How much blame do you give to the American People for the way things are in this country?

[Tony_FLADEM]

I have been thinking about this the last few days.

Take New Jersey as an example. The people of New Jersey threw out Jon Corzine because they wanted lower taxes. Now Chris Christie is cutting taxes and also making deep spending cuts to pay for it. As a result, people are upset and Christie now has a 33% approval rating. Not that I like Christie, but what do people expect? If they want lower taxes things such as funding for schools has to be cut.

Another example is the situation at the federal level. They put the Democrats in power to clean up the mess the Republicans created and to address such things as health care and the environment. People are upset at the Democrats because they actually tried to pay for the health care bill and things are not being fixed fast enough. Now they want to put the party back in power that never pays for spending and got us into this mess.

Another example is the oil spill. In Louisiana, Mississippi and the Florida Panhandle they support politicians that allow the oil companies to do whatever they want and are now looking to Obama to remedy the situation. They will probably continue to vote for politicians who favor minimal regulation.

I could give more examples, but I am starting not to care.

[RandomThoughts]

1. It is difficult.

Find people you think have good character, and try to support them, but know it is your intent that is the value of your character, not the fullness of the effect.

I hope you feel better over things, I try and take a break when that happens, but beware of appathy, it leads to despair.

And most people are mostly good, so it just takes having systems built by the people for the people.

[Exultant Democracy]

2. The timeless questions: Do we blame the victim? I would say as with any con job the victim

being stupid, lazy and greedy are key ingredients to the success of the con. On the other hand you have to recognize that American's are bombarded with false information that obfuscates reality and makes it almost impossible for us to change the system.

Maybe the Internets will save us, hopefully they don't get clogged.

[deutsey]

9. My frame of reference is the '80s

which I see as a time when a large number of Americans bought into the Reagan economic lie. But I'm sure there were other times in our history as well when people chose to do the easy and selfish thing rather than the right thing.

Still, I remember a commercial from that time that had as part of its jingo a line asking: "Who says you can't have it all?" I remember thinking that it pretty much captured the delusional ethos of that era. I think it's still the prevailing mentality, although with the economic meltdown it's faltering. What we need is a strong movement that exposes that lie for what it is (a con job, as you aptly put it) and to begin helping people understand how they (and the country) benefit from taxes that build up our schools, roads, etc.

[Kahuna]

3. I hear you. It's amazing how short people's memories are. I also

am at the point of not caring any more. The decline of America is inevitable. The decline is because the American people are too careless about the way the elect their representatives.

[CrispyQ]

4. The biggest block of 'voters' are the non-voters, so yes,

the People definitely share significant blame for the mess we're in. I was at lunch with a group of co-workers back in '06 & several of them thought it was funny that they didn't even know who their representative was. And yet these same people bitched about government.

[Ron Green]

5. A half-century of Television,

given to and controlled by corporations, has tipped the balance. People aren't smart enough now in sufficient numbers to vote, buy and read in ways that sustain a democracy.

[lonestarnot]

6. Don't you mean that they are so slave labored that they don't have enough time to vote, buy and read

in the ways that sustain democracy?

[deutsey]

10. It's really not an "either/or" dichotomy

Both points are true.

[Ron Green]

12. Yes, slave-labored is part of it, but so is addicted and distracted.

Any way the corporate system can keep large numbers of people from self-actualizing, whether through lack of economic opportunity, industrial food, non-stop cable sports, casino gambling or any other method, will serve to suppress communal awareness and action.

[kgnu_fan]

7. Less educated people......easier to rule...

People do not learn world history, geography, math, science... No critical thinking possible....

Have you ever visited any public schools recently in your area and observed what they teach in the class? You will cry....

[annabanana]

8. There's surely plenty of blame.

I believe that the American people are generous enough of spirit that they would make good decisions for the majority of people.. IF

our system raised CITZENS instead of CUSTOMERS There's a lot of education needed for people to feel like they have the responsibility to be informed and engaged. There are plenty of forces conspiring to keep us in the dark.

[barbiegeek]

11. 70% of the blame

[Better Believe It]

13. Can't blame us. We don't run the government. But we all know who really does.

[bobbolink]

15. We, The People let it happen.

WE were warned.

[socialist_n_TN]

14. I DO place, at least, some of the blame ..........................

on the American people for a lot of the reasons already stated in this thread.

It's a logic chain. Approximately 50/60% of Americans are involved in politics all, or most, of the time, roughly split right and left. That leaves a lot of the population who don't pay attention but every 2 to 4 years. They don't CARE enough to get involved more than that. In addition, since they are overpropagandized and undereducated they don't know what is really in their best interests and they're too apathetic to learn.

[jaksavage]

16. Do you blame a sheep

for being a sheep?

[Kablooie]

17. 100%

Americans expect to live on credit and get something for nothing without consequences.

Those that think differently are in the minority. (and using Apple computers, I suppose.)

The Majority are either self centered, ignorant, fat pigs or people stupid enough to admire and believe in self centered, ignorant, fat pigs.

[eShirl]

18. I blame human nature.

If I were a creationist, I would blame God for making us fucked-up to begin with.

[barbiegeek]

19. ROFLMAO--I have to borrow that line

That is GOOD!!

[Stinky The Clown]

20. It is not the same peoppe making all these demands

The last time the country was united was in the years right after Paul Revere made his ride.

We remain as divided as we were when John Wilkes Booth change careers.

[classysassy]

21. Senior citizens

people are living longer and the seniors,mostly retired have lots of time on their hands,they listen to Rush and watch Beck and they are easy to be swayed by the silver tongued clowns like Limbaugh and his ilk.

[KillCapitalism]

22. ~80% IMO

The powers that be & the wealthy have done a great job preying upon the ignorant. Too many look at the wealthy in awe and think "I can be one of those guys someday!" Voting in Nixon, Reagan, and Bush 1 and 2 did major damage to the country as a whole. Lastly, indifference/inaction have hurt a lot. When things become very socially or economically unfair in Europe they'll take to the streets and even riot. Most Americans just take what the repubs and the wealthy dish out, bend over and say "Thank you sir may I have another!"

[old mark]

23. The people in the US are poorly educated in many ways - we learn to be obedient workers

but not to think well. We see conformity and fashion as valuable over individuality and integrity due to the media. We idolize the instant, the quick and easy fix and hate anything that requires patience or extended effort. We love to watch, or to mimic, but not to actually DO something.
We love the past that didn't really exist, and hate whatever is different from our conceptions of good and right.

rec.

mark

[Rex]

24. I put most of the blame not on the American People, but on

the last two criminals to inhabit the White House. George and Dickie Boy made no attempt to hide their wanton destruction of America's infrastructure and it showed that when a crisis would happen, just how little Cheney or Dubya cared about average, hard working people. They made sure to deregulate everything they could so 'friends and family' could plunder everything they could get their hands on.

I would compare the last two terms as a drive by shooting, but that would be unfair to drive by shootings. These guys FUCKED us over hard and now we are paying for it.

[Hekate]

25. Less than I used to, frankly. The mega-corporations have an ungodly amount of power over us

You actually asked a good question -- I used to blame the populace much more than I do now, before I finally realized how much power and influence the plutocracy/megacorporations wield over the government, and hence our very lives.

Now, I can still get plenty mad at fools who allow themselves to be manipulated by rank propaganda, but they are as much victims in their own stupid way as the rest of us.

Hekate

[Mekki]

26. none

I don't think the people are to be blamed for anything right now.

[Toucano]

27. 90 percent

I give a little credit for situations when the people have been truly tricked.

But it is all about their values.

The majority would give the pentagon a blank check - and never complain. They would let the government torture and spy on them. Never complain.

They would organize a march, however, if a Mexican child is taught to read on the "taxpayer dime". Or a sick person gets medicine. Or the hungry are fed. These are called intolerable wastes of taxpayer money.


They refuse to abandon their wasteful and destructive "quality of life" illusion and will take to the streets if they are expected to pay *half* the price for a gallon of gas that the rest of the world pays.

Ride the bus? What is this, the Soviet Union?
Raise my family in a 2000 sq ft house? This isn't Bangladesh!
"I voted for Bush because he has a dog like mine!"

Wasteful. Greedy. Stupid.

Their day in the sun is rapidly coming to a close.