Open your Eyes

[ALifetimeToWaitFor...]

Wondering if anyone else can see through this smoke screen the powers that actually own this country, mega industry, have through at us. The fact that our political process simply doesnt work because the ones with the money are the ones in power and using that power to make more money, instead of looking for ways the improve the quality of life for the entire world population. The United States Goverment is organized crime.

 

[michel]

Wondering if anyone else can see through this smoke screen the powers that actually own this country, mega industry, have through at us. The fact that our political process simply doesnt work because the ones with the money are the ones in power and using that power to make more money, instead of looking for ways the improve the quality of life for the entire world population. The United States Goverment is organized crime.

An extreme way of puting it, but I think nothing new in that; the same can be said of the politics of most countries.....................

 

[Sunstone]

Governments: You can't live with them, you can't live without them.

 

[MdmSzdWhtGuy]

The government which governs least governs best. H.L. Mencken. The father (tho he didn't know it) of libertarianism.

Government is about pacifying the people while you stick it to them. It has been that way since we came out of the caves. There is a reason why Constantine chose Christianity for the state religion of Rome, and, tho he didn't know it at the time, all of Western Civilization.

Religion truly is the opiate of the masses, tho it has been supplanted in part by the opiates of entertainment through TV, movies and music. Keep em pacified, make them think they are martyrs and you can do whatever you want to the people. This has been the cry of the powerful since they were able to form coherant thought.

The only upside is, there is not an actual caste system in place in America, and tho it may be difficult, there are ways, through great talent, hard work and a bit of luck to be upwardly mobile in this country. I have not acheived this yet, but you don't have to be born rich to die rich here.

The government has not yet taken that away, tho with the current tax system in place, there are certainly some genuine barriers. www.freetax.org this won't solve all these problems, but it is a step in the right direction.

B.

 

[greatcalgarian]

Think Positive: For all the complaining I hear about the government because it
means that we have freedom of speech.

 

[spacemonkey]

Think Positive: For all the complaining I hear about the government because it
means that we have freedom of speech.

Though there have always been attempts to suppress that freedom as well. Richard Nixon couldn't quiet the opposers of the Viet Nam war so he made the DEA to persecute them for their recreational activities. Ask Larry Flint if the Religous Right believes in freedom of speech or if there is a seperation church and state in every community.

 

[The Black Whirlwind]

DOOD *takes a hit* the corporations, are like, evil dawg *takes a good long puff* Open your eyes, and you'll see, we're all slaves to them. hippy.

 

[MdmSzdWhtGuy]

DOOD *takes a hit* the corporations, are like, evil dawg *takes a good long puff* Open your eyes, and you'll see, we're all slaves to them. hippy.

Don't give the good long puff a bad name. It is one of the few things the hippies got right. Funny thing is now the hippie generation is the one in Congress and yet the hippies of the 60's who were going to change the world, and now have the position to do so, are not exactly effecting the changes they claimed they would. . .

something to think on while you toke.

B.

 

[WillieHutch]

Don't give the good long puff a bad name. It is one of the few things the hippies got right. Funny thing is now the hippie generation is the one in Congress and yet the hippies of the 60's who were going to change the world, and now have the position to do so, are not exactly effecting the changes they claimed they would. . .

something to think on while you toke.

B.

the baby boomers are the ones stressing over health care infrastructure. (among other things).

 

[spacemonkey]

If you think about it, Orginized Crime is actually modeled after the government. Orginizied Crime IS the government for those who engage in activities not sanctioned by the government. They set the rules, enforce the rules, provide prodection from other criminals, and wage wars against rival "governments".

 

[Ormiston]

The world exists in a balance with everyone pulling in their direction; an endless power-struggle. For some reason the mentioning of Freedom of Speech struck me as ironic. Why do we need rights? Cause someone is always trying to take them away. We prefer to live peaceful lives and that introduces a danger of not being able to defend ourselves. So we live under a blanket of protection provided by our government. And I think it's healthy that we distrust the ones running it and change those in charge frequently. It's one of the rare powers each of us really has.

 

[ALifetimeToWaitFor...]

But that power is still in a powerful sense controlled. Lobbyists say who are choices are and those choices are the dosh bag on the right and the poop sandwich on the left. When do we get a moderate choice.

 

[Ormiston]

But that power is still in a powerful sense controlled. Lobbyists say who are choices are and those choices are the dosh bag on the right and the poop sandwich on the left. When do we get a moderate choice.

I suppose we are blessed to have a choice at all. In our brief history, I have to believe the vast majority of humans that have ever existed were offered no such choice. Power had to be taken with force or cunning. And, actually, things may have not changed all that much. If you want better choices, go make it happen. Then you will truly be powerful. But, it's certainly unlikely to just appear.

 

[Ardent Listener]

Think Positive: For all the complaining I hear about the government because it
means that we have freedom of speech.

You are correct of course. We are all here and are able to voice our opinions. But we should not take that freedom for granted. Even President Lincoln had the military confine many of his most vocal union critic to the hulls of Union warships until the end of the Civil War. Right or wrong, during times of war our freedoms are at risk.

 

[Valjean]

The whole point of the American political experiment was to set up government as a servant of the people. Government was a social contract to support and protect the interests of the general population against the usurpations of the rich or powerful. Government was to be "of the people, by the people and for the people."

America today is a plutocracy sliding into fascism. Like Rome, our republic is evolving into empire.