Is the Left-Right Paradigm dumbing down America?

Post Reply New Topic

I couldn't agree more.

It discourages people from thinking, from learning about their candidate and their positions and their voting records.

It makes me sick when I see someone at the polls who is just checking off boxes based on their voters guide without even bothering to research the candidates.

We need people to think about things.

Like this debt thing for example. Republicans are rallying around cut, cut, cut, Democrats are rallying around tax the rich.

In reality, when I was in debt, neither option worked. I cut things, but I was still in debt. I made more money, I was still in debt.

It was not until I changed my spending habbits (cuts) and increased my revenue (taxes) did I get out of debt.

Simply taxing more without cutting is just kicking the can down the road.

Like Maryland, we passed a millionares tax to raise more revenue. We spent all that revenue now we expanded the millionaires tax to include people making over 250,000.

I'm waiting until it becomes over 100,000.

*five minutes later*.

Statement from Minipax: Eastasia has always been our ally, and we have always been at war with Eurasia.

Statement from Miniplenty: The chocolate ration is raised to 20 grams.

Doubleplusgood!

That won't happen until we get off the Filthy Oil Habit.

ruveyn

DarthMetaKnight wrote:

They'll just find some other reason to bash us.

The American military is not on your side. The billionaires own it. It does what is best for the billionaires.

I take issue with the use of the present progressive in the thread title.

A brief examination of the political history of the United States will demonstrate nihil novi sub sole. The dumbing down was accomplished long ago.

The singular genius of the American political system is that it leads the naïve, the thick-witted and the easily deluded into meaningless, strident arguments that generate enormous public attention--diverting it away from the actual machinery of government that is left to carry on. Political leadership comes and goes, but the government continues to function.

Consider the "fiscal cliff." It is, quite simply, a practical impossibility. And everyone in government, and everyone in Congress is perfectly well aware of that. They are, probably, perfectly well aware of the solution that will be passed at the eleventh hour, the Treasury already having run the numbers on it. But the political posturing plays on, because the political posturing is an end, in and of itself.

I think that the binary political split in popular culture happens because there are only two credible political parties, not the other way around. Why are there only two credible political parties? Here are two reasons:

(1.) The scale of the operation. The US is extremely populous, and the US President is extremely powerful. So it's a game for the "big boys". In order for a party to have a chance of getting their guy elected, the party needs to already have a huge amount of influence. Basically, if a party doesn't already have an entire TV channel doing their propaganda, they don't have a chance.

(2.) The US voting system has a certain mathematical property which means that if you vote for a third party, then you are helping the enemy major party. So people don't do it, in case the enemy major party wins. And voting reform is almost impossible, because of the cult surrounding the US constitution.

But the military can't do jack without the okay of the congress (at least according to the constitution) or the Commander-In-Chief, aka the President of these United States. It's these elected officials and their political parties who billionaires have been investing money into.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

There are atheist and agnostic Republicans. I know several. They all have one thing in common. They think our government along with its welfare and economic polices suck lemons. Just because the Jesus Christers have hijacked the party, does not mean all Republicans are Jesus Christers.

ruveyn

Just as there are in fact many believers in the ranks of the Democratic Party, regardless of the stereotype that Democrats are atheists.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

It has absolutely dumbed down America and encourages people to approach politics like one approaches football, cheering for their team and booing the other without thinking things through independently.

That ship has sailed. Do you really think those jihadis will suddenly become non-radicalized when those things are done? Those religious nutjobs will feel butthurt for centuries.
I think conflicts between groups that are very far from eachother idealogically are often inevitable. War between Nazism, Communism and whatever we are (Liberal Democracy?) was probably unavoidable.

the left right paradigm isn't dumbing down America.

America is dumb politically because it doesn't understand the left-right spectrum.

The problem with American politics is the 2 horse race. It needs more parties to represent the different positions of the political compass.

In American the left has a political smell about it. That is why pinko stinko commie loving liberals call themselves progressives and not socialists.

ruveyn

People could self-identify correctly if there were more parties; a pinko stinko commie party and a leftist party that is not commie. In the Netherlands there are three different christian parties. One mainstream, one leftist but socially conservative, and one for the batshit crazy people.
I just looked it up: there are 11 political parties with seats in the Lower House. It is getting a bit ridiculous.