4 ms·

What actually matters are the actions of a small handful of elites that hold all the cards. How many people got together to decide to promote wars in the middle

What actually matters are the actions of a small handful of elites that hold all the cards. How many people got together to decide to promote wars in the middle east and Ukraine? How much environmental destruction have they caused? Same goes for domestic water. 2 people own a single CA business that uses more water than all of LA. But angelenos are told it’s on them to take shorter showers to save water.

JumpCrisscross 3y ago
> How many people got together to decide to promote wars in the middle east and Ukraine? Lots of people. Certainly for Ukraine; it's an issue electeds are called about repeatedly. (I've called on it.) > angelenos are told it’s on them to take shorter showers to save water And then don't. California's water shortage is a political choice by, ultimately, its voters.
- basil-rash 3y ago
  Most citizens don’t support the war, yet it goes on. Calling is pillow talk designed to appease the people into thinking they matter. And what do the showers matter when two people have unilateral control over more water than the entire city? The voters have no power, they are just convenient scapegoats. Not to mention all the water we let drain into the ocean every year, just to have Gavin yell about the reservoirs being low the next, while he laughs all the way to the polling office, accompanied by the two senators he unconstitutionally appointed… “voters have power”. It’d be funny if it weren’t so terrible.
  - JumpCrisscross 3y ago
    > Most citizens don’t support the war Recent shift and highly partisan [1]. Guess what's hitting the rocks in the House [2]. > Calling is pillow talk designed to appease the people into thinking they matter How many electeds do you know? Senior staffers? Because every one I know, on both sides of the political aisle, uses calls and letters as a proxy for whether their voters care about something. Particularly if it's a novel issue, i.e. without polling. Someone willing to call or write may also create a ruckus, or join a primary challenger's campaign. They're likely a regular voter, including in primaries. And if won over they might drive turnout over the issue. > voters have no power, they are just convenient scapegoats Come on, those people have control through the law. [1] https://news.gallup.com/poll/513680/american-views-ukraine-war-charts.aspx https://news.gallup.com/poll/513680/american-views-ukraine-w... [2] https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/17/us/politics/johnson-biden-border-ukraine.html https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/17/us/politics/johnson-biden...
  - toyg 3y ago
    Voters have no power if they just stick to orderly voting every X years. If they start boycotting and sabotaging established interests, to the point that they cannot be ignored or suppressed, they do have (collective) power. Democracy is participation. The less you participate (not just in voting - in party meetings, demos, etc), the less power you have. Elites will always exist and do their own thing, but they can be forced to do the right thing by applying enough external force.

JumpCrisscross 3y ago

> How many people got together to decide to promote wars in the middle east and Ukraine? Lots of people. Certainly for Ukraine; it's an issue electeds are called about repeatedly. (I've called on it.) > angelenos are told it’s on them to take shorter showers to save water And then don't. California's water shortage is a political choice by, ultimately, its voters.

basil-rash 3y ago
Most citizens don’t support the war, yet it goes on. Calling is pillow talk designed to appease the people into thinking they matter. And what do the showers matter when two people have unilateral control over more water than the entire city? The voters have no power, they are just convenient scapegoats. Not to mention all the water we let drain into the ocean every year, just to have Gavin yell about the reservoirs being low the next, while he laughs all the way to the polling office, accompanied by the two senators he unconstitutionally appointed… “voters have power”. It’d be funny if it weren’t so terrible.
- JumpCrisscross 3y ago
  > Most citizens don’t support the war Recent shift and highly partisan [1]. Guess what's hitting the rocks in the House [2]. > Calling is pillow talk designed to appease the people into thinking they matter How many electeds do you know? Senior staffers? Because every one I know, on both sides of the political aisle, uses calls and letters as a proxy for whether their voters care about something. Particularly if it's a novel issue, i.e. without polling. Someone willing to call or write may also create a ruckus, or join a primary challenger's campaign. They're likely a regular voter, including in primaries. And if won over they might drive turnout over the issue. > voters have no power, they are just convenient scapegoats Come on, those people have control through the law. [1] https://news.gallup.com/poll/513680/american-views-ukraine-war-charts.aspx https://news.gallup.com/poll/513680/american-views-ukraine-w... [2] https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/17/us/politics/johnson-biden-border-ukraine.html https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/17/us/politics/johnson-biden...
- toyg 3y ago
  Voters have no power if they just stick to orderly voting every X years. If they start boycotting and sabotaging established interests, to the point that they cannot be ignored or suppressed, they do have (collective) power. Democracy is participation. The less you participate (not just in voting - in party meetings, demos, etc), the less power you have. Elites will always exist and do their own thing, but they can be forced to do the right thing by applying enough external force.