Mid term election in USA could have big importance to us all

[vardar]

Yea^^^

Most people dont even look into who they are voting for. They just blanket vote for someone depending if they are a Republican or Democrat, not based on the politicians exact views....if that makes sense.

[Hidddy_]

The purpose of the US education system is to preserve our pseudo class system. Our education system repeats subjects and teaches in ways that are uninspiring, not interesting, and sometimes flat out wrong. Mostly to waste our time, make us interested in relevant/useful knowledge, and hinder our social mobility. Most noticeably, financial management, entrepreneurship, and business classes are not offered as to keep these ideas away from the general public. The end result is typically a graduate(or dropout) who is uninterested in bettering themselves and unaware of the way their country works. Because of this, politicians and corporate owners have an easier time manipulating the country through the media.
Needless to say, the US education system is maintained at a low standard of quality on purpose.

I really do not think this is true, the system is not maintained at a low standard of quality on purpose. I'm not sure if you are from the US or not, or are familiar with the grade school system here but it is far from low standards. Yes, regionalism plays a big role in the US just because of it's sheer size and diversity. So there are extremes of poor and wealth but overall, there is no purposeful maintaining of low standards.

Just travel the US and it is quite easy to see imo

I think people just only hear about the inner city schools (that really are low standards), and forget that there are thousands of other schools that do a wonderful job in preparing young adults for the future.

I come from a relatively poor area and the high school there is nothing spectacular but it has more than enough resources

It's honestly just what you make of it. Like @yurashic mentioned earlier, there are more than enough resources available in modern times.

I did in fact do my education here from the first grade onwards. I agree with you that each school typically has more than enough resources and that you can in fact make the most out of it. I too am from a relatively poor area and went to school there. Hell, I was one of the few in my school that made the most of it by taking all the college credit courses that were offered to me.
My gripe with the education system comes from years of being a private tutor and educator. It's as if they purposely made it awful. Many kids find themselves completely demotivated to pursue education which is a problem because in our country, education is the gateway to social mobility. This is also a problem because it turns the fields of business and politics into a legacy system. By eliminating competition and mobility from the lower classes, the business owners and politicians merely have to get their kids to graduate in order to ensure the socioeconomic power they currently hold remains in their family. If we motivated children to be independent, entrepreneurs, or to be active in the social-political landscape of our country they would understand the growing socioeconomic divide in our country and do something about it.
Lastly, teachers are paid like slaves and expected to work twice as hard as anyone else. This sort of treatment also helps to maintain the low quality of teaching that is being done. If people aren't incentivized to be teachers, how are we ever going to get any good ones? rather than just people who are doing it to avoid starving.

[spanky4ever]

Damn well said @Hidddy_

If we motivated children to be independent, entrepreneurs, or to be active in the social-political landscape of our country they would understand the growing socioeconomic divide in our country and do something about it.

And they might also be interested in local politics, and vote in mid term elections

[Hidddy_]

Damn well said @Hidddy_

If we motivated children to be independent, entrepreneurs, or to be active in the social-political landscape of our country they would understand the growing socioeconomic divide in our country and do something about it.

And they might also be interested in local politics, and vote in mid term elections

Yup exactly. Unfortunately, it isn't the education system that is encouraging interest in politics, it is tragedies like Trump's election and the daily shootings that are stirring up the public into taking action.

[VooDoo_BoSs]

Not really. The United States is a modernized third world country with little to no significance in the current day and age. No one in Europe cares about Americans and their backward society.

Really? Then why are more people from Europe choosing to move to the United States than vice versa?

I love comments like this - made almost exclusively by people who haven't lived in America and believe the value of a society is based on how left-wing it is.

On topic of relevance, US economy is now bigger than EU for the first time in >10 years.

While I have preferences of what country I like to live and work in, I would never dare presume I can speak for an entire continent and make blanket value judgements on entire countries as you have.

[bigsmoke]

Not really. The United States is a modernized third world country with little to no significance in the current day and age. No one in Europe cares about Americans and their backward society.

Really? Then why are more people from Europe choosing to move to the United States than vice versa?

I love comments like this - made almost exclusively by people who haven't lived in America and believe the value of a society is based on how left-wing it is.

On topic of relevance, US economy is now bigger than EU for the first time in >10 years.

While I have preferences of what country I like to live and work in, I would never dare presume I can speak for an entire continent and make blanket value judgements on entire countries as you have.

America does run the world, no doubt about it. Big name companies like Goldman Sachs have a lot of overseas investors. Most of the worlds money goes through America.

Bram is right however, Americans themselves are very backward thinkers. Both really the left and the right at the moment; its like two extremes splitting the country.

I also have a large dislike for the mainstream media in America. MTV is messed up now.

[VooDoo_BoSs]

Not really. The United States is a modernized third world country with little to no significance in the current day and age. No one in Europe cares about Americans and their backward society.

Really? Then why are more people from Europe choosing to move to the United States than vice versa?

I love comments like this - made almost exclusively by people who haven't lived in America and believe the value of a society is based on how left-wing it is.

On topic of relevance, US economy is now bigger than EU for the first time in >10 years.

While I have preferences of what country I like to live and work in, I would never dare presume I can speak for an entire continent and make blanket value judgements on entire countries as you have.

America does run the world, no doubt about it. Big name companies like Goldman Sachs have a lot of overseas investors. Most of the worlds money goes through America.

Bram is right however, Americans themselves are very backward thinkers. Both really the left and the right at the moment; its like two extremes splitting the country.

I also have a large dislike for the mainstream media in America. MTV is messed up now.

Saying a country is "backward thinking" is kind of meaningless (how do you define or measure this?) - akin to the medieval/ancient times when every country called every other country barbarians.

Regarding media - sure, I'm not a fan of MTV either. Having said that, America does produce most of the media consumed around the world in movies, tv-shows, netflix, etc, hence I also don't really know what your point is.

[kami_ryu]

-- deleted post --

[fightinfrenchman]

After somewhere on the first page I decided to stop reading this thread, and seeing that it's on page 5 I just want to congratulate myself on the already-noticeable improvement to my mental health.

[bigsmoke]

Show hidden quotes

Not really. The United States is a modernized third world country with little to no significance in the current day and age. No one in Europe cares about Americans and their backward society.

Really? Then why are more people from Europe choosing to move to the United States than vice versa?

I love comments like this - made almost exclusively by people who haven't lived in America and believe the value of a society is based on how left-wing it is.

On topic of relevance, US economy is now bigger than EU for the first time in >10 years.

While I have preferences of what country I like to live and work in, I would never dare presume I can speak for an entire continent and make blanket value judgements on entire countries as you have.

America does run the world, no doubt about it. Big name companies like Goldman Sachs have a lot of overseas investors. Most of the worlds money goes through America.

Bram is right however, Americans themselves are very backward thinkers. Both really the left and the right at the moment; its like two extremes splitting the country.

I also have a large dislike for the mainstream media in America. MTV is messed up now.

Saying a country is "backward thinking" is kind of meaningless (how do you define or measure this?) - akin to the medieval/ancient times when every country called every other country barbarians.

Regarding media - sure, I'm not a fan of MTV either. Having said that, America does produce most of the media consumed around the world in movies, tv-shows, netflix, etc, hence I also don't really know what your point is.

Backward thinking is like the recent American proposal to give teachers in high schools guns to help avoid school shootings.

With the media news services like CNN simply can't be trusted because they are now often very bias and garbage.

[Amsel_]

@spanky4ever The main takeaway from that link was that the percentage of people who would vote for some generic democrat aren't that much higher than who would vote for some generic republican. It's not surprising that congressional approval ratings, as a whole, are low; both republicans and democrats are angry at congress, for not being able to do much.

Also I think a socialist candidate can do well in rust belt areas. It was pretty impressive how senator Sanders was able to do well there in the primaries. But different candidates suit different areas of the country better. A democrat in West Virginia needs to at least pretend to not be like an average California democrat. So it might make sense to run a socialist in some areas, but certainly not everywhere. I'm not a European, so I don't know if you guys understand just how different the various states and regions of the U.S. are. It might be a good idea for the democrats to run a progressive in 2020, just for the sake of reuniting their base, which is heavily split between identity politics and working class politics. Hillary was completely outplayed in regards to the working class, so Trump's economic policies were enough to let him dominate in areas that the democrats didn't even think were in play. If they do want to win in 2020, they need to find a way to appeal to the working class again; although, it might come at the expense of Florida, North Carolina, or even Virginia.

[fightinfrenchman]

If they do want to win in 2020, they need to find a way to appeal to the working class again; although, it might come at the expense of Florida, North Carolina, or even Virginia.

Lol if the 2020 Dem candidate loses Virginia they've lost the election

[Amsel_]

Lol if the 2020 Dem candidate loses Virginia they've lose the election

Virginia isn't as solid blue as a lot of people might think, so it's still possible that a republican wins it, but loses the election. D.C. has been pouring into Virginia in the past 20 years which is why it's leaning blue, but there are going to be a lot of factors to consider in 2020. Suburbanization is going to push the rust belt more and more into the republicans' hands. Meanwhile the skyrocket in the number of hispanics is going to push states like Florida and Nevada into the democrats' hands. There's also the question of what direction the democratic party goes in over the next three years. Another question is if Trump pushes more of his policy through. Trump's work with the economy is impressive, but a lot of his base seems pretty pessimistic about his ability to pass legislature. For now, I'm just going to assume that every state is in play in 2020.

[Goodspeed]

https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comme ... ory_in_pa/

[spanky4ever]

Pensylvani Dems won with smallest margings in this "House Race". Trump won with a 20% margin in this state. Republicans have held this seat since 2002, and is considered a "safe win". Ouch There was some polls out earlier, saying Lamb had a 6% lead. He only won by with a couple of 100 votes though. A real nailbiter
Not sure how I feel about him though; he is a "moderat" Democrat, anti-gun control, opposes abortion, so I guess it could may be hard to distinguish him from a "moderat" republican.

phpBB [video]

This spesial election is very strange though:
https://youtu.be/wCS1v26vM4w
I am very confused

[fightinfrenchman]

Not sure how I feel about him though; he is a "moderat" Democrat, anti-gun control, opposes abortion, so I guess it could may be hard to distinguish him from a "moderat" republican.

CNN: "Lamb personally opposes abortion but backs the Supreme Court's decision legalizing it. "Once you make something a right, it's a right. And it's like that for a reason," he told HuffPost. Lamb told the Weekly Standard he doesn't support a ban on abortion at 20 weeks"

Also there's nothing wrong with a Democratic candidate being moderate on certain issues.

[Goodspeed]

Who cares where he stands on things? The point is a Democrat won in a red "no contest" district that Trump won by 20 points and republicans spent a lot of time and effort campaigning for. Signals that the blue wave is indeed coming.

[fightinfrenchman]

Who cares where he stands on things. The point is a Democrat won in a red "no contest" district that Trump won by 20 points and republicans spent a lot of time and effort campaigning for.

It matters to combat the spin that he is a moderate Republican. He opposed the tax bill that the Republicans thought would make the midterms easier and still won.

[spanky4ever]

Who cares where he stands on things. The point is a Democrat won in a red "no contest" district that Trump won by 20 points and republicans spent a lot of time and effort campaigning for.

It matters to combat the spin that he is a moderate Republican. He opposed the tax bill that the Republicans thought would make the midterms easier and still won.

Yeah, its good that he won, Im just saying Im not sure on where he stands on issues. To many of the Dems are hard to distinquish from Republicans, when you look on how they are voting on issues. Actions speeks louder than empthy promises, any day of the week. Here is just one of the latest disasters Corporate Dems signed up on.
Fingers crossed that ppl like Heidi Heitkamp, Clare McCaskill and Joe Manchin etc etc will be out after november.

phpBB [video]

[fightinfrenchman]

Would you prefer Republicans to hold those seats instead of "corporate Dems?"

[spanky4ever]

Would you prefer Republicans to hold those seats instead of "corporate Dems?"

You think there is a big difference? when they vote with the republicans most of the time? You tell me

[fightinfrenchman]

Would you prefer Republicans to hold those seats instead of "corporate Dems?"

You think there is a big difference? when they vote with the republicans most of the time? You tell me

Even if it was most of the time, that's not all the time, which is a pretty big difference! I understand you would prefer a more left-wing person in those seats, but I'm honestly curious: would you rather a "corporate Democrat" who voted to keep the ACA or a Republican?

[spanky4ever]

Would you prefer Republicans to hold those seats instead of "corporate Dems?"

You think there is a big difference? when they vote with the republicans most of the time? You tell me

Even if it was most of the time, that's not all the time, which is a pretty big difference! I understand you would prefer a more left-wing person in those seats, but I'm honestly curious: would you rather a "corporate Democrat" who voted to keep the ACA or a Republican?

Always this choise between pest or colera. What I do think, is that there is a big chanse that your next president will be Bernie Sanders.
He will need support from the Dems to get his ideas passed. That is why I think its vital that more progressives are elected, than the corporate dems.
Btw, I do think that this choosing between 2 terrible options, is why so many Americans dont bother to vote.
On the other hand, I really hope that the majority Trump have now, will be over after november. Im pretty scared of the new first secretary he has elected now, and for the reasons he did so: get a first secretary that are more in favor of putting the pressure on Iran, and the prospect of yet another disasterous war.

[deleted_user]

There is approximately 0% Bernie Sanders wins the 2020 presidency

[gibson]

Bernie Sanders will probably be dead or in a nursing home before 2024