American People Failure Watch

since we have a thread for all of the failures of all the various political parties (at least the relevant ones) and some of the more relevant politicians, I think it is high time we as the American populace become a little introspective and ask ourselves why is it that our politicians suck so much. why is it that our politicians treat us and talk to us like children. remember the words of Alexis de Tocqueville: "In a democracy, the people get the government they deserve." I made mention of this in another thread, but it got me thinking that it probably deserved its own thread.


the way both candidates are talking to the American people in platitudes and sound bites, like they're children, reminds me of the way Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, so that "seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand." sadly, easily manipulable children who care more about football and reality television, is exactly what the American people have proven themselves to be.

let me be clear, this is not meant to be a comparison of either candidate to Jesus, but rather the crowds in Jesus' time to the American people. people say we have shit for candidates. I'm not voting for anybody! friends, the reason we have shit for candidates is because we have shit for citizens! the reason candidates speak to you in platitudes, sound bites, talking points, and indeed, outright lies, is because we let them get away with it! the candidates would not speak that way to us if they knew they couldn't get away with it. perhaps they wouldn't speak that way to us if they knew they could keep your attention longer than 30 seconds! the problems (economic, social, political, environmental, military, geopolitical, etc.) are much too complex to address in a 30-second campaign ad, or in a sound bite. they require careful study, research, debate, and thought. how many Americans have actually researched in a serious way any of the issues being discussed? how many Americans have researched any of the candidates' voting records? their previous utterances on various issues? or read lengthy scholarly articles or (gasp!), maybe even a book on any of the complex issues (the economy, social issues, climate change, etc.) facing America today? or do most of us simply rely on what you heard from the candidates during a few debates, where we knew they were going to by lying and telling us anything to get our vote? or worse, do we just listed/watch Maddow, Hanaty, Limbaugh, or Jon Stewart for your "news" and "analysis" and simply parrot back the sound bites we hear? I exempt most people on P&CE from this criticism because simply by virtue of being regular posters on P&CE means that we are more aware of what is going on in the world today in terms of current events and politics and care enough about them to discuss and debate those issues, but the vast majority of the American people are not like this.

most Americans don't seem to realize that there is more to civic responsibility than checking some boxes on a ballot every 4 years, or listening to 30 minutes of a presidential debate. civic responsibility is hard, and can be boring at time. that's why it's a responsibility. they don't call it civic joy or civic fun for a reason. so de Tocqueville was spot on - if you want to look at why we have a crappy government, look at the people who elected them. which is to say, look in the mirror.

I had plans for starting this thread two weeks from today, should a certain scenario play out.

yeah, he wasn't one of the ones I was referring to when I wrote "I exempt most people on P&CE from this criticism because simply by virtue of being regular posters on P&CE means that we are more aware of what is going on in the world today in terms of current events and politics and care enough about them to discuss and debate those issues."

I know it looks ridiculous but I'll bet $100 that it's some sort of ADA thing. A ramp would have been lots cheaper but maybe there isn't enough room for a ramp, which would necessarily be longer because the angle would be less pronounced.

This is America, man.

That's the "down" escalator. The "up" escalator is actually to the right.

tl;dr

I'm not sure a person confined to a wheelchair would prefer that to a ramp.

yeah, they would need one of those chair lifts like in the movie Up.

There might be other facilities for wheelchair-bound people but, if you serve a population with a lot of elderly folks, those stairs could be a problem. I could see something like that in q-tip heavy areas of Florida, for instance.

What is the % of Americans that believe in Creationism?
Alien adductions (not talking drug lords kidnapping people)?
We committed genocide in Iraq?
Good things come from rape?
Etc, ect

Great thread. The first presidential election campaign I follow that closely and it made me think a several times that how failed your politicians are, they would never make it to a community council over here. They'd more likely make it to a mental hospital. Especially how the politicians deal with the truth. But tough it's way more entertaining than Merkel pattering her speeches.

Politics here is like watching paint dry.

You probably know this, but everything in America is entertainment.

Mentally ill people hoarding tons of garbage in their homes, suicidal highway police pursuits, News, and politics -- especially politics -- it's ALL entertainment. It's not a serious undertaking, no matter how much they try to make it so.

If all Europeans spend their days contemplating science, they sure as hell don't have a lot to show for it in the last few decades.

Also, we work harder than you. (you being Europeans)

Spending more hours at work does not mean you work harder. It means you spend more time getting bent over by The Man.

And have shittier healthcare, public transportation systems, education, etc. to show for it.

Lets do a short check first:

We Europeans get for our tax Euros:
- full health care
- generous pensions
- 6 weeks off a year
- maternity leave
- free college
- public transportation that doesnt smell like pee

whereas your tax dollars go to:
- military bases in Germany(thank you)
- subsidies to oil companies
- building bridges to nowhere
- waging wars on a whim
- and putting Wesley Snipes in prison

Last but not least, we have made some things we proudly show:
We've got AIRBUS.

You've got "the bus".

BÄÄÄM!

Escalators cannot be a part of an ADA solution. They are not wheelchair accessible.

A wheelchair lift is an acceptable solution.

Nothing wrong with that

Airbus ain't nothing to be proud of

They don't spend their days contemplating science any more than Americans spend their days contemplating WWJD

Speak for yourself. I work smarter and make lemmings like you work harder.

Less than the % of Americans that don't give it a thought

Not really, we're not very good at it. Now Germans, they know how to do some genocide, with the Russkies a close second

Depends on who's getting raped, don't it?