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During the Cold War, there was this mentality held by leaders on both sides that said you could not show weakness to the enemy. It was this mentality that cause

During the Cold War, there was this mentality held by leaders on both sides that said you could not show weakness to the enemy. It was this mentality that caused the Cuban Missile crisis, and that allowed it to be resolved by secret communication along privileged back-channels (all the while keeping public posturing such that neither side had to reveal any weakness). As idiotic as this mentality has always seemed to me, as I get older (and hopefully a bit wiser) I've come to understand there is some merit to it. I travel overseas frequently. One of my favorite airports is Istanbul's Ataturk International Airport. I like it because I can sit in a cafe waiting for my plane to New York, and I can listen to the PA make announcements for flights to Nairobi, Dubai, Singapore, Moscow, Pairs, and Sao Paulo. Istanbul literally connects to the entire world. And yet, there is only one gate in the entire terminal that has "secondary screening", the one for the New York flight. The thought that somehow the threat of terrorism is greater in the United States than anywhere else in the world is laughable to anyone who pays the slightest bit of attention to world events. Yet, it is only the United States that feels the need to have extra security precautions. I wonder how many Americans see the TSA, the Patriot Act, etc. as evidence of the greatness of America. "Our country must be the greatest in the world if it requires so much effort to protect," I imagine them thinking. "Why would so many people be against us if it were not the case?" In reality, the rest of the world sees a frightened bully, and they're not falling for it any more. They go to places like Istanbul's airport, or any of the hundreds of other airports around the world that have extra screening set up exclusively for US bound flights, and they see weakness. What's really almost funny about all of this, is that the 4th amendment is uniquely American. It is not at all uncommon in other countries for police (or the Gendarme) to be authorized to stop pedestrians and perform a search without cause. The mere existence of the 4th amendment has, traditionally, been a sign of strength. As if to say: "We're so confident of our security and the resolve of our justice system that we will give our citizens this extra right." By reducing 4th amendment rights, the US is not gaining security, it is showing weakness...and that can be dangerous to the long term health of a country.

Lost_BiomedE 15y ago
Note that the American disapproval rating of congress sits at 86% and an approval of 11% and dropping (Gallup polls).
- makmanalp 15y ago
  I call bullshit on that poll. People are not morons. If disapproval rating at congress was so high according to a representative poll group, then why aren't people voting in people that they do approve of? House terms are short. Senate terms are long but I don't think this 86% number would have happened overnight.
  - Lost_BiomedE 15y ago
    Check the other poll numbers: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/congressional_job_approval-903.html http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/congressional_... They do not differ much, but i used Gallup as they are known to conduct good polls. Here is info in the specific poll: http://www.gallup.com/poll/151628/Congress-Ends-2011-Record-Low-Approval.aspx http://www.gallup.com/poll/151628/Congress-Ends-2011-Record-...
  - getsat 15y ago
    It's not your Congresscritter who's doing a bad job, it's everyone else's.
  - CWuestefeld 15y ago
    These days you're virtually guaranteed a disapproval of nearly 50% on the day you step into office. (warning: oversimplification ahead, but I think it's a reasonable model to start with) With the subtlety of the political chess match, the parties first choose polarized candidates in primaries. That's because it's generally the party hardcore who vote in primaries, not the moderates. Then in the general election, they play capture the centrist vote. When they're both at top form, the election margins are going to be razor thin. Because the candidates were chosen in such a polarizing manner, they will largely be toxic to those on the other side of our imaginary single left-right dimension of political discourse. (of course, this breaks down in gerrymandered districts where the political machine has ensured a safe seat) EDIT: Now, factor in the typical model for marketing most high-profile candidates (at least this is how it seems to me). It seems that most people don't have the opportunity to vote for candidates they like anymore. Instead they're frightened by the bogeyman on the other side. "If you don't vote for the guy from our party, look at who's going to get the post instead -- and that will tilt the majority in Congress toward that other party of anti-Americans". The result, I submit, is that most people despise the guy from the other major party, but they don't like the one they did vote for, either. So it's not hard to push that disapproval rating even farther.
ibisum 15y ago
>I wonder how many Americans see the TSA, the Patriot Act, etc. as evidence of the greatness of America. The TSA is evidence of the arrogant stupidity of America. Plenty of other great nations out there have problems with terrorism; however none are so atrociously arrogant about ignoring the roots of terrorism as Americans are. If you don't want people to randomly blow up your shit, stop blowing up other peoples shit with free will and reckless abandon. The money spent on TSA could have quenched many grand fires of hatred in foreign lands for the acts of America; the price of a single CIA drone spent, instead, on hospitals and schools and water and food in places like Afghanistan, would guarantee a greater peace between American people and "Foreign" people .. yet the American people, themselves, continue to allow their military, and their government, to be impervious to any scrutiny of their criminal, dire, repulsive, inhumane acts upon foreign populations. Until Americans actually confront the true nature of their "Great Nation's" atrocities abroad, they will be subject to to the whims of despicable forces who factually care no more about the American people, than they do 'Foreign entities'. The TSA is evidence that those militant masters who would willingly bomb ANYONE for their purposes, are quite happy turning the source of their great power (the American People) into willing slaves, cohorts and co-criminals in their endeavours.

Lost_BiomedE 15y ago

Note that the American disapproval rating of congress sits at 86% and an approval of 11% and dropping (Gallup polls).

makmanalp 15y ago
I call bullshit on that poll. People are not morons. If disapproval rating at congress was so high according to a representative poll group, then why aren't people voting in people that they do approve of? House terms are short. Senate terms are long but I don't think this 86% number would have happened overnight.
- Lost_BiomedE 15y ago
  Check the other poll numbers: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/congressional_job_approval-903.html http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/congressional_... They do not differ much, but i used Gallup as they are known to conduct good polls. Here is info in the specific poll: http://www.gallup.com/poll/151628/Congress-Ends-2011-Record-Low-Approval.aspx http://www.gallup.com/poll/151628/Congress-Ends-2011-Record-...
- getsat 15y ago
  It's not your Congresscritter who's doing a bad job, it's everyone else's.
- CWuestefeld 15y ago
  These days you're virtually guaranteed a disapproval of nearly 50% on the day you step into office. (warning: oversimplification ahead, but I think it's a reasonable model to start with) With the subtlety of the political chess match, the parties first choose polarized candidates in primaries. That's because it's generally the party hardcore who vote in primaries, not the moderates. Then in the general election, they play capture the centrist vote. When they're both at top form, the election margins are going to be razor thin. Because the candidates were chosen in such a polarizing manner, they will largely be toxic to those on the other side of our imaginary single left-right dimension of political discourse. (of course, this breaks down in gerrymandered districts where the political machine has ensured a safe seat) EDIT: Now, factor in the typical model for marketing most high-profile candidates (at least this is how it seems to me). It seems that most people don't have the opportunity to vote for candidates they like anymore. Instead they're frightened by the bogeyman on the other side. "If you don't vote for the guy from our party, look at who's going to get the post instead -- and that will tilt the majority in Congress toward that other party of anti-Americans". The result, I submit, is that most people despise the guy from the other major party, but they don't like the one they did vote for, either. So it's not hard to push that disapproval rating even farther.

ibisum 15y ago

>I wonder how many Americans see the TSA, the Patriot Act, etc. as evidence of the greatness of America. The TSA is evidence of the arrogant stupidity of America. Plenty of other great nations out there have problems with terrorism; however none are so atrociously arrogant about ignoring the roots of terrorism as Americans are. If you don't want people to randomly blow up your shit, stop blowing up other peoples shit with free will and reckless abandon. The money spent on TSA could have quenched many grand fires of hatred in foreign lands for the acts of America; the price of a single CIA drone spent, instead, on hospitals and schools and water and food in places like Afghanistan, would guarantee a greater peace between American people and "Foreign" people .. yet the American people, themselves, continue to allow their military, and their government, to be impervious to any scrutiny of their criminal, dire, repulsive, inhumane acts upon foreign populations. Until Americans actually confront the true nature of their "Great Nation's" atrocities abroad, they will be subject to to the whims of despicable forces who factually care no more about the American people, than they do 'Foreign entities'. The TSA is evidence that those militant masters who would willingly bomb ANYONE for their purposes, are quite happy turning the source of their great power (the American People) into willing slaves, cohorts and co-criminals in their endeavours.