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kristofer
Oneironaut
Registered: 01/01/06
Posts: 230
Loc: Indianapolis
Last seen: 8 years, 3 months
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political rut
#6290513 - 11/16/06 04:28 PM (17 years, 4 months ago) |
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We live in a democratic society, a society in which the people make the decisions regarding social and economic issues. It's crazy too, because people generally have their own agendas and ideas about what success is and how to be successful. As a nation we're torn by political agendas, and we're constantly bombarded by political advertisements and discrepancies between conservative and liberal medias. We're supposed to make educated decisions and vote for people that we believe will accomplish change, but no single person in this culture can initiate change. It takes a collective effort to pass legislation in our favor. Because of our legislative process it's necessary for the government to grow rather than shrink. Logically speaking, over time one would think that a system is going to become more and more efficient, but because we require the bipartisan leadership to compromise, we're left with a bloated government that wastes money and fails to accomplish anything at all.
We've created a system destined for failure. Unless we make serious changes in our legislative process, the system will always be in gridlock, stuck on the same social and economic issues. We're not moving forward as an ego-less nation. We're simply buying into mediocrity and living on the success of the past. It's time to take this ego head on. What we need here in America is tolerance. Understand that we must work together for our own interests and for the rest of the world.
We've wasted over 350 billion dollars to fund a war on terror. I suggest that everyone actually interested in what a waste this war actually is check out http://www.costofwar.com.
I'm not making any change proposals, because clearly I'm a part of the ego-less collective, and my views are probably too radical for anyone to accept. But if we don't do something radical things are just going to get worse.
-------------------- dewbie dewbie dew
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DieCommie
Registered: 12/11/03
Posts: 29,258
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Re: political rut [Re: kristofer]
#6290585 - 11/16/06 04:57 PM (17 years, 4 months ago) |
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Quote:
kristofer said:What we need here in America is tolerance.
There is plenty of that from my vantage point.
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kristofer
Oneironaut
Registered: 01/01/06
Posts: 230
Loc: Indianapolis
Last seen: 8 years, 3 months
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Re: political rut [Re: DieCommie]
#6293032 - 11/17/06 06:40 AM (17 years, 4 months ago) |
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Tolerance, as in tolerant of cultural ideologies different than our own. We're fighting "Islamic Extremists" in Iraq. Islam has nothing to do with it though. That's not tolerance. We're using a religious group as a scapegoat for our foreign policy problems.
-------------------- dewbie dewbie dew
Edited by kristofer (11/17/06 06:41 AM)
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Economist
in training
Registered: 10/11/05
Posts: 1,285
Last seen: 16 years, 7 months
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Re: political rut [Re: kristofer]
#6294353 - 11/17/06 04:00 PM (17 years, 4 months ago) |
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A) Islamic extremists do exist, and no matter what our foreign policy was, the attacks on the WTC were completely unwarranted. If the attacks had hit military targets, you could make a case for them being justified, but killing 2000 innocent civilians is NEVER justifiable.
B) You may want to look at the rest of the world. The US is infinitely more tolerant than most nations out there. Europe is outlawing burqas left and right, Shari'ia law in the Islamic world is hopelessly oppressive, and natives finally got recognition in some South American nations after the year 2000, and Africa still has such wonderful problems as Female Genital Mutilation.
Whether you like it or not, the US is a world leader in tolerance.
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fireworks_god
Sexy.Butt.McDanger
Registered: 03/12/02
Posts: 24,855
Loc: Pandurn
Last seen: 1 year, 2 months
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Re: political rut [Re: kristofer]
#6296144 - 11/18/06 04:29 AM (17 years, 4 months ago) |
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No doubt, the notion that the United States lacks tolerance is a straight-up fallacy. The United States is a vast, interconnected, high volume country which features an incredibly open, generally unrestricted society. In its establishment, it has been intolerant of specific human beings, and yet we have realized the nature of our mistakes, even if positioning ourselves as having dominion over the lives of others satified our perceived needs, and work towards resolving them.
Have you ever been in a Wal*Mart, say, for example, in the Midwest? I choose that example because I have, and because the area is considerably less urban than the rest of the country, and the amount of tolerance evident in the Midwest would be relatively less when compared to urban areas, wherein there is a larger density of population, meaning humans and all of their differences are face-to-face and have to learn to live with each other despite these differences. All sorts of different kinds of people all sharing a public space and not having any interuptions in civility.
The basis that America is intolerant due to the fact that we are engaged in hostilities involving "Islamic extremists" is incredibly unsubstantiated. Clearly, they are referred to as "Islamic extremists" due to the fact that there are groups of individuals engaging in terrorist and what could quite likely be considered as fascist activities, and that the common factor evident within these individuals is that they are Islamic and hold extremist views, relative to other variations of their religion.
I think a lot of people would like to believe that having a foreign policy in itself is wrong. I think these people might like to neglect the nature of the world we live in. They are told of war, they are told of death, they are told of the continuation of war, they are told of the fact that something is wrong in this other country. They become aware of the fact that there is a war, and that there is a problem, and would perhaps like to think that it isn't a problem if we just sort of stop having this war.
The thought of not having my children's eyes gouged out by my government in front of me, as a means to manipulate me makes me contemplate the notion that perhaps others shouldn't have to suffer that experience as well. We have an opportunity to orchestrate a global economy and methods of interaction which would ensure prosperity and that no one would needlessly suffer, and yet we have the eyes of children being gouged out, starvation, and all sorts of offenses agansit essential human rights in the Middle East.
You know what? At some point in time, Iraq will have to start acting as a country, and it won't happen unless a force is capable of removing any configuration that would establish an order such as the one that used to exist in the country. You can't rebel if you are starving, so why would one leave it for them to deal with? Have you ever heard of North Korea? I'd hate to live in that country. Why should anyone have to?
-------------------- If I should die this very moment I wouldn't fear For I've never known completeness Like being here Wrapped in the warmth of you Loving every breath of you
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LunarEclipse
Enlil's Official Story
Registered: 10/31/04
Posts: 21,407
Loc: Building 7
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Post deleted by LunarEclipseReason for deletion: yesthree
-------------------- Anxiety is what you make it.
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fireworks_god
Sexy.Butt.McDanger
Registered: 03/12/02
Posts: 24,855
Loc: Pandurn
Last seen: 1 year, 2 months
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Quote:
LunarEclipse said: At what "point in time" do you think Iraq will "have" to start acting as a country?
It was a statement suggesting that, after some time, they will start blowing each other up and start living a life, when they are given the opportunity to do so. Otherwise, everyone is dead and there is no country. My point is that humans have to cooperate to some degree to survive, and this will/is starting to happen (I don't float above Iraq on a magic carpet and observe progress ).
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Before or after the U.S. leaves? Do you think in any case the U.S. will ever abandon the 11 new Air Force bases they are currently building in Iraq regardless of whether some of our soldiers leave?
Perhaps not if we were to "stay the course", but I'd imagine there would be a transition out as stability started to take hold.
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As for North Korea, do you think they deserve to be rescued like we did to the people in Iraq and shown the virtues of democracy?
No, I think China should engage in a swift operation to remove the hierarchy of the North Korean "government" and then flood the country with food and basic resources. Give the North Koreans what they need to start becoming a functional society again.
-------------------- If I should die this very moment I wouldn't fear For I've never known completeness Like being here Wrapped in the warmth of you Loving every breath of you
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LunarEclipse
Enlil's Official Story
Registered: 10/31/04
Posts: 21,407
Loc: Building 7
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Post deleted by LunarEclipseReason for deletion: fg=fg
-------------------- Anxiety is what you make it.
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fireworks_god
Sexy.Butt.McDanger
Registered: 03/12/02
Posts: 24,855
Loc: Pandurn
Last seen: 1 year, 2 months
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Definitely, an excellent distribution system is key.
-------------------- If I should die this very moment I wouldn't fear For I've never known completeness Like being here Wrapped in the warmth of you Loving every breath of you
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