American Complacancy

Originally posted by ANOK

Originally posted by junglejake
I do have to say, though, I'm really disappointed with ATS because of the Nepal thread and The Vagabond's thread. ATS seems to be a community of speakers, not doers. When asked to step up to the plate, to put your money where your mouth is, you scatter or explain that your time is too precious to help folks in need, someone else do it.

I would be very curious to see how many people who are active in political discussion here actually went out and voted. I now suspect it was very, very few.

You know, for a community fearing conspiracies, we're not doing much to prevent them.

That's because most people active in political discussion realized a long time ago that our vote is not what decides who becomes president.
Those with enough cash to control the government are the ones who decide, not us. Democracy is an illusion designed to convince us we have a say in the running of our country...

Back to topic...We have a dictator in our own country, we should fix that problem first. But of course dictators only happen in other countries cause their not smart like our government, they haven't learned to hide behind smokescreens of deception.

AP&F...

[edit on 18/2/2005 by ANOK]

Well, what the hell is the point of this site? When did it become the ultimate act of rebellion and showing your lack of support for those in power by not voting? We all gather together and talk about needing change, but something has happened in this great nation which caused so many to think their voice is irrelevant.

Don't even try to blame this on the 2000 election, this was a major problem well before that. What happened to cause this complacancy? Was it because we're so comfortable and rich in this country that we just no longer care? Was it an effort made by the media so they could choose the government by making those who research and care about world events feel that their voice didn't matter?

You know, in the 60s, people were passionate about changing the government. This was also about the time televised news became popular. Today, people are very opinionated, but come a protest, .001% of the people of the same opinion even show up. They're all talk. You people talk about the NWO taking over. Well, we sure are making it easy for them. We see a problem and immediately rush out to tell other poeple who will spread it. But none of us go to the effort of telling the leadership about this. You think Bush takes the time to come to ATS? Hyde? Rice? Durbin? No, they're doing other things, like being proactive and running a country. Any time there is an effort to make something happen, people scatter. You view, but you don't speak.

Come on, ATS, there is a conspiracy to silence our opinion, and we're all the conspirators. Get up out of your chairs and do something about it instead of complaining about it.

Thank goodness someone realizes the problem.......................I've been trying to put my finger on what it is, but up until now haven't been. ATS is run by a few, who knows what their objective or sympathies are, one mod never questions the other mod's use, or so it seems to me.

In ANOTHER THREAD THIS WAS SAID:

Originally posted by they see ALL


they are gods here at ATS...

DO WE WANT GODS? Maybe we should moderate ourselves by voting what should and shouldn't be allowed on the threads? Like a suggestion box for the thread if we don't agree with its forum context or its subject matter, etc.
MAKE ATS A DEMOCRACY!!!!




[edit on 18-2-2005 by The Division Bell]

That's not even the issue. This goes far beyond ATS. It wasn't until I saw the complacancy and flat out rejection of thisa thread:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

not because they disagreed but because thier voice wouldn't mean anything. There may be some bias here at ATS, but that's to be expected. The problem is much bigger. Everyone seems to believe one voice can't make a difference.

Jesus Christ changed the entire world, and he never really went farther than 30 miles from where he started his ministry. For all of you non-Christians out there, that was one man 2000 years ago who said a few things, did a few things, and changed the world forever. For us Christians, what else could we expect from God?

A more contemporary example would be Martin Luther King. This is black history month. It absloutly would not be if MLK had not spoken out. It was MLK using and publicizing Rosa Parks' story that allowed blacks to sit anywhere on the bus.

1 person changed a world and country, respectivly.

So ask yourself, what can one person do, short of changing the world?

I remember back in the seventies when people's complains were taken seriously and our leader used to listen.

Through the years all that has been placated and we are a nation now of people that just accept and do what our leader tell us.

I use to remember the protest and also the violence, now people is afraid of protest because the will become targets of the government.

And now protest have to be requested and approved then you are allowed to protest in a appointed areas.

What happened to the marches down the streets, now you will get arrested because is illegal to protest without a permit and is illegal to stop traffic.

How can you be spontaneous any more when everything is regulated and control.

We have rights all right but under a control environment.

TheDivisionBell was banned for speaking out. Who's next? Hope its not me. I've given up now. This has become ridiculious here at ATS. All The Division Bell wanted was to tell people about Nepal and then became angry about it being moved to the dead forums because of its subject matter.

[edit on 18-2-2005 by Prince_Machiavelli]

The marches down the streets can still happen. People just fear the fire hoses more then they fear the results of their complacancy. Peaceful protest, legal or illegal, is a wonderfully powerful thing. The only catch is you have to be willing to pay the price. It will not be comfortable. People see that it's not comfortable and know you must believe strongly about it.

Look up the word martyr. There is a reason this is so effective. When someone values a cause or belief more than their own life, other people are moved.

If you were a politician and people who you knew wouldn't bother to go out and vote told you to do something, would you listen?

I tell you what, I know voting is a very important thing, but some reason I am starting to feel that something is not right anymore, but that will not stop me from voting anyway.

Originally posted by junglejake
Look up the word martyr. There is a reason this is so effective. When someone values a cause or belief more than their own life, other people are moved.

The Division Bell gave up his membership for it. He is a martyr for ATS.

This was the first election I voted in and I voted for Bush because the thought of Kerry president made me sick. Why cant some people relize more people voted for Bush?

You are so right Jake! But based on my beliefs and what I feel IS going to happen, I shouldnt do a thing because whats to come is inevitable. Im prepared spiritually and somewhat physically.

[edit on 18-2-2005 by CmptrN3rd5]

Originally posted by Horsey316
This was the first election I voted in and I voted for Bush because the thought of Kerry president made me sick. Why cant some people relize more people voted for Bush?

Though this is true ('bout the voting), I would be making the same thread if Kerry won. The fact is, Americans feel as though it's inevitable, what happens here in the US.

Either they assume the skull and bones group gets to choose and they don't matter, they seem to think their vote doesn't matter, their opinion doesn't matter when it comes down to it, or they think all candidates are the same. All mentalities are false. Skull and Bones doesn't have the influence except through possibly the media, and Americans still get to pick a candidate via the primary (you decided Kerry was the moderate candidate, and not Dean. YOU listened to the media and didn't look into it yourselves, though you did a lot more for this nation than your neighbor who yelled at the TV but never got up off their couch.) Your opinion is heard throughout the world. Many people agree with you. Show your support with your vote just as the 4,000,000 evangelicals showed their support this last election. Finally, the candidates are vastly different. This was the first election in 16 years where we got to pick between party lines. Just assuming they're the same is showing how little you know about the candidates. Make no mistake, they will do several of the same things because congress isn't as polar on opinions as Bush and Kerry are. They need to get things done in Washington and neither party has a clear majority. However, their motivations for doing things, the things they're really going to fight for, are really based on their beliefs.

People, agree or disagree with my political ideology, your opinion matters. Many say America is becoming a fascist regime. This is because people like you are all talk and don't put their money where their mouth is. You don't care to make any effort other than getting angry at your computer screen and typing.

Does anyone else see this as a problem? To quote a cliche, everyone complains about the weather, but no one does anything about it. I'm challenging you to do something about it. ATS is largly s liberal community, and I am not. My motivations in this thread are not political, but to get you all to help this democratic republic work. As soon as we take the democratic out of that, we hand power over to whoever wants it and runs with it. Don't let America fall, vote.

Jake US has fallen under the power of corporations they own our country and us with it, they own the government and all you have to do is see what is going on in their favors now over the well being and safety of us the citizens.

Money, power and greed is our Commander in Chief now and has been for many years. How can you fight fisically something like that.

Originally posted by marg6043
Jake US has fallen under the power of corporations they own our country and us with it, they own the government and all you have to do is see what is going on in their favors now over the well being and safety of us the citizens.

Money, power and greed is our Commander in Chief now and has been for many years. How can you fight fisically something like that.

I hear ya. People today have become more and more selfish because of materialisum, TV, pop culture, and the internet. It used to be that those with Charisma become poloticians so they can better society, now they become corperate managers and execuatives because they can get more $$ there and more power.

The truth is, in the last 2 presidential elections have been travesties in the democratic process, where a person vote ment less then it ever did before. I said to my friends when I voted in 1999. I really dont care of the result, I just want thier to be a clear winner. Now you have lawyers battling it out in courtrooms like two kids in a sandbox while the voters look on with shock at how thier right to vote have been taken away

No wonder were apathetic, we really cannot do anyhting anymore. The best we can achive is to be a part of something far bigger then we could ever hope to control

Originally posted by marg6043
Money, power and greed is our Commander in Chief now and has been for many years. How can you fight fisically something like that.

We can't. As long as we focus on many people's God, money, we can win nothing. People give Christians krump for this, saying we're all doom and gloom. However, if we're not willing to risk everything, our pocketboos included, we lose this great, free nation. Yes, America is becoming a corporate republic, as is the rest of the world. We can prevent this, though. It will cost us time; it will cost us money. You need to ask yourself, who is more important. Yourself, or your children. We can make a difference, we just need to be willing to sacrifice our lot, be it time, money, or people's opinion of us, for the sake of saving our children. For the sake of saving an idea several people felt when they came across the Atlantic.

Voting simply renders you liable for the actions later taken by the administration, over which the actual voters have no control.

And you are forced to choose between two people who are trained to be deceptive, non-commital, devious and sickeningly 'charming' that you instinctively don't trust anyway. And in any case, they will be told what to do/say anyway.

Sadly I feel the US is now a scared nation, with everyone being controlled by a daily 4-hour trip using the most powerful 'fantasy-world' drug ever so that we remain in our homes, don't cause any trouble and keep paying the taxes.

It's not the voters who count, it's the counters that count.

Originally posted by NoTV4ME
Sadly I feel the US is now a scared nation, with everyone being controlled by a daily 4-hour trip using the most powerful 'fantasy-world' drug ever so that we remain in our homes, don't cause any trouble and keep paying the taxes.

Thank you. My oxycontin, prozac, and prescription tylennol PM's are working great! Thank you, oxycontin. Thank you, prozac. Thank you, prescription tylennol PM's. I am Winston Smith, I am Winston Smith, I am Winston Smith, I am Winston Smith. I stand accused of thought-crime? No, I've taken my medicine. My commute to work is so much better with prozac preventing me from ramming other cars with my hummer, and the oxycontin helps my fist not feel so bad after punching conservative Christians in the face, and the tylennol helps me go to sleep so I can awake to another day in the United States of hate, fear, control, arrogance, ignorance, and pain. When will they make a drug that makes that uses me instead of me using it?

[edit on 19-2-2005 by Caldron of Hate]

I'm not so sure we have the market cornered on complacency.
High Noon, a movie made in 1952 based on a magagzine article could have been made in 2004. Here we have the good guy trying to delegate some deputies to stand up to four criminals. The good guy put one of the bad guys in prison for life, and some higher judge let the murderer free. So he comes back for revenge.
Our hero goes to everyone in town to ask for help. Everyone has an excuse. The mayor even tells the hero to leave town; a shootout would ruin the town's image and they wouldn't get money to expand the town. The deputy quits because he feels passed over for promotion. The parson doesn't want to speak one way or the other. On and on and on.

Does any of this sound familiar? I'm telling you, it was eerie to watch that movie

We've been complacent for a looong, long time. Let the other guy do it, right?
And, maybe we've got reason. We withdraw into ourselves. We listen to the media and who knows what the truth is? Government seems to not care for the citizens---local, state or federal.
We can't even get stragight answers on who killed President Kennedy 42 years ago.
We're disallusioned.

I don't have any answers

Originally posted by marg6043
Jake US has fallen under the power of corporations they own our country and us with it, they own the government and all you have to do is see what is going on in their favors now over the well being and safety of us the citizens.

I'm going to agree with marg on this one. It is the current "next biggest thing," attitude that has hypnotized our nation into looking forward towards the next convenience, or escape. Movies get promoted months in advance, people get upset at download times that differ by a few seconds, fashion gets updated twice a year, and so on and so forth. We are surrounded by so many different things that it is easier to get lost in the presentation than the actual dissemination. How many people really understand the reality that they live in? It's a reactive world that we can't seem to catch up to.

And the youth grow up already acclimated to this "chasing the jones," mentality. The focus begins in school, a social training ground rather than an institution of acadamia, and continues until they are employed and ready to start the process all over again. The variances occur in the financial capacity of competing societys as well as the ideological differences in belief systems. How likely is it for a population to stand together if they are busy arguing the semantics of science/religion, or partisan issues? And these arguements take place in between work/school daily routines. Not many people are ready to trade in their creature comforts...........

I only scanned this thread but I just wanted to spout out a cpl things...

First off, Mohommad had a greater influence than Jesus (christianity is a global minority) so people need to quit whining about 2000 year old dead guys... theyre dead, get over it.

Second, here in the US, the nazi's have been building their base of power for a very long time, and it isn't going to change until they too are dead, and probably a whole lot of other people with them.

Third, blah blah blah.

Ok Im done now. More beer please.

apc, I want to thank you for your participation in this thread. Your points were very insightful and actually, caused me to reason my perspective differently....I see that my perception was flawed, in that I didn't take into account a broader spectrum of info......

Originally posted by apc

Third, blah blah blah.

I was particularily impressed with this statement as, imo, it helps to illustrate the apathetic nature of our society, as well as the educational limits. "Blah," is a word that indicates a discarding of a current subject matter in favor of something a bit simpler and easier on the nerves......I believe in your case beer was this so-called "pacifier." I do see your point, why bother discussing the issues at hand when we could instead partake of the wonderful illusion that has been set up for us.....I applaud your willingness to give up so easily, your "complacency."

Of course, your post could have been a brilliant satirical illustration of the thread title, made even more so by your insistence that you didn't need to read it all!!! I thank you for providing a real world example of what others were attempting to describe; you basically sum it up in a way that I will never strive to.........

Excellent work, apc.