4 ms·

I would be careful to not confuse the news with the underlying reality of the situation. There are plenty of great things happening in America you don't hear ab

I would be careful to not confuse the news with the underlying reality of the situation. There are plenty of great things happening in America you don't hear about, and plenty of horrible things in China you don't hear about. Long-run, I'll take democracy personally.

landryraccoon 9y ago
He has a point that democracy really needs to step up its game. We’re not exactly having a good run at the moment.
- afterburner 9y ago
  President acts like a corrupt asshat, almost immediately comes under investigation, there have been 23 indictments so far. The alternative to democracy is not letting people have a say in government, and allowing rulers to rule for long periods until they pass down power to favoured successors or are violently overthrown. Both of those things are absolutely terrible for the health and safety of a society.
  - landryraccoon 9y ago
    You don’t have to convince me. But I think it’s a bad sign if defenders of democracy can only get defensive when they have to face mistakes. Is it really that hard to say we dropped the ball here, badly, and we need to do better, rather than immediately going to whataboutism about China? Yes, they have problems. That in no way contradicts the fact that we need to do better.
    - afterburner 9y ago
      I feel like you have it backwards. The intent of my comment was to say democracy hasn't dropped the ball. Trump is massively and obviously corrupt, so he was massively and obviously investigated. Where's the whataboutism? If anything I was responding to reverse-whataboutism (self-deprecation from people in democracies when reading about 'N' being censored in China).
- adventured 9y ago
  We're actually having an extraordinary run. Bill Gates keeps trying to point this out everywhere he goes, nobody appears willing to listen to facts. The median standard of living across the democratic world is at an all-time high. Things have never been better in the liberal world.

landryraccoon 9y ago

He has a point that democracy really needs to step up its game. We’re not exactly having a good run at the moment.

afterburner 9y ago
President acts like a corrupt asshat, almost immediately comes under investigation, there have been 23 indictments so far. The alternative to democracy is not letting people have a say in government, and allowing rulers to rule for long periods until they pass down power to favoured successors or are violently overthrown. Both of those things are absolutely terrible for the health and safety of a society.
- landryraccoon 9y ago
  You don’t have to convince me. But I think it’s a bad sign if defenders of democracy can only get defensive when they have to face mistakes. Is it really that hard to say we dropped the ball here, badly, and we need to do better, rather than immediately going to whataboutism about China? Yes, they have problems. That in no way contradicts the fact that we need to do better.
  - afterburner 9y ago
    I feel like you have it backwards. The intent of my comment was to say democracy hasn't dropped the ball. Trump is massively and obviously corrupt, so he was massively and obviously investigated. Where's the whataboutism? If anything I was responding to reverse-whataboutism (self-deprecation from people in democracies when reading about 'N' being censored in China).
adventured 9y ago
We're actually having an extraordinary run. Bill Gates keeps trying to point this out everywhere he goes, nobody appears willing to listen to facts. The median standard of living across the democratic world is at an all-time high. Things have never been better in the liberal world.