*shakes head*

[missroserose]

From our local paper: Iraq: an abuse of power

First comment: Mine.

Almost every comment thereafter: Does nothing but prove my point.

...I really, really hate being right some days.


(Also *headdesk*-worthy: I live in the same town as these people??)

Comments

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

You should totally move to California.

[roseneko.livejournal.com]

When I have several million in the bank so I can properly life there, I totally will. =)

[sigma7.livejournal.com]

No, what's *headdesk*-worthy is just one of their votes cancels out your own....

[roseneko.livejournal.com]

But that's democracy, remember? One man, one vote.

(I have to admit, there are days when I wish I could go with Terry Pratchett's version: "Vetinari ruled his city by the concept of One Man, One Vote. He was the Man. He had the Vote." The problem is, that only works when you have an intelligent Man.)

Seriously, I'm not in favor of dictatorships. But pure democracy doesn't work any better - all men may have been created equal, but all opinions are not. Supposedly we have a governmental and court system that can act as a balance against the passions of the public, but when the faction currently in power encourages the worst traits in people, and the faction that's supposed to act as a check against those in power simply rolls over and lets them get away with it, it's hard not to wish for dictatorial power of one's own...

[sigma7.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure democracy retains its idealogical underpinning in a corporate society, especially not one in which the dichotomy between the richest and the poorest is as profound as ours, especially not one in which technology allows for such disproportionate control of the few over the many. I don't think we, as a society, have taken an honest look at how the last hundred, hundred-fifty years has radically shifted who we are as a country, how we function (or don't) as a democracy, and I think we really need to -- but as long as Clear Channel and Rupert Murdoch control the discourse, we won't. Maybe more technology, the democratization of information that I think we're beginning to see in the last ten years, maybe that will help. I dunno.

But yeah, as Churchill said, still the worst form of government, except for all the others....

[roseneko.livejournal.com]

*laughs* I've loved that quote ever since I first heard it in middle school.

I do think the next decade or two is going to be a really interesting experiment. As information gets freer, will people educate themselves thoroughly on issues so they can make informed decisions? Or will they go looking for sources to tell them what they want to hear, and ignore anything to the contrary? I've seen both happen, but the jury is still out on which mode of thought will win the majority.

[errant-variable.livejournal.com]

The availability of misinformation will probably lead people to focus on the source of information that they find as most comfortable. This is probably already happening - fox.com etc.

I remember when Fox was entertainment worth watching. *sheds tear*

[dngrsone.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking the latter-- Americans are inherently lazy sheep.

Why call for impeachment now? Bush will be out of office long before proceedings could begin... better to ask that people vote for better candidates to replace him and his administration.

Oh, wait... nobody good is running this time, huh?

Then again... nobody good ever runs.

[flewellyn.livejournal.com]

You talk about panicked sheep...