Divided democracy

How can we achieve when we don't talk, don't know each other and assume everyone is just like us?!?!

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[reliableandrew]

That is one sleepy-eyed, bat-eared dog...I wouldn't be so presumptious as to comment with authority on US politics...however I suspect just like similar governments in the 'West'...they're two sides of the SAME political coin.

[diepiriye]

@reliableandrew You're entitled to your opinion and you should think about how politics impacts your life and that is something that you can speak about with great authority.

[Sapphonouveau]

This is the exact same problem in the UK as well. Party politics, coupled with technology that allows us to be more selective and choose what we want to listen to, is really crippling the ability of democracy to be an effective method of rule. Everyone is just talking past each other, and this isn't helped by the fact that the politicians have no idea of what they want for their nation beyond that their party should be in power.

[diepiriye]

@Sapphonouveau Well said. Although I think that the UK is eons ahead of the US when it comes to political dialogue. Think about Question Time.

[Sapphonouveau]

@diepiriye It's funny how things look to people from across the pond. There's this weird idolisation of the UK system amongst people from the USA which is sweet but utterly misplaced. Programs like Question Time are in fact part of the problem. The politicians use it as a platform to belittle and blame each other and reveal meaningless political gossip to an already cynical electorate. All one hears is bombast and emotionally appealing rhetoric.

[diepiriye]

@Sapphonouveau Yes indeed, we here in the USA are often so disgusted with our political climate that it really is easier to just chose a side and stick to a story rather than actually engage one another on the level of ideas. I live in the UK and am visiting the USA right now & I have to tell you that with all its faults, QT is still far ahead of most political discussions here. No kidding. We're larger and have more choices, which FEELS like freedom, but there really aren't choices in division.

[Sapphonouveau]

@Sapphonouveau I will also add that i've noticed it's the non-politicians (businesspeople, lawyers, judges, scientists) who are the ones who talk about what's actually going on in the world and why and what one might be able to do about it. The politicians are off in la-la land, squabbling over a bogus and redundant political paradigm. It's clear they are as clueless as we are (which is understandable as they're ordinary people like us), just less willing to admit it.

[diepiriye]

@rosesdiary Amen. And thanks for your comments. I have a cousin who voted for George Bush b/c of gay marriage. My mother asked her what she thought of me, since that cousin has known me my whole life, and I am clearly gay. It's not sane to vote based on one polarizing issue, especially when that issue is used to cover so many other policies that one may disagree with or even find questionable. I am shocked at how often we Americans are discouraged away from critical thinking. Glad you THINK!

[Magnesiumfire]

I’m everyday people just like everyone else, and I won’t say I’m perfect and cannot learn. I guess the insulting CAN BE an attempt to scream: a voicing of one’s visceral pain. An indication to that other person that our relationship is strained or based on lies. Too often rules of polite society block us from having genuine communion: sharing of thoughts, however ugly or ‘inappropriate’. Humans are multifaceted- angry, evil, loving, caring; yet on every bulletin board I see only smiling faces...

[rosesdiary]

@rosesdiary

And I wanted to clarify one thing: I shouldn't say it won't affect their lives. I meant that it would affect the mother directly versus the person on the outside.

[rosesdiary]

@rosesdiary

Barack Obama just because of his policies on abortion, which won't affect the lives of the christians or whoever voting! Honestly! The focus should more be on economic sustainability and how that working class person's life will fit into that model. It's just disheartening, I'm from Texas, and it pains me that Rick Perry is in office (and I go to school in New England so people basically are like...you're from Texas...Perry..Bush).

[rosesdiary]

Wow, I'm so glad that you're opening this up as a forum. I'll be voting for the first time next year, and I want to be an informed voter. I'm more likely to vote democratically, because it best serves my interests as a college student who will spend the next 6 years as working class. But this sentiment isn't shared at my church! The pastor has once said, "We should vote God's way!" He was purposefully being vague, but I think he meant republican. I just don't find it constructive to not vote for