America is Fucked

Out of context: Reply #2472

  • Started
  • Last post
  • 3,412 Responses
  • Continuity2

    I see a lot of comments out there on news article comments sections, people imploring others to vote in the US mid-terms, in order to try and undo the damage the SC wrought.

    I don't think this is enough. It seems to me that the US needs to re-design and re-build its entire political system from the ground up.

    The way it is now, the republic's system of election and operation is based nearly directly on France's republican model ...

    ... from the 18th century.

    And therein lies the problem. France's republican system of election and government has since evolved as to be almost completely unrecognisable from what it was back when the US decided this was a good model to follow.

    Only a complete overhaul will prevent legislative and judicial extremism and binary representation in the form of only two parties.

    A re-design and re-built will allow for more parties representing the boradest possible scope of constituents' interests.

    Continuity 2Permalink
    UpvoteDownvote
    Flag
    • Sure but which one is going to be easier? Blocking Republicans from winning an election + doing even more damage or reinventing the entire US political system?yuekit
    • Also, change the role of the preseident to be a ceremonial head of state role, and create a prime minister position that acts as head of government ...Continuity
    • ... with far less unilateral power. It's bonkers that one person can have as much direct power as a US president does.Continuity
    • I think blocking Republicans _can_ be a short-term goal, yes, but without that long-term goal of reinvention, it's just going to be more of the same ...Continuity
    • ... year after year after year.Continuity
    • The two goals should not — and, indeed, can not — be mutually exclusive.Continuity
    • If we're talking about specific issue of SC overturning Roe then it absolutely would have been prevented by just a small number of people voting the other way.yuekit
    • I know, but how many more Roe-like incidents can a country tolerate? And how many times can that country be in election panic mode before ...Continuity
    • ... they realise that it needs to be re-done completely, from the ground up?Continuity
    • Beyond that sure let's totally raze the system to the ground and start over...I'm not opposed to that. I just worry that it can be an excuse for some people toyuekit
    • My point is: the current system promotes binarism which, in turn, promotes extremism, whether legislatively, judicially, or executively.Continuity
    • And that's got to stop, if the US is ever going to find its way out of the dark ages.Continuity
    • not do anything, same way you hear people say things like "we can't solve climate change until capitalism is abolished" or something. We may not have the luxuryyuekit
    • of waiting until the global anarcho-communist revolution has wrapped up before we act on climate change. Most people saying these kinds of things have no ideayuekit
    • how to get from here to there as far as I can see...yuekit
    • Nop, we don't have the luxury, I agree with you there. But I think that genuinely intewlligent and temperate people in the US should make an effort to kick theContinuity
    • process of meaningful change off now. Otherwise, the catalyst could very well come in the form of escalated civil war-like violence.Continuity
    • Which is certainly not an ideal situation.Continuity
    • Eeek. Pardon the typos. I'm under-caffeinated.Continuity
    • No worries and like I said I don't disagree with you in principle. But I think problem here is that there actually are these big splits in American society.yuekit
    • Americans can barely agree on some milquetoast gun legislation after horrific mass shootings but they're going to agree on redoing the entire system?yuekit
    • There are, of course. But I think that they are — in large part, anyway — caused by binarism of the system.Continuity
    • Take a look at the Dems, for example. That party is split up into so-called moderate Dems, and progressives. What that does is more or less ensures progrsssivesContinuity
    • ... interested are never really _truly_ representated by the party, much less acted upon. And, indeed, the two factions hate each other.Continuity
    • If the system allowed for multiple parties, then progressives could unhook themselves from the Dems, and still have representation in Congress.Continuity
    • Yeah I like the European system much better where you can have alliances between different parties.yuekit
    • Bingo. Even in Westminster-style partliaments, like Canada's, loose coalitions can have (the Liberals are currently dependent on the NDP's support).Continuity
    • But you ARE absolutely right that no-one will agree on changing the US system now. But, I think, someone with a far(ish) reaching voice needs to startContinuity
    • ... that conversation by actually broaching the subject. To my knowledge and to date, I don't believe anyone has.Continuity
    • The thing is Americans look at their system as basically being handed down by Jesus. They can't recognize that many countries actually improved on it.yuekit
    • And if that conversation is either kept warm (or, at least, comes up fairly regularly), then over time, appetite would increase.Continuity
    • That's the basis of this ruling after all...SC is saying the right to abortion wasn't in the original Constitution so we're cancelling it.yuekit
    • Ha! You're not wrong. But I still have trust that there are relatively intelligent, secular, and common sensical people in positions of influence in the USContinuity
    • ... who could help sell that change to the masses.Continuity
    • I think that kind of fundamental change could happen...AFTER the current GOP has been wiped out as a viable political force.yuekit
    • Hm. The question is, *will* they be truly wiped out as a viable political force. This is where I'm not at all confident, considering the decades of build-up ...Continuity
    • ... to it, starting with Reagan.Continuity
    • Republicans in the past were more moderate...so yeah of course. Things always change.yuekit
    • As cliche as it is to blame Fox News, I think this actually did have a big impact. it was the first time TV was totally partisan. And that only goes back to 96.yuekit
    • This is true, media is playing an outsized role, here. And yeah, the GOP were more moderate in the past, also true.Continuity
    • Government should be run by AI, what could go wrong?Chimp
    Show [[ numHiddenNotes ]] more notesAdd Note
    SaveCancel

View thread