My America or No America

MANA came to me a couple of weeks ago. This goes beyond "he's not my president" which has been prevalent for decades. It's the attitude that the country should be driven by only your party/ideology. I've seen people say that only their party should have the ability to run the country. Those of the opposing party are "less" than they are themselves.

The Kavannaugh episode has brought this more to the front. I'm sure people have thought this before but now it's being brought out in the open. People actually stating that Americans should have no say in the process. America should be THEIR vision of America. It's getting scary. The energy and effort put into attempting to keep the other side down is amazing.

With this latest SCOTUS appointment one side was, "Damn the torpedoes, git er done". Once confirmed I've actually heard, "That's OK. They'll be eaten with the rest of them." There's no movement by either to see any common ground. Social media is excellent at whipping people up. You can read this stuff anywhere. Even here.

Forgotten is the fact that you are ALL Americans. All in the same boat. Right now the boat is sinking and it looks like some don't care as long as they are happy that they can have the country going in the direction they want. Selfishness and self interest is the norm. The days of "Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country" are a distant memory. Caring for the country no longer exists with many. They want THEIR country. Nothing else.

This is going to have to end soon before things go too far and make it SO difficult to remove the disparity of the people. Remember that a divided house falls. It's time to stop thinking of one's self and focus more on the country AS A WHOLE. If one can't see that you're part of the problem. It's time for a change. This isn't working.

a reply to: intrepid

Yea, that's going to fall on deaf ears.

The left and right consider the opposite side of the isle as enemies trying to destroy THEIR country. LOL. Meanwhile, those two sides are run by the same agenda and fed the money they need to campaign by the same people.

You can point out more similarities than differences and yet the happily self appointed citizen pundits would have you believe everyone on the left is socialist or communist while the inverse would have you believe the right is white supremacist fascists.

a reply to: intrepid


it's more than just the US. Canada and the Philippines, just to name two more are in the exact same boat that i am intimately familiar with. perhaps not quite to the same extent yet, but then they are almost always a little bit behind in such regards, but following the same path. and from what i have been seeing in Europe and Australia, the same seems to be true there as well. in Canada there is Obama 2.0 (Trudeau) currently in charge of the country. with calls going out for a Canadian version of Trump to fix what he is destroying. even make Canada great again is starting to be heard. and some of the exact same issues are being used to tear the country apart on party lines like gun control, illegal aliens, Muslim terrorists, and refugees are becoming huge issues of contention. as well as all the LGBT and abortion stuff. where in the Philippines people on one side have no problems with their political rivals being falsely imprisoned or killed, by the currant leader of the country. as that is making the country into their own image of what they want. so i would say that this is actually a free country issue. where you have those who want tyranny, as long as it's for their ideals, and those who want to keep their freedoms and are starting to fight back to keep them.

The economy is booming and jobs are plentiful. Plus I got a tax cut and am no longer a slave to our health care system and can now vote with my wallet again. Seems all my wishes have already been granted by the current admin, so no complaints here. I'll be voting the same way in 2020, but I'm assuming you won't be considering you're a Canadian. Maybe that's your problem?

a reply to: intrepid

Bravo! Very well said!!

I'm seeing the same thing for the same reasons. I think of it as the Queen of Hearts ideology: "All ways are my ways." And that's NOT America or anything close to the "American Way" or the "American Spirit."

I don't think it's an accident that people are wrongly conditioned to believe we have a democracy, rather than a Constitutional Republic. People want to believe that if they can get enough people to believe the same thing, they can force their will on the rest of us... No guaranteed rights for anyone!

Hence the "I believe survivors" meme. It now doesn't matter what can or cannot be proven. It's just whatever the vocal majority believes.

In a democracy, might makes right.

Well, technically, the Republicans are really the only ones making the right argument (even though I don't completely agree with Republicans even on paper and don't trust them any farther than I could throw a concrete block).

When Republicans say they don't want to lose the republic, they're making the right argument. When Democrats say they don't want to lose their Democracy, they're not talking about the right country. This country is not (not supposed to be) pure mob rule by any stretch.

It's kind of funny though because the Democrats actually are at least trying to be consistent by trying to get rid of the electoral college. That's them admitting they want pure mob rule. Which would be funny if it wasn't so damn scary.

So what they're actually trying to do is literally unconstitutional from the getgo.

Pretty good post except for the "the boat is sinking" part. We've survived much more turbulent times than this. We'll be alright.

a reply to: intrepid

But Trep, it is deathly important as to whether you sit on the port or the starboard side of the sinking boat. I mean what will the recovery effort think if you are found on the wrong side of the wrecked remains of the ship?

a reply to: intrepid

Forgotten is the fact that you are ALL Americans. All in the same boat. Right now the boat is sinking and it looks like some don't care as long as they are happy that they can have the country going in the direction they want. Selfishness and self interest is the norm.

It has been that way for a long time now. The only difference is that the spotlight has been turned to D.C. and the transparancy of our Government is coming to light.

I personally think it is a good thing, because if you cannot see what is broken you can't even begin to try and fix it.

Now that we see what is broken, what is your position on how to fix it?

We've reached a turning point.

Things drastically went down hill in 2000 when team left lost that election.

The American political process has always been flawed.

But the separations of powers has never been.

Republicans have issues.

Democrats have bigger ones that's nothing short of treason.

a reply to: neo96

This is why ATS can't have nice things (threads).

Someone starts a kumbaya "let's see through political differences" thread, and a pundit steps in to piss on it real quick.

originally posted by: intrepid
With this latest SCOTUS appointment one side was, "Damn the torpedoes, git er done".

Yes that party is certainly head strong, it's a shame since more can be accomplished if they would just compromise instead of always having to be right.

I have a theory if we just keep voting out incumbents from ether party eventually going to get someone worth having in office.

a reply to: CriticalStinker

Every single American has been pissed on for two years straight.

And to be brutally honest it's not getting better. It's getting worse.

PAID mobs protesting presidential candidates before their even elected.

Same time that happened Democrat lawyers are meeting with the FBI to manipulate them, and the courts on spying on their political opponents.

The media has become nothing more than the propaganda arm of the democratic party.

They subverted the rule of law via judical hacks instead of doing their jobs which is upholding the laws congress creates to be signed in to law by the president.

Sometimes the truth hurts.

We have entered in to a very dangeous times, and it's only going to cascade in to full civil war.

I say this because they've stepped on the gas going 350 miles per hour full on stupid.

This country is hardly even recognizable to the people that created it if they were around.

a reply to: neo96

As an independent I've seen both sides do what you're describing. You're just outraged because one side took off the gloves for your guy. Doesn't make it right, just calling it how I see it.

But you're not doing anything to help solve the problem. You flip out about the left constantly attacking Trump as if the right didn't treat Obama the same way.

They see you as an enemy, and you see them as an enemy.

That is what this thread is about.

a reply to: CriticalStinker

You're just outraged because one side took off the gloves for your guy. Doesn't make it right, just calling it how I see it.

Bull snip.

Don't even presume to tell me what i am.

But you're not doing anything to help solve the problem. You flip out about the left constantly attacking Trump as if the right didn't treat Obama the same way.

Ignoring those criminal acts don't solve anything.

Why should anyone ignore what's been going on?

It goes far beyond Trump, and a REAL independent would see that.

a reply to: intrepid

As you well know, I am "conservative". I want to win. I want my views to become mainstream and your views to became minority views.

There is a reason for this. I can go into them but not for now. Let's just say that 50 years of socialist programs have not done much good and are starting to fail things.

I think what has you confused is that up until the last couple of years most "conservative" people were apologetic. Those days are over. Get used to it.

a reply to: intrepid

Like I've said many times before...the few voices on either side are louder than the relatively large middle...the ones that see some decent ideas on either side. The issue is that there is absolutely no room for compromise by the very vocal extremists. Any attempt to create a nice compromise which is beneficial to neither extreme is greeted with "sell out" and other such heretical terminology that said compromise gets drowned before it surfaces.

Good times we're in...such tribalism by the minority at the expense of the majority.

originally posted by: DanDanDat
... it's a shame since more can be accomplished if they would just compromise instead of always having to be right.

I have a theory if we just keep voting out incumbents from ether party eventually going to get someone worth having in office.

That ain't a bad idea.

a reply to: CriticalStinker
So when it gets bandied about that "all things are equal".....when they are not

You flip out about the left constantly attacking Trump as if the right didn't treat Obama the same way.

www.washingtontimes.com...

It was over 90 percent hostile then — and remains so now. The trend is unprecedented, according to the analysis.

unprecedented

perhaps when things are no longer so "unprecedented" things may change

it doesn't get much worse than fake gang rape allegations in the senate committee

I noted Kav stated he would not enforce on behalf of one party but on behalf of America...

That is the part some people want to forget.