Reply #69: Personally, I like the version with the scorpion and the frog better.

[johnaries]

Since in that version they both drown because the scorpion is, after all, a scorpion.

I am reminded of the movie "Primary Colors". I don't know what other people may take away from that film, but my "take-away" was that in the modern American political landscape in order to "do good" and really "make a difference" you have to get elected, first. And the process of getting elected in modern America is a very "dirty" process, and so by definition any politician who is successful and actually gets elected is "dirty" by nature.

Is that the snake of which you speak?

If so, what alternative do we have outside of armed Revolution? And what guarantee do we have that the leader of that revolution would be any better than the "snakes" we currently have? In fact, in order to be successful, wouldn't that revolutionary leader by definition be even more of a snake than our current leaders?

Has the "Great Experiment" failed?

I think not. In fact, I think it has just begun. Which is sad for me, since I am in my Fifties and I am afraid that although I may see the "birth" of a new "Great Experiment" I will not live long enough to see it's fruition. The Ancient Chinese Taoists had a curse - "May you live in interesting times." These times are most interesting, indeed.

Consider this - the most important component of any successful government is information. By extension, if a "Democratic" or even a Democratically-elected Representative Republic (such as ours) is to survive and prosper, then the People must have information. With the Internet, people have more access to information that they never had before.

Before, people only knew what their local Preacher told them. Or the local newspaper. Or their friends and family. Which is what the RW took advantage of.

I'll be honest - I did not support Hillary in the primaries simply because she had way too many ties to corporate entities. I can accuse Obama of nothing but being a little too naive. I like the way he attempted to emulate Lincoln's Cabinet of Adversaries and constantly challenges himself and his ideals to make sure that his decisions are borne of information and not rhetoric.

Isn't that what we elected him for? To make smart, informed decisions rather than arbitrary decisions based on gastrointestinal fluctuations?