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The number one problem with America...
RPGGamer
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
In my opinion, the biggest problem with the United States is that people no longer trust our government. The federal government has lost all of it's credibility, lies to the people, doesn't represent the people, and is far too powerful. Back in the 1700s and 1800s people trusted the government and the government didn't have all of these conspiracies they were performing against the American people. Our elected officials actually cared and were real people like you and me, not people like Obama or Bush or any of these clowns in Congress.
And to be honest, the people are partially responsible for this. Yes, it is important for the federal government to have some power, as to preserve the union, but we're hardly a union anymore, now we're just a single nation-state just like Russia or France. We're not a union or a confederation. People rely on the federal government for everything, instead of relying on their state governments.
The Constitution is a joke now, it's a wonderful document, but our own government only abides by it when it is convenient for them to do so. They have the CIA out there killing our own people simply because they "know too much," we have wiretapping and the Patriot Act. We have them keeping secrets from us and committing acts that are detrimental to the lives of Americans. We have horrible liberals who want to ban guns. We have abusive police forces and corrupt public officials who don't listen to the people. We need an honest government again, one that fully understands and respects the Constitution and that is by the people and for the people.
And to be honest, the people are partially responsible for this. Yes, it is important for the federal government to have some power, as to preserve the union, but we're hardly a union anymore, now we're just a single nation-state just like Russia or France. We're not a union or a confederation. People rely on the federal government for everything, instead of relying on their state governments.
The Constitution is a joke now, it's a wonderful document, but our own government only abides by it when it is convenient for them to do so. They have the CIA out there killing our own people simply because they "know too much," we have wiretapping and the Patriot Act. We have them keeping secrets from us and committing acts that are detrimental to the lives of Americans. We have horrible liberals who want to ban guns. We have abusive police forces and corrupt public officials who don't listen to the people. We need an honest government again, one that fully understands and respects the Constitution and that is by the people and for the people.
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This is extremely ignorant. The only periods in American History where people trusted the government were the quarters following Pearl Harbor and 9/11.
You're waxing nostalgic over shit that never existed.
If I am wrong feel free to correct me!
It's a fact
Prove me wrong
Imperialism has done great things for America. True story.
There's probably some deeper commentary in there for those who care to unpack it.
I take it you were never subjected to our attempt at Kath & Kim...
If we switched to metric, everyone's penis would get bigger.
That might actually solve America.
You are right that the new deal was wildly popular, but I'm probably getting a slightly different read on the OP, where he harkens back to a simpler time, when people trusted the government and children respected their elders and other such nonsense that never really happened.
While the New Deal was popular, the government was not nearly as popular as when we are gripped by bloodlust. Hell, FDR even had a Father Coughlin, a Glenn Beck prototype calling him a godless socialist.
So we're both correct, we're just using different measuring sticks. As you are the scientist, I will concede the metric ruler to you.
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FDR got some measure of trust from folks, but it's arguable that it was due as much to his being a wartime president in pre-Information Age America as it was the actual New Deal stuff. The New Deal itself was immensely popular, but it's hard to erase 20 years of government explicitly fucking over the little guy.
They tried to bury us. They didn't know that we were seeds. 2018 Midterms. Get your shit together.
The US's base problem is we were founded by rich rednecks who didn't want to pay their taxes
Ironically, we've lately stopped being skeptical as a culture of the stuff that really deserves skepticism, like the military industrial complex and privatization of services.
They tried to bury us. They didn't know that we were seeds. 2018 Midterms. Get your shit together.
Yes in the 1700 and 1800s people trusted the federal government. Especially people like
I mean
and
But its true, the solution to a government that oppresses its citizens is always states rights. Local and state governments are known for being fair minded and kind to its less popular citizens and the federal government just gets in the way.
A public hygiene program from Birmingham
Gestapo Feds invading our schools!
QEDMF xbl: PantsB G+
1860-1865 say hello.
And that's just the most facile example I can come up with. There were also several minor (but armed) rebellions in the late 1700s, a few plots surrounding the War of 1812 (the background of the Hartford Convention is informative here), rampant corruption (Teapot-Dome Scandal) and incompetence (Reconstruction and Compromise of 1877) following the Civil War, the Red Scares in the 20s and 50s, etc.
Edit: Also the civil rights stuff in the 50s and 60s, women's rights, worker's rights...I can keep going on.
Short version: Things today aren't any worse than they've ever been - now you just know about it.
Personally, I think the current form of neoconservatism is the greatest threat to America. It manifests in disastrous financial policies and ridiculous babying of the rich, ridiculous military spending and disastrous military operations, religious infringement in private issues, general racism, the worst prison system in the world and some sort of bizarre crusade against opinions and statements that are based on logical thinking and proof instead of emotional appeals.
These things.
Their love affair with gutting education at every possible turn doesn't help much either.
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OHHHHH I get it. Its a meta-thread.
As in the number one problem with America is large segments of its population being short sighted and ignorant of its actual history. Those who remain ignorant of history are doomed to repeat it and so it follows that those who choose our path retain only wildly skewed, inaccurate views of history disconnected from any actual current context or reality are doom us to a path of based on ignorance and wildly inaccurate views. Right?
QEDMF xbl: PantsB G+
Except distrust of the government isn't anything new. From the very early days of our government there has been massive distrust. Shay's and the Whiskey Rebellion, the Teapot Dome Scandal, the Crédit Mobilier scandal, the view of the Federal Reserve, and pretty much every day of Harding's administration all come to mind as things that have made the people distrustful of the government. The idea that this is new is very, very wrong and often mentioned in the same breath that politics have gotten worse.
And the United States has been a single country since the constitution was signed. We did try a confederacy like you seem to think we should be. It was abandoned within a few years because it was a fucking retarded idea. Getting the founding fathers to all agree on anything was damn near impossible but they overwhelmingly agree that the US being a confederation of states rather then a single nation was a fucking stupid idea.
I agree. If the USA is so insistent on the imperial system, then bars need to start serving proper imperial pints, none of this 16oz non-sense.
To the government concerns, our nation was founded upon the fact that any form of government couldn't be trusted by the governed.
Guess I should stop listening to the republican presidential hopefuls. Or, at least, stop listening to them all at the same time.
Recently, the biggest problem is a corrupt Supreme Court. Bribing congressmen is free speech? Oooookay.
Someone needs to go over Scalia's finances with a fine tooth comb STAT.
Seriously. See Thom's post for a very, very short list of "fuck the government" sentiment in the past. See also: Nullification Crisis, Civil War.
[ed] Or Derrick's first sentence. Short, sweet and to the point.
The worst is when you order a pint and they hand you some tiddly 12 oz mug of beer. Magically it still costs 5 bucks, fucking wankers.
Somebody said the secret word!
If we're going down that road, let's talk the 1875 Whiskey Ring Conspiracy: bunch of Republicans siphoning millions of tax dollars to themselves.
But if we're going to rule out dictatorships run by forumers, magic mind control to make everyone smart and rational (which is really just a magic dictatorship that isn't interested in the ethical complications psychic powers pose), and any other generic "blargle blargle people don't vote how I like people don't trust the government nobody believes in God people wear their pants too low not enough charity too many taxes not enough spending where are my pants why is it so hot oh there my pants are what was I saying hargle blargle"--
then the biggest problem is monetary policy. Sorry for having boring problems, world! Check out some of those European countries, they have gigantic sex party scandals. What do we have? Bad financial policy. Yawn.
It is totally fair to have complaints about the democratic deficit in the US, it's a real problem. It's also a real problem faced by ever democracy. But it's important to realize that government is gradually getting better, not worse.
Gapminder.org is a good place to go whenever you feel that twinge of conservative bias. In 1800, the US GDP/capita, adjusted for inflation, was under $2000, and life expectancy was under 40 years. In 1900, it was over $7000 and almost 50 years. In 2000, it was almost $40000 and 77 years.
Democratically speaking, in 1860, about 1/8 of th population was enslaved, and women didn't have the vote. Suffrage for 3/8 of the country, definitely way more democratic. Definitely a trustworthy government.
So, OP, opinions are fine, but you do not know what you are talking about. Don't pretend that you do.
Okay, that last part is true.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.