Reply #12: rabbit.....relative... [View All]

dont start about bananna republics cause "we take the cake on that one"....my main contention is that in any society as in relationships as in life, there are constant changes. At times the presidency will be stronger, others the congress, as you mentioned it was the press that got the US out of nam, probably more than anything, that influenced the people and consequently the congress.

Actually I believe bush is quite sincere in his modification of the "powers that be" I dont believe he is doing it as an "excuse" to creat a dictatorship(as i have read elsewhere). But all that is not the point.

My point is that "the sky is not falling". True there have been changes, but then there have always been changes, in fact woe to the society that refusese to change. Obviously you dont agree with the latest (an understatement?) but I believe more faith is required in the american system.

just a few points from my point of view:
The mainstream media is a corporate business, but as you've read they are not the only one in town, and the new generation with the internet is now giving them a real run for their money...that means from the 70's to the 2000 a span of 30 years they have gone from aggresive reporting to being a "lapdog"..but it appears that that too is about to change.....

your fear of bushes new powers i believe leave out the pressure from the american people. Yes there is power with them, and a strong sense of individualism, that balances the govt attempts to run their lives. Of course its a constant balance and battle, but that is the natural state of things. Most of america believes the present war is such that they are accepting of the changes, again its a matter of faith, but i believe when its over the laws will be rescinded, as there will be new faces in the govt and different values.


the ideal model, as i see a liberal society simply cannot exist, as people are involved with their own personal views and agendas, hence no democratic society can really live up to its name. In fact probably the most ideal society in terms of democratic/liberalism was the israeli kibbutzim-yet they too have had their failures. The american govt, far more complex than any kibbutz cannot possibly live up to the ideals...

bottom line? be pissed, angry and fight, but have a little more faith, the american people, may be a "simple" people in character, but in the end I believe they prefer to keep the govt with limited powers, the powers will swing back to congress once again.....but again those swings are both natural and good.


(btw i never read sharanskys book-i had enough when i read his platform during the last election-when i was weighing the idea of representative democracy vs his other platforms)