Open Your Eyes, People! (699 hits)
Category: PoliticsRating: 1.04 on 34 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Adhesive (View user info) at 2004-10-27 17:40:48 EDT
Listen, I don't want to be one of those raving lunatics who rants about how democrasy is coming to an end in this country, but the fact is...THAT IT IS. And the fact is...THAT VERY FEW PEOPLE SEE IT.
Now, before you -2 me, please here me out.
For the few months, everything has been "Bush and Kerry", "Red states and blue states", and "Republican and Democrat". Everyone seems to be fighting over this election like its the most important thing in history, when it truly is not.
The campaign that is going on right now is a facade. It doesn't matter if Mr. Red wins or Mr. Blue wins. This government will still be funded by the same people. The media will still report what is in their best interests. Corporations will still get benefits and still keep polluting with little interference from the government. This country will keep on working the way that it works today!
That's because this government has fallen into a pit of corruption. Companies fund politicians and politicians legislate for corporate interests. Don't say its not true either. Many out there seem to shut their brain off the second they hear the word "corporation" because its one of those "liberal buzz-words".
Call them companies or big business or whatever. The fact is that corporations are polluting selling this country short and making a profit from it.
Jobs are flowing overseas and the government isn't stopping them because it will hurt their profit margin. Waste is being dumped in your rivers and smog is being pumped into your air, and the government isn't stopping them because it will hurt their profit-margin. Things are getting worse and worse every day and everyone seems too wrapped up in these fake TV politics to realize what is really happening to this nation.
Please, I beg you to try and broaden your political horizons. Please understand that there are people in charge of Washington. There are media conglomerates that tell the vast majority of this country what to think. And there are third party candidates in this election.
I am an American!
I am a nationalist! I believe in the principles that this country was founded on.
But big companies are destroying that America. They're selling us all short. Believe me, the corporations of todays America would be HATED by our founding fathers.
"I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocrasy of our monied corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country."
-Thomas Jefferson
(The author of the Declaration of Independence, 3rd US President)
A time is coming very soon where the anti-globalization movement is going to become very big in this nation. Within the next few decades, this nation is going to have to make its decision:
Are we going to descend deeper into the pit of corporate-run media, corporate-run eugenics, corporate-run government, and corporate-run everything?
OR
Are we going to turn this country around and become the old America? The Jeffersonian America.
That is the decision that is falling upon all of us.
User Reviews
Submitted by Adereterial (user info) at 2004-10-28 11:50:06 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
I totally agree with this, and I think there are some solutions:
1, A third party. The existance of a large third party in British politics helps prevent stagnation even when either Labour or the Conservatives hold power for a long time. It can also help or hinder the majority party by the way it uses it's votes.
2, The removal of corporate interest from politics.
3, The elimination of the fixed term of office. Again, the British system dictates a five year maximum period of office for all politicians before re-election. Elections can be held at any time during that period. This means that a strong enough public protest can (and has) forced a general election and a change of government. Additionally, the removal of the President from office for any reason should automatically trigger a new election.
4, Abolition of the electoral college system with the first past the post, majority wins, system.
5, Compulsory voting for all eligible citizens, along with the introduction of a 'no suitable candidate' choice on a redesigned ballot paper - which you mark with a pen.
There's also something to be said from preventing the concentration of power into one man's hands - I'd suggest curtailing the President's powers and concentrating them in the elected houses.
Go on... shout me down. But I'm right.
Submitted by Random Joe at 2004-10-27 23:48:34 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Sofa_Ace (user info) at 2004-10-27 23:47:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
read the book "And the truth shall set you free" I think the author is Icke, but it's been a while. He has some pretty wierd conspiracy theories in the first chapter, but once you get past that, he has some pretty good evidence about who's really controlling the world.
Submitted by mikethescottish (user info) at 2004-10-27 19:52:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
A literate diatribe, but a diatribe nonetheless.
Submitted by Sepsis (user info) at 2004-10-27 19:48:12 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
moron. do your homework before posting a diatribe.
Submitted by Supreme_Overlord (user info) at 2004-10-27 19:38:18 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
When you base your facts on a quote, its easy to debunk your arguement by quoting the opposite party. Let's go to a "Hamiltonian" America and have all the rich and educated white men control the country.
----------------------------------------------------
Bet you didn't do that great on the exam. And don't the rich and educated white men already control the country?
Submitted by the_mysterious_stranger (user info) at 2004-10-27 19:19:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
The "Jeffersonian" vision of America was that of a mostly rural society, which is not realistic anymore. I too thought about the influence big corporations hold today recently. What I asked myself was: Everyone always says that corporations are evil. But what actually is a corporation? Sure, it is a conglomerate of smaller companies, but to whom do they belong? Even the "leaders" (CEOs) are just employees who can get fired. It kinda reminds me of 1984: "The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake". Just the party, no particular person. In the old days, you had an evil king, or the evil capitalist and whatnot. But a corporation is just an institution. They belong to no one particular (shareholders). So who is evil? Is the concept "corporation" evil in itself. Maybe the CEOs are evil, but they get elected and can be fired. The shareholders?
Submitted by chipolatte (user info) at 2004-10-27 19:10:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
like it or not, corporations are the future, and barring nuclear war, I doubt anything is going to stop them. you may not like it, but that's the facts. just stay away from them, and focus on your own life, instead of trying to control the world.
but mostly, just shut the fuck up.
Submitted by runninginplace (user info) at 2004-10-27 19:03:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Jobs are flowing overseas and the government isn't stopping them because it will hurt their profit margin. Waste is being dumped in your rivers and smog is being pumped into your air, and the government isn't stopping them because it will hurt their profit-margin. Things are getting worse and worse every day and everyone seems too wrapped up in these fake TV politics to realize what is really happening to this nation.
A time is coming very soon where the anti-globalization movement is going to become very big in this nation.
-----------------------------------------
Are you a fucking idiot? There is nothing wrong with globalization. It leads to a net positive effect. Jobs flow different places all the time. Prior to modern days jobs flowed to the South because of cheaper labor. We must adapt and change with the times, not sit here and cry. Turning back the clock is not the solution.
Submitted by Jarvis (user info) at 2004-10-27 18:55:13 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Libertarians are all about some Jefferson shit. Vote Badnarik!
Submitted by Chronicles_of_College_Guy (user info) at 2004-10-27 18:38:58 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Yeah, but EVEN IF GORE WON, the corporations would still be in power. They are the ones that need to be overthrown.
Submitted by DanielH (user info) at 2004-10-27 18:36:52 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
The U.S. is not a democracy: we're a republic. In a true democracy every vote counts directly for one's chosen candidate. Our votes go to some faceless group in an electoral college whom we hope will vote like us. It's all a crock. (I'm still voting, because those votes will be "made public." Just like they were made public in 2000 when Bush lost the popular vote.
Submitted by Random Joe at 2004-10-27 18:35:58 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
as the great George Carlin said, in reference to Jefferson and his cronies, "This country was founded by landholding slaveowners who told us 'all men are created equal.' Yeah, all 'men', except for Indians, niggers and women."
You said it, George.
Not everything is worse.
Though I do agree that this whole election is one big ego-stroking-jack-off-fest to see who gets to take it up the ass from the corporations for the next four years.
Submitted by Jack_McCallum (user info) at 2004-10-27 18:25:57 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Zandy1123 (user info) at 2004-10-27 18:19:19 (#)
Ranking: 2
It's amazing how much the movie "The Matrix" correlates to the current situation in the U.S.
We are all a part of the "Matrix," the world that our government and media has invented for us and constantly spoon-feeds us. How are we to really know what's true and what's not when corporate media/government dictates what we see and hear and read?
--
What a fucking dong.
Submitted by Degreeless_Capibara (user info) at 2004-10-27 18:24:20 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Hamilton...Adams...I was just remembering how Jefferson was vice-president due to a clause in the constitution that was put there because they didn't expect political parties, and I remembered Adams and Jeff being on opposite parties and Jeff and Hamilton were bitter political enemies...damn I'm fried.
Submitted by Degreeless_Capibara (user info) at 2004-10-27 18:22:41 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Sorry, I just got back from a daunting exam on U.S. History, so excuse me for being a bitch back there.
Submitted by Chronicles_of_College_Guy (user info) at 2004-10-27 18:21:46 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
"take back OUR government...because it is OURS, not theirs."
Actually, it's everyone's. I'm just saying, let's be fair.
"This land is your land
This land is my land..."
Submitted by Zandy1123 (user info) at 2004-10-27 18:19:19 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
It's amazing how much the movie "The Matrix" correlates to the current situation in the U.S.
We are all a part of the "Matrix," the world that our government and media has invented for us and constantly spoon-feeds us. How are we to really know what's true and what's not when corporate media/government dictates what we see and hear and read?
The two party system is garbage. It's Dumb and Dumber on the grandest of scales. We need to remove the corporate influence over government and take back OUR government...because it is OURS, not theirs.
Submitted by Chronicles_of_College_Guy (user info) at 2004-10-27 18:12:04 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Wow, everyone thinks Degreeless_Capibara is an ass!
Submitted by Jack_McCallum (user info) at 2004-10-27 18:10:51 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Degreeless_Capibara (user info) at 2004-10-27 18:01:11 (#)
Ranking: 0
"Your people, sir, is nothing but a great beast"
- Alexander Hamilton, 2nd president of the United States
--
Adams Senior, father of John Quincy Adams, was 2nd, you dink.
Obviously none of your 5 degrees is in history...
Submitted by Chronicles_of_College_Guy (user info) at 2004-10-27 18:09:49 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
This was very well-thought-out.
Also, in response to Degreeless_Capibara, when you say that Alexander Hamilton was ever President, you kind of undermine your entire arguement.
And Jefferson meant more to the founding of this country than Hamilton did (he did WRITE the Declaration of Independence, after all).
Also, I believe that Hamilton was a strong supporter of a federal government (after all, he authored many of "The Federalist" papers). I don't think that he would support the infiltration of that government by corporate influences.
I think that EVERY SINGLE ONE of the founding fathers would consider today's corporate America has a horrible, horrible thing.
Submitted by Jack_McCallum (user info) at 2004-10-27 18:05:52 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
"I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocrasy of our monied corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country."
-Thomas Jefferson
--
It 'pays' to remember that Jefferson was always in debt... and had very expensive tastes. I admire him greatly, but if he had suddenly inherited a business or a family fortune he probably would have been a litlle less outspoken on that particular subject.
Oh, and I'm always broke too, so It's not like I'm siding with the Teresa Heinz Kerry's of the world...
Submitted by johnson (user info) at 2004-10-27 18:05:41 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Degreeless_Capibara, where did you get the idea that Hamilton was ever president?
Submitted by stevendurel (user info) at 2004-10-27 18:04:22 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Don't read the person below me. They don't know their facts.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON WAS NEVER PRESIDENT!
John Adams was the second president!
Submitted by Degreeless_Capibara (user info) at 2004-10-27 18:01:11 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
So retarded, I don't even know where to begin. Did you know that there really was no "Jeffersonian" America? Just because he played a big role in the founding of our nation does not mean he knows what is right and what isn't.
"Your people, sir, is nothing but a great beast"
- Alexander Hamilton, 2nd president of the United States
When you base your facts on a quote, its easy to debunk your arguement by quoting the opposite party. Let's go to a "Hamiltonian" America and have all the rich and educated white men control the country.
Yes, corporations control much of today's society. While I disagree with the corporate influence to an extent, I do not think we should abolish them. They define our country, and they have a positive total influence on it.
Anyway, your post was coherent, so I'll give you a +0 on a decent political post.
Submitted by stevendurel (user info) at 2004-10-27 17:58:09 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Actually, Mitchell, that's not set to happen for FIVE BILLION years (5,000 times 1 million).
And that's not a very optomistic view.
Submitted by Caulaincourt (user info) at 2004-10-27 17:56:43 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
truth
Submitted by Mitchell (user info) at 2004-10-27 17:56:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
who cares, a million years from now, this planet wont even exist. our sun will become a red giant by then, correct?
Submitted by stevendurel (user info) at 2004-10-27 17:51:47 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by johnson (user info) at 2004-10-27 17:51:23 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
True dat!
Submitted by Anarchy (user info) at 2004-10-27 17:50:57 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
This is the kind of stuff I say, but everyone -2's me because I'm an Anarchist.
Submitted by Nobb (user info) at 2004-10-27 17:47:59 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
He's right you know.
Submitted by Gnome (user info) at 2004-10-27 17:46:09 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
*your (@#$% i can't even fucking spell)
Submitted by Gnome (user info) at 2004-10-27 17:45:42 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
i applaud you ideal