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Post by PickyChicky on Nov 4, 2020 12:18:52 GMT -6
...this country truly is split down the middle...even AFTER four years of Trump. What does that tell you?
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Post by gravityvideo on Nov 10, 2020 20:51:19 GMT -6
That tells me this... I posted it on Facebook.
So I don't go into this kind of detail often, but here goes. I hope everyone reads this.
If no one knows I have been a "political junkie" since working on Siegelman's campaign in Alabama in 1998. I love the game of politics, though only from the outside looking in now as I have gotten older. I learned then to be friends with people who I didn't agree with and to respect their ideas if I want any respect for mine.
This whole exit Facebook thing that is going to happen, I guess this week, because of so-called "censorship" is blowing my mind right now. Running off to a place called "Parler" that is going to now be a full volume echo chamber for only things you want to hear. It bothers me that so many people are just going off to their own corners even more now, which is what got us here in the first place. We all agree on most issues facing us as citizens, just have different ways we want them solved. We can't laugh at ourselves anymore without trying to make bigger fools out of each other in the process. We can't talk about things we agree on because all we think about is the things we don't. Therefore, a large majority of people have isolated themselves into echo chambers like Parler that is going to be 99% Trump loyalists. Then, that will leave a far lower saturation of those people on Facebook to converse with people like me who actually get a lot out of reading different opinions. That is bad, because no other ideas will EVER enter either side this way. Every group I am a member of, I do my best to be as civil as possible talking to give different opinions they have never heard. Many I know were floored that I was ready to vote for Kasich in 2016 because he was honest, and supported Cris Dosev as a replacement for Gaetz in 2018 because he was honest and I knew a democrat would never win the general election, so I may as well hope for the best Republican we could get.
The fact is, I don't have to agree with you as long as I think YOU think you are being honest. That's where we start, as a group of people who believe what we believe strongly and assume positive intent when talking about our differences. The sad reality is that the Trump era has caused massive demonization from both sides because he is the most polarizing person to ever hold the office, especially in the time of unlimited information streams in our pockets. I am really scared that a man replacing him (Yes this election is pretty much over) was praised universally for 8 years as VP by the same people who are calling for his handcuffs to be locked today for something or other crime they can't really place their finger on, all because he ran against Trump. This is where we are. We are not coming back easily, especially when everyone not only runs to their corners but also slams the doors and breaks the keys off in the locks.
I have "real world" friends that believe the moon landing was fake, and they are still my friends. I believe things they think are ridiculous too, and we remind each other of that all the time. We laugh about them in fact. So don't tell me that if a southern somewhat liberal guy like me can be friends with a libertarian conspiracy theorist like him that you can't stand being on Facebook with someone who told you that you shared a false news article.
Don't run off and only breath the same air you already breath. Stick around and learn to be friends with people you don't agree with, even on a really annoying app like Facebook.
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Post by PickyChicky on Nov 11, 2020 3:31:48 GMT -6
I learned then to be friends with people who I didn't agree with and to respect their ideas if I want any respect for mine. The very reason Trump would never make an effective president, no matter what I or anyone thinks of him. It's like I told my folks, Trump had great ideas, but it's a bit difficult to make them happen when you're too busy burning bridges left and right. Rather than trying to accomplish the much-needed changes that we voted for (which would require working WITH Trump), the majority of folks on Capitol Hill spent much of Trump's term trying to figure out a way to get him impeached -- and then when it got too late, to at least keep him from re-running (somehow). I totally agree with everything you said. However, I am far from a political person. To me, politics are dishonest and only hinder progress. They exist for powerful people to push their personal agendas (so-called lobbyists). So, my thoughts on what changes need to be made have absolutely nothing to do with what either candidate or party is claiming they will or won't do. Things simply need to get done, so no more words, please. I can't remember a single president in my lifetime who ever accomplished everything they claimed they would... particularly the often foot-in-mouth claim that they won't raise taxes (the vast majority of which goes to black ops -- aka free money they don't have to account for in the name of 'national security'). That has everything to do with why I didn't start voting until much later in life. I just couldn't see the point in voting for the lesser of two evils, which is all we ever seem to get to choose from. I really think there should be more candidates allowed -- at least one for each party. I bet you anything the third parties would stand a much better chance of getting elected if they were put at the forefront (without needing gobs of cash) via debates. If they're on the ticket, people will get to hear what they have to say, so you never know. Anywho, I'm a humanitarian, so that's where I come from in my philosophies. Like you, I'm always interested in hearing opposing views because there might be something I didn't consider before. Even if I get nothing from it, it's interesting to hear people's points of view. It's how mankind got to where we are...sharing thoughts and ideas that got spread to others far and wide. Natural selection will weed out the bad ideas, so what's the point in being negative about it?
What does one candidate or party or the other have to do with what's naturally proper? I understand that nothing in life is black and white (at least that's the way I see it), but why do there have to be such stubborn sides? Politics is just a game to them...it's my way or no way, or...if you don't give me this, then I won't give you that. Did anyone ever consider that both of those things are needed, so give it up, Chuck? Compromise has absolutely nothing to do with spiteful power plays that seem to leave out the human factor. I swear, it really is like Romper Room on Capitol Hill, to me. That's what I've been likening it to ever since Trump came on the scene.
Now we've all become a bunch of hermits, some fearing one another, spending far less time socializing and being a part of society, in general. Because of my PTSD, it has been difficult for me to get out of the house to witness it all. It actually takes me days to psyche myself up enough to go to the store. I rarely go get fast food anymore because of the way they treat me like a leper at the drive-thru window. They don't even keep change in their drawers to deter people from paying cash. Anywho, before I go rambling on anymore (hahaha!), the bottom line is that this is not the world I care to live in. It saddens me greatly to see what government, playing their game of politics with their greed and power-mongering, has done to this country and its citizens. When $50+ billion of taxpayers' money* is just disappearing with no accountability every year (and rising) and Congress isn't doing anything about it...where's the checks and balances in this get up?
mic drop (lol)
*"The black budget can be complicated to calculate, but in the United States it has been estimated to be over US$50 billion a year." (Wikipedia) From what I've seen, the defense's share of the budget is more than high enough without the addition of black ops money, which I KNOW is well over $50 billion a year. They're just not accounting for it; otherwise, it wouldn't be so difficult to calculate. Just look at how little is going to what really matters to the people (and, no, spending billions to reinforce government control over them and the world is irrelative to that).
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Post by PickyChicky on Nov 12, 2020 9:44:55 GMT -6
I can't remember a single president in my lifetime who ever accomplished everything they claimed they would... particularly the often foot-in-mouth claim that they won't raise taxes I just thought of another good claim...to force the government into telling the truth about aliens and UFOs. LOL I can't remember if Reagan was one of them, but I know Carter and Clinton did...and we're still in the dark! Hahaha!
P.S. -- I think Reagan also did because, if I remember right, he had his own personal experience like Carter did.
P.S.S. -- One other thing I'd like to point out is my idea that this pandemic was no accident. The timing of it in Trump's last year, after the people so boldly made a statement that they would rather have somebody like Trump in office than the typical "politician" because we're tired of things NOT getting done when it's obvious changes are so direly needed.
...let's make a chunk of them vote by mail so we can make sure that doesn't happen again...then, in the "final hour" when the two are practically neck and neck, but Trump only gains ONE overnight from all those mail in votes being counted? Now you've got Biden adding a bunch of tech executives from Amazon, I think Microsoft, and the like to his transition team?
This country is just one big mess and I don't see it getting any better any time soon. Not as long as those in Congress are still sitting there playing their political games for personal gain, financial or otherwise. It's why Trump was voted for to begin with...to actually get things done, for a change, but Congress made sure that didn't happen, didn't they? Now they're back on top and in control of the game...who cares what the people say. It's all about them and what they and their rich buddies want. Ever since the Bush vs. Gore election, can we ever trust election results again?
Just so you know, I didn't vote this year. Yes, I previously voted for Trump for all the reasons mentioned above (hold the tomatoes, please lol), but it's obvious that things won't get accomplished with him in office and I wasn't interested in voting for the alternative. Hence, my reasoning that we NEED more than two options to choose from and Congress should have absolutely nothing to do with who those candidates are.
For them to even think they could keep an elected incumbent from running again... what does that tell you about how they view their constituents' wants and needs? No, it's no accident that we only ever get to choose between Republican and Democrat, either...or that a black man would be preferred over a white woman in this country (no reflection on either person, just pointing that out).
No, it would seem that the candidates we get to choose from aren't actually chosen by the people. Trump somehow made it through (probably because he's got the dough), but Congress is just more adamant to keep things the way they have been so they can continue their self-serving game...to the point of causing a pandemic and causing many to vote by mail so, once again, some could float down the Potomac out to sea.
After everything we've witnessed from Trump during his term (and before), the fact that he would still have nearly half the country on his side just speaks to how badly people want change, but Congress won't let them have it...Republican or Democrat. So, what good are they to us?
Sorry, I said I wasn't going to get political. Although, my views on government and needed changes, like I said, have nothing to do with politics...simply what is good and right for the people, from a humanitarian's point of view. It's just that what currently exists as government seems to be completely against that. Hence, the reason people will STILL vote for Trump after four years of chaos (and not just that created by him, either...Pelosi is one of the worst offenders and look at her position...the head of a House of Congress).
It's all so transparent to me and difficult for me to understand how it's not to others, but I don't blame them, of course.
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Post by gravityvideo on Nov 13, 2020 16:25:28 GMT -6
I also posted this to Facebook last week about Kamala Harris, with a picture of my daughter. "Disclaimer: This is not political and any comments as such toward either candidate will be removed. I can mostly remember in first grade, Miss Dean's class, we were all asked what we wanted to be when we grew up. Every year we were asked this, of course, but I am pretty sure it was that year, 1983. I wanted to be a garbageman. I thought it was awesome to lift the dumpsters up in the truck. As we went around the room, someone said he wanted to be a clown, someone said she wanted to be a teacher, then cop, then fireman, then doctor, and so on. Then a girl (I don't remember who) said she wanted to be President. I remember some boys and girls laughing. When Miss Dean asked one of the kids (again , I don't remember who) why she was laughing, she said because the President is a man. This was true, since Reagan was President. I don't remember much more about that day. Sprint forward 37 years. Whether you agree with her politics or not, for the first time, a true 50%+ majority of the votes in a national election cast for a female candidate on the Presidential ticket. I have believed for the 2 years of her life that Monroe can one day be anything she wants to be. Every child aspires to be something different. While the "President" is the most common, it is also the most unlikely dream to come true for anyone since there will probably be only 10 in your lifetime. This was even less of a chance for little girls. Guess what though, Monroe, that chance is a whole lot better for you today. Someday, yes, you can have just as much of a chance to be anything you want as any man has. Even Madam President."  |
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Post by empressdepot on Feb 8, 2021 19:20:50 GMT -6
Gravity, I also liked Kasich in 2016.
In 2020, there was a female Democrat I liked but she never made it far enough just like Kasich. Sad to say, but I cannot recall the name of her right now but she was not Kamala.
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