Originally posted by: PrinceofWands
Whoa whoa whoa whoa there kemosabe...I think you have some skewed views of government. The American government was designed to get us away from having a ruling class in charge of everything. It was designed to be a direct representation of the collective wills and whims of the people. It was created to be a funnel through which the masses poured their intentions. It was NOT designed to reign over us, or down upon us. There is a fundamental split in politics, always has been, between the concept of an elitist democracy or a democracy of the people. In the first, it is assumed that some people are better than others...have more right to rule. In the other, a position in government is a job you hold in place of a number of other people. The first group does what they think is right. The second group does what the people tell them to do. We were SUPPOSED to work towards the second type, but regretably we never outgrew the first.
A politician is NOT special, they are NOT super citizens. They aren't more intelligent, they aren't wiser, they sure as hell aren't more moral than the rest of us. What makes a politician today is basically two things: personality and money. They have the desire to be in charge and they have the money to make it happen. Those are the people that should lead LAST. There's an old saying, give the power to the man who wants it least, and it will be abused the least. Give it to the one who wants it most, and it will be abused the most. Politicians try to be elected, therefore they should never be. You say they have access to secret information? Why do you think that is? Could it be that they know that the only way to maintain their elite status is make themselves important? Why are laws so crazy convuluted? Simple, they were written by legislators who were once lawyers and/or judges. Think about it this way...you get rich from being a lawyer, you want your kids to have great things, so you know you'll push them towards law. You want them to be needed, so when you become a congressman you write laws that only a lawyer can understand. Furthermore you want to protect what you have, so you help the rich whenever possible. Ok, it's not QUITE that simple, but very close to. My point is that you can't say that what makes the politicians special is there access to information, because THEY are the ones who keep that information restricted only to them. It's like voting yourself a raise.
To suggest that the politicians 'understand' anything is vastly overstating their abilities. If you honestly believe they're better than you or me, then I pity you deeply. You are under no obligation to turn your freedoms and will over to a governing body. That is NOT the American way. If you don't understand that for the most part the elites are interested most in keeping elites elite, then you have utterly failed to receive any kind of proper education. I'm not going to go fully into it, but there's simply no question of Americas path over the last 20 years especially. You can choose to surrender your life to them, but you can NOT make that choice for others.
You don't have to believe joe schmo either...THAT's why this is America. You are free to go out and learn about things and make your own judgement. But remember this: the elites that run this country are rich and powerful. They care about other elites. joe schmo is average joe, that cares mostly about people just like him. If you don't understand that, then you have a very naive view of the world. I'd suggest you study sociology, economics, history, political science, and psychology as a start. There's a reason why the more educated you are the more likely you are to be a liberal (I'm talking about a broad liberal eduation btw, not a freaking mba or other degree that avoids any concept of thinking or learning). You cannot learn about the history of the world, about the forces at work within it, without coming to understand what I'm talking about.
Now I'm sorry you have such a low opinion of yourself and other citizens that you think they're inferior to politicians or incapable of making judgements, but that's your right. Just don't take away my right to feel differently about it. You are an American citizen, you have a RIGHT to voice your opinion, and demand representation in your government. Moreover, it's my personal opinion that all Americans have a responsiblity to remain true to the values this country was founded on, and NOT the government which represents it. That was the oath I took, to defend the constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. If a politician threatens the constitutional basis of this nation then he BECOMES a domestic enemy. If you're so all fired up about defeating the enemies of America, then why don't you stand against the ones already in our country? If you honestly don't believe you're intelligent enough or capable enough to make such a decision, then at least step aside for those of us who are.
btw, yes, most of the military people I know are against the war.
so sad. They said it was the deadliest day in Iraq, besides the 30 Marines and 1 sailor on the helicopter 6 other troops died in an ambush.
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