I think we have elections because of the obvious. We are a democratic Republic. That is what was given to us on a silver platter.
What has happened since is that it has become corrupt.
Corruption does not and cannot exist in a vacuum. By that I mean that it requires a compliant and disinterested public. it requires a conspiracy of a sort where the watchdogs responsible for protecting the system, are drugged or are part of the corruption.
Our watchdogs, the media, is not drugged....so
And our media cannot exist without a supportive public.
The public would not support corruption unless they were getting their share of the take.
Thus the reason we are all screwed up is that we are all screwed up. The social compact is broken. Plato was right about democracy as were those who followed saying that it takes diligence and hard work to keep it. That voters would soon discover that they could vote themselves a share of the treasury.
My favorite phrase is that the people of a democracy always get the government they want and deserve. It’s not so much the political class as you stated, who is at fault here or responsible. They are but a creation of the people who are supposed to be tasked with that responsibility.
Those officials, and those governmental entrenched systems were allowed if not encouraged to be created.
Interesting response. If i get the chance to reply in detail i will.
In sum, i don’t agree with the “sackcloth and ashes” view that i am somehow collectively responsible for what has happened. Particularly since a lot of what we’re dealing with is a logical result of actions taken well before i was born.
More importantly, even if we agree on root causes, how does this outline a course of extrication? We aren’t going to vote our way out of this mess. Nor is a collective cultural enlightenment likely to happen. So you work with what you got. Which is actually quite a bit.
Here is the message my (R ) Congresswoman posted about why she voted YES for the budget deal. i’m interested in your take on this:
“The budget agreement approved by the House of Representatives Wednesday ensures that Congress provides funding needed to support our nation’s national defense. It will stabilize the budget process, allowing our military to plan and conduct exercises and operations, procure vital warfighting equipment and pay our service members.
“I strongly support the budget agreement provision that lifts the fiscal cap on defense spending by $25 billion – although this falls short of the $30 billion in the defense authorization bill passed by Congress but vetoed by the President. Because the agreement carries through the next fiscal year, both the Department of Defense and Congress can plan for an orderly budget process into 2017, rather than struggle through never-ending fiscal emergencies that have confronted us recently.
“I am also pleased that the agreement prevents a drastic 50 percent increase in Medicare premiums for more than 15 million senior citizens. The agreement also repeals the employer healthcare mandate and offers relief to businesses forced to navigate the inefficient system created by the current healthcare law.â€