I might be wrong, but I don't think Bongo2 intended his posts to be taken at face value. More likely to be used as a stimulus for discussion. Isn't this a hint?
"Proposition: ........."
Ha
That philosophy reminds me of SG, who felt he could say anything no matter how condescending or insulting as long as he included enough smiley emoticons.
This may be a [-]reciprocated diatribe[/-] debating society but it would've been just as easy (and more sympathetic) for Bongo to start off with "Guys, I'm struggling with this issue". IMO the sentiments I'm reading in his quoted excerpt below don't match your impression.
There are some very concrete minded people around here.
Heeyyyyy... who you callin' a blockhead?
There have been a couple comments that, while ER is self interested, it is not detrimental to others, and therefore not selfish. I tried to address this before, and it is not clear if you are disagreeing with me, or I simply didn’t make myself clear. ER is detrimental to others both directly and obliquely. It is not hugely detrimental, it is not evil, but it is detrimental. We all depend on the work of others, and by dropping out of society you are not holding up your end of the bargain. In our society, allowances are made for people like police, firefighters, and the military. There is a reason why; those jobs have always been assumed to be too demanding for a lifetime of service. Whether that is true today, or applies to the desk-bound versions, is another story, but we have that tradition.
No one should be forced to work, and no one is expected to work beyond their ability. But when someone is perfectly able to work, and they simply chose not to do so, then people disapprove, and for good reason.
It appears that you equate a positive contribution to society with the activity of working for a paycheck.
I've made such efficient use of my paychecks (and qualifying for a govt-funded annuity!) that I don't need any more of them, yet somehow my decision to stop chasing them is interpreted as detrimental to society. I'd think it was more detrimental to keep chasing paychecks when I no longer needed to, or wasting the ones I already had.
You also appear to equate "not working" as "not participating in society". Yet "not working" allows me to actually engage in pleasurable activities that otherwise wouldn't be available to me, as well as mentoring and helping others. I'm also in the best physical, mental, and emotional condition of my entire life.
Your philosophy is not matching my experience. Since I'm the one who's ER'd and thus a bit differently experienced than you, I find it difficult to see your sentiments as credible. Perhaps you need to take a sabbatical or even ER and then get back to us in a year or two. Or start donating your paychecks to charity, with extra karma bonus points if you skip the tax deductions.
I find it ironic that a glove is thrown regarding ethics and morals, yet the protester feels inclined to mill about with the morally and ethically challenged to gain some sort of benefit from their knowledge. And his intent to some day do the same.
All the while stating that his obligations are superior to most of the chaff he choses to mingle with.
Well, faced with a morally and ethically superior being whose efforts exceed mine, I'm afraid I have little option other than to fold up my tent.
Hey, at least he's exclusive in his mingling.
Perhaps CFB is right, Bongo. You could find the same helpful info on FatWallet.com, SimpleLiving.net, and TMF that you're getting here, only without that icky ER stuff. But you wouldn't be able to cast aspersions on their membership for living up to the names of their boards, would you?
In Walden, Henry David Thoreau stated, "I went to the Woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and to see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." I am afraid that those unhappy, selfish and greedy people in category four will someday die, only to find that they never truly lived.
"What's money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do."
Bob Dylan
Another coupla dropouts. Or blockheads...