I voted for Ronald Reagan. He is largely sainted in conservative circles. I’m a libertarian, and I think he sucked.
I voted for George H. Bush. He sucked too.
I voted for George W. Bush. He really sucked.
During my 25+ years of voting, we had mostly Democratic Congresses, with a couple brief interludes when the Congressional professional politicians that call themselves “Republican” showed themselves to be cut from the same idiotic cloth that professional politicians called “Democrats” are. Sure Democrats are “worse” than Republicans, but only in degree. Both their paths lead to the same place, at different rates.
I’ve come to the conclusion that voting is meaningless. Our system is rigged to fail – to explode – no matter what we do.
It all started with the 16th Amendment – a really bad idea.
Giving woman the vote accelerated the decline.
Crisis, like the Depression and World War II, strengthened central control in our country as it was used to fight off even more central control from others.
Now we are, in a word, lost.
There is serious ability in this country. We could pull out of this, but we won’t. We are too splintered in to groups eagerly taking from other groups. Many of us have mal-functioning compasses of right/wrong, of what works and doesn’t, and so we reap what we sow.
People scoffed at me when, 10 years ago, I said “it’s gonna collapse a lot faster than you think”. At the time I put the earliest at 20 years, the latest at 50. Still think I’m wrong?
So now the politicians scheme, the takers scheme, the good among us go “what the heck happened”, and the children among us don’t know the storm coming their way.
We can pull out of it, but we have no George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, or Ben Franklin. Our best and brightest aren’t willing to risk it all. To sign big like John Hancock, the very Declaration that declares their freedom that also confirms their death if the revolt fails.
Such tails of risk aren’t even taught in politically correct text books that spend a paragraph on Ben Franklin and 10 pages on Booker T. Washington.
I’m at a loss of what to recommend. Only revolt can save us, but against who, and with who? It’s “us” that failed.
March 31st, 2009 at 11:53 am
A note about your “brief interludes” of Republican Congress: they had the majority 1995-2006, half your adult life, and still have a filibuster count in the Senate. It seems that the two-party system still works to alternate control of Congress.
Now, if only you were the dictator? ….. Would we have a worse mess, because you, too, would be corrupted by absolute power?
March 31st, 2009 at 1:17 pm
I would certainly kill people that bugged me. But overall, I’m quite sure a Keniverse would be a happy, productive place with oodles of freedom.
As your attempt, again, to do a false choice “it’s this crappy system or dictatorship”, well, nice try.
March 31st, 2009 at 1:57 pm
Voting won’t do it! The nation will wallow in self pity until the “boomers” are dead and an awakening or worse, i.e. widespread violence, happens. It’s likely that Bambi will do something that strikes a match and the place goes BOOM. A foreign nation may also set it off. Fortunately our population is large enough and has a core of folks including the military who can restart the experiment. Don’t be surprised at an occasional lynching or the roughing up of a few politicians. Keep your guns handy, you may need them if thugs want your stuff.
March 31st, 2009 at 3:09 pm
“with oodles of freedom” to do what? Certainly not to criticize whatever dictator didn’t want criticized. So much for freedom of speech and press without which the government would be hopelessly corrupt and dangerous. Keniverses have been dreamed of endlessly over the centuries, but there are many reasons why they don’t exist.
As for fixing a crappy government system the last big success was 1787. I suppose that since you don’t like the European or Asian systems either, you wouldn’t count any of them as succeeding in fixing a crappy government.
March 31st, 2009 at 4:03 pm
I’m sorry I even responded to your false choice. It just gives you ammo to go off on the false path you wanted to go on.
Our government is close to being right. Fix the pocket picking and add another check on congress (random house is my preference) and it will be fine.
March 31st, 2009 at 6:39 pm
There’s too much choice at the top of the government, 535 + VP in Congress, 1 CINC, and 9 black robes. Each one thinks like a Spartan ephor and their own philosophy is that of John Dewey, emotive action first , logic or reason later. We need a more stable philosophy with reason first and discipline to follow it, then the people’s liberty and freedom can flourish along with our Calvin work ethic. Slackers, of course, will get fed and medicated on whatever the workers allow.