Nothing will stop people from arguing so I am sure the site will not be affected by this, but... I think that Politics is a largely impotent phenomenon. It consists of people who seem to glorify debate and ideological competition because that, as it seems to me, is what politics today is all about; my ideas versus yours. There are wins and losses, but there is no productive ground gained, no momentum built. It's actually rather cyclic in nature. Politics seems to have simply become the public, social sport of arguing. It seems the very same way in government. Arguments, forever, but no deviation from a core set. It's as if policy and the arguments around policy are separate, distinct entities that do not really affect one another unless great effort is given. It almost seems to be capable of being summed up into an equation Democracy = Public Divisiveness/Public Solidarity Political arguments directly undermine the power people have to change their government. Policy isn't made by the people because people can't make up their minds about policy. Neither can the government. No one that is arguing is making policy because the arguments never come to a head. Over the last thirty years a downward arrow would symbolize the overall health of the US. I'd like to also say that perceived economic growth is not actual economic growth, especially when such economic growth and recovery is nothing more than the inflow of more credit (government loans) which places a lot more debt dollars into the economy to be moved around, which gives the illusion of increased productivity and recovery when it's really more debt. So people that like to argue about one president improved the economy and another destroyed it don't pay attention to the actuality behind it. One president simply increases the debt during his term, but these are not debts yet because the money gained is through fairly shadowy business practices like the mortgage scandal which creates massive amounts of wealth based on fictitious foundations. When that fantasy ends, people believe we have suddenly come under this massive debt when that's not true. That's what you call another bubble bursting. It was always there, but you thought it was prosperity when it wasn't. Politics renders us impotent and this argument is being stoked by fueling each others ideological differences. We literally entrench ourselves and then sit back and bomb the other side all day. No ground gained, no ground lost, it's just about the argument. The you'll wonder what happened. Politics happened. And it's not because of different races. If every citizen had blue eyes and green skin they would still be divided on some issue.
Stopped reading here. Politics as it exists today is rarely two people arguing there own ideas. Politics as it exists today is people regurgitating other people's ideas, or to be more precise their marketing campaign. If politics in our culture meant people debating the merits of their own ideas, we would be much better off.
I suppose that's kinda what I meant...people who don't discuss but argue their ideas show no change only animosity...like trench warfare. But my thoughts can be confusing. Still, I like your concision. I'll have to practice that...
