It's starting to dawn on me

[Shankapotomus]

that the problem of America is we are a people of many political, religious, economic and social beliefs united to pick only one direction at a time. And some the things we differ on are so diametrically opposed to one another, there is zero room for middle ground.

I'm not offering a solution. I'm just curious how long we can think this can work and why?

[snappyturtle]

1. Frankly, it isn't working now. imho I have read speculations

of the U.S. breaking up into sections....maybe, it would help.

[Shankapotomus]

2. Balkinization

We can only hope it will be an amical breakup.

[Savannahmann]

3. It wouldn't.

Take any region you want, let's say we allow the North Eastern area, where Liberalism is dominant, to break off. Do you think the Rethugs who fund their states with all those taxes would just leave it at that?

[Lizzie Poppet]

5. I don't think I agree.

I think that the vast majority of people understand that any attempt to hold a broken union together by force in this day and age would simply result in the utter destruction of the nation. The breakup would still occur, but it would be more like starting from scratch.

[Lizzie Poppet]

4. I concur.

I fully expect to see a breakup into a half-dozen or so regional polities, a la the former Soviet Union, within the next couple of decades.

[randome]

6. It DOES work. Despite all our problems, we make progress.

One step backward, two forward. Sometimes two steps backward, one step forward.

The Old White Men (OWM) are dying out and the tide is turning toward Democratic policies. It's a sea change but see how far we've come with gay rights in just a year.

Progress is being made. The best thing we can do to make it happen faster is to vote the OWM out of office.

[Shankapotomus]

10. I have to agree

That is true. Thank you. We are moving forward. I'm starting to regret thinking we are not.

[apnu]

7. Compromise, that's the solution

Compromise has been America's greatest talent for most of our history. It was compromise that got the Constitution written and ratified. When we fail to compromise we head to civil war. Already 29% of Americans think there's going to be some kind of violent rebellion "in a few years" http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2013/05/armed-rebellion-poll.php?ref=fpa

Shelby Foote, the Civil War historian and central feature in Ken Burn's documentary of the same name said it thusly:

"It was because we failed to do the thing we really have a genius for, which is compromise. Americans like to think of themselves as uncompromising. Our true genius is for compromise. Our whole government's founded on it. And, it failed."

[unblock]

8. but when in american history has this NOT been the case?

we've always found ways to bicker amongst ourselves, and we've always gone through phases of gridlock, self-destruction, unity against a common foe, rebuilding, and repeating.

the biggest difference is not the political polarization so much as the corruption of our institutions. the entire republican party at this point is dedicated as an effective core purpose to the idea that rich people should be able to buy preferential legislation, justice, and regulatory treatment. the rest is just propaganda to maintain their influence in order to achieve this institutional corruption effectively.

enough elected offices are, within some rules of limited utility, as a practical matter, available to the highest bidder, meaning that even the threat of a well-financed opposition exerts corrupting influence.

the democratic party doesn't have the odious core principle mentioned above, but still has to play by the same thoroughly corrupt rules and realities, and is therefore incapable of solving the mess on its own.


but the bottom line is that the problems stem from concentration of wealth and the corrupting influence thereof. the beliefs and internal conflicts are the tools and symptoms of the way the rich are controlling the rest of us.

[Shankapotomus]

12. So you are saying

we move forward despite ourselves? I would tend to agree with that...The only place I think that wouldn't work for me is the environment. Humanity will not move forward despite what we are doing to the planet.

[Recursion]

9. I don't know. We're doing OK. We weathered the '08 crisis better than Europe

And pretty much every indicator is positive right now.

[Coyotl]

11. Where is there zero room for middle ground. Surely you have many examples to offe. Or is this just

a drive-by rant?

[Shankapotomus]

13. Abortion, for one.

Religion is another. Guns seems to be still another. People seem to be very intractable on a myriad of issues. And, of course, slavery is a past example that led to civil war.

[Cleita]

14. We are supposed to be using the Constitution as our template. Any differences

Last edited Thu May 2, 2013, 05:06 PM - Edit history (1)

should be outside of it. However, that doesn't seem to be the case anymore. I remember when Scott Ritter, a Republican, disagreed with the Bush administration about Iraq having WMDs. He had to make a statement that he was an American first, meaning he was in allegiance with the Constitution, and a Republican second.

To propose otherwise is actually treason, especially if you have sworn an oath to uphold it. Yet, those PTB that have and are now making a mockery of our democracy are walking around free, earning billions, building libraries to their achievements and trying to figure out more ways to destroy this nation and the Constitution it is based on.