4 ms·

> Stay here, make this moderately good place even better. or better yet, come to the us and bring your good influence to help get this troubled place back on t

by a-dub 4y ago

> Stay here, make this moderately good place even better. or better yet, come to the us and bring your good influence to help get this troubled place back on track. the political situation in the united states is indeed complex and troubled, but the influence and impact of the united states on western nations is undeniable. if it does implode in some horrific way, it's hard to imagine a scenario where it doesn't drag the rest of the west down with it.

toomuchtodo 4y ago
If you preach to a voting base who will vote against you at every turn, good influence has no value. You can only go where you are welcome to share, where ideas can be safely and intelligently discussed, and reasonable people can come to some sort of compromise or a solution all can agree on. US politics have become too polarized, where constituents don't want solutions (evidenced by them voting for representatives who don't vote in the public interest, or who publicly gloat about hurting the other side through policy), and no one person has the power to move the needle (not to mention Citizen's United where the wealthy can pour unfathomable amounts of fiat into races to back their candidates and their politics). Know when to hold them, and know when to fold them. EDIT: And it's not just the elected. A SCOTUS Justice motivated purely by hate. https://www.businessinsider.com/clarence-thomas-told-clerks-he-wants-to-make-liberals-miserable-2022-6 https://www.businessinsider.com/clarence-thomas-told-clerks-... https://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/27/us/2-years-after-his-bruising-hearing-justice-thomas-can-rarely-be-heard.html https://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/27/us/2-years-after-his-brui... > Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas told his law clerks in the '90s that he wanted to serve for 43 years to make liberals' lives 'miserable' (us citizen leaving for western europe)
- a-dub 4y ago
  > Know when to hold them, and know when to fold them. i understand and appreciate the desire to walk away. it's the classic, quiet, dignified and usually effective response to insanity. (and american politics, for the last 6 years at least, has been nothing short of insanity) but unfortunately i don't think it works that way. i think that leaving only serves to both export polarization and make matters worse. i suspect the us is too big and the world is too small.
- MandieD 4y ago
  Please make sure to keep voting after you move, as much as it might feel like spitting in the wind and yet another annual hassle - you really have to stay on top of both your voter registration, as well as your annual overseas ballot request, at least for Texas (every state has different voting from abroad policies, even different policies for military vs. non) The official government website to help you navigate this is fvap.gov. The Democrats Abroad one that provides even more handholding and optional nagging: votefromabroad.org. They’ve only ever called to remind me that elections were occurring in Texas, and early enough that I could work out ballot issues, and then a follow-up a week or so before I really need to have that ballot in the mail. I’m a semi-rural Texas voter who regularly has unsatisfying conversations with Ted Cruz’s snotty staffers and John Cornyn’s slightly politer ones, hanging up the phone to go enjoy the life I’ve made for myself in southern Germany.
  - toomuchtodo 4y ago
    > Please make sure to keep voting after you move Absolutely. My geography does not absolve me of my responsibility to do so.
- _-david-_ 4y ago
  Complaining about polarization and people not wanting solutions is fine, but saying "A SCOTUS Justice motivated purely by hate." isn't helping matters. It is just continuing the very thing you are complaining about.
  - toomuchtodo 4y ago
    If you are doing something out of malice for decades to a group of people, that is hate, and I will call it out as such. Your false equivalency holds no water, and while I provided receipts in my original comment, I’ll let Rep. Jeffries do some lifting here. https://thehill.com/homenews/house/3485737-hakeem-jeffries-to-clarence-thomas-why-are-you-such-a-hater/ https://thehill.com/homenews/house/3485737-hakeem-jeffries-t... > Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) this week blasted Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas for his stance on a number of issues facing the court, including abortion rights. “Let me ask this question of brother Thomas,” Jeffries said during a House Judiciary Committee hearing this week. “Why are you such a hater? Hate on civil rights. Hate on women’s rights. Hate on reproductive rights. Hate on voting rights. Hate on marital rights. Hate on equal protection under the law. Hate on liberty and justice for all. Hate on free and fair elections. Why are you such a hater?” See? Hate.
    - _-david-_ 4y ago
      I'm pretty sure quoting somebody who is calling somebody a hater is not proof they are a hater. Even if Thomas is a hater calling him out is just leading to more polarization.
      - deleted 4y ago
        [deleted]

by a-dub 4y ago

toomuchtodo 4y ago

If you preach to a voting base who will vote against you at every turn, good influence has no value. You can only go where you are welcome to share, where ideas can be safely and intelligently discussed, and reasonable people can come to some sort of compromise or a solution all can agree on. US politics have become too polarized, where constituents don't want solutions (evidenced by them voting for representatives who don't vote in the public interest, or who publicly gloat about hurting the other side through policy), and no one person has the power to move the needle (not to mention Citizen's United where the wealthy can pour unfathomable amounts of fiat into races to back their candidates and their politics). Know when to hold them, and know when to fold them. EDIT: And it's not just the elected. A SCOTUS Justice motivated purely by hate. https://www.businessinsider.com/clarence-thomas-told-clerks-he-wants-to-make-liberals-miserable-2022-6 https://www.businessinsider.com/clarence-thomas-told-clerks-... https://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/27/us/2-years-after-his-bruising-hearing-justice-thomas-can-rarely-be-heard.html https://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/27/us/2-years-after-his-brui... > Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas told his law clerks in the '90s that he wanted to serve for 43 years to make liberals' lives 'miserable' (us citizen leaving for western europe)

a-dub 4y ago
> Know when to hold them, and know when to fold them. i understand and appreciate the desire to walk away. it's the classic, quiet, dignified and usually effective response to insanity. (and american politics, for the last 6 years at least, has been nothing short of insanity) but unfortunately i don't think it works that way. i think that leaving only serves to both export polarization and make matters worse. i suspect the us is too big and the world is too small.
MandieD 4y ago
Please make sure to keep voting after you move, as much as it might feel like spitting in the wind and yet another annual hassle - you really have to stay on top of both your voter registration, as well as your annual overseas ballot request, at least for Texas (every state has different voting from abroad policies, even different policies for military vs. non) The official government website to help you navigate this is fvap.gov. The Democrats Abroad one that provides even more handholding and optional nagging: votefromabroad.org. They’ve only ever called to remind me that elections were occurring in Texas, and early enough that I could work out ballot issues, and then a follow-up a week or so before I really need to have that ballot in the mail. I’m a semi-rural Texas voter who regularly has unsatisfying conversations with Ted Cruz’s snotty staffers and John Cornyn’s slightly politer ones, hanging up the phone to go enjoy the life I’ve made for myself in southern Germany.
- toomuchtodo 4y ago
  > Please make sure to keep voting after you move Absolutely. My geography does not absolve me of my responsibility to do so.
_-david-_ 4y ago
Complaining about polarization and people not wanting solutions is fine, but saying "A SCOTUS Justice motivated purely by hate." isn't helping matters. It is just continuing the very thing you are complaining about.
- toomuchtodo 4y ago
  If you are doing something out of malice for decades to a group of people, that is hate, and I will call it out as such. Your false equivalency holds no water, and while I provided receipts in my original comment, I’ll let Rep. Jeffries do some lifting here. https://thehill.com/homenews/house/3485737-hakeem-jeffries-to-clarence-thomas-why-are-you-such-a-hater/ https://thehill.com/homenews/house/3485737-hakeem-jeffries-t... > Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) this week blasted Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas for his stance on a number of issues facing the court, including abortion rights. “Let me ask this question of brother Thomas,” Jeffries said during a House Judiciary Committee hearing this week. “Why are you such a hater? Hate on civil rights. Hate on women’s rights. Hate on reproductive rights. Hate on voting rights. Hate on marital rights. Hate on equal protection under the law. Hate on liberty and justice for all. Hate on free and fair elections. Why are you such a hater?” See? Hate.
  - _-david-_ 4y ago
    I'm pretty sure quoting somebody who is calling somebody a hater is not proof they are a hater. Even if Thomas is a hater calling him out is just leading to more polarization.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]