[airstreamingypsy]

I think we are doomed. Why? Because a TV "news" show is allowed to tell their listeners any lie that want to. The lies are stirring people up into a frenzy. If there is a civil war, which could happen, I think the root of it is all the lies coming from one place. They not only lie, but they give the crazies a platform.

[ThirdOfFive]

Originally Posted by Two Bills

I would not put too much faith in faith, or good.
Through history, the strong have always triumphed over the weak.
Only negotiations from a position of strength are worth a s**t!

Aye.

"Speak softly, but carry a big stick".

[cegallup]

Originally Posted by MartinSE

Absolutely agree with everything you said.

It's hard to be civil and polite towards a faction you perceive to be trying to destroy our country.That's the reason we have (had?) the 1st Amendment.

[conman5652@aol.com]

Take the massive money out of it. Limited every donation to 100.00 and only one time to any candidate.
No corporate donation to any candidates. Period

[haysus7]

I really wish candidates could pass a basic civics test before running for office.

[ThirdOfFive]

Originally Posted by Mikee1

When you get a minute or three, google and read the five stages of a society. You may be surprised.

Some years back I read something posited by an historian, to the effect that great nations do not die from forces from without, but from rot from within. The person divided the process into stages; something like 114 "stages" all told that mark the dying process of great nations. It reflected Rome almost to a "T". And America is much farther along that particular continuum than I think most Americans realize.

"Bread and circuses" don't necessarily have to occur in a colosseum.

[Boomer]

Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive

The short reply: yes.

Social media (the mother of all oxymorons, in my opinion) is a cancer in this country. Of course, many people use it properly: my wife for example can talk to her family and friends in Thailand via FaceTime whenever the urge strikes her, as well as both of us being able to communicate face-to-face with family in Minnesota. But in my opinion the minuses of the venue outweigh the pluses. No matter how bizarre or dangerous one's beliefs might be, it is no problem to find like-minded people on the internet and communicate with them. And if what you are looking for is not information but VALIDATION (which I think all too many people are), then there is no point of view that cannot be validated through social media.

But the danger does not stop there. I understand that nefarious things have been going on only forever but the existence of social media makes it far too easy for the evil-minded among us to do what they do. Recruiting underage girls for the sex trade, for example. Set up drug deals. Arrange smash-and-grabs (there were incidents in Minnesota before we left where groups of people would all of a sudden show up in various vehicles at a big-box store, effectively raid the place of all the appliances and electronics they could carry, then run out the door with them and be gone in a matter of a few minutes; easily evading the police no matter if the police were called the minute the group began looting. And so on. Probably dozens more examples.

And let's not forget spreading hate. Back in the day, if you wanted to write, say, a letter to the editor, you sat down at a keyboard, or grabbed a pen and paper and wrote your letter. Maybe it would be printed in a week or two, maybe longer. But you knew upfront that it would be screened, maybe edited for grammar, some content deemed objectionable possibly taken out, etc. But today? Any yokel with an ax to grind or the intent to stir up negative emotions can sit down at his or her keyboard and dash off letters, opinions, and observations to this--or-that discussion group or newspaper thread that before the advent of the internet, especially as it exists today, would never have seen the light of day. And more and more those sites aren't even monitored, or rely on customer monitoring, which is a joke. Anyone who reads the "discussions" following newspaper articles know exactly what I mean by this. Hatred reigns.

Sir Winston Churchill once observed that "a lie can make it halfway around the world before the truth can get it's pants on". I doubt Sir Winston would have had even the slightest idea of just how right the future would prove him to be.

ThirdOfFive,

Thank you for taking the time to write your insightful post.

We are living in a time when we are finding out who we really are……..

and finding out who others really are.

Your point about people looking for validation through screens goes straight to the core of human nature.

I could never have imagined that so many people — some of whom I know very well — would relinquish their brains to a screen.

Friendships and families — even marriages — are being damaged and sometimes destroyed by the hate, fear, and paranoia mongers who create chaos — with the goal of money and power.

Pogo was right.

Boomer

[Caymus]

Originally Posted by jammaiora

Not true! Right now it is only one side who is armed and a threat. I can sense what side you are on!

Which side controls the large high gun crime cities?

[Tvflguy]

Originally Posted by Dr Winston O Boogie jr

One nine year term for senators and one six year term for representatives. Replace one third of each body every three years. Any person would be limited to one term in each body and two terms as president in their lifetime. Eliminate all congressional re-elect
campaigns.

Yes term limits. BUT in the federal gvt structure the ones impacted would need to bring this forward. Sure…. IMO never would see the light of day. Sad.

This would be like Union members saying oh we have enough salary or great benefits. Or if the company they are working for is close to serious financial trouble they say, eliminate my job based on highest tenure goes first.

[ThirdOfFive]

Several posts in this thread have the flavor of "we all know", or which side...". Things like that.

I have an instinctive mistrust of anything being presented that uses blanket statements. One has to wonder, just how many of those opinions are formed by thought and research, vs. kneejerk reactions to what we hear? Far too many, I think. The people trying to influence our opinions are experts.

[fgaba1949]

Originally Posted by MartinSE

I have for a long time been an advocate of mandatory voting. I have spent time in Ecuador and they require all citizens to vote by law, or they are fined. They also "require" visitors to Ecuador to vote.

With all that is going on today, and how people have become entrenched in their sides lines, I am changing my mind. A long time ago a different system was proposed and debated. It has been tried in various places and various times for a couple thousand years. We even use it here in some cases.

It is called sortition. It has been argued that voting system always end up with an oligarchy (what we have today, where the rich and powerful own the government). A sortition system picks citizens are "random" so that the representatives reflect the people. This completely eliminates the presence of money from the selection process. We use this today in many community councils, in jury selections, etc.

I seriously dont think of mandatory voting makes any sense .
One right the people should always have is to decide to vote or not .
Honestly by mandating people to vote is very counterproductive...if the person doesn't like either candidate then they should have the right to NOT VOTE ....
the problem isn't in the voting it's not having candidates that people want to vote for...

[fgaba1949]

Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive

I agree. Not all of the eligible voters, vote.

Many countries have compulsory voting. I think America would benefit if we had it also; every eligible voter in America must vote in every election or have a good reason why not. It would go a long way toward restoring confidence in our system.

Disagree .....the problem is not the voting but that the candidates running do not make the voter WANT to vote for EITHER ONE

[fgaba1949]

Originally Posted by Dr Winston O Boogie jr

One nine year term for senators and one six year term for representatives. Replace one third of each body every three years. Any person would be limited to one term in each body and two terms as president in their lifetime. Eliminate all congressional re-election campaigns.

of course i agree and it makes total sense

but we have lost the members of congress to represent us to this most obvious need for reform

So does anyone on here actually believe that OUR congress will ever pass term limits ? No way

THEY control us we do not control THEM

[bp243]

Originally Posted by Two Bills

Don't let anyone over 65 run for, or remain in high office.
Nothing new ever comes from old people.
Too immersed in the past.

There is some truth to those comments, but seeing the news today concerning new legislation is very encouraging.

[fgaba1949]

Originally Posted by Villages Kahuna

I wish there was some evidence of your belief. I’ve concluded that I won’t see peaceful co-existence of Americans with differing political and social views. History shows that even the strongest societies have definite lifespans. I’m afraid the American democracy is moving towards the end of it’s life span.

Unfortunately America seems to be headed towards a system of governance that caused our forefathers to leave their homes and travel to the New World to form the democracy that has served us so well for going on 300 years. Where do Americans who wish to escape the current political conflict go? That’s a question with a very uncertain answer.

Sadly i agree with you..the problem is not so much with the one sided media..both republican and dem controlled but its with congress

I have been involved in the political world with the state department and became so disillusioned that i lasted but just 4 years

The only thing that will save the country in my mind is a total reform of Congress complete with term limits and the elimination of corporate donations to the politicians which they control to do their bidding .

Everything starts with our political leaders.....and that needs to be changed

Yes iam more republican then democrat but what i saw with the state department caused me to dislike both parties equally