Quote:
Originally Posted by rostasi
I listen to an interview show almost every night called " Think" -
not necessarily just because of the subject matter, but the host
is actually an incredibly good interviewer - no matter the topic,
left, right or in-between. This was one from a few weeks ago
interviewing the woman who wrote this book:
The title pretty much mentions the obvious,
but I still heard some numbers that I found
to be astounding. The interview is here.
Also, I wanted to point out that the assertion of equivalency
of "voter fraud" and "voter suppression"; then labeling them
both as "hype" and then saying therefore you don't trust either
side is the pinnacle of lazy thinking that's a major factor concerning
why we are in the mess we're in these days. You might as well say
that you have no trust in either flat or round earth "hype." |
^ A great post rostasi! That interview is well worth the listen; I learnt a lot about the historical struggle for voting rights, about how, after a century of slow progress, the American people won what they always deserved: a Voter Protection Bill to safeguard their rights. Sadly that bill was gutted in 2013 and has allowed the Republicans to instigate a bunch of policies that come straight out of the Jim Crow era. As the interviewer says at one point,
"How incredibly disheartening."
( I also loved the analogy about the hype surrounding the shape of the earth, in part of course because it coincides with my own thinking.)
So I would times two elph and Janszoon:-
Quote:
Originally Posted by elphenor
voter fraud is not a real issue
Republican politicians are for the most part aware it's a non-issue, maybe not Trump, but those most aggressively pushing the laws do so entirely to increase their chances of winning by disenfranchising young and African American voters
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Janszoon
Hey people who don't vote in midterms, you really should vote in the midterms.
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But for Frownland I'm afraid I would times zero his recent post:-
Quote:
Originally Posted by Frownland
It takes an absence of moral center to become a politician for either of the two major parties.
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^ I'm surprised that someone so perceptive about the differing qualities of music and musicians can dismiss so roundly thousands of politicians at a stroke without feeling the need to divide them into good guys/ bad guys, etc. A fine moral stance can often get compromised along the way and I bet there are plenty of well-intentioned politicians reluctantly struggling with the practicalities of politics who still have a moral center.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 66Sexy
There are no asterisks on a ballot. If you vote for someone you don't agree with you are still voting for every single thing they have or will do. Criticizing them is meaningless since it has zero political weight.
If you want to vote Democrat to counteract the Republicans because you think they're so horrible right now then actually be civically engaged. Do something. Actually write a congressman. Volunteer for a political party. ****ing anything. Voting is the absolute bare minimum for being engaged in a democracy and if that's all you're doing then you have absolutely no right to criticize anyone for not voting. You are also doing absolutely almost next to nothing and if you think otherwise it's because you've been indoctrinated into a society that values civic engagement as much as explicit aristocracies do.
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^ I´m afraid I also disagree with a lot of your post, 66Sexy, mainly on these two points:-
i) belittling voters: at times voting is a difficult and courageous thing to do, and there's plenty of evidence that voting can effect change.
ii) restricting criticism: we all criticize all the time. Meaningful or not, it's pretty much our right and MB is built on the premise that anyone can criticize anything, isn't it? I don't see why non-voters should be treated specially - beyond the criticism of anyone except the politically active.