myata

No matter how future elections go, the chaos and decay in American politics will continue and accelerate. As always in evolution, this is the price of laziness and complacency it's been so good we can throw anything at it and it'll work somehow. This process is very likely, irreversible. And for everyone else, two lessons, vivid and obvious: 1. Change is a necessary part of life: we can forget, detest and eschew it only at the price of stagnation and decay. 2. America cannot and will not be the leader of the free world in the foreseeable perspective.

Conflicts and political murders by tyrannies directly relate to safety and security. What's more important than safety and security? Would you cheer for the world where you have a great salary and super cool house, healthcare and a ton of other great stuff but with comes the 1 in 10 chance to perish, every single day? I won't take any names, what they're saying if it doesn't agree with my own eyes and reason.

Now look who doesn't want to accept the reality. Do you see the numbers? WWI. WWII. Tyrannies: Bolsheviks/Stalin/USSR, Nazi, Stalin again, China, Cambodia. Each had the toll of millions to tens of million human lives plus who knows how many smaller ones: Iran, Cuba, Africa. That means "less violence" or not really - which one? OK this is off topic, it was explained what was meant in the OP.

For that perspective, let's take some numbers. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to estimate that the total human life cost of wars and tyrannies in the 20th century would be at least 1-2 hundred million, i.e. up to a tenth of overall human population. Physically eliminating twenty to forty million humans would have been a formidable challenge in the middle ages - the counts were in thousands. The meaning of this word is quite relative. Then, what was meant is not humanity progress in any particular sphere, but the evolution of formal social systems: while their decay is often incremental and gradual, it's almost never reversed the same way; the society gets itself into a dead end from which only a disruptive escape is possible.

Just so that we knew. The decay of American political system by any standard: intellectual, professional, competence and transparency is in the full view and accelerating right before our eyes. Today. And there are no miracles that could reverse it magically and painlessly. Yes, we chose it. And sure, we knew.

In the society and political system that makes universal, shared prosperity its key objective - why that superficial growth, really if it cannot produce anything close? there would be no way to ignore or bypass the interests and priorities of citizens. The contract is two-way: citizens are responsible and involved to make competent, transparent and responsible governments. And governments are attuned and attentive to the problems and priorities of citizens. Two-way connection and feedback. Break one line and we are back to the old problems.

But of course, this how the system was conceived in the 17-18th century, and exactly for this reason: show a facade of democratic legitimacy and do what it likes once the ritual is over. Proportional representation doesn't solve all alienation problems but at least it makes governments much more responsive and connected to the interests of the society.

All of that still with two behemoth management corporations out of 17th century, with zero factual accountability? A pompous ritual of legitimization every so many years and the wheel is all yours, exclusively? Keep it all as is just stick on it a modern interface/facade? All of this is a prime basis for no change. No incentives and zero interest. As often happens in the evolution we persisted in trying to stretch the status quo till at all possible and then a bit further to almost impossible. And now there may not be incremental, gradual options of meaningful change. Who promised those? Where can such guarantees be gotten? We could begin with doing away with the default duopoly. A party of change. A clear program of transparent technocrat governance and a swiping political reform. Popular representation as the first step. But almost certainly more will need to follow.

I'm not sure it would be a correct description of the society just because it was so two centuries back. Modern societies are much more diverse. What we have here is agglomeration of very different groups into two political corporations only because in the binary system it's the only way to get to the power. See the destination: now it's not about the interests and priorities of the society; not even about some shared views and common platforms; it slid all the way down to being only about how to get to that chair and stick in it for as long as possible. But even proportional system thought it mitigates this issue could not fully address the problem of detachment and alienation. Modern democracies may have to find a way to bring the citizens back into the process of active and regular governance, rather than some ritual of legitimizing a detached one. That can be a formidable task, sure. But otherwise, with no meaningful change the writing seems to be on the wall, doesn't it?

That sums it up pretty well. Look at it this way: in a new challenge, who guaranteed us that we could keep our ways and customs just as they were only maybe tweak them a little et voila, all good and back to sleep again? Did it work for the dinosaurs? Maybe they will have to drop their views and expectations in some way at least as the price of the ticket to the next span. They can certainly think and believe what they like, as anyone can but expecting to divide the governance between these two simple political poles may not be realistic in the new age. When and if the evolution presents us with a challenge can we show to it our wishes and/or conditions? If we don't like the change and to change where do we complain to?

Democracy (for me, us) is a movie theater - or supermarket. If we like it we clap and cheer. And if not, we blame someone/thing else and can do something stupid only to stick it up to - who? Because despite all the great and inspirational words, we have little or nothing to do with it. Only spectators or consumers here, really. Aka, the !diot's prerogative. It erodes, degrades and in the eventuality, can end democracy. So how to bring the responsibility of a citizen for the decisions and ultimately, the state of democracy back in the loop, not in the words but daily, working practice? While obvious solutions can be elusive, it's becoming clear that representative, delegation pattern and practice can be one essential cause of the detachment and alienation of regular citizens from the processes and institutes of democracy. Eventually, the separation engenders the rise of the !diot prerogative with all its known and tested consequences. Can democratic governance be executed by the citizens themselves, avoiding delegation of the privilege and responsibility? That is a question that may very well determine the trajectory of democracies in the next span.

Ah, so Canada...

What is the the legal and/or constitutional grounds for the existence and powers of these bodies? It's a nonsense and a clear aberration in a transparent and responsible democracy.

A hallmark of the binary political system is the isolation of the citizenry from politics to the maximum extent possible. It was supposed to be a good thing when the populace was generally dim and ignorant, to prevent really crazy outbreaks of idiocracy like witch hunts and such. But on the over side of the coin it tends to be extremely opaque and resistant to change. The elites that form ostensibly different political clans, having very little to do with genuine parliamentary democracy have mutual interests and intersperse creating an opaque cloud of self-centered and self-serving pseudo-democratic governments that can be grossly inefficient and in the later stages, anti-democratic. The system is preferred by semi- and about- democracies in the third world due to its opacity and affinity to corruption. In a small number of the first world democracies it's still used it's running into deep and systemic problems or crisis. This is no coincidence as it directly relates to the intent and founding principles of this system.

It will happen and is happening. Outdated political system based on the 17'th century blueprints and made for the society centuries ago cannot serve the needs of a complex and diverse modern society. It will run, that is, will be run into the wall, if not renewed. We have seen how it happens and it will happen here. The writing is on the wall. Political dinosaurs who run it bath and guzzle in it, will do nothing and have no interest in any meaningful change. They won't notice anything all the way to the point of impact and can't even be interested in looking out. To them, all is going exactly as it should. No change is needed, forever. People do not have an unlimited time to act. A party of change, responsible clean government plus a massive overhaul of the outdated and throttling political system. Beginning with fair and accurate representation. That may very well be the last chance to avoid it.

It's still better than revel in looking at own pompous a$$ in a magnifying glass. Democrats do not see the challenges; refuse to take in and understand them. And lost the ability to come up with ideas and deeds that are needed for the society rather than their pompous elites. They may not be and aren't the same you see. Nope: connection lost. They just can't see the difference lost it: Gore, Clinton, Biden. Harris, 2028 let's try again what could be the problem. The eye problem, you see. The cure is hard to come by for that.

Your comment only illustrates the failure of the Democrats and generally, progressive part of America to see and take in the reality. Where it shows and tells you, "one of the greatest challenges and responsibility in history, possibly the ultimate one" you see only "maybe gone but not too far, really". See the distance, the difference? No? Not a chance, even now? Ah the eternal fallacy "bad things can't happen to us". Knock, knock.

Joe's legacy will certainly go in history. A minor uncertainty, "one of the most epic failures of America" or "the last epic failure of America". From the founding fathers to a senile old man who could no longer tell the reality from his fantasies. Such a... trivial trek.

To be fair, Democrats were just given possibly the last chance to do something about it. And look at the finest, dumbest one say without a slightest exaggeration mess. No such easy escapes. It's the whole, entire brain that seems to have gone on fire.

From strange to ridiculous, the use of justice for personal purposes becomes a world-known hallmark of American justice. Does it still retain the meaning? Well, we have to remember that nothing on this planet or in fact, Universe can guarantee that. Words do not and cannot have constant, immutable meanings. We the people (remember?) fill the meanings and importantly, the outcomes. Degradation of justice in America is clear in plain sight. And nothing in it is an unexpected surprise: so many voices over the years have said and warned that out of all bounds partisan and populist games will not end well, will erode and eventually bring down democracy. Democracy is not a wishing well where one can dump any loads of garbage and sh*t curious what could happen. On the deaf ears OK - but even that will only underline and reinforce the evolution's all time rule: he who is deaf to the reality; who will not change and adapt, through carelessness, dumbness or delusion of eternal glory will pay. Well as we can see, no exceptions here. Actually, not even a revelation. Look who's laughing last. Imagine how it will work once a mafia boss is elected the President of the United States of America. What did you say, sorry?

Clarified, you're welcome. Indeed, this is how it works in nature. A democracy that has lost reason and viability will fall. Nothing can stand to the entropy without continuous, persistent thought and effort. Funny that we're rediscovering this obvious truth over and again, in each cycle.

Democrats knew that this was a critical decision point not just for the States but also for the world, and they failed it patently. Nominating Joe was a disaster as it was commented here. Not understanding or pretending, the consequences of this catastrophic choice, the ultimate irresponsibility. Can't be excused by anything. Simply not enough. An inexcusable underachievement that will reverberate through history and can have dire consequences for the world. The postmortem is simple: binary politics has driven both parties to the ultimate loss of responsibility and dereliction of the duty to the people. In their turn, people chose to abandon their duty to democracy being shown an example how it's done. Whoever could claim that there can be an easy way out of here is living in an alternate reality. I honestly see no easy or obvious paths back to normality.

In the face of international thugs like Russia, China Iran and North Korea we should disarm, abandon alliances and go picking daisies in a sunny meadow. Nothing bad can happen, right? Right?!!! Try to find limits and boundaries, to insanity. No seriously, why shouldn't we?

This is what the question came down to. Again. Some two plus millennia after the Rome. Oh well. One thing is clear though, because history says so: can't have it both way. Nope, very simply no way. One has to give, and go.

The pattern is very simple: in all cases, the candidates were those of the establishment; not necessarily those with the vision and trust in the society; not even those with the highest chance of winning. And it keeps on stepping into the same pothole because it just can't see the difference lost this ability of objective, honest look. Think about nominating Joe. How dumber could it have been? Nope. Connection lost. It really, honestly thinks that it, itself is the best America can come up with. Another byproduct of binary politics where past certain point, the sole meaning of politics becomes winning the prize not having a cause, competence and vision.