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Today's political climate

Are you a "political" person? Always been? Not really?

I wish I could be apolitical. I am so sick of what is happening in D.C. now I'd just rather not think about it. How do you deal?

Condor5 8 Feb 2
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11

I hear you. I've been wrapped up in it pretty heavy over the last couple of years. At times it has made me so angry and depressed, and it can be so divisive, that I have had the same thought. I just want to disengage from it all. However, it's like watching a train wreck, can't take my eyes off of it. It doesn't leave me with positive feelings about human nature.

9

I don’t consider myself political, but I detest self-righteous blowhards. I see Trump as the embarrassing drunk uncle who’s handsy with a big mouth. He can always be trusted to act in his own self interest.

Pence, Ryan and McConnell OTOH are dangerous because they’d happily destroy themselves if it meant they got to hurt others. God’s will, ya know.

9

Yes, I am a political person. How do I deal with the idiocy of the Trump cabal? I get angry and do what I can to oppose that ,

8

When I was old enough to vote I took it as a privilege that should be respected but I have never joined a political party and I tend to vote with whichever side seems to have the best policies at the time. That said, I seem to be moving more and more to the left as I get older and have become far more political now that we seem to have drifted into hard right-wing policies.

When in doubt, go left. Politically, anyway.

7

I am very political--always have been. I marched in the 60s, spoke at city council meetings, rallied for healthcare (with my kids), worked on Obama's campaign(also with my adult kids), and am part of the Democratic Committee in my county.
I, too, am sick of where we are right now. Please don't give up. We need to work together and make a difference in 2018.

i became political last election

@btroje That would turn anyone political! 🙂

I was political that way, and I still think alike, but as a 66 old I don't feel fit enough anymore to go up the barricades. And above that, I have a green card and I don't want to loos that. If that happens you don't even have time to sell your house for a decent price.

@Gert Everyone's circumstances are different, and protecting yourself is #1. I live in semi-rural Georgia and don't dare put signs in my yard or stickers on my car for fear of reprisals.

@astardrifter Yea, I know, also living in GA I would not either. I had a sticker of Obama though, but did not put it on my car. I'm not allowed to vote anyway, why should I choose a side in public, but I had sympathy for Mr. O44 and his ditto wife. But, let's say carefully, my sympathy nowadays is not so much for Mr. T45, nor for his pretty good looking wife. Hey, I'm a lefty, can you blame me?

6

Maybe I don't know how to be effective.

Maybe I'm frustrated, hopeless even at times.

But I continue to care, and pay attention. I continue to feed the vat of my fermenting passions. I vent pressure as necessary, to avoid cracking. But I try to stockpile that pressure, as much as possible, as fuel for future movement.

I culture my awareness, my thinking, my values. I learn, concentrate, challenge myself. I change. I become.

I don't know what I'll do. I don't know when I'll be ready. But someday, some way, it will be time. And I'll sign that petition, or write that piece, or attend that protest, or join that group. And I'll carry with me all that cultured pressure I've been carrying, nourishing, guarding.

And it is enough.

I'm struggling with how to be effective. I live in a gerrymandered red state. I really want to make a difference in this next election. The midterms are every bit as important as presidential elections. Governors and congresspeople actually wield more power than the executive branch.
I appreciate that you care and pay attention, and I share your frustration. It's good that you educate yourself on positions. However, I would suggest that you start soon; November is not that far away.

5

I'm not! I have been. Active even. It became clear to me that politics in general is not really "for the people" but the "people are for the politics", although there are people that really try different. It's all the hunt for ego-conformation (individual or in groups), interests, money, chisel a name in the headstone of history, etc. (not necessary in that order). It disgusts me. Government should be there for the people, not the other way around as it appears to be.

Gert Level 7 Feb 2, 2018

Should I be called a lefty now?

Politics in this country is supposed to be for the people, and of the people. The problem is that the majority of people won't get involved. Therefore, many of those who are elected use it to further their interests instead of yours.
Please don't wait until "the right time". Now is the right time.

@Gert maybe a "thinker."

@Gert wear that label with pride. Oh. The "lefty" label

@astardrifter supposed, supposed, what do you think of all other western countries? The democratic system is not even democratic when more than 50% of the voters vote for one and still the other gets into power. How than do you expect that they get involved when they loose when they actually have won? The US system is soooo old-fashioned and still so much based on the fact that people may vote, but not have an opinion. Electors should vote for them.

@Condor5 Well, I can live with lefty very well. It is so fun, but also so sad to see all those people that are tied up. Yesterday I had a conversation with a apparent conservative lady. Cherish idea's of the seventies that already long have been proven wrong. The fact that she is completely against Marijuana because it is the portal for hard drugs. Not realizing that a lot of the present bank directors and captains of industry smoked pot in the seventies. It is the fact that also marijuana is (starting to shift though) only available in the same illegal circuit where hard drugs are circulating. Stoned people are quite open for influencing to try expensive drugs. But I don't want to start a drugs-conversation. I'm a lefty and I only use the prescribed drugs (which in some cases and for some people is even worse than heroine or crack). Maybe I should not take my vitamins anymore 😉.

@Gert Close to half of registered voters did not vote in the past election. Many who DID vote voted their "principles" by voting for third-parties or write-ins. Our electoral college did not do their duty. The entire thing was a tsunami of errors.
Unfortunately, our system relies on our getting up, getting out, and voting. And on at least making an effort to educate ourselves on issues.

@astardrifter In Europe (except England I believe) it's all over "one man one vote" really emancipated.

@astardrifter Well, getting up, getting out and vote is of course in every real democracy. I'm a lucky guy. I am a so called "alien" and am not allowed to vote in the US. I can criticize without having to listen to "if you don't like it, register and vote". Still I can vote in the Netherlands. Living outside the country, they granted me a permanent registration.

@Gert Happy to hear your opinion.

4

I am not in the USA, but we have the same deal, I have no solution, I am not happy about it that is for certain.

3

In Canada and Europe they talk politics all the time. Here in America, supposedly a democracy - Trump wins the election without winning the popular vote because 49% of voters didn't even vote. I am around Republicans at work. They don't like it, but I talk politics and they listen. The powers that be do not want us talking politics - they want us divided. The only way a minority can rule is to divide the majority. So I talk politics with everyone to burst the bubble those assholes try to keep us in.

jeffy Level 7 Feb 2, 2018
3

Today's political climate should be denied.

good one

Could you elaborate on that?

2

Over the last several years I have become more political. I have always tried to be aware of what was happening, and was usually critical of the things I thought weren't right, but didn't speak out so much. My ideas were never aligned with most of my friends whether they be left-leaning or right-leaning. Eventually, though, I did find a few people among my circle of friends, sort of on the periphery, that seemed to see a lot of things the way I see them. One of them in particular introduced me to the Libertarian party.

No, no, no. Belonging to a political party isn't for me. I've never joined a political party. But the more I paid attention, the more I learned about the movement, the more I read their platform, the more I listened to their ideas, the more I felt like I had found an organization that existed because they saw things largely as I do. I do not agree with 100% of the Libertarian platform, but I agree with 85-90% of it and that's pretty damn good, especially considering how much I disagree with both of the major political parties in America (who, actually, I see as two branches of the same political party -- they all believe in curbing citizens' liberties and spending more money than the nation has to spend.)

So I began becoming more active. I actually voted in the 2016 presidential election -- the first time in years I had voted. Why? Because I finally felt like I had the opportunity to cast a vote without feeling the need to take a shower and disinfect myself afterwards.

I found the Libertarians and discovered that I am a libertarian. So I joined them.

What about those who say voting anything but D or R is a wasted vote? I say voting "lesser of two evils" is a wasted vote. Why vote for evil at all? The ONLY vote that is not a wasted vote is the one where the voter casts a vote of conscience. Had there not been a Libertarian selection on the ballot (who I genuinely believe, to this day, was the best and most qualified candidate,) I would not have voted. I could not vote Trump in good conscience, nor could I vote Hillary in good conscience.

Voting either one would have made me feel dirty.

The nation needs to get out of this D/R mentality before things will begin to improve in America. Left as is, the decline of America will continue. Freedom is what made this nation great. Having government controlled by people who couldn't care less about freedom will be its downfall.

Many good points. After the '16 election, I re-registered from Dem to Independent. Not happy either with the two major parties, I will look into Libertarian.

@TheInterlooper well, I can't deny that Gary is a bit gaffe prone, but that doesn't change the fact that he was the only candidate with experience as head of an executive branch of government -- an office he won as a Republican and was re-elected as a Republican despite the state of NM being largely a "blue" state. I'm not sure exactly what you mean by "too libertarian," but compared to some I thought he was much more pragmatic. He understood that you can't fix everything overnight. He sought to turn the ship, not blow it up.

My biggest concern at this point in time is that there would not be enough Libertarians in Congress to support a Libertarian president. But that doesn't mean I'm going to vote D or R instead.

Ideally, Larry Sharpe can win the governorship of NY and do well in the statehouse as a Libertarian, as opposed to a libertarian that belongs to the Republican party, like Rand Paul. If Sharpe can do that, it will be a step in the right direction and, hopefully, will lead to more success for other Libertarian candidates both at the state and federal levels. There are a few Libertarians at statehouses across the country, but many of them switched to the Libertarian party after being elected -- they did not win as Libertarians. That is what needs to start happening.

2

I got into politics after 9/11. Most of our politicians are crooks. They're always plotting something to either keep the power structure in place or rape another countries resources for economical reasons.

2

Some times it is like mourning the dealth of democracy. I've only been more polically motivated for the past 10 years. Where I live water is a huge issue and our county commish was not doing as good a job as they were required to concerning land use so I ended up getting pretty involved with what was going on. Mostly it really does take politics having a negative impact on ones personal living situation to get people motivated.

2

it makes my brain itch

2

I don't deal.
At first I posted protest memes and kept trying to warn people, but gave up.

So, to protect myself, I blocked news feeds to my Facebook page, and if I hear about #45 it's just when he's on one of the three English language international news channels here in Thailand.

1

I may be political, but that doesn't mean I'm not sick of politics. I avoid tv news. Sorry about the double negative.

I don't watch TV news nearly as much as I used to. For one thing, it's way too overcommercialized and repetitive. And readers (can't call them reporters) actually seem stupid.

@Condor5 I'm much more comfortable with print. I also trust the sources more.

1

I became political with Brexit. At first, I was unbelievably frustrated, because I didn't know much about the issue and I'd just been led to believe that the EU is an entirely good thing. Then I got to know more about the EU and realised I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to be a part of that. And now I'm frustrated again because the UK's negotiating team is just being so goddamn weak.

I guess I don't understand the implications of the whole issue (Brexit) well enough to have an opinion one way or the other. It's moot, anyway, since I'm not there. I keep getting it confused with Breakfast (joke).

1

I am Not a political person.

1

The USA must have the fittest ruling party in the world. I was watching the SOTUS speech and the Republicans kept doing stand ups all the way through the speech while the Democrats tended to sit it out and make a run for it at the end.

It has become increasingly more divided

@Rudy1962 You want to look at our House of Common People. They sit just over two sword lengths apart facing each other so they cannot reach each other and kill.

@Treasurehunter now that you mention it I've seen videos of them getting physically aggressive. Maybe that would help in this country...well probably not...but they tend not to get heated face to face but rather not talk directly to each other...and go vent in their echo chambers

0

I've never participated and don't see that I ever will. Politics only help keep things the way they are, broken.

0

I'm not really political because I care about my future career and employ-ability.

What I find funny is that people put their ego before their humanity. They just see someone with a different political view as "The Enemy" and this is wrong. A person who loves Trump for instance is the same as a person who hates Trump. They are human first. The only reason no body has started a #HumanityFirst type trend is because people are too emotional and too full of hatred towards the other side to think rationally.

If everybody just acted like my friends and I everything would be fine. I have friends who hate Trump and buy the mainstream media propaganda, eating up the lies and deceptions. But I also have friends who love Trump and what he is doing to not just the US but the entire world. He is putting his nation and his people first. Something that many leaders fail to do.

I may not like Trump as a person 100% (Mainly because I don't know him personally, so I can't have an accurate opinion of him) but I admire what he represents. He is a leader, a person who is serving his nation and has his nations best interests at heart. My prime minister in Aus is pretty much a disaster, but we haven't had a real leader in over 2 decades.

The best thing to do is compromise. Look at the things your enemy does and see if you can find some common ground. Something good about them, then you can relate to them. If you spent 10 minutes in the room with someone who was your enemy, if you talked openly and honestly then you would find that they are not so different from you.

So, you don't live in the USA? If that is the case, I cannot consider your opinion of his effect on this country as valid. The other notions you expressed have merit, such as getting to know the people you disagree with. The problem is, we know DJT, and what we know is that he's not a good person.

Trump is not about putting country first. He spouts that off as red meat for his base. Trump is about putting Trump first. His constant trips to Mar-a-Lago, to stay in a hotel he owns, costs tax payers millions. He passed a so called "tax reform" bill that surprise, surprise, benefits people like him the most. To add insult to injury he lied and said the tax bill would hurt him. Oh wow, he settled for I believe 35 million, right before being elected, for running a fraudulent University, and conning people out of their money. He is now working on his biggest con-job of all, the entire country. The things I mentioned are only a tiny fraction of examples. Time magazine documented 2,000 lies he has told since taking office. I won't be singing kumbaya with him anytime soon.

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