I’m from a non-US democracy, and I am watching the much-lauded process from here with a horrified fascination. As far as I can see, US Presidential selection a total mess. It’s anachronistic, and doesn’t necessarily reflect the people’s vote: despite the president applying to each individual equally, the selection is based on states’ rights. It clearly wasn’t built to cope with this sort of circumstances the country finds itself in during the past two elections.
Couple that with campaigners on both sides using every dirty trick in the book, up to (and sometimes beyond) the limits of the law, that are unethical to say the least, I can’t see how anyone could be proud of the process. It appears to stink compared to many other democracies.
Poor choice of words on my part, at least at this time of the year. I am proud that I live in a democracy, specifically this one, and my comment was intended to reflect on the democratic process as a whole. The OP was stating embarrassment and shame for being an American. Although I agree with the entire body of his OP and said so when he was taken to the pit, I do not choose to feel shamed, because I know for sure, that with all its flaws (and they are legion) I am still proud to be a part of the USA.
Our election process is indeed antiquated and in dire need of total change. That is why so many of us are “whining” as some would call it these days. I said at the end of the 2000 fiasco that some called an election (I called it an appointment) that we should have to face the humiliation of a UN committee overseeing our next election. I’m proud but not stupid. I know when we are wrong.
You are totally right. Our elections stink. The Electoral College was fun to learn about in elementary school but I grew up and know that it is beyond its usefulness. We can do better. The beauty of democracy is we get to change it. I’m optimistic that we will. At least we will keep trying. And for that I am so very proud.
By the way, everywhere’s flawed in some way or another… you want to slag off the House of Lords in the UK, be my guest!
You don’t seem to have as much problem with gubernatorial or senatorial elections though. They seem to make sense.
Elections in the UK suffer from a largely two-party setup too. The problem is, neither of these two parties have any motivation to make the system fairer to third-and-more parties. Keep on campaigning to have it changed, though, as shall I when I’m next living in the UK.
I will put in an apology to foreigners, too. The OP had a few good points.
I apologize for the extreme alienation we gave you, our allies, at the beginning of an unjustified and useless war. The relationships that we’ve forged since WWII were burned away. I hope not forever.
I am ashamed of the shoddy way we treated you, running roughshod over the U.N. Council. Not all Americans think we can just go our own way with no cares.
I’m embarrassed by Bush, but always proud to be an American.
So you also don’t care about higher incidence levels of childhood leukemia, caused by unregulated industrial effluent in the water table? If you drink water or breathe air, you should be concerned about the unchecked pollution of our environment.
The problem I have with this reasoning (Not to speak out in favor of the war - I was never in favor of it, nor convinced it was a good idea.) is that it ignores the fact that, by the cease fire agreement from 1991 there was casus belli since about 1995 or 1996. And in spite of the total non-compliance of the Iraqi regeime a lot of our so-called allies were willing to turn a blind eye, so long as they got sweetheart deals. Even Hans Blix was saying at the time that he had no way to verify there weren’t WMD in Iraq.
This isn’t an attempt to say that the invasion was a good idea or a wise one, or handled in the best possible manner. Just that, had there been more international support for making Iraq live up to its agreements prior to 2002 there may well not have been any support for an invasion.
Yeah. And then the State Assembly Leader, elected from one district in the whole frigging state controls everything the State Assembly votes on. And the State Senate Majority Leader, elected from one district in the whole state controls everything the State Senate votes on.
I said more equitable and IMO they are. At least they are are determined by a popular vote so we stand a little better chance of at least getting our candidates there to vote on the issues that make it to the table. Perfect? No. Better than the EC? Yes.
I appreciate your being willing to say that here. I understand if you don’t want to elaborate, so please tell me you don’t care to answer…no harm, no foul. Would you tell me what factors led you to your decision? And it goes without saying almost…but…welcome.
First of all, Bricker, I hope you realize that despite the fact that I frequently disagree with you (I think this is the fourth post of yours I’ve responded to just TODAY!), I absolutely respect your commitment to your opinions, your right to hold those opinions, your intelligence, and your patriotism. And while I share the passion, rage and bewilderment of the OP, I can’t condone any post which makes blanket condemnations about all Bush supporters (or all Kerry supporters, or just about any other group other than “all child molestors”).
That said, let’s move on to the meat of your post. Some of your opinions are obviously things on which reasonable people can differ… there has to be a balance between environment and business, and different people will draw that line different places. My worry in that case, actually, is not so much “where, precisely, was the line drawn” but “how was the line drawn, and is there a mechanism in place to fairly judge the effects of the line, with integrity, accountability, and intellectual openness”. Which are all things I worry about, given the aura of cronyism and anti-intellectualism that seems to surround the White House.
However, the one issue that you mentioned that I think you’re just plain flat out WRONG about is the No Child Left Behind Act. Every actual teacher who I’ve ever heard comment on it has been negative about it, many going so far as to say that it’s been a total disaster for actual classroom learning, not to mention the chicanery involved when the schools try to influence what sections of their student body are actually there on a specified day to take the test, etc., etc.
Of course, NCLB was a bipartisan initiative, so it’s hard to blame it all on Bush. Although there’s also the issue of promised funding vs. actual funding. But that’s getting off into a tangent.
You are free to be ashamed and embarrassed, Napier. But I think you’re completely wrong.
I am neither ashamed nor embarrassed. I am damn proud to be an American and to support and vote for President Bush. America isn’t perfect, but even taking into account our most horrible mistakes, it’s been a greater force for good than any country in history.
I do not apologize for disregarding the UN and its corrupt members - especially France - who were getting kickbacks from Saddam Hussein from the oil proceeds that were supposed to go for food for Iraqis.
As opposed to the stellar success we’ve experienced up until now. N.B. - I don’t blame teachers. The vast majority work hard and do a good job. It’s not their fault they have to follow the worthless “pedagogy” (read: garbage not only lacking scientific proof, but in some cases proven to be garbage) they’ve had to absorb.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but are you seriously blaming the NCLB for the freely chosen dishonest dealings of the dishonest school personnel involved?
(disclaimer: I don’t really know what I’m talking about with respect to any specifics here… if someone else knows better, feel free to correct me).
I’m saying that if you set up a system in which people will benefit from chicanery, then there will be chicanery. If you say to school teachers “your salary next year is dependent entirely on the average score your students receive on a certain test”, then (a) teachers will do NOTHING but teach the subjects on that test, and (b) anything they can do to artifically jigger with that result, they will. NCLB doesn’t go that far, of course, but it’s a big step in that direction.
Granted, I can’t propose a different solution, but I strongly suspect that NCLB makes things worse, not better. Although, it’s a tricky little bugger, because the best way to see how kids are doing under NCLB is to look at how they’re doing on the NCLB-mandated exams. And if, as many fear, what’s happening is that the entire school year is being warped aroudn those exams, the scores on those exams may well rise, which makes us believe that NCLB is giving our children a better education, etc.
I also think there’s some hypocrisy in Republicans supporting NCLB… isn’t that kind of federal mandate along with accompanying beureaucracy and removal of state and local control exactly the kind of thing Republicans are supposed to be against? I mean, I don’t put any stock in the conspiracy theory that NCLB is a cynical attempt by GOPers to make public education so much WORSE that things like vouchers will be the only option left. But the fact that someone could even PROPOSE that theory is kind of disturbing…
