MaggieD
DP Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2010
- Messages
- 43,244
- Reaction score
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- Location
- Chicago Area
- Gender
- Female
- Political Leaning
- Moderate
Imo, it's not hopeless, but it will take further decline in our economic status. We will have to reach a breaking point to bring about any kind of sanity in DC, because our leaders are like addicts, as are many in the general population. When you try to live outside of reality, reality comes to call.
you're powerless as long as the two party system is in place, abolish that, and then there is a sense of accountability, that their party may not actually get elected again due to their actions.
What really IS the answer to taking back control of our government? I've never felt more powerless than I do today. The same people with the same mindsets keep getting elected over and over again and nothing much changes. A republican (small "r") government works if the elected officials are working in the best interests of their constituents. But they aren't. Both Democrats and Republicans are working in their own best interests. And, assuming that, we aren't much different than a dictatorship...where the very few dictate absolutely to the very many.
The majority of people want term limits. Not going to happen. The majority of people want a tougher stance on immigration. Not going to happen. The majority of people want the government to stop spending like drunken sailors. Not going to happen. Ad infinitum.
Has nothing to do with party affiliation or whether one's politics are left or right. Has everything to do with the American people have lost control of their government.
Is there an answer? Or is it hopeless?
Then what is the answer?
We have become the mobocrary, we were warned against.
Cronyism, general corruption and the wrong self interest have infect the whole system.
In my opinion, it is the slow decline that we should expect.
Sucks but we can't be #1 forever. :shrug:
There is no answer but to let it take its natural course until it must change. We have brought ourselves to the point that government is out of control because we have collectively become uneducated, greedy, and dependent. Don't mistake my views as apathy, because nothing is further from the truth. I just recognize the seriousness of the situation, and I know what it will take to fix it. As long as the general population remains childish and expects to be taken care of, we will vote in leaders who promise to do just that. It's a self-limiting problem.
So we just keep doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. According to Einstein, that's the perfect definition of insanity.
Not sure about the mobocracy part because I don't thing the masses have any control. Maybe I don't understand your use of the word. "Cronyism....etc." -- that I agree with. Your last sentence is very sad.
Well people, in general, are incredibly reactionary and not very well read when it comes to making political choices.
They usually go with the response to appeals to emotion.
It produces a system much like ours.
It's incredibly sad, that's the only conclusion I can come up with though.
Changing the ship, that is the thought process of America, is nearly impossible in such a short time.
What really IS the answer to taking back control of our government? I've never felt more powerless than I do today. The same people with the same mindsets keep getting elected over and over again and nothing much changes. A republican (small "r") government works if the elected officials are working in the best interests of their constituents. But they aren't. Both Democrats and Republicans are working in their own best interests. And, assuming that, we aren't much different than a dictatorship...where the very few dictate absolutely to the very many.
The majority of people want term limits. Not going to happen. The majority of people want a tougher stance on immigration. Not going to happen. The majority of people want the government to stop spending like drunken sailors. Not going to happen. Ad infinitum.
Has nothing to do with party affiliation or whether one's politics are left or right. Has everything to do with the American people have lost control of their government.
Is there an answer? Or is it hopeless?
We call ourselves a republic. We aren't. We are manipulated by those in power to keep them in power. Manipulated because no one can wade through the tangled webs our legislature designs. And because we're all so busy living our lives we can't possibly wrap our arms around the truth. Of course, it's not just at the federal level. It happens right in our own towns.
Oh I agree, we have largely left the ideals of a representative republic behind.
People think national uniformity and centralization are good things.
Just not true.
Probably a little to political for the intent of your thread.
We are a rich nation, nearly everyone in the U.S. is wealthy compared to the rest of the world.
With that comes laziness and apathy.
Yes, and even if we aren't apathetic, there's nothing we can do. I write letters to and call my representatives, write letters to the editor, vote. In the end, it makes no difference because we really don't have representation. It's all a carefully planned and executed charade.
Is there an answer? Or is it hopeless?
Not only are we powerless on that scale, we are completely and totally insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
That goes beyond just the individual. The entire country, hell the entire planet, is insignificant when one views things from a universal perspective.
I've come to terms with the monstrous futility of existence, and thus I find pleasure and hope in the fact that I can help change and improve the insignificant things I've decided deserve personal significance.
My family, my friends, the people I interact with directly. It's all about the little things.
So at this point, I really don't waste time on the futility of trying to alter an unalterable system. If I were to put forth too much effort trying to change the world, I'd become lost in a sea of hopelessness.
That's not so say that we do not have power. We have the power to influence those within our sphere of influence. I derive hope and meaning in my life by using the power I do have instead of pining for the power I can't have.
We got guns, don't we?
You're reminding me of Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. I'll bet you read the book, too. Your "We have the power to influence those within our sphere..." is right out of it. Think I'll pull it out again. Think I've read it five times.
you're powerless as long as the two party system is in place, abolish that, and then there is a sense of accountability, that their party may not actually get elected again due to their actions.
If only it were that simple!!!! Ha!
Oh, no! Don't think in this way. A good brain is always more powerful than a gun (not in every case, but in general). If you think you have gun, don't forget, they have that, too, plus tanks, missles, jet fighters, H-bomb...We got guns, don't we?
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