Whether to vote Democrat or Republican is a fundamental question most people know is important but can debate for a long time without reaching a clear conclusion. I think the confusion is because the differences in ideology between the two parties usually don't pan out in reality. It might be better to focus on real-life actions and consequences and treat ideology as more of a wish list.
This grossly simplified statement might explain the differences in ideology: Democrats care about people, and Republicans care about money. We might then elaborate by pointing out that inflation and national bankruptcy would harm people, so caring about money is also caring about people. But debating about ideology is like building castles in the air. I took a questionnaire on Presidential actions taken by Democrat and Republican presidents. I got so many of them wrong I realized they both do mostly the same things in practice and don't risk votes or offending their lobbyists by pursuing ideologies.
Judging actions if taken by different countries is going to be time-consuming. I've heard people in the US say they watch the British media, but when I was in Britain, people in the know usually watched RT (Russia Today), which ironically was broadcast from New York City. The tendency now seems to be to watch Indian television news.
The first thing many people do when approaching politics is pick one party or the other and hope that is sufficient. I have a relative who just two years ago repeatedly said: 'a Republican would...' and 'whereas a Democrat would...'. If that were true, then there would be no point in having Democrat or Republican primary elections because all Republican candidates are identical and all Democrat candidates are identical with each other, though the all Democrats are the exact opposite of all Republican candidates of course.
Party thinking is often counterproductive. It's bad for a country because a voter will excuse a president of their own party no matter what that president does wrong.
Democrat vs Republican isn't mainly about left vs right at present. It is about corrupt vs less corrupt. For example, Democrats love complex schemes to do this or that about poverty but it ends up an expensive bureaucratic mess with plenty of 'waste' (that ends up in their friend's and relative's pockets).
If both political parties were two football teams, then ideology would be the stadium and philosophy would be the city. Most people can’t define their philosophy. That’s why they vote by issue. This is what leads to all of the contradictions in their own views.
Mornin Captain! I like your description, but I think unfortunately the situation may have gotten a lot simpler. It appears that maybe Joe can be described as just someone who hates everyone and everything. He wants war with Russia and hopes a proxy war in Ukraine will destroy much of Russia's defenses. And the Ukraine as well. And to destroy Russia's economy. And to fight a factory worker in Detroit. And is more than happy to have a nuclear war with Russia. And to have a confrontation with China too. I think the government should be in some way helpful instead of just constantly causing big problems nobody can solve.
Liberals by nature are misanthropists and/ or nihilists. So there is no stopping the whining. It’s a dichotomy between the two. Conservatives seek freedom of the mind and control of the body, Liberals seek freedom of the body and control of the mind. Two sides of the same coin. It boils down to our philosophy of the role of government. Personally I think the government should exist to protect our rights. Not guarantee food or housing or money. But since it doesn’t, government has just become a battleground of warring parasites of who gets the most goodies.
Many Liberals and Democrats like to sound intelligent by 'critiquing' everything around us. I catch myself when I remember that criticism without a corresponding suggestion is pretty worthless. High rates of depression, suicide, and mental illness might result from criticism without suggestion - a failure to appreciate anything. Karl Marx (and Groucho) criticized economic systems, but he also had suggestions. Yes, I know he died in 1883, so is a bit out of date on a few things... The key to mental wellness is gratitude.
