tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post113728134070581922..comments2024-03-27T03:19:11.216-04:00Comments on Assistant Village Idiot: It's Not Just The MoneyAssistant Village Idiothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-1164072613965709282006-11-20T20:30:00.000-05:002006-11-20T20:30:00.000-05:00congratulations on your blog. I am a recent conver...congratulations on your blog.<BR/> <BR/>I am a recent convert to the ideas of Rawls, who said that the system should provide a maximum level of goodness for the poorest members.<BR/><BR/>You say (I am putting words in your mouth) "nothing can be done". <BR/>Maybe you are right.<BR/> <BR/>But isn't this uncomfortably similar to the morality of the person who does not belief in right or wrong actions. <BR/><BR/>If we give out guaranteed birth control, we will have less poor to look after, so why will this choice cost "too much".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-1137465148212392692006-01-16T21:32:00.000-05:002006-01-16T21:32:00.000-05:00drj, I tend to agree that coming up against the wa...drj, I tend to agree that coming up against the wall -- or the cliff, if you prefer -- has a teaching quality of its own. Most of us don't change unless we have to. We mean well, and we resolve to do better, but not until there is some external pressure do we actually change. That pressure can be as simple as keeping score or "shape up or you're fired." This doesn't just apply to children or addicts, but to all of us. Accountability works.<BR/><BR/>As to giving 97th chances, I chose the number because of a patient of mine who has something over 90 hospital admissions and nights in protective custody because he goes off his meds and/or uses drugs. I don't think each landlord or each boss should give him 97 chances. But as the mental health system is currently constructed, even on the 97th try there will be someone like me to help him find a room, make sure he has access to his pills, give him a list of AA meetings and soup kitchens, and give him a little cheerleading or a stern talking to, whichever seems more appropriate (I do both every day).<BR/><BR/>We only rescue a few from the flames that far out, but there are some.Assistant Village Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-1137435267590201132006-01-16T13:14:00.000-05:002006-01-16T13:14:00.000-05:00I understand the sentiment behind your statement t...I understand the sentiment behind your statement that you like living in a society that gives second, third, and ninety-seven chances. It makes me feel good, too, but is it effective?<BR/><BR/>Let's apply this statement to a smaller scale - raising children, for example. In disciplining your children, do you find that when a child refuses to stop certain bad behavior, that giving him/her 97 chances to reform works? Isn't it more likely that the child becomes independently motivated to reform based on some intervening event or cost-benefit analysis? <BR/><BR/>In the case of the homeless, substance abusers, etc. - isn't it also likely that some intervening event makes them want to reform, as opposed to finally deciding to take that 97th chance? From my perspective, the system should be looking at motivating factors for good, rather than ways to fix what's "broken". It's one of the reasons faith-based initiatives can be very effective with some people.DRJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18185807047984353497noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-1137337037252963032006-01-15T09:57:00.000-05:002006-01-15T09:57:00.000-05:00An abreviated quote from an excellent book I just ...An abreviated quote from an excellent book I just finished, Sinclair Lewis's It Can't Happen Here, I highly recommend reading it.<BR/>"And what's the solution of preventing this debacle? Plenty of 'em. The communists have a patent solution they know will work. So have the facists, and the rigid American constitutionalists... and the monarchists- who are certain if we could just resurrect the Kaizer and the Czar and king Alphonso and everybody would be loyal and happy again... Well, gentlemen, I have listened to all your solutions, and I now inform you that I, and I alone,...have the perfect, the inevitable, the only solution, and that is: There is no solution! There will never be a state of society anything like perfect!"<BR/>There will always be that small percentage who the system didnt't work for, or who will not follow the program, thats just part of being human. Every policy, or social program being implemented, keep in mind, is an experiment. Thats what I figure it boils down to. If it works better than the previous policy, keep it. If not, get rid of it. But stubborness plays a part in it too, and a politicians inability to ax a program he created can create a situation where ineffective policies are kept to, I don't know, maybe stroke the ego of the politian.<BR/>By the way, I've been philosophying about your liberal ghost dance blog, and will email my thoughts on it when I'm finished, it's pretty interesting.<BR/> -DougAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com