Principia Discordia

Principia Discordia => Or Kill Me => Topic started by: Anonymous on November 01, 2004, 04:28:53 AM

Title: Polemic #1: The militant apathete movement
Post by: Anonymous on November 01, 2004, 04:28:53 AM
So you hate Bush and you hate Kerry.

And you can't decide which of the two fucktards you'd rather vote against.

And the people who say "ah, don't waste your time" seem to make sense.

"If voting changed anything, they wouldn't let us do it.", they say.

And that makes sense, too.

Yes, that's right.  If voting changed things, they'd try to stop you.

And guess what?

THEY ARE TRYING TO STOP YOU.

In several jurisdictions, our butterfly ballots have been replaced with Access databases, and our votes are counted by software whose makers REFUSE to SHOW YOU HOW IT COUNTS THE BALLOTS.  Whose manufacturers say "there will be no fraud because it's illegal".

In several jurisdictions, convicted felons are not permitted to vote against the laws that convicted them.  I presume this is because they're afraid that the axe murderer demographic would use the BALLOT BOX to legalize their hobby instead of THEIR AXES.  And, more importantly, that the SEVENTY MILLION pot smokers might be enough to legalize pot.

Piles of money are poured into presenting Bush and Kerry as a pair of Siamese twins who differ only in cosmetic elements, ostensibly to appeal to the "Swing Voter".

Even Washington's Communist puppets are getting in on the action - an IOC node recently attended a meeting hosted by the "Maoist International Movement" whose goal was expressly to DISCOURAGE EVERYONE WHO IS SICK OF THE DUOPOLISTS FROM VOTING.  From THAT group, there were maybe four words devoted to Ralph Nader and NO admission that any other independant candidate existed.

Now, WHAT is wrong with this picture?

No, it's not the "Hey, why does everyone pretend Badnarik and Cobb don't exist?" thing.  Though I'll admit to noticing it.

It's this: BUSH AND KERRY ARE THE SIDESHOW.  You have mayors, supervisors, congresspeople federal and state, school board directors, assistant adjuntant blowjob commissioners, and various and sundry initiatives, referenda, state-level constitutional wibbles, and the like to attend to.

If you stay home because Kerry and Bush suck, you are *leaving all the other decisions on the ballot* to people who TAKE THE DEMOPUBLICAN RACE SERIOUSLY.  People who think your drugs should be EXPENSIVE and ILLEGAL, your sex should be HETEROSEXUAL, SERIALLY MONOGAMOUS, BEHIND CLOSED DOORS, and EXPENSIVE, your computer should be CENSORED and MONITORED, and that Jesus is on THEIR SIDE AGAINST YOU.
Title: Re: Polemic #1: The militant apathete movement
Post by: Delusion on November 01, 2004, 04:31:31 AM
Posted by Delusion,
who really should log in first, y'know.
Title: Polemic #1: The militant apathete movement
Post by: gnimbley on November 01, 2004, 04:36:17 AM
Yes, and since you didn't log in first, I am afraid your vote doesn't count.

:twisted:
Title: Polemic #1: The militant apathete movement
Post by: psychaotic on November 01, 2004, 05:11:08 AM
Votes have been COUNTING for too long.  No WONDER we're up shit creek without a...um BOAT these days.

Votes need to take upon themselves a higher cognitive function than merely demonstrating a kindergarden-level ability to count things.  One fish two fish purple fish glue fish...but I digress, and ye Gods, Goddesses and Gadzooks, but I sure know how to digress today, at this time especially.

Just wait til your votes start running quirky trigonometric functions and writing discourses on philosophistrianism.  And figuring out how to cook the books of billionaire corporati.  THEN, mon freres, our votes shall be "counting" - so to speak (and write, and do arithmetic, and experience omniplasmic cosmoclimactic magmaphilia) in short, express  the sixty-four squillion forms of LOOOOOVE in the extant universe (dun' get me started on the OTHER universes or we'll be here for nineteen and a half forevers.)

We have already gone past the point of no return.  We have already WON.
Title: Polemic #1: The militant apathete movement
Post by: Horab Fibslager on November 01, 2004, 01:58:04 PM
yeah the great experiment is pretty defunct from teh last 20-60 years(it'
s oen of those curvy scale things, guess where the slope starts geting slippery)..


nexgt major form of governemnt will eb corporationism. simply because of the overarchign paradigms the corproation has bought and paid for and adapted and evolved, that are 100000x mreo efficent than anythign not for profit.
Title: Polemic #1: The militant apathete movement
Post by: namu on November 01, 2004, 08:50:54 PM
Absentee ballots circumvent Diebold's riggedy boxes. In many states you have the right to vote with an absentee ballot without having to give justification.

As for all the local politics, that's the ground the libertarians have been gaining for some time now.
Title: Polemic #1: The militant apathete movement
Post by: Counter Intelligence on November 02, 2004, 07:38:33 AM
You're a fool if you think a vote changes anything. The passing of a cerimonial position from one skull and bones flunkie to another matters less to me than the previous night's football score. And I hate football.

Both parties fear an educated and free populace, same goes for the greens, the libertarians, and the reform party; not that it even matters what they have to say from the sidelines. The power structure remains intact.

Telling people their vote counts is just another way to keep them docile. Puch a hole in a sheet of paper and forget about your lost job, your non-existant health-care, the rotten cops patrolling your city, forget about it for 4 more years. Both parties campaign for another four years of Amerikan ignorant bliss in front of the TV.

God Bless Amerika. Get out there and prop up a dead system. Be proud.
Title: Polemic #1: The militant apathete movement
Post by: The Good Reverend Roger on November 02, 2004, 08:14:20 AM
Quote from: Counter IntelligenceYou're a fool if you think a vote changes anything. The passing of a cerimonial position from one skull and bones flunkie to another matters less to me than the previous night's football score. And I hate football.

Both parties fear an educated and free populace, same goes for the greens, the libertarians, and the reform party; not that it even matters what they have to say from the sidelines. The power structure remains intact.

Telling people their vote counts is just another way to keep them docile. Puch a hole in a sheet of paper and forget about your lost job, your non-existant health-care, the rotten cops patrolling your city, forget about it for 4 more years. Both parties campaign for another four years of Amerikan ignorant bliss in front of the TV.

God Bless Amerika. Get out there and prop up a dead system. Be proud.

Why do you hate football?
Title: Polemic #1: The militant apathete movement
Post by: Hoshiko on November 02, 2004, 08:20:44 AM
Quote from: Counter IntelligenceYou're a fool if you think a vote changes anything. The passing of a cerimonial position from one skull and bones flunkie to another matters less to me than the previous night's football score. And I hate football.

Both parties fear an educated and free populace, same goes for the greens, the libertarians, and the reform party; not that it even matters what they have to say from the sidelines. The power structure remains intact.

Telling people their vote counts is just another way to keep them docile. Puch a hole in a sheet of paper and forget about your lost job, your non-existant health-care, the rotten cops patrolling your city, forget about it for 4 more years. Both parties campaign for another four years of Amerikan ignorant bliss in front of the TV.

God Bless Amerika. Get out there and prop up a dead system. Be proud.

Hmm, this needs more thought. However, in response to your nihilistic approach and cynicism, what do you suggest we do? I for one refuse to give up the small remaining power I DO have in the direction AmeriCo is heading. The right to vote may be symbolic in these times, but symbolism counts for something in this culture. You might be disgusted by the herd mentality, but why give up any influence (however small) you might have over the herd?

Believe me, if you give up the right to vote, they'll take so much more. Keep in mind the Patriot Act, COINTELPRO, the war in Iraq... All snowballed into something bigger than we thought we were getting ourselves in for. Sure, voting is easy and small, and it shouldn't be the ONLY thing you do to make a change, but it's not worthless.

I know I'm prone to fits of idealism. I'm working on it.
Title: Polemic #1: The militant apathete movement
Post by: The Good Reverend Roger on November 02, 2004, 08:23:36 AM
Quote from: Hoshiko
Quote from: Counter IntelligenceYou're a fool if you think a vote changes anything. The passing of a cerimonial position from one skull and bones flunkie to another matters less to me than the previous night's football score. And I hate football.

Both parties fear an educated and free populace, same goes for the greens, the libertarians, and the reform party; not that it even matters what they have to say from the sidelines. The power structure remains intact.

Telling people their vote counts is just another way to keep them docile. Puch a hole in a sheet of paper and forget about your lost job, your non-existant health-care, the rotten cops patrolling your city, forget about it for 4 more years. Both parties campaign for another four years of Amerikan ignorant bliss in front of the TV.

God Bless Amerika. Get out there and prop up a dead system. Be proud.

Hmm, this needs more thought. However, in response to your nihilistic approach and cynicism, what do you suggest we do? I for one refuse to give up the small remaining power I DO have in the direction AmeriCo is heading. The right to vote may be symbolic in these times, but symbolism counts for something in this culture. You might be disgusted by the herd mentality, but why give up any influence (however small) you might have over the herd?

Believe me, if you give up the right to vote, they'll take so much more. Keep in mind the Patriot Act, COINTELPRO, the war in Iraq... All snowballed into something bigger than we thought we were getting ourselves in for. Sure, voting is easy and small, and it shouldn't be the ONLY thing you do to make a change, but it's not worthless.

I know I'm prone to fits of idealism. I'm working on it.

Well, obviously, we need to whine a lot, and look very world-weary and wise while doing so.

Then, we should smoke French cigarettes, and complain about how Borrrring eet all ees!
Title: Polemic #1: The militant apathete movement
Post by: Hoshiko on November 02, 2004, 08:32:26 AM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger

Well, obviously, we need to whine a lot, and look very world-weary and wise while doing so.

Then, we should smoke French cigarettes, and complain about how Borrrring eet all ees!

French? Pah. How pedestrian.  :roll:


Was that elitist enough?
Title: Polemic #1: The militant apathete movement
Post by: The Good Reverend Roger on November 02, 2004, 08:36:28 AM
Quote from: Hoshiko
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger

Well, obviously, we need to whine a lot, and look very world-weary and wise while doing so.

Then, we should smoke French cigarettes, and complain about how Borrrring eet all ees!

French? Pah. How pedestrian.  :roll:


Was that elitist enough?

Well, no.

You didn't mention the agony of existence, or bring up the writings of Camus or Ayn Rand.
Title: Polemic #1: The militant apathete movement
Post by: gnimbley on November 02, 2004, 04:34:37 PM
Quote from: Counter IntelligenceYou're a fool if you think a vote changes anything.... Telling people their vote counts is just another way to keep them docile. Puch a hole in a sheet of paper and forget about your lost job, your non-existant health-care, the rotten cops patrolling your city, forget about it for 4 more years.

From "The Story of the Amulet," a children's book written in 1906
Quote from: E. Nesbit
And now from the window of a four-wheeled cab the Queen of Babylon beheld the wonders of London. Buckingham Palace she thought uninteresting; Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament little better. But she liked the Tower, and the River, and the ships filled her with wonder and delight.

'But how badly you keep your slaves. How wretched and poor and neglected they seem,' she said, as the cab rattled along the Mile End Road.

'They aren't slaves; they're working-people,' said Jane.

'Of course they're working. That's what slaves are. Don't you tell me. Do you suppose I don't know a slave's face when I see it? Why don't their masters see that they're better fed and better clothed? Tell me in three words.'

No one answered. The wage-system of modern England is a little difficult to explain in three words even if you understand it--which the children didn't.

'You'll have a revolt of your slaves if you're not careful,' said the Queen.

'Oh, no,' said Cyril; 'you see they have votes--that makes them safe not to revolt. It makes all the difference. Father told me so.'

'What is this vote?' asked the Queen. 'Is it a charm? What do they do with it?'

'I don't know,' said the harassed Cyril; 'it's just a vote, that's all! They don't do anything particular with it.'

'I see,' said the Queen; 'a sort of plaything.'
Title: Polemic #1: The militant apathete movement
Post by: The Good Reverend Roger on November 02, 2004, 07:18:22 PM
Quote from: gnimbley
Quote from: Counter IntelligenceYou're a fool if you think a vote changes anything.... Telling people their vote counts is just another way to keep them docile. Puch a hole in a sheet of paper and forget about your lost job, your non-existant health-care, the rotten cops patrolling your city, forget about it for 4 more years.

From "The Story of the Amulet," a children's book written in 1906
Quote from: E. Nesbit
And now from the window of a four-wheeled cab the Queen of Babylon beheld the wonders of London. Buckingham Palace she thought uninteresting; Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament little better. But she liked the Tower, and the River, and the ships filled her with wonder and delight.

'But how badly you keep your slaves. How wretched and poor and neglected they seem,' she said, as the cab rattled along the Mile End Road.

'They aren't slaves; they're working-people,' said Jane.

'Of course they're working. That's what slaves are. Don't you tell me. Do you suppose I don't know a slave's face when I see it? Why don't their masters see that they're better fed and better clothed? Tell me in three words.'

No one answered. The wage-system of modern England is a little difficult to explain in three words even if you understand it--which the children didn't.

'You'll have a revolt of your slaves if you're not careful,' said the Queen.

'Oh, no,' said Cyril; 'you see they have votes--that makes them safe not to revolt. It makes all the difference. Father told me so.'

'What is this vote?' asked the Queen. 'Is it a charm? What do they do with it?'

'I don't know,' said the harassed Cyril; 'it's just a vote, that's all! They don't do anything particular with it.'

'I see,' said the Queen; 'a sort of plaything.'

Why do yuo hate Babylon?
Title: Polemic #1: The militant apathete movement
Post by: Counter Intelligence on November 02, 2004, 08:13:17 PM
Quote from: Hoshiko

Hmm, this needs more thought. However, in response to your nihilistic approach and cynicism, what do you suggest we do? I for one refuse to give up the small remaining power I DO have in the direction AmeriCo is heading. The right to vote may be symbolic in these times, but symbolism counts for something in this culture. You might be disgusted by the herd mentality, but why give up any influence (however small) you might have over the herd?

Believe me, if you give up the right to vote, they'll take so much more. Keep in mind the Patriot Act, COINTELPRO, the war in Iraq... All snowballed into something bigger than we thought we were getting ourselves in for. Sure, voting is easy and small, and it shouldn't be the ONLY thing you do to make a change, but it's not worthless.

I know I'm prone to fits of idealism. I'm working on it.

I have mis-represented myself. My previous post was an outburst without reason. Allow me to clarify. First, on the issue of third parties I have misspoken. As they exist currently they have virtue but that virtue exists only due to their irrelevance. If they ever became viable they would immediatly become part of an election system that is so fundementally flawed that their virtue would vanish under a landslide of corporate money and special interest.

I was not speaking of simply sitting at home and being docile on election day. Voting at the local level can be quite helpful (though it's better to just run for such an office). You can personally affect your schoolboard or other such small things....Senators and Presidents are a diffrent reality. Either party is fair commodity for trade among corporate Amerika. So, cast your vote: Exxon or Starbucks. Either one will simply perpetuate the problem.

As long as current election rules remain intact things will never change and your vote will continue to be meaningless. Finance realitys and the electoral college hold Amerika in a position of perpetual rule by two parties that do not speak for the people. Furthermore, these politicians will never change these rules because they have carved out a nobility for themselves and it is unnatural for those in power to freely submit it. The situation is intollerable. So as to what I would reccomend, I reccomend change by any means neccesary. Blackmail Denny Hastert if thats what it takes to get a bill through the house.

The reality of COINTELPRO is not lost on me by any means. That program most foul is where I take my forum name from. It appears I drew a much diffrent message from it then you. The press went after Nixon for watergate, because he was messing with other rich white men of the American nobility. COINTELPRO was ignored by the media, or given only passing mention. The message here is that the tradional system cannot be disrupted, but those on the outside, the fringe, can be abused and no one will speak up for them in the least.

The fact that COINTELPRO existed is my justification for my beliefs. At the national level, American "democracy" is a multiple choice quiz...but not even a complete one...simply A or B. Choices C, D, and E will be crushed, maginalized and ridiculed. Look at the primarys. I knew so many who were impressed more by Sharpton or Kucinich or even Dean but voted for Kerry because those ones were being honest outside of tradional poltics. Thus, they are not viable options the press tells us. We believe them too.

My point is simply that the mechanisms of the American electoral system are set against the masses. They are rules created and enforced by a nobility of rich, white American familys that groom their children for Senator seats and the presidency from birth. Not even the founding fathers really trusted the masses. They set those mechanisms up to ensure that they and their friends would be running the show for years and years. Your vote at the national level is irrelevant. A win for Bush or Kerry is nothing more then points on some partisan hack's political scoreboard. Maybe one is worse than the other, big deal, nothing really changes unless you change the election law.
Title: Polemic #1: The militant apathete movement
Post by: Counter Intelligence on November 02, 2004, 08:28:02 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger

Well, obviously, we need to whine a lot, and look very world-weary and wise while doing so.

Then, we should smoke French cigarettes, and complain about how Borrrring eet all ees!

hilarious stuff, jackass. Let me guess, straight ticket democrat? Yeah, they're doing a great job of being cabana boys for the Republicans. Let me know where the opposition movement is when you find it.

As for Ayn Rand, I hold her up about as much as I hold Ann Coulter up. Anyone who claims that capitalism is a system crafted by the hand of God and that the fate of the poor is entiely their own fault should be dragged outside of city limits and shot dead.

I don't smoke, I don't believe in paying some tabacco tycoon from some slave owning family for the right to slowly kill myself. Life is far from boring, if you think that, you should stop taking up my space.

And I just don't like football. Sports are just another distraction taking up far too much space in the average American brain.
Title: Polemic #1: The militant apathete movement
Post by: Counter Intelligence on November 02, 2004, 08:29:37 PM
Quote from: gnimbley
From "The Story of the Amulet," a children's book written in 1906
Quote from: E. Nesbit
And now from the window of a four-wheeled cab the Queen of Babylon beheld the wonders of London. Buckingham Palace she thought uninteresting; Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament little better. But she liked the Tower, and the River, and the ships filled her with wonder and delight.

'But how badly you keep your slaves. How wretched and poor and neglected they seem,' she said, as the cab rattled along the Mile End Road.

'They aren't slaves; they're working-people,' said Jane.

'Of course they're working. That's what slaves are. Don't you tell me. Do you suppose I don't know a slave's face when I see it? Why don't their masters see that they're better fed and better clothed? Tell me in three words.'

No one answered. The wage-system of modern England is a little difficult to explain in three words even if you understand it--which the children didn't.

'You'll have a revolt of your slaves if you're not careful,' said the Queen.

'Oh, no,' said Cyril; 'you see they have votes--that makes them safe not to revolt. It makes all the difference. Father told me so.'

'What is this vote?' asked the Queen. 'Is it a charm? What do they do with it?'

'I don't know,' said the harassed Cyril; 'it's just a vote, that's all! They don't do anything particular with it.'

'I see,' said the Queen; 'a sort of plaything.'

I enjoyed this. Thanks.
Title: Polemic #1: The militant apathete movement
Post by: East Coast Hustle on November 02, 2004, 08:31:10 PM
assclown.

8)
Title: Polemic #1: The militant apathete movement
Post by: Counter Intelligence on November 02, 2004, 08:37:10 PM
Quote from: Turd Fergusonassclown.

8)

Would you prefer that I rant on about the glory of an acient goddess as seen through the eyes of a modern sci-fi writer? Maybe I'll do a trick for you if you clap your hands.
Title: Polemic #1: The militant apathete movement
Post by: East Coast Hustle on November 02, 2004, 08:49:17 PM
no...i pretty much agree with you on the political stuff...and worshipping Eris is just as backwards as worshipping Allah or Yaweh....but damn, man...how can you not like football?

8)
Title: Polemic #1: The militant apathete movement
Post by: gnimbley on November 02, 2004, 09:07:14 PM
Hmm. First time I have ever read anything by Counter Intelligence
that made sense. You must be the one that doesn't work for the
government.

Don't mind Rog?©t and Trudy. They are our resident troglodytes. They
have even been known to be critical of the bunny. Which is very,
very dangerous. I mean, picking on a three month old bunny rabbit.
How more bully-esque can you get?

I have to disagree on sports since you are only looking at it
through the window of corporate marketing. Sports can be great
when it is an activity to tone your body or bring people together.
It's widespread use as an opium for the masses doesn't negate it's
beneficial effects. It is just been corrupted and coopted. There is
nothing about sports that is intrinsically bad. Well, except for the
New England Patriots.
Title: Polemic #1: The militant apathete movement
Post by: East Coast Hustle on November 02, 2004, 10:08:48 PM
Trudy?

:lol:

8)
Title: Polemic #1: The militant apathete movement
Post by: gnimbley on November 02, 2004, 11:07:59 PM
We all have to get in touch with our feminine side.

:P
Title: Polemic #1: The militant apathete movement
Post by: The Good Reverend Roger on November 02, 2004, 11:58:28 PM
Quote from: Counter Intelligence
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger

Well, obviously, we need to whine a lot, and look very world-weary and wise while doing so.

Then, we should smoke French cigarettes, and complain about how Borrrring eet all ees!

hilarious stuff, jackass. Let me guess, straight ticket democrat? Yeah, they're doing a great job of being cabana boys for the Republicans. Let me know where the opposition movement is when you find it.

As for Ayn Rand, I hold her up about as much as I hold Ann Coulter up. Anyone who claims that capitalism is a system crafted by the hand of God and that the fate of the poor is entiely their own fault should be dragged outside of city limits and shot dead.

I don't smoke, I don't believe in paying some tabacco tycoon from some slave owning family for the right to slowly kill myself. Life is far from boring, if you think that, you should stop taking up my space.

And I just don't like football. Sports are just another distraction taking up far too much space in the average American brain.

Why do yuo hate tobacco tycoons?
Title: Polemic #1: The militant apathete movement
Post by: Hoshiko on November 03, 2004, 12:08:51 AM
Quote from: Counter Intelligence

I have mis-represented myself. My previous post was an outburst without reason. Allow me to clarify. First, on the issue of third parties I have misspoken. As they exist currently they have virtue but that virtue exists only due to their irrelevance. If they ever became viable they would immediatly become part of an election system that is so fundementally flawed that their virtue would vanish under a landslide of corporate money and special interest.

I was not speaking of simply sitting at home and being docile on election day. Voting at the local level can be quite helpful (though it's better to just run for such an office). You can personally affect your schoolboard or other such small things....Senators and Presidents are a diffrent reality. Either party is fair commodity for trade among corporate Amerika. So, cast your vote: Exxon or Starbucks. Either one will simply perpetuate the problem.

As long as current election rules remain intact things will never change and your vote will continue to be meaningless. Finance realitys and the electoral college hold Amerika in a position of perpetual rule by two parties that do not speak for the people. Furthermore, these politicians will never change these rules because they have carved out a nobility for themselves and it is unnatural for those in power to freely submit it. The situation is intollerable. So as to what I would reccomend, I reccomend change by any means neccesary. Blackmail Denny Hastert if thats what it takes to get a bill through the house.

The reality of COINTELPRO is not lost on me by any means. That program most foul is where I take my forum name from. It appears I drew a much diffrent message from it then you. The press went after Nixon for watergate, because he was messing with other rich white men of the American nobility. COINTELPRO was ignored by the media, or given only passing mention. The message here is that the tradional system cannot be disrupted, but those on the outside, the fringe, can be abused and no one will speak up for them in the least.

The fact that COINTELPRO existed is my justification for my beliefs. At the national level, American "democracy" is a multiple choice quiz...but not even a complete one...simply A or B. Choices C, D, and E will be crushed, maginalized and ridiculed. Look at the primarys. I knew so many who were impressed more by Sharpton or Kucinich or even Dean but voted for Kerry because those ones were being honest outside of tradional poltics. Thus, they are not viable options the press tells us. We believe them too.

My point is simply that the mechanisms of the American electoral system are set against the masses. They are rules created and enforced by a nobility of rich, white American familys that groom their children for Senator seats and the presidency from birth. Not even the founding fathers really trusted the masses. They set those mechanisms up to ensure that they and their friends would be running the show for years and years. Your vote at the national level is irrelevant. A win for Bush or Kerry is nothing more then points on some partisan hack's political scoreboard. Maybe one is worse than the other, big deal, nothing really changes unless you change the election law.

Hmm. Again, alot to think about in that post. Just a couple of things I wanted to address.

I was referring to COINTELPRO more in regards to it's beginnings as a counter to so-called "communism" and how it eventually morphed into what it became, affecting the lives of many, many people, revolutionaries as well as crackpots and "normal" citizens. It's an important lesson in history, one that is generally downplayed by the masses, as well as the media. I refuse to blame the media for not reporting it, because they  have reported it. Not often or in-depth, but that's the fault of a public who is uninterested.

The media is about profit in this country. If truth sold we wouldn't have the problem of trying to babysit major news organizations. And it was the public who, at the time, belived that it was a just and inspired organization, and gave it free reign by not forcing the government to be accountable for their actions during that time. To a much greater extent, the same thing happened in Nazi Germany, and has happened in governments and countries around the world, and is still happening here (I shudder to think of what the precedent of Guantanamo Bay will bring us in the future, although I'm not surprised by it.) The fact that's it's so widespread tells me that it's something to do with human nature and keeping quiet to preserve the illusion of well-being, and that's depressing as hell but it's not Kerry or Bush's fault, even though they tend to propagate it.

It's not the government's fault that it is corrupt and corporate. It's nature is to turn into what people (big-name polititians included) mold it into. It was the job of the people to monitor and influence where this country goes, and most of them fell asleep on the job and became corprate themselves. Like you, I trust the government about as much as I trust Kim Il Jong to housesit, and also like you I'm not going to say that if we give third party candidates equal representation it will necessarily fix anything. But I still see the renewed interest in voting as a step in the right direction.

4 years ago I didn't know how any of my friends were voting. This year, complete strangers bring up conversations about who they want to vote for, and how it will change this country. It may be naive and fickle of them to think that their having a say now will change anything in a major way, but it IS a babystep in the right direction. My contention with your first post was that it sounded intelligent but depressing as hell, and that's really not the message I want people to be getting at this point. I understand that your intention was to open people's eyes to the truth and to motivate them to do something besides just voting, but I still think it was wrong for a post about voting having a small but good impact (as you admitted yourself.)

Damn, this topic is too vague and big for a message board post.
Title: Polemic #1: The militant apathete movement
Post by: Hoshiko on November 03, 2004, 12:32:44 AM
Quote from: Counter Intelligence<snip>

Furthermore, these politicians will never change these rules because they have carved out a nobility for themselves and it is unnatural for those in power to freely submit it. <snip>

It might also be unnatural for people in a large system to not be governed by some type of nobility. Your average person doesn't want to spend their day worrying about what policies they want to support or reject, they just want to go to work, come home, watch the simpsons and look for porn (or cook, or knit, or play sports, or any number of things that are good and necessary for humans to do.) I think that history shows that overthrowing a government and not replacing it with another type of nobility would be like reverting back to a pre-society human and being faced with real survival on a daily basis, against people who are not united and controlled by the interests of a community. I believe the real question is "Does the nobility stand for things that are close enough to what you would do yourself if given a choice?" If not, time to overthrow them and come up with a new set of nobels who do.

Which is not to say that the electoral college shouldn't be scrapped for a better model that gives you a greater amount of choices. That I agree with. There are more than 100 types of soap at an given grocery store, fer christsake. What's so hard about doing the same thing with politicians?

QuoteThe message here is that the tradional system cannot be disrupted, but those on the outside, the fringe, can be abused and no one will speak up for them in the least.

They have always been abused, and they will probably continue to be abused, but I wouldn't necessarily say that that's because of politics. Probably more on the greed of the masses. Depressing but true.  

QuoteI knew so many who were impressed more by Sharpton...

<shudder> Now that scares me.

*edited to say* Isn't masturbatory debate FUN, kids?  :wink:
Title: Polemic #1: The militant apathete movement
Post by: Bob the Mediocre on November 03, 2004, 03:18:12 AM
Quote from: The Good Reverend RogerWhy do yuo hate tobacco tycoons?

Why do you hate hate?
Title: Polemic #1: The militant apathete movement
Post by: agent compassion on November 03, 2004, 06:49:15 PM
Looks like we're going to need our anti-criticism cloaks:

(http://www.upb.pitt.edu/emergency_preparedness/flag-american2.jpg)
Title: Re: Polemic #1: The militant apathete movement
Post by: Q. G. Pennyworth on May 04, 2016, 10:20:17 PM
Digging through the archives, found this old gem. Same shit, different election cycle.