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>If we really want to influence politics, we need to get rid of this idea that voting is all that democracy means, and try to get people more organized, try to

by deith 7y ago

>If we really want to influence politics, we need to get rid of this idea that voting is all that democracy means, and try to get people more organized, try to get many more people to participate directly in politics, get them to talk to their representatives regularly, get them to organize and pool resources together for important causes and so on. You think people have time and energy for this? If they did they could already do it. Usually you take the good with the bad and vote for the candidate that agrees with you on the issues that you care about the most, or the one that seems more reasonable overall.

nocturnial 7y ago
Democracy isn't dead because it got defunded. > Usually you take the good with the bad and vote for the candidate that agrees with you on the issues that you care about the most, or the one that seems more reasonable overall. How is that working out in the US? I don't want to make an analysis of what's wrong or right in american politics. If someone got elected with the message they will burn down the house and everything and he doesn't care... I hope you read this message that after this presidency, you cannot go back to business as usual. Even if "you" win in the next election, it's going to be more brutal in the election after that one. The EU countries know this and are already planning for an exit of the US on the global stage.
tsimionescu 7y ago
Not all people, obviously. But I'm tired of hearing that everything would be better if only people voted. People feel, correctly, that voting is not always an efficient way of influencing public policy. However, instead of hearing about all the other mechanisms which exist, they simply conclude that they can't influence public policy and abandon the stage completely. If we want to get more people involved in political matters, helping them find ways to influence what they care about with less effort than it takes right now would be the best way (not that I know what would be a real solution to that).

by deith 7y ago

nocturnial 7y ago

Democracy isn't dead because it got defunded. > Usually you take the good with the bad and vote for the candidate that agrees with you on the issues that you care about the most, or the one that seems more reasonable overall. How is that working out in the US? I don't want to make an analysis of what's wrong or right in american politics. If someone got elected with the message they will burn down the house and everything and he doesn't care... I hope you read this message that after this presidency, you cannot go back to business as usual. Even if "you" win in the next election, it's going to be more brutal in the election after that one. The EU countries know this and are already planning for an exit of the US on the global stage.

tsimionescu 7y ago

Not all people, obviously. But I'm tired of hearing that everything would be better if only people voted. People feel, correctly, that voting is not always an efficient way of influencing public policy. However, instead of hearing about all the other mechanisms which exist, they simply conclude that they can't influence public policy and abandon the stage completely. If we want to get more people involved in political matters, helping them find ways to influence what they care about with less effort than it takes right now would be the best way (not that I know what would be a real solution to that).