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Originally Posted by The Batlord
All of those things are only of worth if they result in a culture that continues to progress in the way that our current Western culture is progressing (in the way that we like to think it's progressing). I'm not going to internalize the fight of people to attain a democratic government that I believe to be doomed any more than I'm going to internalize the battles won by WW2 veterans who fought for something they likewise didn't understand and couldn't build toward. It's terrible to think that all of this could have been for naught, but I have no faith in what we're becoming, not so much in that I think we'll become Nazi Germany, but in that I think we'll become something completely unenthusiastic that will serve those who can pay what's necessary to get what they want and it won't be much else.
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^ I see what you're saying about WW2 and stuff, but I still think the system we have in the US and Britain is an achievement worth protecting. How unenthusiastic people become is exactly what we're discussing, I suppose, and largely depends on individual choice.
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Unless of course global warming just destroys society as we know it. I'm sure that won't happen.
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^ Yep, in my pessimistic moments, I think this is our destiny.
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Originally Posted by OccultHawk
Even though those are false equivalencies it’s still the point where I part ways with almost everyone. It pains me that others actually want to be governed but they do.
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^ Sorry but I'd need that explained to me as I don't know where the falseness is. Regarding the second sentence, I think most people see government as a price worth paying for things like state highways, policing, national security, etc.
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Originally Posted by The Batlord
See the problem with this attitude is that it makes you accept absolute garbage. What is the difference between the republican and democratic party on climate change? Yeah, they have differences, but are they so great that you can say one will mean the difference between the Earth going tits up and fixing manmade climate change? Of course not, because the democrats aren't really concerned. Just like they're not concerned with any of the other principals they supposedly stand for.
And if you set aside climate change that's just kind of democracy in a nutshell: it's all bull**** that's made to make you feel like this **** is good enough. It's just enough agency to trick you into thinking that you matter.
But climate change is clearly such a big ****ing thing that we should probably just shoot our leaders in the head just to send a message, because we don't have time for this ****.
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^ Well, they may not be that concerned, but all career politicians take notice of public opinion. That's how change can occur and that's why we do matter, even though one vote is insignificant and our options are usually between bad and less bad. The public voice is heard; that's how Rob Porter and others were required to leave office. That's how the repeal of Obamacare was blocked.
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Originally Posted by OccultHawk
Every position that every candidate runs for would be better left vacant.
America, even if we were alone in the world, would be a military and environmental apocalypse. We’re irredeemable and must reject ourselves.
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^ Maybe there's substance behind these ideas, but that substance isn't very evident in your post, which looks to me like empty sloganeering I'm afraid.
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Originally Posted by Frownland
It's the difference between a brute force rapist and one that tries to make you feel good during the act.
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^ Not necessarily. The difference between disguised and blatant racism could also be the difference between being snubbed at a party, being thrown off a bus or being lynched. I bet all the lynched guys would've loved disguised racism.