sagefr0g said:
got your point about possible good myths.
what irks me is the equating of beating casino games to the action of cheating.
first off, cheating is nothing more than a reprehensible act and offers no hope for the beating of anything, other than perhaps the perpetrator, their self. this is so, because we know that if cheating could be a successful venture, it would mean that the cheater as well would be exposed to the danger of being beaten by cheating, in essence, a self defeating situation.
it's quite evident that this is not the way the world works or can work.
beating casino games is dependent upon the way the world works, imho.
as such it has to do with strength, honor, respect and appreciation of one's blessings, nothing to do with disrespectfully coveting the property of others.
one way leads to prosperity, the other to ruin.
It's not the way
your world works or the way
my world works, but I disagree in that I think it
is the way the world works. It's nearly always an inside job. Most of the great casino heists have been inside jobs, be it crooked pit crews, collusion, or just plain old-fashioned skimming off the top-- many of these large capers never to be known, but enough of them uncovered that we should know what's going on.
The way nations deal with each other is an inside job. You don't think it will ever hit the press what deals were made behind the scenes between the US and Egypt and the other players in the current uprising, do you?
Nations deal in deception, saying one thing and agreeing to or doing another thing, much of it behind the scenes. Billions of dollars are paid to foreign dictators who stand against everything that we ourselves stand for. It is the quid pro quo. We ignore the millions who are persecuted, abused, neglected, because we have "economic" priorities. The world is run through deception and cheating.
We say, liberate Iraq, but do we mean it or do we mean set up a strategic base of operations for influence in the middle east for many years to come? Or do we mean payback to Saddam for actions past? Or do we mean ensure the flow of oil to the West? Or do we mean, nip the Muslim threat to the West in the bud?
To me it seems like lying, deceiving and cheating is precisely the way the world works. The promise of transparency is itself a deception. Does anyone believe the government is now more transparent than it was in previous administrations?
Senators take big money contributions from large corporations and wealthy individuals for services to be rendered. Presidents pay back large contributors in many and varied ways under the guise of general welfare. If anything, it is the cheaters who rule and it is the idealists who continue the good fight to install government that is worthy of our respect and support. But along the way, too many idealists succumb to the power and big money bribes and find themselves the next generation of liars and cheats.
No, my friend, I sincerely believe that lying, stealing and cheating is the way of the world.