I am a big believer in people organizing in groups politically. It was essential for our founding fathers, it's why they made it a core constitutional right of freedom of assembly, and it's essential for citizens to be politically effective against the people who do organize in groups (hint: the lobbyists who have your Congressman's attention aren't working for the general public interest).
In short, I think without such groups, the public is inevitably going to be quite screwed over and corruption will run rampant. We've seen it in the past, but the mobs rebelling against corruption in the past are a less practical solution than ever. When I see these comments I view as paranoid where people seem embarrassed to join a group, I feel bad for the misjugement hurting their political representation.
Getting people to feel embarrassed or ashamed to join a group they agree with is great for people in the opposing groups.
I'm a member of a number of organizations, generally representing 'good government' interests, human rights groups, anti-poverty groups, and some liberal groups. For example, I like the groups who publish the truth on things that normally get swept under the rug otherwise, like Media Matters for American and the 'Censored' annual book, as well as 'good' media like salon.com or commondreams.org.
The simple mechanism of people uniting for a cause is as old as mankind, and the people who do tend to get their way more than those who don't.
In short, I think without such groups, the public is inevitably going to be quite screwed over and corruption will run rampant. We've seen it in the past, but the mobs rebelling against corruption in the past are a less practical solution than ever. When I see these comments I view as paranoid where people seem embarrassed to join a group, I feel bad for the misjugement hurting their political representation.
Getting people to feel embarrassed or ashamed to join a group they agree with is great for people in the opposing groups.
I'm a member of a number of organizations, generally representing 'good government' interests, human rights groups, anti-poverty groups, and some liberal groups. For example, I like the groups who publish the truth on things that normally get swept under the rug otherwise, like Media Matters for American and the 'Censored' annual book, as well as 'good' media like salon.com or commondreams.org.
The simple mechanism of people uniting for a cause is as old as mankind, and the people who do tend to get their way more than those who don't.
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