US Presidential debate thread

Apathy? I won't blame people for being indifferent. I know it'd be great to kill all politicians, but the bastards passed laws against that! :evil: :whistle: :laugh:

To be honest, politics make me sick. I don't think there is much that could be done to change anything and I don't know if anyone could agree upon what needs changing. When it comes right down to it, it feels like a battle impossible to win but I will not shrug the responsibility off my shoulders. That's how we got here in the first place, complacency. I will stand beside and vote for those who I wouldn't be ashamed of in any way, even if that means voting third party.

I honestly doubt that voting for a President of the country will bring about any change at all - but that's how we work.. we think too big. Changes begin when the small things are dealt with and fixed first.
We cannot fight anger, hatred, intolerance, and ignorance with more of the same. Hate breeds hate - even hating hate.

These things were purposefully created to cause rifts and divides between us. Politicians may come across as stupid, but they know what they're doing.. and it's working. We are their puppets, eating from their hands - exactly how they want us to. I know nearly no one will agree with any of this... which proves my point, exactly.

also, this is LONG overdue. cuz as we have seen, without it a body could just wander onto the stage and start spouting off whatever bs he pleases and hope the public doesnt call him on it.

Fact checkers at the debate petition

Learn_To_Know wrote: I respect your passion for this. I really do. You and all others that are trying to make America the way you want it to be. I don't have that passion for politics.

In my opinion, to attempt to change this bureaucratic system of government is like trying to fight a forest fire with a small bucket of water. The government isn't set up to represent the people anymore. It's set up to make money. It's a machine, a business, a career, "too big to fail."

If I have the conversation later with my son about what went so wrong, I'll tell him another part of being a Jedi is being able to accept what is. If he wants to fight and rage against the machine, I will tell him the odds of success. If he wants to let it go and accept what reality is, he can do that, too. If he wants to leave this country, begin a revolution, sit quiet, etc. I'll give him my opinion on the likely outcomes of all those choices.

I see the state of politics in this country and I'm not angry about it, but I'm not happy about it either. I observe it. Perhaps a day may come when the fire burns within me to do something, but right now it's not in me. I respect those that have that fire, but at the moment...I'm just a Watcher.

MTFBWY,
LTK

You don't have to fight and rage to create change. Change starts at the smallest levels and if you don't like something then you probably should try and change it. Don't go gung ho shooter crazy, but participate at the town level and move on from there if need be. Doing nothing helps no one, and just accepting things is sometimes the wrong thing to do.

Although, I do understand the apathy. When a mountain is in front of you it can seem like way too much. That's why we break it down into steps and tackle smaller foothills first.

Wendaline wrote: You don't have to fight and rage to create change. Change starts at the smallest levels and if you don't like something then you probably should try and change it. Don't go gung ho shooter crazy, but participate at the town level and move on from there if need be. Doing nothing helps no one, and just accepting things is sometimes the wrong thing to do.

Hi Wendaline. I get what you are saying and I agree with you in theory. When it comes to applying it though we have all different colors of the rainbow (speaking of people individually). It depends on how much I don't like something before I attempt to try to change it. But sometimes I come across things that I can't change even when I want (or wanted to) really badly. When a person realizes they can't change something and they learn acceptance, then it becomes a virtue. (I'm not saying government is one of those things that can't change, but it certainly is one of the harder ones to change).

And I agree that doing nothing is sometimes the wrong thing to do. For me, personally, in this instance, me doing nothing other than exercising my voting rights does not feel wrong to me. It might feel wrong to you or Desolous or others (and that's perfectly fine) because we are all wired differently; our passions are varied and far-reaching. That's cool. I respect the passions that people have in the political process or getting involved. My passions are elsewhere...

Wendaline wrote: Although, I do understand the apathy. When a mountain is in front of you it can seem like way too much. That's why we break it down into steps and tackle smaller foothills first.

The government problems are more than a mountain in front of us. More like we've been tasked to fly to the moon and we've been provided with duct-tape and cardboard as materials to build our ship.

(Okay, that was a bit hyperbolic, but it sounded kind of funny, haha.)

I get what you mean though; I don't think that our thoughts on this are that far apart.

MTFBWY,
LTK

I've just finished voting (absentee ballot)....there were numerous state amendments on the ballot this time around...I did my part to effect change in a legal manner...of course it still doesn't guarantee that those changes will come to pass...

In the presidential race it's money (and the electoral college) that determines the president and not always the people...look at when governor dewey (my great, great uncle) lost to truman...dewey won the popular vote, but lost the electoral....the same with bush junior...

The problem is the process isn't very democratic. A voter in a state isn't worth as much as another from another state... So much for all citizens being equals and stuff..

1/3, 1/3, and 1/3.

The National Popular Vote Bill is Now at Half-Way Point

The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in the entire United States. The bill preserves the Electoral College, while ensuring that every vote in every state will matter in every presidential election. The National Popular Vote law has been enacted by states possessing 132 electoral votes — 49% of the 270 electoral votes needed to activate it.

http://www.nationalpopularvote.com/