Printable View
Yes, let momma and pappa take care of us, wipe our butts for us and so on, but that means that they have the power, not the people! those who have the responsibility have the power! I am not willing to give up my responsibility for a little imagined security!Quote:
Originally Posted by majurey
True...I would bet 80%+ of Americans cannot even define Socialism...they just know that they are supposed to believe it is bad....a mentality left over from the 1950's.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bruno
Sadly, most Americans can't define the Republican or Democratic platforms either or tell you where each party originated.
One of the downfalls of a Democracy or a Republic is that the make up of the elected government is a reflection of the intellect of the constituency.....if you have ever watched "Jaywalking" on the "Tonight Show" (Jay Leno goes around to Americans on the street and asks them simple questions about current events, etc.).....many of the problems in D.C. become so clear. Combine that with the demand by media to know every detail about a candidate's life (beyond what would affect their ability to govern) and you get the collection of buffoons we have in our governments.
:cry:
I think he was using "trust me" as a turn of phrase, not entreating everyone to place their trust in him....Quote:
Originally Posted by jaegerhund
:roflmao I like the way you put things, Mark!Quote:
Originally Posted by JMS
My mum stopped wiping my arse when I was 4, but even at 16 she still took care of me. It's not about extremes... the state derives its power through its structure, and that enables it to look after us in ways much more effective and efficient than each man acting on his own. In an invasion, we'd expect to see a state deploy an army to repel an attack. Without the state, it would just be a bunch of farmers with pitchforks trying defend their own land. Game over for Farmland in minutes.
And when we authorise the state to act in our interests, we're not absolving ourselves of any responsibility. That remains firmly in our control when we turn up and vote.
Unless they start cheating by counting hanging chads. (I'm kidding! :p )
I trust Bruno. He's a mod, after all. He's there as part of the SRP state to look after us all and moderate according to the SRP rules. He's been authorised to do so.Quote:
Originally Posted by WireBeard
Hang on a second, I don't remember voting... :roflmao
Also, if you have ever belonged to a labor union, collected unemployment insurance, are a woman who has voted, are a minority who has voted, were poor but got into college on a scholarship, or have your bank deposits covered by the FDIC, or have enjoyed the benefits of most of what we now consider normal government-funded programs, you are partaking of socialism. Don't believe it? Look at the politics of most of the originators of these ideas. Again, Americans know so little about their history and next to nothing about the history beyond the borders of the US, that it is frightening....and you get what we have now in government and in the White House. Americans view "socialism" as the government taking money out of their pockets to give it to people they don't think deserve it. They argue they "real Americans" make it on their own. So I guess all the poor and starving during the Depression (caused by rampant, unregulated capitalism) were not "real Americans." The closest the US ever came to even touch on the edge of Socialism was under FDR. Socialism and Communism are not even close to the same thing.Quote:
Originally Posted by jaegerhund
We need serious leaders, not comic-book hero wannabes....we need a more intelligent platform than "Vote for us or the terrorists are going to blow up the malls and married gays are going to move in next door to you and make up give up your SUV!"
After the Russian Revolution, there was a general (a "communist") who was asked a question about individuals who felt they should not have to join in manual labor to complete some project....his response was "To ne rabotaet, ne est'" (Those who won't work, won't eat!)...now to me, he sounds like a Republican.
:hmmm:
I know this and I know Bruno well enough (I consider him a friend) to use his statement to make a point ---- I don't think he really thought all of America would change government philosophy because one nice guy from Belgium said so ----Quote:
Originally Posted by WireBeard
Justin
Good point.Quote:
Originally Posted by DEwey
Norm
The government is there to serve its people...most of the folks in politics have forgotten that....
May favorite quote is:
Governments should fear their people; people should not fear their governments.
I don't know....if he marketed it correctly and made everyone afraid of their shadow, it may work...it has for the last few elections.......:DQuote:
Originally Posted by jaegerhund