en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/2397381 Comments by kph5034 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/17/how-much-government-do-we-need/#IDComment129022657 First off, the government HAD to step in and tell us what is healthy and what isn't simply because it became a legal issue. Some fat people decided to sue places like McDonald's for "making them overweight". People in our society are the reasons why the government gets dragged into so many issues like this, typically through the legal system. The government's always going to be there to tell us what it believes is good for the overall population, but when it comes down to it--it's up to the individual to do their own research and determine what is good for them if they ever want to make an educated decision. The reason why the government ever has to step in to do anything is because of the people in our society who refuse to make decisions for themselves. Most people, especially in this society, are perfectly content with being a follower and letting someone or something (i.e. institutions) tell them what to do because most people aren't patient enough to develop their own sense of right and wrong through the great experience of life. Personally, I couldn't care less if the government tells us what the government thinks is the "right thing to do" or the "right thing to eat" as long as it doesn't force us to believe everything it tells us; for the most part, we're free to create our own belief system, as long as we don't impose our beliefs onto or harm other people. Furthermore, it's not like we have to eat the food that our society offers. We have the freedom and ability to grow our own vegetables, or hunt our own meat. Sat, 19 Feb 2011 03:49:31 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/17/how-much-government-do-we-need/#IDComment129022657 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/30/conformity-rules-the-day/#IDComment126058095 Conformity is simply a natural process that human beings experience. We naturally want to fit in, it's part of our instinct. In a way, conformity is a survival tactic, possibly designed to combat suicidal tendencies . Studies have shown that a human being's chance of survival (against suicide) is greater when he or she is more socialized. Conformity is always necessary, to a certain extent, in every aspect of social interaction, and humans need social interaction to survive and thrive as a species. Furthermore, human progress, at this point, would seem to be impossible without conformity. Why? We all conform, whether we want to admit it or not. We would not be capable of being functional members of society if it we did not. Conformity is required for our current societal state to maintain order. Otherwise we would just have chaos. In my opinion, conformity carries a heavy negative stigma. Everyone seems to think conformity is a bad thing, it's not... it's nature. In reality, conformity actually makes us feel better about ourselves; it gives us a sense of belonging. Personally, experience has taught me that life goes by a lot more smoothly with a certain amount of conformity. However, conformity can be taken too far. One has to subjectively determine to what extent they are responsibly conforming and to what extent they are just being a puppet. At the end of the day, my opinion is that some conformity is a necessary survival tool, too much conformity can be self-destructive. Sat, 5 Feb 2011 02:49:51 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/30/conformity-rules-the-day/#IDComment126058095 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9ch%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment122883297 soc 001 Sat, 22 Jan 2011 00:26:51 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9ch%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment122883297 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/15/blog-1-freedom-and-toddlers-in-tiaras/#IDComment122882130 We need to stop acting like we're surprised by these type of things. It's pretty obvious that these girls aren't freely making their own decisions, but what kid below the age of seven with caring parents has ever had the ability to make a free choice? When it comes down to it, parent's have the right to raise their children how they want because they are THEIR children. The kid isn't going to get raised any other way. One day the child will grow up, develop their own sense of what's right and/or wrong, and judge their parents accordingly, and that's something all parents have to live with. Now, as far as what's motivating the parents to subject their children to these kind of behaviors, that's a whole different story. First off, it's clear that nearly every decision anyone can make in this world is influenced by the social web in which we thrive. The entire system is self-perpetuating, what we put into is what we get out of it. The parents that attempt to live through their children are doing it because they have an idealized sense of what happiness means to them. When it comes down to it, at some point in the parent's life, he /she developed a sense of what would bring him/her happiness, of course they are going to assume it will do the same for their child, and when you factor in a competitive nature you're going to have incidents like the Madonna outfit. Now we could go on for hours about how society has influenced the mother's decision, but that doesn't matter. The question we have to ask ourselves is: How far is too far? And this is why we have institutions like child services. Ultimately, how a child gets raised is up to the parent/guardian, but that also means they have to live with the consequences, and that's the bottom line. Sat, 22 Jan 2011 00:22:32 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/15/blog-1-freedom-and-toddlers-in-tiaras/#IDComment122882130