<div>Pat et. al.</div>
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<div>If you wish to post an article, perhaps you can avoid posting the entire web page along with it, especially when there is a lot of commercial content? Of course, some think only web links to articles should usually be posted, when possible.
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<div>I had trouble opening your post, due to the content, I think.</div>
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<div>Regarding the Democrats marginalizing Republicans in the new US Congress, think of this in terms of the sectarian conflicts in nations around the globe. Then think in terms of the Darwinian genetic programming in the human mammal brain, conditioned in its emotional/survival responses by the fact that for millenia upon millenia, the tribe that won control of the critical resources in the area of the tribes wanderings would survive, while the other tribe either moved on, were killed off, or withered, especially when the resources were not large enough to support all the tribes in the region. Now fast forward to the modern age, when tribal influences can extend globally, such as in the hegemony of the US empire, while the mammal brain still functions as though it is facing tribal conflicts over localized critical resources from the pre-scientific/technological age. Now think of applying these ideas to the Sunni/Shite/Kurd/Turkey/Iran/Saudi Arabia/Israel, etc. Middle East stew that the US, in its infinite wisdom, thinks/thought it can/could solve with brute military force, without appearing to be just another tribe trying to extend its control over resources for its own advantage.
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<div>Where was I? Oh yeah, Democrats and Republicans! Just another couple of mini-tribes trying to maximize their control over the resources that the big tribe, the USA, has. But they both are bellying up to the same cash trough, mostly controlled by other more dominant tribal leaders, the captains of corporate capitalism, which now are linked together into some sort of monster multi-national global tribe trying to play the game of global control over products, labor, resources, money markets, currency...
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<div>I offer this in the hope that the Red vs. Blue divide in the US might be transcended, so that the divide and conquer strategy employed to distract the US populace from the Machiavellian machinations of the primary players controlling our future, might be perceived more accurately. But then there is that dang mammalian human brain, conditioned to respond to its primitive tribal struggle for survival from millions of years of evolution, that is so easily manipulated to respond to sectarian, religious, political struggles, us/vs them, they are evil we are good oversimplifications of the reality of power distribution, despite the modern age of science and technology, which should enable humans all over the planet to forget these ridiculous silly squabbles (Socialists vs. Capitalists, Democrats vs. Republicans, Sunni vs. Shite, Christian vs. Muslim, etc. etc.) to bring about the paradise of global peace and plenty that is the human birthright.
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<div>This Darwinian reductionism perhaps explains (perhaps not) both the obsession of sports fans with their team (I had to throw that it!), their tribe, winning the "war," and the laughable political and/or religious tribal struggles that are life or death to many.
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<div>Free Will, anyone? Or knee jerk evolutionarily conditioned mammal brain tribal survival/revenge determinism?</div>
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<div>Ted Moffett</div>