I'd like to add to your comments, TC. Not sure how to define the reasons why- but our society has increasingly failed to raise children into mature and responsible men and women, who take care of themselves, have good values, respect themselves and respect others. I see that being reflected now in education- sadly, moving from the liberal colleges down. Nobody is happy when they are dependent, angry, hostile, hateful and blaming the world for not conforming to their desires. That alone breeds weakness, discontent, and violence. It kills productivity and spirit, and that hurts the entire nation. People are the building blocks of a society as well as a nation- and those things can't be any stronger than the people who make them up. Who we choose to be is a choice- and despite the trends or what others do, each of us can choose to be the best person we can be. So long as we blame others for our problems, the problems will only get worse- and there is no government solution for that, other than setting some examples by our politicians doing the job they were hired for, with honest and integrity. Ask yourself how many in government today you can say do that.
I like leaving out the "love it or leave it" comments, because they provide no direction in righting wrongs. 1. Wealth inequality 2. Health care. Those certainly are pressing issues. But they will not be corrected UNLESS the people are behind the action %100. Every single post in this thread depends on a majority being involved in order to be a part of correcting what is wrong. That is an absolute. Sure, improvements can be made with the various suggestion, but everyone needs to be involved to end the problems. Each and every problem. Herein is the affliction. The people are ignorant and uneducated while also misinformed when lack of education is not the issue. There is a natural law factor that plays a major role in every human society for all time. Communication of the group utilizing the human resource of innovation and knowledge. This translates into a natural law maxim. ~~The ultimate biological, natural law PURPOSE of free speech is to assure information vital to survival is shared and understood.~~ That purpose is abridged in our society. The ultimate legal PURPOSE of free speech is also abridged. There are a pair of rights that are at the origin of the formation of our nation. One is known, the other is not. 1) We have the right to alter or abolish government destructive to unalienable rights. 2) If the framers intended for Americans to alter or abolish then they intended that the ultimate PURPOSE of free speech be to enable Americans to unify under law in order to alter or abolish government destructive to unalienable rights. The wrongs will not be righted until the abridging of the ultimate legal PURPOSE is ended because there are many that ONLY the people will correct. I know that members will neglect this matter because it is an absolute that cannot be negated and in that is a responsibility to address it if acknowledged. However that requires a separation from the herd mentality that is unlikely achievable by any here, but I could be wrong. In the separation from the herd it is implied that the issue of 2) become a matter that an individual address in their community around them on a daily basis. Despite the fact that there may be a few who can address the matter here, I doubt any can make this issue a part of their daily sociopolitical discourse.
<Rule 3> Levin is usually great. <Rule 3> I don't know why you libs get all upset about my Russia comments since every last one of your likely Presidential nominees are parroting the words of Vladimir Lenin in 1917. Look it up, you may learn something. Maybe it's because Russia isn't commie anymore like it was when Bernie was there talking about how great it was on his honeymoon.
I agree. Income redistribution goes against everything America should stand for. The federal government should never engage in social spending. We face only one serious issue and that is a weakening of our freedom and culture. People should study the "greatest generation." That was America at its zenith. The whimpering, angry, negative culture we have today will eventually ruin America and Americans.
<Reply to Deleted> I don't need to do homework on Lenin, Marx, or any Russian from history -- been there, done that. Someone can be proven wrong as history unfolds, but does that make their every utterance wrong? Please quote any of the current Dem candidates quoting Lenin. Or Marx, or Hitler, or any other "big bad scary commie" you like.
+ Really? IIRC something like one third of cancers in the United States are related in some way to tobacco use. While 10% of cancers are skin cancer of which most are directly related to excessive ultraviolet light exposure. Thus, more than 40% of cancers can attributed directly to behavior.
1st the overwhelming majority of the homeless population are either mentally ill or drug addicted or both. 2nd Most of the homeless dwell in large cited run by far left looks whose policies from rent control to minimum wage have made entry level jobs all it not existent and driven housing prices through the roof. 3rd you want to know why there's a homeless problem look in the damn mirror bub.
No, the the gov't is the vassal of the People. If the gov't were the People, They could hardly fire Themselves. You assume facts not in evidence. I've given myself headaches trying to get earworms outa my head.
There are too many rich and middle class people in USA. And WAY TOO MANY people have cars, boats, large screen TVs, smartphones, designer clothes, all kinds of toys, every conceivable gadget and hobby imaginable and WAY WAY too much choices of food and beverage. Something needs to be DONE ASAP to STOP this indulgence in living life fully and having so much freedom.. WE NEED TO ADOPT THE CHINESE COMMUNIST WAY and make ALL people low income or poor and limited in food and other items because its only fair. And force abortion too, to save our earth. Bugs and rice and a bicycle.. THATS ALL you need.
If it can be reduced to one thing "wrong" with America, it is the refusal on the part of the majority to employ intelligence effectively. One could say this means education, but, if so, it is education at a very basic, elementary and early level; i.e., parents. This could theoretically be corrected by educational systems, but evidently is not.
The real problem with America is that the median income of those who the founder's intended to serve at the pleasure of the people to include elected officials, unelected consultants, lobbyists, bureaucrats, and the rest whose jobs are to drown out the voices of the people ,,, is well over 65% higher than the median income of the people themselves. That 65% is the entire DC metro area, so the non-deep state households put a heavy drag on the apparent inequality.
The facts are in evidence right here and right now, dude, regardless of what tune is running through your head. (I hate earworms!) I have, and had in the past, illnesses that were not due to anything I did, or smoked, or used, or didn't do. Hence my resentment of that assumption.
Good way to give yourself a headache. Outside of a genetic disorder like cystic fibrosis, I doubt it. If you wanna get sicker, keep it up.
That's a low blow and an arrogant assumption you've made about someone you don't know. Mean and ignorant are a bad combination. Duly noted for future ignoring.
Don't fret, yguy will change his tune when he, or someone in his family, gets a disease that is not self-inflicted. The question is not if but when. The unfortunate aspect of this is that people like yguy actually vote for policy that is based on the misguided assumption that most ills in peoples lives come from bad decisions.
You quoted no assumptions, just two factual statements, along with an expression of reasonable doubt which obviously your reaction serves only to validate. If he is calmed by that prospect, he has a more serious problem than any physical maladies he has. And I would know that how, exactly? To be sure, recantation of the truth is hardly unheard of in human history; and nothing good can be said for those who feel validated by such recantations. That's one way of looking at it. Another is that the electoral choices of those for whom introspection is anathema can be expected to be inimical to liberty.
I am middle class and I have it FAR FAR FAR FAR FAR FAR better than even kings 600 years ago. Not a real good argument. I do agree that we would be better off with the tax code we had in the late 50s. We have reached peak wealth inequality in American history. History is pretty clear that revolution (sometimes violent, sometimes peaceful) occurs when wealth inequality hits a certain critical mass.