Quote Originally Posted by Matin View Post
got your attention? lol

i pose a question! what are the opinions in this forum as to the state of the american 'democracy' *cough socialistleaningrepublic cough*?

i have recently read the rise and fall of the roman empire, and the writings of tacitus, and i am drawn to the conclusion that we have not had a democracy for a long time.
The U.S. has never been a democracy, it has always been a republic.

bush '00; (and i HATE to drag old waters) a man becomes president expressly AGAINST the will of the majority, because he won the college.

wtf?
The system worked exactly as intended (allegations of voter fraud aside).

the patriot act, increasing 'dole' programs, outrageous military spending, annexing territories, disappearing middle class, floods of truly well meaning but destabilizing aliens, an epidemic of tort abuse, increasing censorship, and above all this government and corporate fed cloud of FEAR that we are all expected to live under.

to anyone offended by this post, and especially if it has been done to death i ask your pardon.

still i will ask the question; anyone else hear visigoths?
Biggest problems facing the U.S.:

Our increasing state of debt, both private and public.

Our reliance on foreign energy.

Increasing wealth disparity. It threatens our economic health and civil stability.

A government that is hyper sensitive to public opinion and monetary influence. This is by far the most insidious as it keeps any realistic solution to the prior problems (or any major problem for that matter) from being tabled. Some sensitivity is important, however "the people" are stupid. "The people" know next to nothing and instead respond almost entirely on emotion and self interest, because "the people" are only as smart as the average person's knowledge on any given subject. If you were to choose subjects at random, the average person will almost certainly know next to nothing on that subject. Hence the failure of governing by polls. Government is supposed to be a moderating factor on the public's will, not it's bitch.

No, I don't hear visigoths. However, I wouldn't be surprised if the U.S. falls out of the #1 super power slot in the next 50 years.