It doesn't really matter, does it?

Whether you are a Democrat or Ron Paul supporter and even if your candidate gets elected it won't make a difference whatsoever.
Why? Simply because of "The Meeting"!

Once the president is in office, he will get the visit of the secret lobby for a meeting and he will get all the facts. It's more than probable that the US is in a deep crisis and the only solutions are Wars, coercion and unpopular foreign policies to keep the ship floating. Any president with ethics, voicing anyways against the recommendations of this lobby would put himself and the country in peril.

Human rights and survival are incompatible.

Don't get me wrong, I am very much against what the US is doing but I feel that it is out of desperation, not greed. The biggest consumer of oil faced with very little of its own reserves, fast depleting and fast rising oil prices, never mind the already huge debts and the economy heading to recession.
All the people protesting against the war, not knowing that without "securing" the oil at any price, the same people would protest because of degrading life conditions.

We will always end up voting for the military war machine. Defense related budgets will keep growing because it is the US last lifeline.

Going on the current path we are on now is obviously not the answer. The facts about our nation may be complicated and we may be oblivious as to the extent of how screwed we really are but we defiantly need fresh perspective and a new game plan. I for one do not want more of the same.

reply to post by TheOracle

Thank you for your opinion...
BTW, you should change your name to 'TheArchitect'.
It suits you much better.

You failed to mention quite a few things in your post that I cannot help but feel is deliberately meant to inspire hopelessness. Even the title of this thread is just a complaint (rather than an observation), further degrading the beginning mindset here as, "Oh woe is me and powerless are we!"

I can understand if you are just venting feelings of hopelessness and powerlessness (which is obviously the state of being you are in), but bringing it here on the political forum is just a little... well, crooked. Despairing might be a personal favorite pastime for you, but I feel it is much better suited for the Rant forums over at BTS then here.

If there is one thing I want to see in the AbovePolitics forum, it is empowerment, constructive criticism, and challenge/solution type thinking. If the situation you are in personally feels utterly hopeless, it is just an opportunity for you to change your thinking around 180 degrees!

So cry me river, build a bridge, and get over it.

Originally posted by TheOracle
Human rights and survival are incompatible.

According to who or what? Your defeatist beliefs?

Get a hold of yourself woman (assuming your avatar reflects your gender)! If you are truly against what the U.S. is doing and are honestly wishing to see positive change in the world and your own life, you've GOT to get a hold of yourself and your thoughts!

Quoting Mahatma Gandhi, "You must be the change you want to see in the world!" Acting helpless and powerless is a sure-fire way to convince yourself that you are without power and beyond help. Likewise, acting helpful and powerful (or, if that is too big a leap, full of choices) is a sure-fire way to convince yourself of your value and the multitude of options you have available!

Along these lines of thinking, the ends WILL NOT AND NEVER HAVE justified the means! If you use war in attempts to create peace, you will ONLY create more war - the current state of the world should be more than enough of an indication for that! Iraq is in such a bad condition because we used WAR in an insane attempt to free them from a dictator! All we have done in their eyes is remove one dictator to replace it with another...

Going from your own quote above and sticking with the Gandhi theme, I know he would have very much said the opposite of your statement. Survival DEPENDS on human rights! When we allow our compassion for fellow human beings to erode, we create more greed, more atrocities, and more than enough war to fill the ocean with blood (OUR blood)!

Ever since the creation of weapons of mass destructions, our continued existence as human beings can only be guaranteed through our direct application of human rights. If we create wars all willy-nilly, we are on a ONE-WAY-FAST-TRACK road to destruction! All it will take is one nuke to set of a chain reaction of counter-strikes that would end our civilization... To continue on in the traditional 'dog-eat-dog' survivalist mentality will surely lead us to the armageddon I outlined above.

The world is not as one-sided as you make it appear. We have a multitude of options available to us! Everyone in the U.S. knows that change and reform is eminent, as keeping the status quo (which is your argument as well as your solution) will surely be our downfall as a nation, if not our very annihilation.

reply to post by TrueAce


Thank you for your wise and inspired response
I understand there is always a glimmer of hope, even in the most arid desert, there is always water somewhere. It is probably the case that changes are on the way, but in my honest opinion, none of the current candidates will bring anything tangible to satisfy the masses of their hopeful followers.
Given the state of the country, it may take decades for a peaceful change of direction of the US of A.

The US is strong and is right now the only major power on the globe but it is unsustainable. The country doesn't have its own resources to carry on its ambitions and ideals, this is what created the military industrial complex. The country needs oils it doesn't have, it needs to push people under the poverty line to fill up the ranks of the military. The entire country developed to what it is because of the Oil Age, designed around the car and consumption. Look at the economy, vastly composed of services such as insurances, lawyers, bureaucrats, IT.. How are they going to feed 300 millions hungry people?

Without insulting anyone's intelligence, I feel that too many people do not realize that their way of life only exists because of aggression, coercion and corruption. Would people react positively if suddenly their way of life is reduced to what it was like during the harsh days of the Soviet Union?
I doubt it.

The Soviet Union managed because of the tight and authoritarian rule. In the USA I fear it would descend into chaos and anarchy, with so many people carrying guns and passionate about their beliefs.

I may be defeatist it is only because I realize that the elite is doing its best to keep the people away from politics and I hate to say this, but they are probably doing the best thing.

And the thought of a hero suddenly arriving in the white house and conquering the system and bringing an happy ending is way to hollywoodian for me

[edit on 11-12-2007 by TheOracle]