Der Tagesspiegel, Germany: America: Land of Unlimited Anger

[Lars77]

http://watchingamerica.com/News/46423/america-land-of-unlimited-anger/

America is becoming impossible to govern. Voters want neither Obama nor the Republicans.


America remains the land of unlimited opportunities. For the time being, however, it’s a land of unlimited rage and disarray about the balance of political power. Conflicting theories may be formulated from the more reputable surveys.

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Cue the demagogue to take the stage . . . . .

[yurbud]

2. I disagree with the very first sentence. We do want Obama but we DON'T want him to

continue to pander to the GOP or peddle their shopworn, corrupt policies like privatizing our public schools, forcing us to buy private health insurance, and cutting social security and medicare.

[snake in the grass]

3. "Land der unbegrenzten Möglichkeiten"

I heard that a lot during the 22 years I lived in Germany. I was always quick to remind them that the possibilities go in both directions in the U.S. One can become as rich as Bill Gates or one can freeze to death on the streets (and what do we see more of?). We've got the whole spectrum covered here.

[salguine]

4. "America is becoming impossible to govern" is a grotesque misstatement that seems to

imply that it's the fault of the People, that they're just ungovernable. The truth is that we have a government that isn't INTERESTED in governing; our elected representatives are only interested in occupying their offices as a means to a lifetime pass on the Gravy Train, and they don't give a shit how many millions of people's lives they have to fuck up in order to make it happen. The article places the blame squarely at the wrong end.

[Lars77]

5. But arent the people to blame at least just a bit?

Or is it a systemic problem alltogether? I mean, it seems to me that many Americans don't understand how their government works at all (keep your government hands off my medicare!), so don't the voters have some responsobility?

Some say people get the politicians they deserve, although it seems very difficult for good people to rise through the two-party structure. The solution then must be to vote for other parties.

[Heywood J]

6. Look at who the people keep electing.

How many sleazebag Republicans are re-elected after their scandals become public news? How many are just incompetent or otherwise unfit, yet still get re-elected? How many vote against their own self-interest when their Congressman is against health-care reform, for gutting Social Security, or eliminating Medicare/Medicaid? That's just at the federal level - check out state and local politics for this as well.

To go in another direction, how many people vote for the first name on the ballot, the last sign they saw on the drive to the polling place, against the candidate with the "funny-sounding" name, or because the incumbent's name is the only one they can remember? How many can properly read and understand the names and instructions on a ballot?

The country is becoming impossible to govern because the educational system and civic responsibility have broken down. Fix those and the country starts to become governable again.