Do we deserve better, or do we get what we deserve?

Politically, do we as a country and society deserve better, or do we get what we deserve?

The idea behind "get what we deserve" being that we the voters piss and moan all the time about our government, and we have the power to change it, yet we refuse to throw the bums out and keep re-electing the same people we complain about.

If we deserve better, please specify *why*.

Note: For discussion purposes, collective "we", as a society. Not any one of us individually.

You got 3 votes and no posts. We have nothing to explain, it's all obvious.

We deserve better than a choice between pre-owned candidates. We deserve the right to vote on the issues. Electing is not voting, it is giving up our right to vote to compromised politicians who are ignorant, sheltered, and protected from serious consequences of their decisions.

Most of what we get we deserve, as far the the DC morons that we have placed into office to represent us. They say "this", to get elected, yet do "that" once in office. We should take that as a direct insult to our intelligence and vote them out. Yet who are we offered as an alternative, as they often now run, basically, unopposed within their party?

That being said, there is much, beyond our direct control, as voters, that must be changed. The nine robed umpires, the SCOTUS, have let us down by ignoring the U.S. constitution. Education is not a federal power, granted by the constitution yet the DOEd is the fastest growing, cabinet level, federal dept. that now supplies about 10% of all state budgets using 'education aid'. The states will not object to this 'free' money, since the benefits outweigh the costs. None, in DC, dare be labeled as 'anti-education' so they blindly ignore the constitution and illegally fund this monster, we even have them running as 'education' candidates.

We blindly allow the states to rent us back our constitutional right to keep and bear arms by issuing "gun permits" and "CCW permits". The states love this new found source of revenue, even the NRA is silent about it, as they get a cut by the law requiring 'training classes' that they (and their membership) are allowed to profit from handsomely, being a "prerequisite" for the application for such unconstitutional "rights permits".

OhIsee.Then said:

You got 3 votes and no posts. We have nothing to explain, it's all obvious.

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Some of us may need a bit of time to respond. Your response is so very informative, BTW. ;-)

PrometheusBound said:

We deserve better than a choice between pre-owned candidates. We deserve the right to vote on the issues. Electing is not voting, it is giving up our right to vote to compromised politicians who are ignorant, sheltered, and protected from serious consequences of their decisions.

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I have pondered this problem for quite some time. Campaign finance reform is a no go, since it limits free speach and/or gives the incumbent a HUGE advantage. I have come to see only one option as viable; to include by law "NONE OF THEM", as a required ballot choice for all federal public offiices. It is better than a write in, since it actually has a decent chance to force a run-off, or at worst allow the state legislature to appoint a temporary DC moron, until a decent candidate is made available to the voters.

radcen said:

Politically, do we as a country and society deserve better, or do we get what we deserve?

The idea behind "get what we deserve" being that we the voters piss and moan all the time about our government, and we have the power to change it, yet we refuse to throw the bums out and keep re-electing the same people we complain about.

If we deserve better, please specify *why*.

Note: For discussion purposes, collective "we", as a society. Not any one of us individually.

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No, we don't deserve better. What we are seeing is the collective state of our minds and expectations.

I can understand why otherwise good people no longer or seldom step up to take political office due to the anal exam and non-journalistic approach to election coverage by the media. Even if they were squeeky clean, the media wouldn't believe it and go to an insane level to prove their hypothesis. This doesn't even account for the special interest factor that contaminates every election. On the other hand our election process is probably as good or better than any other country in the world. No election process exists without some level of corruption due to human nature. If humans weren't corrupt, we wouldn't need any govt at all.

Individually it's more complicated than that, seeing as we only get 1 vote, but collectively yeah, we get the government we deserve. I can't fathom why anyone not in the top 1% of wealth would vote for either party. There are other options on the ballot and the apparently fabled write-in spot.

wolv67 said:

Individually it's more complicated than that, seeing as we only get 1 vote, but collectively yeah, we get the government we deserve. I can't fathom why anyone not in the top 1% of wealth would vote for either party. There are other options on the ballot and the apparently fabled write-in spot.

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You're wrong, not everyone has the choice to write-in.

wolv67 said:

Individually it's more complicated than that, seeing as we only get 1 vote, but collectively yeah, we get the government we deserve. I can't fathom why anyone not in the top 1% of wealth would vote for either party. There are other options on the ballot and the apparently fabled write-in spot.

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The reason that it is "fabled" is that many voting machines/laws do not allow it and, even if used, it is not much more effective than no vote at all for that office. Please see my post #6.

We (as a nation) did it to ourselves. We're a nation divided by petty want.