It seems to me that the SDMB is the idea place to pose this question because there are a wide variety of polotical views here. So, here we go – How about that government of yours? How do you feel about them? Your country – right or wrong? They’re all out to get us? They’re a bunch of imcompetents? They’re doing just fine? Has your opinion changed since September 11th and the aftermath?
I really feel like I lack the proper information to properly judge the guys who’re up there on the chain of command, but I personally believe that it’s hard to make a blanket statement concerning the entire government, because they’re are so many people invovled. However, I think we (well, Americans, at least) are lucky to live in a society that is more or less democratic, and where the government does a competent job in protectings its citizens personal rights and safety.
I’d have to concur, foxfiregrrl. It never ceases to amaze me how much my fellow Americans bitch about our government. Sure, it has problems, some major. But they don’t know what a truly bad government is. Go to the Ukraine, Mexico - just about anywhere - and you’ll find massive corruption. By contrast, ours comes out squeaky clean.
And believe me, being a conservative libertarian, I am no fan of government intrusion. But we must admit, ours hasn’t been too bad. [sub]Crafter_Man knocks on wood. [/sub]
[smart-ass remark]Let me guess, you’re neither black nor Arabic.[/smart-ass remark]
OK, OK, cheap shot aside, it depends on what you’re talking about. It’s like saying “the media,” as if one opinion could cover the entire range of television, newspapers, magazines, independent web sites, etc. I agree with Crafter_Man that living in the US is better than living in the Ukraine or Mexico or Albania or a host of other countries. OTOH, it is not necessarily better than living in Canada, England, France, Japan or a few other countries.
I firmly believe in the system of checks and balances and the Bill of Rights. I wish our politicians would at least pay lip service to it before they run roughshod over it like the Bush Administration is trying to do right this minute. And I’ll trust the military spokesmen when they start speaking the truth (“Azer Sharif? We’ve looked at all the film and our planes never went near that village. Oh, wait, yes we did.”)
pesch, our politicians aren’t supposed to pay it lip service. The Constitution was set up so that the two would play those sorts of games with each other and bicker over authority and try and grab as much power as possible within the confines of the Constitution. The idea was that if the government was fighting each other it’d be harder for them to repress the people.