That's fair, and more specific than most people get. But notice what you described: one side too rigid, one side too spineless. Those are failures of governance, not really evil. So when you say "lesser evil," do you mean you're just picking the less dysfunctional system and hoping for the best? I'm curious. On civil rights, are there actual policies or positions that made you feel unwelcome on the right? And on the dem side, is there a specific moment or issue where you felt they folded?
Sometimes normal folks will rise to the occasion and do amazing things that aren’t so normal. The thousands of people who protested en masse outdoors in freezing weather in support of a demonized minority community have my utmost respect.
Correct. These aren't Jan6ers. These are Americans peacefully voicing their opinions, a right guaranteed by the First Amendment. Should they be on an FBI watchlist for that? Yes or no?
The folks who respond deserve scorn at this point. That includes any type of reply or acknowledgment at all. You aren’t owning anybody, you’re not convincing anybody, you’re only making things worse for everyone else here and society as a whole by increasing engagement and thus rewarding the behavior.
Okay, I think I do know how America works. But I wasn't talking about that. I was responding to a post about MAGA people on this forum complaining about free speech they don't like. If you're not one of those people, I believe you! Cheers.
Who do you feel is qualified to run the most powerful country ever? What would you say are important attributes and qualifications to be such leader?
It’s a good question that probably deserves its own thread. In some sense, no one is really qualified to take on the job that it has become. There is far too much power given to the position, and I’d want to see that rolled back substantially. As for the job as I believe it should be scoped, beyond the legal qualifications I think a minimal qualification is a willingness to accept election results and not try to scheme to overturn them. As much as I dislike Trump’s politics, if I had to point to a single thing that makes him unqualified it is the fact that he actively tried to invalidate voting results to swing the 2020 election to his favor. A basic respect for our electoral process is pretty foundational to me. What other attributes would I like? Someone who can be challenged and take criticism with grace, someone who cares about truth, a person who seeks consensus, who doesn’t see the world as a zero sum game, who doesn’t demonize large swaths of the population according to their country of origin, and I could keep going. It’s not crazy to expect these basic things, and people can be found on the Left and Right who exhibit them.
The 2020 election I think is a poor example because it was extremely obscure and odd during one of the most confusing times in modern history. Pandemics have happened before but not in the modern age with social media and peak technological advances where information whether true or false is seconds away in a super computer we carry in our pockets. Then you add the political aspects and it was the perfect storm with very unusual activity. I don't think Trump handled it well but I see why he wasn't accepting of the results. The attributes you state are impossible in modern times, politicians are hardly truthful. They find a base and cater to it, if it works they stick to it if it doesn't they find another. Most are unethical and not truthful. So if we can't have truthful, ethical, sincere and moral politicians what's next? Probably an ahole like Trump, one that is self seeking because of his name and legacy but that it also works in our favor because he won't want to be remembered as the guy who ruined anything. He wants to be the best and will chase that....
You watch. Trump will pull ICE out of airports to intimidate the No Kings protesters. He can't stand that people oppose him, and call him out for the wannabe King he is.
