8 ms·

The 1 individual was democratically elected though so I guess it's just not 1 individual. Now, I wouldn't mind if the rest of the world gave him the stick, but

by tyfon 8y ago

The 1 individual was democratically elected though so I guess it's just not 1 individual. Now, I wouldn't mind if the rest of the world gave him the stick, but like it or not he does represents and is the figurehead of US so it is your responsibility to deal with his actions.

craftyguy 8y ago
He was directly elected by 304 individuals. You're confusing a democracy with a republic.
gremlinsinc 8y ago
Democratically is a stretch, republic-ly is more accurate. True democracy, everyone could simply vote by a handheld device, without registering to vote, all citizens regardless of criminal background would be allowed, and they'd be given an entire month to do so. Then the popular vote would say who's elected or not. No gerrymandering, technically in a true democracy we wouldn't have a president, though. We'd vote on issues that people bring up and we'd be the policy makers, and electorate at the same time. Personally I like the liquid-democracy prototypes where we can 'delegate' our votes to others on matters when we don't have an opinion or we trust someone else's opinion, but can take that back at any moment if they fuck up. Though, one way to more 'democratize' current elections by simply changing one thing would be having run-off voting. That alone could make elections way more fair, and especially more fair for 3rd parties. We're far from living in a democratic nation though. It's a Republic (at best), but the elitist control, it's really an Oligarchy disguised as a Republic, pretending to be a Democracy.
- User23 8y ago
  True democracy would select representatives through a lottery draft.
  - gremlinsinc 8y ago
    Haha, would it be any worse than the congress we have now? I mean a round-robin lottery would probably have a better approval than the dismal 15% congress has now.
    - baq 8y ago
      Likely better.
    - s73v3r_ 8y ago
      Remember, that's the approval rating of Congress as a whole, including members who are of the opposite party. Individual Congresspersons enjoy a much higher and more reasonable approval rating, especially among their constituents.
      - gremlinsinc 8y ago
        Well, yeah. Bernie Sanders has a very high rating but even at 70 percent his high rating hardly budges the rest of Congress. The problem is they just don't work together. I wouldn't be heart broken if we decided to just break into smaller City states that came up with laws on their own so there were more options. Progressive states could have legalized weed and universal health. Red States could have no public safety net at all and really strong military and no regulations on corporations. Logistically, I think the USA is just a mismanaged nightmare, the government is dysfunctional because it's too big and it could use a modernized Constitution a lot has changed since 1700s
        s73v3r_ 8y ago
        "Bernie Sanders has a very high rating but even at 70 percent his high rating hardly budges the rest of Congress." They don't average the approval rating of each individual Congressperson. They literally ask, "Do you approve of the job Congress is doing as a whole, yes or no?" (at least that's what they did when I was asked to take one of those opinion polls). "I wouldn't be heart broken if we decided to just break into smaller City states that came up with laws on their own so there were more options. " I mean, we kinda have that with States. The issue is, there are many things that transcend geographical borders. While moving between states isn't as onerous as moving countries, it isn't the easiest thing in the world to do, especially if you don't have a job lined up or money.
s73v3r_ 8y ago
I completely and utterly reject that responsibility.

by tyfon 8y ago

craftyguy 8y ago

He was directly elected by 304 individuals. You're confusing a democracy with a republic.

gremlinsinc 8y ago

Democratically is a stretch, republic-ly is more accurate. True democracy, everyone could simply vote by a handheld device, without registering to vote, all citizens regardless of criminal background would be allowed, and they'd be given an entire month to do so. Then the popular vote would say who's elected or not. No gerrymandering, technically in a true democracy we wouldn't have a president, though. We'd vote on issues that people bring up and we'd be the policy makers, and electorate at the same time. Personally I like the liquid-democracy prototypes where we can 'delegate' our votes to others on matters when we don't have an opinion or we trust someone else's opinion, but can take that back at any moment if they fuck up. Though, one way to more 'democratize' current elections by simply changing one thing would be having run-off voting. That alone could make elections way more fair, and especially more fair for 3rd parties. We're far from living in a democratic nation though. It's a Republic (at best), but the elitist control, it's really an Oligarchy disguised as a Republic, pretending to be a Democracy.

User23 8y ago
True democracy would select representatives through a lottery draft.
- gremlinsinc 8y ago
  Haha, would it be any worse than the congress we have now? I mean a round-robin lottery would probably have a better approval than the dismal 15% congress has now.
  - baq 8y ago
    Likely better.
  - s73v3r_ 8y ago
    Remember, that's the approval rating of Congress as a whole, including members who are of the opposite party. Individual Congresspersons enjoy a much higher and more reasonable approval rating, especially among their constituents.
    - gremlinsinc 8y ago
      Well, yeah. Bernie Sanders has a very high rating but even at 70 percent his high rating hardly budges the rest of Congress. The problem is they just don't work together. I wouldn't be heart broken if we decided to just break into smaller City states that came up with laws on their own so there were more options. Progressive states could have legalized weed and universal health. Red States could have no public safety net at all and really strong military and no regulations on corporations. Logistically, I think the USA is just a mismanaged nightmare, the government is dysfunctional because it's too big and it could use a modernized Constitution a lot has changed since 1700s
      - s73v3r_ 8y ago
        "Bernie Sanders has a very high rating but even at 70 percent his high rating hardly budges the rest of Congress." They don't average the approval rating of each individual Congressperson. They literally ask, "Do you approve of the job Congress is doing as a whole, yes or no?" (at least that's what they did when I was asked to take one of those opinion polls). "I wouldn't be heart broken if we decided to just break into smaller City states that came up with laws on their own so there were more options. " I mean, we kinda have that with States. The issue is, there are many things that transcend geographical borders. While moving between states isn't as onerous as moving countries, it isn't the easiest thing in the world to do, especially if you don't have a job lined up or money.

s73v3r_ 8y ago

I completely and utterly reject that responsibility.