so while i work at my library job instead of working i waste tax payers dollars by reading excerts from books here and there. i realized through reading mostly business books or books directed at business people or politicians such as hoow to win friends… that alls these books say is “dont be an asshole.” over and over again. so it appears the key to a successful world is to not be an asshole. yet… no one seems to get this. and people continue to be assholes. i attribute this to moral dilemas and humanities inability to distinguish which option is more harmful.
i was wondering in what way people can measure distress effectively? as a foundation of morality [which i really never thought was clearly defined (morality i mean) ] how do you measure pain?
if you want an example im thinking of americas immigratoin policy. to deport or not to deport. but i dont want to argue this. ive done it to death.
This is an important topic I believe. I think the key to making friends is, like you said, to not be an asshole. You develop a personality that people will like by trial and error, but you must always have good intentions.
Of course, the natural inclination is to be an asshole.
Horace believed that human nature is by nature bad, meaning he found that man is by definition an asshole.
Assholeness is actually the impending, esuriant drive to parade your firm belief that others are worth no more than a spit in comparison to you. As I said, assholeness is inherent to human nature and ubiquitous to every form of human activity.
Not being an asshole requires a bit of an effort, depending on the case, which is why most prefer to eschew it.
I have read a little of How to Win Friends and Influence People, and I didn’t see very much about sacrificing the inherent need to be an asshole in order to influence people (winning friends is another matter). It’s all about turning every social situation to your advantage so you have the best cards to play… exploitation of the other person’s emotional and mental standing is the key to influencing someone. Just like in The 48 Laws of Power, there are plenty of laws that speak of ways to give you the advantage… hell, the whole book is that… … take law 33 for example!
Actually, it seems to me assholes are in control of a lot of things. Maybe that’s just because I’m a sheltered high school kid… in a place where asshole-ness abounds.
It’s a cunning ruse by the assholes, tell everyone that the key to success is not being an asshole, then take advantage of all those poor schmucks who believed them.
I never got this whole thing. If you have to win your friends then they really couldn’t be much in the friend department. And influencing people is manipulative and sounds sneaky and underhanded. Not a real good life choice. Cuz eventually it will backfire. If you think you have to do either one, then you need to take a breather and work on your life.
i didnt read all of it but i remember reading the ends of the chapters and basically the moral of each chapter was “listen to people and actually give a damn about what theyre saying.” stuff along those lines. emphasis on the “actually care about the other person.”
and manipulating people doesnt accomplish anything except grant you access to indulgences. thats not power thats greed. creating a world where you get everything you want is easy. get money and aim low. achievements are relative. a mob can take down a manipulative ruler easy if theyre inginuity and ferver outdose the one in power. history is full of examples of people who had “power” but lost it not because they didnt perfect the image of a powerful person but because they simply couldnt out perform millions of people with pointy sticks. your ability to manipulate the masses is never as far reaching as hate can be. especially hate from a removed culture.
