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Some thoughts on this election thing.

Started by AFK, September 27, 2012, 11:03:39 AM

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Salty

Quote from: v3x on September 27, 2012, 04:43:12 PM
Of course it is exactly this kind of "who cares man, they're all the same anyway" kind of thinking that causes them to be all the same. If the 50% of Americans who can't be arsed to vote actually decided to start giving noticeable numbers of fucks about things, they'd be a political force to be reckoned with, and politicians would be forced to do something. Hell, if the 50% of people who do vote would quit throwing their votes at anyone who made them feel more secure in their comfort zones, it would change politics forever.

That won't happen though, because "democracy is a sham." That's true but only because we allow them to be true, by virtue of not giving enough fucks. Maybe there aren't enough fucks to give. Even in places where people give large fucks like Spain and Greece, it isn't enough to stop the wheels of the machine, so I'm not entirely convinced that Americans are even capable of comprehending the enormous back-breaking fuck they would have to give.

Ultimately, it isn't the government's fault, it's our fault. It's a cliché but we are the government, and when we refuse to exercise our duties as self-governing bipeds, somebody's going to do it for us.

I disagree for two reasons. 1. Most people who are apathetic don't think "it's all a shame" they think "Man, I hope I don't miss that new episode of Breaking Bad." They just don't care at all, could not even begin to care because they are so far behind the curve of being able to process our political landscape into something their shriveled brains can grasp.

2. It isn't that kind of mindset that makes candidates similar. It's their policies. I remember a young liberal who came up to me in the last election and said, "OMG aren't you excited about Obama." I said, "Uh, no." Lots of people were excited about him, far from apathetic. And yet...

As for voting power, I am inclined to agree that if people did actually give a damn, and were capable of making informed decisions and using the machinery of democracy to their own benefit, which I think was the original idea, things might be different. I guess we will never know.

And even if The People, all of them, did stand up and say, "Hey we are going to take back our country now!" well then... I actually can't stop laughing at the thought of that. What would Justin Bierber do with all that time on his hands?
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Anna Mae Bollocks

Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on September 27, 2012, 05:50:21 PM
Quote from: Secret Agent GARBO on September 27, 2012, 05:25:07 PM
TBH, I'm a bit concerned about what would happen if Mittens got in. He'd almost certainly sign any weird-ass fundie shit that gets through (if only to ensure his 2016 election), should projections be wrong and we end up with Republican congress. I think Obama, while not someone I'm happy with, can at least be trusted not to sign terrible fundie shit.

Bottom line:  I have a mother, a sister, a wife, and a daughter.  I'm not handing them over to GOP rape freaks.

THIS.

The lesser evil is still an evil, yeah, but the GOP is just BATSHIT. */obvious*
Not sure what happened - repubs used to be more like this.
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P3nT4gR4m

We got the best of both worlds over here. All our candidates won the last election. Newspapers were on the street corners helping the sandwich board homeless guys to get their "end of the world is nigh" message out.

As far as I can tell nothing changed. Country is still a fucking shambles. Thing is we might vote for a candidate but corporate buy them. Whoever gets in. I'd vote for a unicorn with the integrity not to be bought but I've a feeling I'd be signing the dudes death warrant.

I'm up to my arse in Brexit Numpties, but I want more.  Target-rich environments are the new sexy.
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Anna Mae Bollocks

Scantily-Clad Inspector of Gigantic and Unnecessary Cashews, Texas Division