Right there in America's DNA
1 2018-05-31 by Pube_of_Dionysus
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."
28 comments
1 Pube_of_Dionysus 2018-05-31
The majority of conspiracies, be it state or corporate, ultimately stems from the fact that the American government has ceased to be a government of the people, by the people and for the people.
It's time for some new Founding Fathers and Mothers.
1 DontTreadOnMe16 2018-05-31
Constitutional Convention time.
Only problem is, you’ve got to (for lack of a better term) “drain the swamp” first, otherwise it will just be abused and most likely make things worse.
1 prolix 2018-05-31
It's not gonna happen. People who want it to are in the extreme minority.
1 prolix 2018-05-31
Just a warning.. take what I'm saying with a grain of salt because I just feel like ranting. Why don't you guys go form your own government somewhere away from the rest of us. You take for granted your way of life and the people who fight to keep it that way. You take for granted your government because you sincerely believe you're being treaded on. Hell, they can do a better job and they are corrupt as shit sure but the western world has the best standard of living any society has ever had in the history of humanity. You think you can do better? I know it's just a pipe dream of yours but you traitors who talk of revolution don't even know where to start. Seriously though, you think it's some easy task or some shit to control the most powerful country in the world and keep it civilized and controlled? You just know you hate our government. We don't want you here. Go find like minded people and gtfo. Shit, you don't even need to wait for a revolution you and your like minded friends can go live off grid right now and form your own little commune somewhere in Nevada. Nobody's going to tread on you there.
1 russianbot01 2018-05-31
You are confusing freedom and rights with material prosperity (debt fueled prosperity btw, not to mention the inequality of that prosperity, but I guess you were not talking to the 43 million Americans on food stamps huh?)
1 prolix 2018-05-31
Those people on foodstamps are still better off than they would have been living in poverty years ago. There has never been a utopian society with zero poverty and you to pretend otherwise is absurd.
1 russianbot01 2018-05-31
The US ranks 17th In the world on the Human Freedom Index. The 3017 Democracy Index lists the US as a "flawed democracy", and Reporter Without Borders lists the US freedom of the press index as 45th in the world. So its not me, its the experts saying the US isn't really that free, friend (not to mention more US people find American Imperialism as a morally questionable foreign policy).
Anyway, healthy discussions are always beneficial, and yes no systen is or ever will be perfect.
1 prolix 2018-05-31
Just because there are places more free does not make us not free. We can't be the best at everything that's just ridiculous. It's fallacious to say that just because we're not the most free country thst we're not free at all.
1 russianbot01 2018-05-31
No, I don't believe we have an "insane amount of freedom" or "we're not free at all." I think the original blueprint was good but each generation has slightly less rights than before. I mean they passed a bill that openly always the government/media to lie to its own citizens. Can you possibly defend that?
1 prolix 2018-05-31
I'm not going to defend every action our government does. But I'm not going to condemn it for making a few bad decisions either.
1 throwaway50955932 2018-05-31
Why should bad decisions not be condemned?
1 prolix 2018-05-31
The decisions should be condemned. Not the entire government.
1 throwaway50955932 2018-05-31
I agree with that.
And if the government consistently makes decisions that go against the will and general welfare of the general population, would it then be okay?
1 prolix 2018-05-31
Get now people to vote and help expose what you don't like. I admit it would be much easier if corporations weren't people and if elections were funded by the government to prevent the wealthiest from controlling everything. Blame people like Roger Stone.
1 Pube_of_Dionysus 2018-05-31
Rant away, you raise some good points.
I concur with the other reply, I think that you are neglecting to factor many elements, and are judging this society only by its material prosperity (not to devalue its significance though). However, you surely must agree that a world where 62 individuals have as much wealth as the bottom 3.5 billion and a world where an insidious form of economic colonialism conquers sovereign nations and bends them to the will of oligarchs, is a world that can be reformed and become more just.
I believe in democracy, and I believe that this system can become a helluva a lot more democratic. Do I think we can do better? I think we the people can do better. A good first step would be to remove corporate personhood and get corporate money out of democracy, break up monopolies and media conglomerates, strengthen the middle class, make the revolving doors between corporations and regulatory agencies illegal, protect the commons from privatization, and severely limit the absolute powers of intelligence agencies and the military industrial complex.
You must agree that our current system, despite providing some material comfort, is a corporate-controlled semifeudal pseudo-democracy. I believe that democracy, and a competitive economy based in middle class wealth, a 21st century update to the founding ideals of this country, would actualize a better existence for this country, and provide a beacon to the rest of the world of what a modern free society looks like.
1 prolix 2018-05-31
Even without the United States government, those 62 individuals would still have as much wealth as the bottom 3.5 percent. It's not a government problem. It's a capitalism one.
1 Pube_of_Dionysus 2018-05-31
I'm not calling for an eradication of the United States government, I want a government that is (apologies for the broken record) of the people, by the people and for the people. The current American government has represented the interests of multinational corporations (NAFTA, TARP bailout, Federal Reserve intertwined with Wall Street, Halliburton + military industrial complex deciding geopolitical strategy).
Only a government aligned with its citizens can curtail oligarchic power and break up monopolies.
1 prolix 2018-05-31
Welcome to a globalized world. You should watch the original Rollerball. The movie Speedracer also shines a light on this as well.
1 Pube_of_Dionysus 2018-05-31
How do you feel about what the late Robert Kennedy has to say here?
"Even if we act to erase material poverty, there is another greater task, it is to confront the poverty of satisfaction - purpose and dignity - that afflicts us all.
Too much and for too long, we seemed to have surrendered personal excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our Gross National Product, now, is over $800 billion dollars a year, but that Gross National Product - if we judge the United States of America by that - that Gross National Product counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage.
It counts special locks for our doors and the jails for the people who break them. It counts the destruction of the redwood and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl.
It counts napalm and counts nuclear warheads and armored cars for the police to fight the riots in our cities. It counts Whitman's rifle and Speck's knife, and the television programs which glorify violence in order to sell toys to our children.
Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials.
It measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country, it measures everything in short, except that which makes life worthwhile.
And it can tell us everything about America except why we are proud that we are Americans.
If this is true here at home, so it is true elsewhere in world."
1 prolix 2018-05-31
The biggest health issue with our children currently is obesity. Which values do you believe our communities have lost?
1 fuster_cluq 2018-05-31
Lol. Where do you think we should place the capital of our new country? Do you think the US would give us some land?
1 prolix 2018-05-31
You guys could it Columbus style and take 3 ships to somewhere else where you don't be persecuted. Or maybe somewhere in Nevada.
1 fuster_cluq 2018-05-31
Maybe mars? Elon musk will take us to mars and then we can have democracy
1 prolix 2018-05-31
Sorry but Elon musk is on our team. You can't have him.
1 RemixxMG 2018-05-31
You are everything wrong with the world.
1 prolix 2018-05-31
How so?
1 danielsaid 2018-05-31
You know that the government would crack down hard on any commune in the U.S. and afterwards sprinkle some crack on the corpses and something else on the computers.
1 FloydTheChimpanz 2018-05-31
What's this quote from again? Sorry I went to public school in Florida /s
1 prolix 2018-05-31
The decisions should be condemned. Not the entire government.