Ya... that was not the case.

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May your paradise always be green, you liberties always be full, and may the ignorance of you enemies not drive you to be pro-nuke.

"We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself
into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and
trying to lift himself up by the handle."-Winston Churchill

Ya....it was.

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"Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states...Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds."



~Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

I'm afraid the view from outside is that America is seen not as a democracy, but as an autocratic plutocracy. The rest of the world distrusts your political processes and fears the idiots you keep electing.

Well, we aren't a "good" democratic system, no. Real power is in the wealthy and powerful and their ability to manipulate the masses. In that sense, it's got many plutocratic qualities. The majority of people who are able to run for office are obscenely wealthy, because it requires obscene wealth to get anywhere. It's a barrier to entry for being taken seriously or heard. If you are poor, or an alternative party, you likely aren't going to get anywhere. In that sense, it's anti-democratic.

The problem with the "Democracy" aspect of the United States is that it's overvalued in American culture. We suffer from cultural populism and leftover Jacksonian "common-man" ideology combined with an almost never-ending election cycle where people are voting multiple times. Americans are almost always geared up for another election that lasts half the year. During this time, politicians pander to the "average person" with repetition of stump speeches, sound bytes, and propaganda, never really saying anything. Many other countries have far less voting, far less electioneering.

Moreover, Populism is generally very anti-intellectual. It's somewhat dichotomous. In the sense I dislike, the smarter you are, the more educated or informed you are, the worse off you are in elections. So many Americans dismiss expert opinions and believe that their individual voices on issues are just as good. Just look at this forum where people dismiss the climatological community's conclusions. They use their ignorance to elect ignorant or manipulative politicians that further their own rich interests at the expense of the masses who think they are capable.

Candidates are looked-down upon as elite and not "democratic-populist enough" if they are educated or intelligent. Bush, for instance, was elected largely on the grounds that he could appeal democratically to the "common man." People actually said "man, he's one of us." You get ahead the more you pander to the majority and can make yourself resemble them and the lowest common denominator in the United States. You actually are worse off if you are an expert or intelligent.

Our political system's not based on expertise either, but any old politician voting on issues without any form of peer review, expert qualifications in fields they are legislating, or rigorous professional organization standards. I think we should have stricter voting criteria, stricter standards for running for office unrelated to how much money you have, and stronger influence of experts.

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We should do something about that.

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"Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states...Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds."



~Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Well........many of us fear them as well.

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The law perverted! And the police powers of the state perverted along with it! The law, I say, not only turned from its proper purpose but made to follow an entirely contrary purpose! The law become the weapon of every kind of greed! Instead of checking crime, the law itself guilty of the evils it is supposed to punish! - Frederick Bastiat

You can say that again.

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"Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states...Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds."



~Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

and again

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Heroes: Peter Patrelli, Hiro Nakamura, Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, Peter Parker

Villians: Sylar, Mr. Linderman, Adam Moore, Lex Luthor, Victor von Doom

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"If you can't do it with love and cheerfulness, don't do it at all, go home." - Mother Teresa