qazix said:
No, but staying to fight isn't such a hot idea, either. The U.S. seems to be heading steadily towards a fascist theocracy
Yeah, right. Hey, would this be a bad time to point out that Bush is not eligible to run for the Presidency for the rest of his life, and I'm not aware of a single person in his administration who plans to run in the future. So how is this supposed fascism sustained over time?
And if you think conservatives have blind faith - really, any faith - in the media, it's little wonder that you understand so little of the people wth whom you disagree.
The only kind of opposition that might make a difference at this point -- the written word, making people aware of the problems with Bush and his government -- can be done just as easily from outside the country as it can from the inside. Any other kind of opposition, especially violent opposition or civil disobedience, will almost certainly fail under the current political climate.
Or you could organize a vote to change the governing powers. That's exactly what the other side of the aisle did after being gang-raped by Democrat-run legislatures for six decades. The Founders set that up as a means to affect change WITHOUT violence.
Here are some recommendations to start with:
- no more fat filmmakers who can't tell the truth from a hole in the wall
- viable candidates (hint: try finding one that lies less) (see also: Barack Obama)
- laying off the intellectual superiority complex would be a nice change. You make with the "people who actually HAVE a brain would see everything my way" enough times, and eventually you get tuned out. Take it from someone who's spent the last two days listening to "liberals are better with the budget, liberals care more about people, liberals are better at this, liberals are better at that, blah blah blah" That tells me that this is no longer about making one's voice heard, it's become a power struggle.
- to expand on that, Liberals in politics want to REGAIN CONTROL so they can SET THE AGENDA. Two parties fighting for control are just going to be pulling the country in one of two directions, rather than working together to solve real problems.
- lay off the invective. People like me have our own opinions, and our own reasons for having them, and they don't all fit in that neat little box you like to shove us in. Hint: you don't settle differences of opinion by calling people hateful racist Nazis. Just a thought.
Now the Republican party needs to do some retooling as well, this roller coaster will end for them eventually, and if they forget where they came from, they're going to get their asses stomped into oblivion and never given a voice in politics so long as Democrats hold the reins. And until a viable third party comes along that people like me can get behind, the best option is to try and hold the party accountable. When I put my vote behind Bush, there were a lot of caveats with it. You have my vote, BUT you'd better quit screwing around in Iraq and crush these bastards so we can go home. You have my vote, BUT you'd better quit submarining the budget, and you'd better be telling the truth about social security.
Frankly, I expect Bush will be more apt to reach across the aisle this time. Presidents always have this "thing" about needing a "legacy", and Bush doesn't want his legacy to be a tax cut, an education bill and six years of garbage. And he knows he won't be able to accomplish anything by wrestling ad infinitum with Democrats. If he wants results, he's going to have to learn the art of compromise. At least I have a Senator who's working to square the budget.
So how is this going to go? Are we going to both work to fix the system (and yes, it's the system that needs fixing because both sides have myriad problems) or get more parties involved, or follow the lead of political leaders and just flame each other while they walk off with all the trappings of power?