Whats Your Political / Social Concern?

[Troy Spiral (13)]

In terms of electing a public offical (lets say State or National) what is/are the key issues that are most important to you that you'd like to have the candidate you vote for clearly be in favor of or against?

Unemployment?

Iraq?

Campagin Reform?

Enviornment?

Abortion?

Creation/Evolution in Schools?

Health Care?

Gun Control?

Just some random ideas , not a list to choose from nessisarily.

If we can lets keep the insults / fire breathing out of this, as should always be the case on DGN. Just talk about what you think is the most important issue(s) and why and what you think the proper stance is.

[crunchy_pickle (5)]

While I have an opinion (surprise surprise! lol) on just about every one of these topics, I'd like to summarize with this.

Anything in the world is possible. Any great change or endeavor CAN be accomplished. People CAN be reached. People CAN make a difference.

This being said, I think the biggest crisis in the world today is individual moral principles. I really don't think that families, and tribes as well as all the other crap about it "taking a village" even applies. Most "villages" are full of people that just don't care enough to do anything yet.

So what is the solution? There is no way of forcing these people to care. There is a way of convincing them they should, but not without threats of end times and other factors that just wouldn't make sense to them. So, essentially we need more creative solutions to promote better ways of living.

Ultimately, individual moral perspective about the universe and people around you when sound, will lead to more solutions and less destruction overall on this planet. Most wars and bad things period are done out of hate, and intolerance. We are not the end all. We are not the police of this planet. We are not the answers. We are not even worthy of God's kingdom, but we can make a difference.

This doesn't have to be about God either. If you worship yourself and nothing more, at worst I'll think you're an idiot, and at best you're still vital to the solution and a part of it all whether you choose to be or not.

So ultimately, I think all of the world's problems can be solved with sound logic, justice, honesty, and love. Everything for the purpose of building up and creating. We must be builders. We must be problem solvers. If we are not builders we are destroyers. If we are not lovers we are haters. It really is that black and white. If we love money, we will fall short in every aspect of life when we realize that we haven't even been born yet. We are dead bodies walking and learning and only alive per our own decisions about what life means.

From every scientific and biological approach we can define life by attaching our LABELS. We can categorize everything just like machines and use logic to approach just about anything. The problem is this. How sound is our logic? Who determines what is just, sane, or effective?

Unfortunately, most often times the very people chosen to solve these problems have no "real world" problem solving abilities and can only do things on small scales. Our government body is setup too ineffectively, and must be changed. Legislation should be legislation and have nothing to do with execution, execution should be carried out by more than ONE man (preferably 50 state governors) and a national leader should be one that commands respect, is wise in the ways of life and the universe, and can make important decisions regarding international relations, domestic affairs, commerce, education, etc. He should be the voice of the people. The people should be able to take regular surveys about things they want changed on the internet so these changes can be "categorized" and "prioritized" in a way that is effective, can be easily reviewed (meaning some sort of standard format is necessary even to submit a petition or proposal), and lobbyists should be eliminated. Too much power and duality in one body is contrary to the very ideals of democracy and representative government.

No person should have the power to lobby, draft laws, and vote on them, and often times congressmen are only lobbyists for some other agenda. The system just can't work, and the constitution cannot be accurately interpreted, executed, or defended by a judicial system that relies on funding, and political pressures, rather than honesty and justice.

[Msterbeau]

Consumerism in this country and a growing lack of care for the earth in developing countries are going to destroy this planet.

Also... the rising level of irresponsibility of people. No one wants to be accountable for their actions. Parents don't hold their children accountable. People blame everything but themselves.

Edited February 20, 2008 by Msterbeau

[phee]

Also... the rising level of irresponsibility of people. No one wants to be accountable for their actions. Parents don't hold their children accountable. People blame everything but themselves.

OMG I agree with this 1000%... although I don't think the government has much (although a little by example... ) to do with this... I think it is more cultural

[Steven]

the crashing economy

the ever growing long arm of big brother

the breakdown of the american family unit

happy pills

coping skills

relative truth

new viruses and old "conqured" disease epidemics returning to power

the war

the trend of diassociation

politcal correctness

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

What do I look for when getting ready to cast my vote?

I completly ignore everything they say on the campaign and research thier actuall voting record.. what bills they proposed...

Are they upholding the Constitution?

Have they tried to infringe on my Rights?

Have the lived a life that give me any indication that they will make sound decisions?

The actuall issues?

National Defense

The Economy

The Ecosystem

Tort Reform

Campaign Finiance Reform

[Homicidalheathen]

Fair, just, voting perhaps?

Fix the voting system.

Thats the first thing.

Stop sending all work over seas.......

Stop letting in illegals for cheaper labor.......

Tougher trade sanctions.

Hold big buisness accountable for their actions.........when they are caught doing something wrong.

I know I read about one of those guys caught in the Enron scandal......still lives in a mansion.

[Destroit]

PLEASE SEND JOBS TO MICHIGAN.

I mean...we're not asking Granholm/feds to turn water into wine or anything.

Well...actually, with the irresponsiblity of our own citizens, it may actually be that hard. Sure we have a bunch of credit happy spend thrifts in America at this moment that are literally tearing down our housing market and ruining our economy...but if we had tougher regulations about loans and credit in the first place (i.e. making sure people who are irresponsible and shouldn't get loan/mortgages can't) then we'd be in less of a mess than we are now.

[Fierce Critter]

I am most concerned with whomever will act based on fact & evidence over personal feeling & opinion.

That generally helps me rule out candidates vs. pick one. Because EVERYBODY out there is, in some way, directed by their personal feelings & motives. I just tend to go with the person who seems the least guilty of such.

[Troy Spiral (13)]

Consumerism in this country and a growing lack of care for the earth in developing countries are going to destroy this planet.

Also... the rising level of irresponsibility of people. No one wants to be accountable for their actions. Parents don't hold their children accountable. People blame everything but themselves.

OMG I agree with this 1000%... although I don't think the government has much (although a little by example... ) to do with this... I think it is more cultural

Defiantly on board with that line of thinking. You'll notice i preach this on and off, maybe more often that people would like to hear. There's even a danger of not taking responsibility by us pointing out that "others" need to take responsibility and we overlook our own role. Its almost always easier to look without than it within and blame "the others" for not taking responsibly. I know I'm guilty of this fairly often, but hopefully less often as time goes on. This stems from people not living self-examined lives, they just react and its "just the way i am" without ever looking at the reasons for their actions or the longer-term consequences. But as phee says this isn't particularly anything "political" per-se. But it is a "social" problem.

I am most concerned with whomever will act based on fact & evidence over personal feeling & opinion.

That generally helps me rule out candidates vs. pick one. Because EVERYBODY out there is, in some way, directed by their personal feelings & motives. I just tend to go with the person who seems the least guilty of such.

Sounds good. Although i think it could lead to having someone that "bases their actions on study/research/evidence" but does exactly the opposite of what you'd want them to do. Hopefully though most of the time their is a fairly clear "right course" and examining the issues in depth would lead one to that action. Obviously there is going to be some overall personal ideology involved, otherwise we'd never make a decision, but trying to actions not solely (or primarily) on some personal ideology irregardless of the actual real-world consequences is a good goal, and something i wish there was a magic pill to give to politicians and various authority figures. Even if i didn't agree with a solution, if i was fairly confident they tried their best based on actual evidence/studies/research rather than "feelings" or say.. some spiritual vision they had, I'd feel much better.

[jadnifer]

Oh my this is how I feel on a whole lot of things:

Sending jobs to Michigan-How hard can it really be? I mean we had them here to begin with and then they sent them all away because it might have saved them a few dollars. Wouldnt they rather have to pay the workers more money and have good products than pay less money for the production and have to pay more in the long run because recalls and the such because the product was poorly made?

Letting foreigners in: I am not against that in and of itself. What I'm against is them letting them get jobs and taking away jobs that legal residents could get just because they think the minimum wage is a fortune. I would like to see how they would react if we tried to come over there illegally and get a job. I dont think they would take too kindly to that but they think that they can do it to us and the reason that they think that is because we have let it go on for so long.

The Candidate Themselves: I would want to vote for the person that has the same morals as I myself do and I would know that they wouldnt take away freedoms from me that my fellow man has died to give me. They need to have lived a life thats worthy of them making decisions that could directly affect my own in the long and the short term.

Oh the economy: What's there to really say? We need more jobs and things are just in the toilet. We need someone in office that at least has an idea and a plan that they can feasibly work on to fix this major problem.

God in Schools: I think that they should have religion in schools but I think that they should be able to have all religions in the schools, not just the ones that specifically worship Christ. If a teacher or the principal wants to have the Ten Commandments in their room, there is no reason why they shouldnt be able to. If some students want to get together and pray before classes start in the morning or have a get together after school, they should allowed to do so. I know they say separation of church and state, but these little things would not affect the major whole.

The Ecosystem: The way I view the ecosystem is how all organisms affect all the rest of the organisms. I think that that is the basic definition. We need to be much more aware of things that are going on with that. New animals and plants that are introduced to new areas. There are animals and plants that are endangered and on the verge of extinction and the majority of our time is spent elsewhere when more time should be spent on our environment.

Abortion: My view on abortion is simple. I dont feel that anyone should have one unless it poses significant risk to the mother to go full term with the child. I dont reticule anyone for it, this is just what I feel.

The War: Even though it's the sad truth, war is unavoidable sometimes. I think that the war that we are in now, although I really believe it may have been able to be avoided, is in great need of being handled better and I just pray that the next person in office knows what the hell they are doing.

Gun Control: I think that there should be a background check done on anyone that is trying to buy a gun. If they have a background of violence or a background that could very well lead to violence I dont think that they should be able to buy a gun. I know that many people dont agree with me on that, but that's how I feel.

Health Care: I dont think that we should have universal health care. Yes, everyone would have the same health care, but we would have to wait forever to get it. I think that health care should be affordable and should be based on how much money you make as to how much you have to pay for it.

I know that none of the candidates probably feel exactly the same way on all of these topics that I do. If I could find one that was close, that would be great. I dont know enough about them to make a decision, but I just wanted to say how I felt about some of the issues that people are concerned about with this election.

[Scales]

Unemployment

No unneeded government programs, agencies, and world policing

Financial reform

Education reform

Educating people globally about overpopulation

Health care

[creatureofthenyte]

Immigration;

(opinion)ILLEGAL immigrants should be deported. Yes it could be done, if we can find the money to be in Iraq, then we could do this too. If an american tried to immigrate illegally to Mexico, would he/she have such an easy time of it ? NO!! Come here legally or not at all.

Gas prices;

this is one of the biggest factors of our economy as well, since almost everything we buy, comes by truck, when companies fuel costs go up, so do the prices of the goods they sell.

Health care; if you think its expensive now, wait till its free...

Elimination of congressional pet projects, the spending on this is killin us.

Edited February 21, 2008 by creatureofthenyte

[Troy Spiral (13)]

The Candidate Themselves: I would want to vote for the person that has the same morals as I myself do and I would know that they wouldnt take away freedoms from me that my fellow man has died to give me. They need to have lived a life thats worthy of them making decisions that could directly affect my own in the long and the short term.

So say for instance... a candidate could make no decisions about homosexuality if they were not homosexual since they had not "lived the life" of a homosexual? Similarly could make no laws about married couples if they were not married since they have not "lived the life" of a married person?

[jadnifer]

So say for instance... a candidate could make no decisions about homosexuality if they were not homosexual since they had not "lived the life" of a homosexual? Similarly could make no laws about married couples if they were not married since they have not "lived the life" of a married person?

I believe that I phrased that wrong. Sorry for the confusion. That isn't what I meant. Someone doesn't have to exactly live the life that I have, I would want them to have high moral standards. If they had low moral standards, then I don't think that they should be given the responsibility of running an entire country. Does that clear it up at least a little bit?

[Hellion]

the crashing economy

the ever growing long arm of big brother

the breakdown of the american family unit

happy pills

coping skills

relative truth

new viruses and old "conqured" disease epidemics returning to power

the war

the trend of diassociation

politcal correctness

The American Empire is crashing,nothing lasts forever,The Romaut Empire did'nt,but

it lasted quite a long time.

But the cost of living needs to be addressed,its pathetic!

Edited February 22, 2008 by Darque Metallion

[Troy Spiral (13)]

I believe that I phrased that wrong. Sorry for the confusion. That isn't what I meant. Someone doesn't have to exactly live the life that I have, I would want them to have high moral standards. If they had low moral standards, then I don't think that they should be given the responsibility of running an entire country. Does that clear it up at least a little bit?

I think i understand your intent, i guess you mean "I want them to have the same moral standards that i think are good." Since anyone of us could have vastly different ideas about what good morality is, if we just say "high moral standards" theres no single list of them that everyone would agree on.

[ttogreh]

It all comes down to energy. The gold standard doesn't exist, but we have to measure disparate versions of our financial markers... pieces of paper that we call "money" against some kind of metric that is tangible and also finite.

So, what does every industrial nation use, that is finite, and takes human effort to acquire, but is also not gold?

Fossil fuels. Sweet light crude is the de facto standard against what is and is not wealth. Oh, you don't believe me? Look at what happened after the country removed itself from the gold standard in 1971. The oil crisis of 1972, that's what happened. Petroleum is traded in United States currency.

It is not that hard to connect the dots.

However, all of this begs the question, should anything be done about it? Well, considering that America is a net energy importer, if one accepts my premise, one must also accept that our overall economic destiny is in the hands of countries like Canada, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Iran, and others. As an American, I can rightly say that I find the idea of America being dependent on the good graces of petro-states to be singularly disturbing.

Luckily, Senators Clinton, Obama, and McCain have all more or less pledged to revamp energy policy for America. I hope that all three are telling the truth.

[Troy Spiral (13)]

There are people all over the world that would gladly trade places with the poorest of the working-poor here in America and be happy to do it. We were at the crest of a long upswing in the economy a "correction" of the sort we have now is not much to speak of from a historical perspective. We just get used to things being uber-cooshy and then cry our eyes out when that expectation is mismatched with reality. Is it sucky? Sure, but get a sense of historical proportion wider than a single lifetime or decade.

I'm a card carrying believer in the capitalist system, with a very strong emphasis on free markets and limited government. Something that neither of the big parties is actually for, despite the rhetoric, both parties are for more government intervention, just at different ends of the spectrum. In an overly simplistic summary...Democrats for social welfare (which fucks the economy at the bottom end) and republicans for corporate welfare (which fucks the economy by keeping poor business in business), both are needed to very limited degrees but both are bad for the long-term health of the economy once past a certain level.

Generally that's why I'm typically unable to fully buy into either party. Democratic "socialist" ideas I tend to like in principal, but most of the time they can only be put through by hampering the economy.

[sass_in_the_pants]

I know a politician can't be everything to everyone all the time. Heck, I can't even do that, and I'm freaking AMAZING!

And it is SO hard for me to pick which issues have priority, because of course, if education takes center stage, then the environment falls down on the list, and so on and so forth.

So, like everything in life, I have to distill this down to which issues REALLY matter most to me.

I would have to agree with Steven that the integrity of the family (or lack thereof) I find very troubling.

Of course Iraq is a priority, and everyone is talking about an exit strategy for Iraq, but dang, I still haven't heard an exit strategy for Korea!

[ttogreh]

Maybe three American soldiers die in Korea in a year. In car accidents.

It isn't the presence; it is the deaths and woundings.

[crunchy_pickle (5)]

Wow this thread is growing in popularity. I wonder why we don't have town meetings like this, or a central location where people who actually give a fuck about us, can gather facts about our opinions and concerns so something can be done about it......

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

The Oil Embargo was in 1973 and was a response to the Yom Kippur War. The huge recession we had during the 1970's (and into the early 80's) was due to the fact that the Bretton Woods system collapsed.

Please try not to rewrite history to support your ideas.

Every President we have had going back to Nixon has tried to get a good energy policy in place. Nothing the current set of candidates is saying about Energy policy is new.

[ttogreh]

Yes, but WHY WAS OIL SO EFFECTIVELY USED AS A WEAPON IN THE FIRST PLACE?

Why was the loss of oil shipments so devastating to American industry? It was because we decided to replace gold with oil, that's why. Oil... is... the... yardstick.

If we are going to use energy instead of gold as the yardstick, fine. Why not make that energy here?

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

It was used as a weapon because thats the only thing that OPEC had to use against the West. The Embargo was against all Western countries, not just the USA, in protest to our (The West) support of Israel.

It wasn't devastating to American industry directly. It was devastating to the common man and his ability to get to work. It was devastating to the trucking company's that had to pay for fuel to get the factory's supply's.

We also at that time were going through the adjustment to the collapse of the Breton Woods system. Ditching the Gold standard was one response to that collapse. The whole damn world was going through hard times because the system used for valuing EVERYONES money didn't work anymore.

We in Michigan had it pretty tough for other reasons. The Governor of the time was a socialist reformer. He really believed the rich company's needed to pay way more in taxes. So, he removed most tax breaks for cooperations in the manufacturing business. Thats why all the motor and mobile home factory's that at one time covered central Michigan all moved to Indiana within a 6 month period.

My point is, your trying to blame everything on one economic change (that was actually a response to a problem) rather than look at all the factors that lead up to it and happened after it.