We outnumber by orders of magnitude. If we could set aside the culture war bullshit and unify under the flag of the working class, we would have them by the short and curlies. A general strike would bring the rich and powerful (one and the same) to their fucking knees.
I voted. I haven’t always voted and may not again in the future. Voting can be described as a “privilege/right”, an “obligation” a “responsibility”, certainly ought not to be something we are required to do under penalty of law. Do you see the fundamental difference?
I agree of course. But trying to make laws to force people to vote is the complete opposite of this
I like a lot of what you said there, and it adds a lot of nuance to the conversation. The way I see it, it's about the government being a tool to keep people from hurting others. by not fulfilling your responsibility, you hand over more power to the already powerful. please don't give up on the process. In fact, I beg you to double down on your efforts. I promise you that all of us here are in fact on the same team, and we need to work together, and work harder to bring forth the real, meaningful changes that I think will let us leave this world in a better state than it was when we got here.
The biggest part of me agrees with this, “selected not elected” and so on. Sam longhorn Clemens said something to the effect “if voting mattered they wouldn’t let you do it.” And that’s always rang true to me. But I don’t always want to be a cynic. As I grow and learn and experience more I try to challenge my personal beliefs and see if they still hold water, and they don’t always.
You’re a thoughtful guy and it seems like your desire for collectivism is genuine. I don’t know what has to change to bridge the current gaps of course, but we should probably turn off our televisions.
I like my idea better. Kinda like parenting, rewards vs punishment. Save the heavy hand for when it’s needed.
Great ‘seeing’ you again Jon. Not arguing but being very literal.
It just feels like we are blaming the voters for the shitty options. Listen, there’s nothing they want. That’s not their fault. If the machine wants votes, don’t suppress populist candidates like Sanders. Don’t let the money do the talking.
Make your candidate worth voting for and people will vote for them.
^2016, taken from this thread. Lol
Well, more than in China, where there is only one party to “vote” for.
for as partisan as american politics has become, the reality is that republican and democratic positions are not very different. mad the republican lost in any given year? wait eight to twelve years and the democrat will be running on their platform. like two weeks ago kamala harris was on cnn bragging that trump couldnt get his wall built and paid for by mexico, unlike biden and me doing the real work of anti-migrant legislation! if your concern is environmentalism, which party are you supposed to vote for? the democrats under obama continued to accelerate fossil fuel extraction until america became the biggest producer on the planet. biden opened vulnerable alaskan wetlands to an $8B oil project, the largest in the country. both biden and harris refused to ban fracking. talk of green energy from the democrats is cheap and history proves it. if your concern is climate change, you dont have a political option in america. if your concern is the administration supporting war and genocide, you dont have a political option in america. if your concern is the administration caging children at the border, you dont have a political option in america.
