Controlled by propaganda

1. 60

   Danny R Handposted 14 years ago

   WE DO NOT LIVE IN A DEMOCRACY!!!!! 
   We live in a Republic. Does everyone not read and just settle for being indoctrined these days? There is a big difference between the two!

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      JeanMeriamposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I live in a town with 900 people and three churches, all Mennonite. You have nothing to complain about.

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      1. 60

         Danny R Handposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         There's times I would'nt mind trading places with you. I was'nt meaning to complain, I just hear ALOT of people spouting what they've been told. I guess I would just like to understand why people let others think for them.

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            JeanMeriamposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            I was just bugging and I understand. That is what it is like here. A lot of talking without a lot of learning. It seems to be very common and becoming even more common. People don't want to know anything. That would take work and maybe admitting they are wrong.

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   2. 65

      Ralph Deedsposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Why don't you explain what the difference is? My impression is that the people who whine about the U.S. not being a democracy are those who have invariably opposed every piece of progressive legislation from Social Security, to Civil Rights, Voting Rights, Medicare and so forth. Please tell me if that's not the case.

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         Danny R Handposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Of course that's not the case! Although I claim no particular political affiliation, I am more than less, a progressive. I believe very strongly in human rights and our civil liberty's.
         The difference I'm speaking of, is a democracy is majority rules. A republic,(or representative type government), requires a whole lot more responsibility on the part of the citizens. When the public gets lazy, it opens the door for special interests to maniplulate the system by preying on the greed of the representatives. Wheather it be money or power, it stll comes down to greed. This is exactly what we are dealing with now. Special interests are so intrenched, and the people have becomes so lazy, indoctrination through political and/or religous affiliation, has become the status quo. A republic demands responsibility. We as Americans have been lax far to long in that arena.

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      Brenda Durhamposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I think we live in a Republic with checks-and-balances...
      Or at least we USED to have checks and balances....

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2. 0

   Ghost32posted 14 years ago

   Danny, I strongly suspect that far too many folks consider thinking to be "unnecessary WORK".  Plus--strange as it seems to me personally--the drive to follow mindlessly is stunningly alive and well in the human race.
   
   It's possible--I'm not preaching here, but just saying--that reincarnation plays a part, whether or not the people involved are believers in such.  That is, if a number of dominant incarnations for a given Soul involved herd animals (sheep, goats, cattle, wildebeests) rather than solitary predators (such as cougars), that "herd instinct" would be very likely to carry forward into their human forms.  With that, then, you get:
   
   1.  Why think?
   
   2.  As long as it happens to the other guy....
   
   I saw a remarkable example of #2, some years back, when my wife and I lived in remote Montana mountains.  Just upstream from our place, there was a sizeable beaver pond.  Timber approached fairly closely, allowing me to sit under cover and watch the tableau.
   
   A bald eagle perched on a high snag overlooking the pond, upon which nearly 100 wild ducks--mostly mallards--were swimming and feeding.  The ducks ignored the raptor.  Finally, Big Bird made his move, swooping down from his high perch to nail one of two ducks that were waddling around on the dry bank. 
   
   No, the duck flock did not take to the skies.  They flapped wings nervously, moved away from the bloody feast, and quickly settled right back down, ignoring their slaughtered sister and the feeding eagle as thoroughly as they had before the attack.
   
   They might as well have worn signs saying, "Eagle?  What eagle?  I don't see no freaking eagle!"
   
   Sound familiar?

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      susanlangposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Ghost32,  you said, "1. Why Think?  2. As long as it happens to the other guy.."  Ghost32, I agree with you on that statement. Too many people walk away from the hard problems facing America thinking, if it's not happening to me, it's not my problem. I say, but it is!

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3. 75

   lovemychrisposted 14 years ago

   Harvard has a class on it. It's called The Madness of Crowds.
   And I personally suffered it strongly during the Bush years.
   I can't tell you how many times I was called anti-American and told to leave the country for simply questioning the "war".
   It had such a chilling effect that even people in gvt. were afraid to question the administration for fear of being labeled a traitor!
   It's the same if you don't support the Draconian, inhumane three strikes laws. You are called "soft" on crime.
   Yeah, there's a lot of psychological manipulating that goes on here. Not much honesty, but a lot of manipulation.

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      LegendaryHeroposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      What does any of this have to do with the OP?

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4. 75

   lovemychrisposted 14 years ago

   Example: Pence said about 80 times, "Government Take-Over of Healthcare"....
   
   Somebody please explain.
   
   In my mind, it is government putting the reigns on big business.
   
   Haven't the Insurance companies "Taken-Over" healthcare?
   
   Haven't they gotten away with it for decades?
   
   Hasn't it gotten worse?
   
   The Madness of Republicans.

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      thisisoliposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Indeed, you guys get shafted on healthcare, really gonna miss the NHS when I get to America.

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      LegendaryHeroposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      This has nothing to do with the OP...

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5. 64

   aka-djposted 14 years ago

   Interesting you mention "indoctrinated". I felt the same way about this myself, so I wrote a Hub on it. I point out that we are ALL indoctrinated in one way or another.
   Everyone keeps telling me to think for myself, and then calls me a mindless puppet when they find out what I stand for.
   Of course they are all right, and I am the one who's wrong!
   What's the appropriate response???
   D..AHHH I think.

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6. 74

   Arthur Fontesposted 14 years ago

   Who Opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964?
   
   Bruce Bartlett
   
   I see that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid took a swipe at Republicans this morning, comparing them to those who opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for filibustering health reform legislation. It’s worth remembering that the longest filibuster of the 1964 act was conducted by a still-sitting senator, Robert C. Byrd, who personally spoke against the legislation for 14 hours and 13 minutes on June 9 & 10, 1964. Here’s an extract from my book, Wrong on Race: The Democratic Party’s Buried Past, which was published last year.
   
   We know who oppossed it!

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7. 88

   Will Apseposted 14 years ago

   A republic is any country that has no hereditary head of state. Republics are two a penny.
   
   Here are some Federal Republics. There are plenty of other republics on this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_republics
   
   Republic of Argentina (since 1852)
   Republic of Austria
   Federative Republic of Brazil (since November 15th, 1889)[17]
   Bosnia and Herzegovina (since 1995)
   Federal Republic of Cameroon (1961-1972)
   Commonwealth of England (1649-1653)
   Czechoslovakia (Czech and Slovak Federative Republic) (1969-1992)
   Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (unitary republic 1974-1994; federal republic since 1994)
   Federal Republic of Germany (since 1918)
   Republic of Colombia (1819-1886), known as Great Colombia from 1819 to 1831, when it included present-day Ecuador, Venezuela and Panama.
   Republic of India (since January 26, 1950)
   United States of Indonesia (1949-1950)
   United Mexican States[18] (since 1917)
   Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal (since 2007)[19]
   Federal Republic of Nigeria (1963 – 66:1st Republic, 1979 – 83: 2nd Republic, 1993: 3rd Republic, 1999 – present: 4th Republic)
   Islamic Republic of Pakistan (since 1956, Declaration of the Islamic Republic)
   Russian Federation (since November 7, 1917; up to 1991 it was named Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic)[citation needed]
   Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922-1991)
   Swiss Confederation (since 1848)
   Union of Myanmar
   United Provinces of Central America (1823-1840)
   United States of America[20] (since 1789)
   Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
   Yugoslavia: Federal People
   
   
   Of course, I imagine that the Republic that is America is some how special and above other republics.

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8. 88

   Will Apseposted 14 years ago

   I think attitudes in the US now and the UK in the 19th Century have a lot in common. When you are rearranging the world to suit your needs a lot of bad stuff happens that good people don't want to know about.
   
   Newspapers that tell it like it is are going to depress the hell out of too many people. Those papers won't sell. The same goes for any other media.
   
   This need to be shielded from unpleasant facts eventually becomes a disease which shifts into every area of the news and debate.
   
   The result is jingoism, delusion, sentimentality and heads buried so deep in the sand people can't tell day from night.

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9. 60

   Doug Hughesposted 14 years ago

   It's always interesting to see how the string gets pulled and all the puppets dance together.
   
   This is the second post in as many days arguing that this is NOT a democracy. Is anyone stupid enough to buy it? (I see the string pulled and all the usual suspects scream - YES! REPUBLIC REPUBLIC!!!)
   
   OK! Is Paris Hilton blonde or caucasian? What?? She's BOTH?? Oh, no that can't be!!!! You have to pick one...
   
   This is a Republic - and it's a Democracy. Wake up to the swindle that they are trying to pull. The phony argument now is peing presented as a prelude to the claim that since we are a republic and not a democracy then... x, y and z according to the script that the far right are preparing.
   
   What I hope to see in the future as they advance this scam is all the ridicule they deserve for trying to pull it. And it's a LOT of ridicule.

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10. 58

    foreignpressposted 14 years ago

    The United States has become too big, too diverse, and subsequently incapable of making rational decisions. In other words, life is now too complicated for the average person. The Swiss, for example, (population of 7.5 million), are fully involved in their government's decisions. Compare that to the United States (roughly over 300 million, not including 38 million illegals).
       A perfect analogy is a large corporation. Bloated with too many rules, diverse products, and a resulting lack of focus, it spins off subsidiaries to regain its reason for being.
       The average person is concerned more with making a living than with following a legislator's vote. So the masses are prime bait for any piece of misinformation.
       This country needs to downsize. Let the Southwestern states take over Mexico and call it MexAmerica. The Western states coalesce into a self-governing state. The Southern states have always wanted to be independent. Let it be so. At the same time, abolish the federal government.
       Problem solved. And misinformation fed by paid-for career politicians is diminished if not eradicated completely.

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