Thread: American Politics Anyone?

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

The first thing to consider is that anyone who runs for president ought to be immediately disqualified because they have to be nuts to want the job.

That or an ulterior motive.

Truthfully, anybody who wants to run for a political post should be disqualified.

We, the people, have exactly the government and the leadership we deserve.

Every time we accept a simple premise without thinking through the consequences (no new taxes = the same schools and services we've got now; legalize drugs, and create a whole new disenfrachised "service industry" in the inner city without a profit center, and a whole lot of new time on their hands to figure out other ways to prey on humanity; enforce rigid term limits and risk throwing the few pearls away along with the phlegm balls (wouldn't be necessary if we paid attention to those in power to begin with -- but that would take some effort, wouldn't it?); mandate strict sentencing rules (gosh, it gets kind of expensive feeding, housing, and providing medical care for those guys, doesn't it? Thought we could just "throw away the key...")); every time we mindlessly spend entire days watching State U. v. State Tech instead of reading, meeting with neighbors, volunteering, spending time with the kids; every time we vote for someone because they've got nicer hair, are more attractive, or are taller than the other candidate (which are the most reliable predictors of victory in our local, state, and national elections); every time we waste our time listening to a guy or gal because he/she cries, carries on, talks louder than necessary, or spouts simplicities that we can understand without conscious thought; every time we believe we are supporting saints, oracles, geniuses, or saviors, and not fallible human beings; every time we demonize others because they have a different thought, opinion or belief than we do, or than our neighbors, parishoners, and grandparents have passed on to us; and, yes, every time we choose to read the entertainment section instead of the regional news section of our newspapers, we betray the past Americans who gave us a constitution, died to preserve our democracy, or suffered to advance the freedoms we now enjoy, as well as our children and grandchildren who rightfully expect the inheritance we received, and not a mess of pottage.

The price of freedom is eternal vigilance. The current culture prizes infinite, trivial diversions.

Want to know why things are so critical? Look in the mirror, first. Then, cast your eyes on those around you. Unless you're one of one thousand, you'll find the answer there.

Or, as Yeats put it much more succinctly and accurately:

The best lack all conviction,

while the worst are full of a passionate intensity....

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

That or an ulterior motive.

Truthfully, anybody who wants to run for a political post should be disqualified.

Yeah, this has been commented on by a few authors I've read. I know Arthur Clarke mentioned it in one of his books that had a actual true democracy (where anyone could be elected), but I think Frank Herbert summed it up best-

"All governments suffer a recurring problem: Power attracts pathological personalities. It is not that power corrupts but that it is magnetic to the corruptible. Such people have a tendency to become drunk on violence, a condition to which they are quickly addicted."

Or more simply, power attracts the corruptible. He used that phrasing more often. The longer one above was probably part of a fictitious review of past governments in one of his books, hence the "drunk on violence" bit.

But I personally can't think of a practical way to get people genuinely interested in the welfare of the state elected. Term limits is a start, I suppose. At least we'd have people with some idea of what the outside world is like, instead of career politicians.