azxcvbnm321 :
The talk about a consumer society being bad is ridiculous. People have choices and they make choices based on what they think will make them happiest or give the most benefit.
Consumer societies aren't automatically bad or good. It's how things are produced for societies that are good or bad. Waste is actually bad for business and not using the most ecologically friendly technology that's affordable is wasteful. That's why we use natural gas and heating oil in our homes instead of coal. Once natural gas became affordable, and replaced coal the skies of cities like London and New York became much cleaner.
azxcvbnm321 :
Instead of spending all that money on constant upgrades to computers, all of you could have installed solar panels on your roofs that would provide around 80% of your power needs. Why didn't you? Probably because you get more enjoyment out of a brand new computer rig then you do out of getting renewable energy.
Why didn't I? I don't own my roof. If I could move into a townhouse with solar panels, then I'd be happy. I'd even pay a little more for rent under those conditions. Where I live solar panels would be a good idea. Eventually, the technology will improve such that solar panels are not only ecologically wise but cost effective.
azxcvbnm321 :
All the PC talk is talk. When money is on the line, that's when we know what people REALLY value. If you spend $140 on cable TV + broadband instead of 1 month health insurance at $140, well then we know cable + broadband is more valuable to you and gives you more benefit. You've made your choice, and if health care insurance is so low down on your list that you never wind up paying for it, then don't complain that you don't have health care and now want someone else to give it to you for free.
I don't value money. I value what it brings. Money is worthless in and of itself. It's just a medium of exchange whose ultimate value is based on trust.
Valuing money as paper wealth brought us every single bubble that burst and hurt our capitalist economy. Ideally, greed should not be rewarded, but it's rewarded in two ways; government bailouts for banks and corporations that claim they are too big to fail and the rush to the next bubble using other people's money.
Both capitalism and government have issues that a bit of common sense and lack of greed could fix.
azxcvbnm321 :
As long as we're human, we're going to produce what humans ACTUALLY want, not what some PC dribble says what they SHOULD want. That's why Communist countries have to be authoritarian, to force people to accept what they SHOULD want instead of getting what they ACTUALLY DO want.
Politically correct has nothing to do with ecology or economics. You're using a term that's actually misapplied to issues of ethnicity and culture. I'm not very PC myself, but I am an ecologically minded advocate of private ownership, government regulation and capital investment for the good of us all.
azxcvbnm321 :
As for me, I am going to wait for the AM3 boards to come out before I upgrade my very old AMD 3500+ and Nvida 7600GT system. I just looked at the recommended specs for GTA4 and my system won't be able to play it! And damned if I'm going to give up my new system for free range chicken, hell no, give me caged chicken fed with pesticide grown grain, I want a new computer system instead!
I realize I'm a minority in this opinion, but I believe that present society criminal games like the GTA series are examples of exploitation. Most fiction or drama involving criminals include elements that call the lifestyle into question. GTA games generally glorify the lifestyle.
IMHO, gangster games should include aspects that separate them from the real world. Either base them in the past (i.e. the days of the beggar king of London or the gangs of New York), or in a fantasy environment (like Oblivion's Dark Brotherhood), or in a future dystopia.
There are times when I wish all you suburban GTA wannabees would get issued a reality check by life. Get robbed at gunpoint and see how you feel about it.
It might take that to change some people's minds. My mind was made up. I would not vote to ban GTA but I would not have it in my house, because I simply don't think it's morally or spiritually good to enjoy being the bad guy. At least in movies like the Godfather series, you have a sense that Michael Corleone didn't want to become who he became at the end. GTA roleplaying is more like Al Pacino's character in Scarface, someone that no one could really identify with or wish to be like.