What do you think is the essential political struggle in the US?

In fully adopting and embracing the Metric System.

And they are aggressively extending their efforts to further increase that domination.

all other poll options are battles in this epic struggle.

are we winning? depends on who "we" are.

though perhaps with slightly different priorities

All of those choices can be boiled down to that one theme.

A corporation is a very effective example of a collective working towards it's goals, especially as they make people suffer for it's "greater good", whereas someone posting on sites like this is indiividual. You cannot say "collective Good/individual Bad" because then you sail into the waters Stalin polluted.

if they don't represent us, how can they be representatives?

Also, isn't the system so corrupted that your aim is impossible currently?

How do we do it?

across time and distance...those who HAVE are invested in maintaining the status quo (self-evident), thereby obstructing progress towards more equitable ends. Materialism has to be in there somewhere: the values of ego, control, power, manifested in property ownership. Until it becomes truly embedded in our DNA that family, relationships, compassion, equality bring far more happiness and peace, this struggle around materialism, on so many levels (comfort; toys; sex) will continue.

I think there are good rich people (look at the Kennedy's), good capitalists, even a few not so bad Republicans (at least a
few that are more or less honest, just wrong). Hell there are probably some good tea baggers (just mostly stupid and easily led). Unfortunately there are also the BAD in all these categories. So it comes down to non caring MEANIES and well meaning
NICE FOLKS>

;-)

--d!

I don't know how else to put it...

Social justice issues and the rest (of the unrest) are part of the ever-tightening funnel of resources from the many to the few. The revival of boom-and-bust economic cycles is the most telling -- the same people always benefit, because the system is conveniently rigged in their favor.

The factor that seems to really tip the balance in public opinion in the U.S. though, seems to be the effective use of social / racial / cultural tensions and jealousies to keep a large segment of the middle and working classes on the side of the haves. I don't think it's an accident that Civil War memes are being revived (Virginia's "Confederacy Day," Florida "considers Confederate license plates, etc.). It's still the plantation owners convincing the poor whites that it's not THEM hoarding the resources, but those scary "others," whether defined in terms of race, religion, gender, or immigration-status.

And it's still working.

What do we do about that?

Patriarchy/Organized Patriarchal Religion, which is its underpinning --
and its economic system - capitalism - are all based on exploitation.

The greater the exploitation, the more profit$$ made, the more power/control they have.

It's all connected . . .

same families since the Middle Ages in many cases

It's the only real struggle -- all else grows from that.

In order to grow their wealth the owners did not make the mine safe. Now they are saying that death is just a risk you take if you are a miner.

I see us going one of two ways. The first is that those with wealth grow their wealth on our backs like the kings and the serfs. It is happening today with the Wall street banks, and health care. If you get in the way of their wealth growth you are expendable.

Or we could take control of the society and change it. There are more of us then them yet we fight among each other while our country is turning in to the first post industrial third world country.

I hate this country in many ways.

And the corporatists have the game pretty much locked up. I don't see any way to end this. They own most of Congress, the Presidency, the Supreme Court, all the wealth and the media. Looks to me like it's over.

The struggle was expressed before we had a government and continues - virtually unaltered - to this very day.

and we lost.

Hi
The political struggle in US is seems to be predictable.Now the health insurance law is good one.