Even not having an opinion is an opinion of a sort, so why do you have your political opinions?
Because these countries are too big for democracy to work properly. I live on the western side of Canada, right, and we are governed by the East. They have a bigger population over there, and they tend to have the loudest voices. If you've ever been to Canada, its quite easy to see that the eastern side and western side can look like two different countries. The people here are different, we have different views and ideas, but because we are the minority (for lack of a better word) there's not much we can do. I've heard the phrase "if you don't vote, you don't have the right to complain" but I think that's bullshit. My vote doesn't matter, what I think won't change anything in any meaningful way. Until we break apart from this large scale democracy hoard, there will be those who remain unheard. So I don't vote. I don't care.. But I also don't complain because it's a waste of time.
I'm also disappointed in the political choices of the East - and that's because it's mostly old fucks and ignorant people who vote for those who are voted in. Seriously - it's all dick-bananas politically right now. I still DO vote because it's a proof of caring - and one day it will matter.
This is personal experience - but mostly, people who vote care. And it's proof of caring in the sense that - not voting for the person you'd like to see in office is, in a way, voting against them. And since everyone whines that the current leaders suck, the only way to get someone who sucks less in office is to vote for them.
Would you say then, that not voting = not caring? My gripe with what you said before is that i could not care and vote, and i could care and not vote. There doesn't seem to be any causation. There might be a correlation but I don't know of any evidence for or against, and I think setting up a study like this would be difficult.
Which province? Alberta, where you suddenly and currently have an NDP government? Oh, you mean federally? That could change. Meanwhile Canadians, jinxedlinxed and arktky welcome to hubski. Canada does not have proportional representation. If it did, would you feel as though your vote counted?
It could change because again Alberta(& the west in general) isn't as divided from the east as it used to be. I personally do vote in every election from municipal to federal, I believe voting is more than just casting a vote for your team but also representing your demographic. If only parents voted it doesn't matter if the politicians were conservative or socialist, they're going to try and work for that demographic. I think we need electoral reform, the problem is every debate I see on the matter we can't seem to agree on what kind. I think we need STV.
I think Alberta has different priorities (I.e. oil) than B.C. and it shows in the polls.
The older generation, yes. They do tend to favour that of the East, basically because its been ingrained after so many years of being shut down.... But my generation saw all that and were (as I see it) forced into apathy or extremism..
Everyone's so dour in here. And I say that as a cynical motherfucker. What I believe to be right and what reality has shown me don't have to coincide. I believe in the dignity of humans. People are essentially good, especially when dealing with each other on a personal level. No life is worth more than any other and no person or government has the right to deprive anyone of their life. We do our best when we work together and government can and should be an instrument for that. That is its essential function and as we have grown as a society it can be a hand for those who have stumbled to pick themselves up. Some people will take advantage of that but that's no reason not to try to help. All nations rise and fall together and a progressive tax rate shouldn't be an issue despite questionable government spending. If you can afford to help pave roads or feed hungry people you're going to do better paying the government than tithing your church or whatever the alternative is. I believe in civil liberty. Don't like abortion? Don't have one. Don't like gay marriage? Don't have a gay marriage. Don't smoke weed? Alright, continue on that path and don't try to stop anyone who disagrees. My morals and your morals probably differ so it's best not to impose blanket bans on things that harm absolutely no one. There is no politician who agrees with me on everything so it's my job to pay attention and try to see who's the least shitty. That's everyone's job but certain issues I alluded to are so important to the voting populace it distracts from anything happening. So don't blame the system, blame the people who have their dicks stuck in an Xbox or care so much about gay spores being released at gay marriages that it allows people who suck to keep their jobs
I tend to consider my political views as "resigned apathy" more than anything. I'm a U.S. citizen, and insofar as I can tell, the political machine won't change. It never really has and it never really will. The faces may rotate and the social climate might change, but barring a massive resolution on a scale I can't even begin to fathom, there won't be a change. Maybe if we redesigned the voting districts and forced a third party for all elections we could get somewhere, but as it stands, the government just feels so bloated and ineffective and immutable. I try to be aware of what it does and how it impacts me, but I don't strongly favor either major party and don't believe in it changing during my lifetime. Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Independent - wear whatever badge you like. My ideals mingle pretty freely among the lot of them. I vote based on platform as opposed to party lines. I just don't like the whole setup, to be frank, and I don't see the need to devote my time toward picking sides or fighting screaming matches over parties that are, in the end, meaningless.
I'm young and idealistic. 2016 will be my first year voting and I'm not particularly looking forward to it. I agree with shibbotech, that the political machine in the US will probably not change in the next 20 years. The only person I can actually see myself voting for next year is Bernie Sanders. If he does not make it, it will come down to choosing between the lesser of two evils.
Do you live in a swing state? If not, that is if you live in a solid blue or red state, then you've got a little more choice beyond the "lesser of two evils." Your vote won't make a difference who wins, so why not voice your support for a third party? When third party candidates get a lot of votes it sends a pretty strong message to the two dominant parties, because they might get your vote next time if they change their policies. You're danging a carrot in front of their nose rather than giving it to them because you hate them less. Am I making any sense?
I wholeheartedly agree, and it sucks that more people don't adopt this attitude. My family and I live in Illinois (consistently Democrat due to Chicago), and even they consider voting third party as throwing away their vote, it's frustrating. They even voiced that opinion when I voted Libertarian in the mid-term election solely because I wanted them to overcome the shit the election committee pulls with getting on the ballot.
I made my political opinions critically thinking about the system that we have now, capitalism. A system that cares more about property than people. A system when some are born with more privileges than others. A really sick system. What is the system that I believe in? It's not communism, or fascism or even democracy. If you really care then you will have to wait until I finish my book.
It's a hole new system that no one have ever talked about before. It's not really close to any system we had so far, it is closer to some utopian systems such as the venus project or some forms of anarchism but it still far from from them and it is not utopian. it's a system full of freedom and equality when it comes to everything. If anyone is really interested (which I don't really think so) you can wait until I finish my book, but because I have some health and life problems you might have to wait a little more.
I guess I have two different answers to this. Ideally I'm a libertarian socialist, or an anarchist. To be clear anarchism isn't the absence of structure or order, it's just the absence of hierarchies. I think most people can agree that a truly just society doesn't have anyone who is worth more to society than anyone else. An anarchist work place would have no bosses, just a group of people working together to achieve their goals. My favorite example of this is probably MST (landless workers movement) in Brazil. They have co-operations with groups of families built off the traditional family structures. However, for this type of libertarianism to be successful you can't just abolish government. If you do then you essentially hand all the power to the corporations. If that happens then the quality of life in whatever society you're any would just bottom out. Russia essentially has this type of society, where they are ruled by an aristocracy. Ironic that the center of communism has become the embodiment of capitalism, although I guess you could argue that it was never properly communist. Anyway, I guess realistically I'm in favor of socialism right now. I don't think our society is well prepared for a straight transition into libertarianism, and I know we aren't ready for it economically. If we could rebuild the damage that a neoliberal system has done to communities and return to "moral economies" then I think we could transition into libertarianism, or anarchism. It's just getting there that's the hard part.
To be honest I don't know. I'm still pretty young. I try to tune in to politics, but it never lasts long... I guess it'll be different when I'm an adult.
Disappointed. Democracy as it is today is nothing more than a charade. We don't really have the power to change anything, money is the only thing that can. But even if we did have the power to change things I still don't think that's necessarily a good idea. The quote by George Carlin "Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that." perfectly explains why I don't think democracy is a good idea at all.
Based on the username I'm going to guess Dutch (Netherlands), I'm Dutch as well. I don't vote left or right, I always go for the middle. Too left or right is never the best option in my opinion. The more extreme the less real. I do agree on some level that voting changes very little. If not doing what you promised after being elected is more likely than doing it, voting doesn't really make a difference.
My parents were very Republican while I was growing up. My mom has started leaning left due to some particularly bad republican politicians in our state (especially regarding their policies on education, since she's a teacher) as well as shifts in her stances on social issues. My dad (who divorced my mom quite a while ago) on the other hand is the kind of republican I hate. The only topics he seems to care about are gun rights and immigration. Wow he can be racist sometimes. Then there's me. I honestly know very little about politics in general (and would appreciate any 101 style resources you guys have), but I know I'm not as far right as my dad and I know he'd kill me if I called myself a democrat. Libertarian maybe? I'm 18 now so I'll have to vote soon, but I feel like I understand very little.
I don't know what I am, but I know why. My teenage years were during the Iraq war, and I did not understand why everybody was so eager to support the war even though it had an highly falsible premise (unlike Afghanistan), and why everybody was so eager to turn America into a police state. And then Obama took office with promises of change, but went further into the police state.
Unfortunately I have a hard time formulating my own opinions on things because I tend to be a people-pleaser. So a lot of times I eat what the internet feeds me which hasn't exactly led me astray, but it has caused some issue with my conservative family. My sister and parents all agree on the same stuff and whenever I bring up something that I read that doesn't match up I get ganged up on. This coming election will be my first so I've been trying to do more research on candidates and form my own opinions, and so far it's been going well. My whole family is Christian, as am I, and they were all in a tizzy about the legalization of same-sex marriage. It's the dumbest thing I've ever seen. Whether you agree with it or not, it has nothing to do with you and there's nothing you can do to stop it. So just love people. I think part of why I believe what I believe and why I have some of the political views that I have is because of my family. I love them to death but sometimes they can be so ignorant and hateful. It makes me want to go the other way and be kind and loving to everybody.
The reason most Christians are opposed, or at least the reason I am opposed to same sex marriage is because now priests are being forced to marry a couple that is glorifying the devil. Love homosexuals all the same, but don't force us to take part in their ceremonies.
Yes I do agree that they shouldn't be forced. I think if they are going to get married and a pastor refuses, they should respect that and find a different church that is willing or just do it at City Hall. That being said, my dad is a pastor and he's opposed for that reason and also because I think part of him is prejudice. But I have a bit of a different take on that subject than him and my mom.
I was once very idealistic about politics. I sometimes reach that point again, particularly when I think about voting for Bernie Sanders. Unfortunately, hearing everyone close to me say that he doesn't have a chance to win in the primaries brings me back to that discouraged state. I became a democratic socialist after a lot of personal education, as well as hearing the thoughts of my incredibly Tea Party conservative parents vs. my extremely liberal high school teachers, and then college professors. I've seen both extremes and eventually decided on my political views after a lot of thought. Ironically, I'm still a registered Republican because when I left home, I tried to change my political affiliation to Democrat, but my dad got to the mail first and threw my letter in the trash. Ah well. I live in Ohio now, so I'm planning on switching parties at the DMV soon! :) What about you, jleopold?
So I think I walk the line between a straight up American Constitutionalist, and a very liberty oriented Libertarian (definitely Ancap leaning in some of my opinions). I think I'm this way because of the people I hang out with. One dude is an ancap, and the rest are hardline constitutionalist or states rights Libertarians. It is my opinion that the only good government is small government, and I think shit like Homeowner's Associations, Property Tax, Income Tax, etc, are pretty dumb. I understand the government needs to pay for shit, so I can see why we have stuff like Income Tax, but I wouldn't have much of a problem of taxing sales more to abolish a property tax. It is your land that you pay for, why do you need to subscribe to some older folks who get together on some Monday night to talk about why the Johnson's want to build a deck in their backyard. Yeah, you can choose to not live in a HA neighborhood, and that is exactly what I will do. Property tax... like I said, I get why, but it IS your land, why pay the government for it.
I try to take each argument individually, rather than as part of a collection. Which makes me an independent (U.S.), I suppose. So on some issues I'm conservative, on some I'm liberal, and on a few I'm either so far right or left that my opinion will probably never be heard or debated, much less mainstream.