own businesses cooking food for the other inmates and providing other goods and services for each other.
On the other hand, it gives gangs an enormous amount of power, because they tend to control the real estate market inside the prison. You want a cell with functional lock on it? You gotta pay to the local gang boss … and he gets a key to your cell.
I forget where I read about this system, so I don’t have a citation to back up these claims. My apologies.
Apropos of nothing: Are any of y’all watching Lilyhammer on Netflix? It’s about a mafia lieutenant who moves to Norway after turning states evidence against his buddies.
A great part of the show is how it satirizes Scandinavian culture of bureaucracy, and the tactics that Johnny (the mafia guy) uses to get around the myriad rules and regulations.
It also satirizes Scandinavia’s squeaky-clean image of itself, which is the entire reason Johnny chose Norway in the first place (he fell in love with Norway from watching the Lillehammer Olympics, a highly stage-managed television event).
One Example: Johnny thinks he’ll have no competition, but then he finds out about Scandinavian biker gangs…
Also, schoolchildren have parents who should be packing them a daily lunch!
Sounds like many local governments.
A lot of guys cheat on their wives. We should not cheat on our wives (yes, yes, this is a cheap virtue for me, Mrs. of England giving no cause to stray, but the point still stands).
America is distinct from almost all the world in its respect for its Constitution (Japan might be one of the few exceptions). America has recently seen the First Amendment expanded further than ever before in a series of campaign finance cases, the Second Amendment expanded further than ever before, the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendments at indisputable highs, and the Tenth Amendment significantly expanded by the Obamacare decision. Now is not the time to throw tantrums.
Only some in America respect the constitution the rest only respect what they want and if they can twist the words of the constitution or any law to give them cover then they do so. When you have the ability to redefine any word or concept to mean what you wish and can back that ability up with force then anything is possible. You talk about expanding Amendments. Well by the constitution this can only be done is a few set ways. Oddly these expansion you are discussing are not happening in any of the laid out methods. No things are being redefined to mean other than they previously have and if you dont like it some government official will use force and explain it to you.
I agree that there are some Americans who are not patriotic. I humbly suggest that you might prefer to be one of the good guys.
I referred to the Second and Tenth Amendments being expanded. This was achieved by the Supreme Court of the United States clarifying meanings that had not, since the founding of the Republic, been clarified. I believe this to be consistent with Constitutional norms.