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Tue 30 Sep, 2008 11:35 am
I lament to say that apathy plagues American politics. The problem is, people just don't care anymore. There is no great concern about the state of the country and the state of the world, the suffering in the world and the degradation of society. This mentality is more common among conservatives but affects democrats as well as republicans. "Bomb them all", is a common response to how to fix problems throughout the world disregarding the millions of innocent people who would die from such an action, but of course nobody cares about them as long as we have our coffee in the morning and gas in the tank. It saddens me to say this.
So why do Americans feel this way? Well it's for a couple reason. Firstly it's because Americans have had it easy for the last several decades, we've forgotten what it's like to suffer, any real suffering seems distant and we simply can't relate, we go about our daily lives and we don't want to be "brought down" by bad news so we deal with this by not caring.....and it works!
The second cause is from how we were raised. Since we were children we are taught how great America is and that America is the best nation in the world, these teachings are constantly drilled into our heads it's no wonder we feel superior to other nations and other people. Why does genocide in other countries get the same amount of news coverage as a murder in Texas? There is no question about it, we are lucky and we are privileged, but this feeling of superiority is not a good thing to have. It corrupts us. It dehumanizes us. We have grown arrogant in our prosperity and now we are paying the consequences. High murder rate, failing economy, struggling education system and a falling position in the world.
The truth of the matter is that Iraqis had a greater voter turnout last year than Americans despite the fact that many Iraqis risked their lives to vote. I know many people don't want to accept it but we as Americans still have a lot to learn. Some people may say that i'm complaining about america and to them i say
"Damn right i'm complaining, we have problems and if people refuse to acknowledge that then things will only get worse! If we remain in denial, and pretend everything is okay then this nation will crumble, and i'm not about to let that happen."
The American who sits there and pretends we have no problems is much more dangerous to the state of this country than any terrorist could ever be.
@Fatal Freedoms,
Apathy = voters
Arrogance = any elected official
@socalgolfguy,
socalgolfguy;61540 wrote:Apathy = voters
Arrogance = any elected official
I believe if we better educate the public on the issues we can keep some of these crooks out of office.
There is a negative correlation between public education and governmental corruption throughout the world.
@Fatal Freedoms,
Fatal_Freedoms;61543 wrote:I believe if we better educate the public on the issues we can keep some of these crooks out of office.
There is a negative correlation between public education and governmental corruption throughout the world.
The reason your crooks are in office is because the won't educate the people, oh yeah it is that deep.
@Fatal Freedoms,
OK... We agree that there is a great deal of apathy in America but who cares?
@Musky Hunter,
Musky Hunter;61547 wrote:OK... We agree that there is a great deal of apathy in America but who cares?
:thumbup: thumbs up for irony!
@Fatal Freedoms,
Fatal_Freedoms;61546 wrote:
I rest my case. :thumbup:
@Fatal Freedoms,
Fatal_Freedoms;61543 wrote:I believe if we better educate the public on the issues we can keep some of these crooks out of office.
There is a negative correlation between public education and governmental corruption throughout the world.
I am afraid, my friend, that this is a continuing, unstoppable downward spiral. We are culturally, financially and politically headed into this great black hole abyss from which there is no easy or quick fix. For me, I am seriously considering cashing in all my real estate holdings and moving to an offshore island. I have enough for plenty those that wish to follow....no Jim Jones stuff allowed.
@socalgolfguy,
socalgolfguy;61567 wrote:We are culturally, financially and politically headed into this great black hole abyss.
You've been watching the news haven't you?
@Fatal Freedoms,
Fatal_Freedoms;61609 wrote:You've been watching the news haven't you?
Like a hawk circling a field mouse.
@socalgolfguy,
socalgolfguy;61628 wrote:Like a hawk circling a field mouse.
Just remember the news outlets wouldn't have a business if they couldn't scare people.
@Fatal Freedoms,
It isn't apathy. It's disgust. I'm at the point where I wonder why I bother to vote anymore, especially in local elections. I live in a one-party state, essentially controlled by one party, with most races unopposed, or the challenger with little or no resources and zero chance of winning. If not for the ballot questions, I don't think I'd bother anymore.
@Jarlaxle cv,
Jarlaxle;61684 wrote:It isn't apathy. It's disgust. I'm at the point where I wonder why I bother to vote anymore, especially in local elections. I live in a one-party state, essentially controlled by one party, with most races unopposed, or the challenger with little or no resources and zero chance of winning. If not for the ballot questions, I don't think I'd bother anymore.
True words. In California, a decidedly Democrat state, we have a left leaning Rebublican governor. As tough as he comes off, the Dems have him by the groin. My senator, Dianne Fienstein got 91,000 calls, emails and faxes regarding the bailout. Of that number, 85,000 were negative. Still, her press release stated that she would vote for it despite the overwhelming vote of no confidence from her constituents. She claimed that we simply did not understand and that she knew better. Disgust, indeed.
@socalgolfguy,
socalgolfguy;61694 wrote:True words. In California, a decidedly Democrat state, we have a left leaning Rebublican governor. As tough as he comes off, the Dems have him by the groin. My senator, Dianne Fienstein got 91,000 calls, emails and faxes regarding the bailout. Of that number, 85,000 were negative. Still, her press release stated that she would vote for it despite the overwhelming vote of no confidence from her constituents. She claimed that we simply did not understand and that she knew better. Disgust, indeed.
I hear ya and I feel for all of ya. Now I don't agree with the 'Bail Out', but in a democracy we elect people to make decissions for us, sometimes uncomfortable ones. whether you agree or not, she made a decission based on the information she had available (or so you would hope).
Thats how it's supposed to work. But everything about thisdeal smells of corruption from the very pits of government and banking. We are like Mushrooms, kept in the dark and fed on sh!t.
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