You aren't an asshole; you're a vegetarian. I hear that's quite respectable these days. Myself, I'll have your steak and lobster - thanks!
I'd downvote you if I could... but I think that's why you replied.
Everyone here created an account at some point. This one was created by me about 95 days ago. I see you have observed that. Very nice I guess.
observance Noun
* The action or practice of fulfilling or respecting the requirements of law, morality, or ritual.
* An act performed for religious or ceremonial reasons.
> That is what my commented contributed towards.
Well, actually, you failed in your observance of the guidelines[1] of this website.
* Be civil. Don't say things you wouldn't say in a face to face conversation.
I doubt you'd have said that to me in person. You can claim on here you would, of course.
* If your account is less than a year old, please don't submit comments saying that HN is turning into Reddit. (It's a common semi-noob illusion.)
Your account is less than a year old, which is a threshold of some merit here.
* Please don't submit comments complaining that a submission is inappropriate for the site. If you think something is spam or offtopic, flag it by going to its page and clicking on the "flag" link. (Not all users will see this; there is a karma threshold.) If you flag something, please don't also comment that you did.
I assume this applies to comments as well as submissions.
Nobody would want to watch American Gladiators if they were not made to do so. Not directly told to, but somehow... maneuvered into it. Not quite the same as the grilled cheese sandwich!!!
And what makes you think that the same hidden influence by others isn't why I like grilled cheese?
And of course you (and me) like grilled cheese sandwiches because of influence, but it might be a different kind of influence. I remember the sandwiches from my childhood and they had nothing to do with the gross multi-pound monsters presented in (sorry) Man vs Food and other glutony glorifying TV shows.
No matter how high your IQ, if you think yourself immune to any sort of influence, you have proven yourself a mark. But if you recognize the possibility of influence and learn at least a bit of the compliance techniques, you make yourself at least partially resistant.
Or, in my case, what if I want a grilled cheese sandwich with tater tots instead of filet mignon and caviar? I hated Sundays on the boat because that was always "Steak & Lobster" day, and I was the one asshole who didn't like steak and didn't like lobster.
I agree that people should probably take an interest in civics. I agree that people should have the information needed to care deeply about civics, if they wish. I don't agree that people should feel compelled to care civics or anything else that Bill Hicks or any other self-righteous prententious jerk tells us to care about, any more than we should be compelled to care about what the government tells us to care about.
If the freedom to do as we please leads to people actually doing as they please, and that offends you, then perhaps freedom isn't what you were looking for in the first place.