Freemindfade. I totally believe he did that, and then laughed all day.
Why is Trump so effective???
by Coded Logic 74 Replies latest social current
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freemindfade
I would not be surprised. he knows how to create a crowd.
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S K Ditta
It's a link to a nice video. Trump, Marine LePen, Nigel Farage and similar opportunistic leaders expose weaknesses in an inherently flawed system.
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fulltimestudent
S K Ditta: It's a link to a nice video. Trump, Marine LePen, Nigel Farage and similar opportunistic leaders expose weaknesses in an inherently flawed system.
Thnx for the link. Of course, Socrates was not the only ancient Greek philosopher to express doubts about 'democracy'.
Aristotle in his "The Politics"analyses the main constitutions of his time and points out their problems. Plato also saw flaws in 'democracy.'
Its relatively easy (as your posted video points out) to see why democracy is flawed. To a greater or lesser extent, voters today (in western style democracies) are manipulated by the party that forms government. Most voters cannot critically analyse government policies, indeed if half (?) of voters are below average intelligence, we could wonder it they could even contemplate what it means to critique a policy. And when the democratic representative is also drawn from among those who are below 'average intelligence' we can see the possibilities for disaster.
Plato also discarded 'democracy." Plato opted for a form of aristocracy, with a "philosopher king" who would be grounded in wisdom and reason. That leader would rule through a trained governing organisation he called 'guardians.'
While there exists a possibility that the American constitution sought to have (at the top of the governmental tree) an "elected king," the developed government based on party politics has spoiled this ideal. Why? Because political parties are usually oligarchies and not democracies, with (of course) the faults and weaknesses of both.
One of the most fascinating political experiments in the contemporary world is occurring in China, where in the less than 70 years in which the PRC has existed, the ruling Party has undergone many transformations and in its current iteration, has a leader that has had to prove his potential by governing (at least) two large (with populations over 100,000,000) provinces on his way to the point where the CPC will consider that person for National leadership. The selected proven leader is assisted in government by highly trained cadres - an arrangement that bears a strong resemblance to Plato's state "guardians." Up to this point, an honest observer has to admit to the practical success of this Chinese experiment, No other contemporary government has brought a third world nation into near-first world status.
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Coded Logic
Thank you Freedom of Mind for taking the time to reply. I'll try and address some of your comments in order:
1.) I'm not sure it's fair to compare President Clinton's actions to President Trump's actions in regards to the State Department because it sets up a false equivalency. To be clear, the issues is NOT that Trump is putting his own people in charge. Rather, the issue is that Trump has fired nearly every leadership role in the state department MONTHS before he will be able to get conformations or replacements for them. This is a huge problem for a country seeking a leadership role in the world. Gutting the State Department is like turning the US into a sailing ship without sails. Trump can spin the helm to his hearts delight - but the ship isn't going anywhere.
And this is nothing like Bill Clinton who had his replacements lined up and ready to go BEFORE dismissing any prior appointees. Trump is just being plain reckless.
2.) I'm not sure why you're saying MSM is "making stories" about Kellyanne Connoway. The only persons responsible for the parade of nonsense coming out of the mouths of Trump's media team are - Trump's media team. The fact that they habitually run around peddling conspiracy theories and false narratives is deeply concerning. And, more importantly, a great many articles and air time has been spent on Scott Pruitt's scientific illiteracy.
It is possible to cover both the lies/idiocy of Kellyanne and simultaneously cover the lies/idiocy of Scott. News is not a zero sum game.
3.) Your comments regarding the UN remind me of when my congregation went to visit Bethel and we stopped at the UN building along the way. The brother conducting the tour went on about how, "since the UN was formed there have been over 300 wars" and how it was a total failure.
Of course, what the brother failed to mention was all the wars that the UN had STOPPED from ever happening. He failed to mention all the wars that were shortened in length because the UN intervened. He failed to mention all the treaties signed that prevented countries from using chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons on the battlefield. And he failed to mention all the cases in which the UN managed to broker a lasting peace between countries.
The value of the UN cannot be overstated. And to threaten to abandon it like Trump has is a fools gambit.
4.) Between January and September of last year the US Coast Guard seized over 416,000 pounds of cocaine (with an estimated value of 5.6 billion dollars). And by the end of the year it had intercepted additional 26 tons of cocaine. I'd hardly call that a "negligible impact".
Perhaps if we had smarter drug laws (aka educating people on safe recreational use instead of felony charges) we wouldn't have to spend so much on our Coast Guard. But that's a whole separate topic.
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S K Ditta
One of the most fascinating political experiments in the contemporary world is occurring in China
Thank you, Fulltimestudent. Your response is rooted in observation.
The case of China must be understood in its cultural context. The stamp down on the commoners, anti-individualism, and strong nationalistic sentiment could perhaps not be sustained in a free-minded, "enlightened" Western setup.
The idea of a national identity is possibly and strongly being advocated in France, Germany, and Austria at present. The size of population makes such movements rapid and sustainable. With larger populations dissent is an ever-growing, ever-present problem. Wouldn't you say?
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S K Ditta
The value of the UN cannot be overstated.
It is the indeed the grand stage of the world's theater! And Samantha Powers, representing the US made quite a grand exit by abstaining from supporting Israel for the first time in a long history of US-Israel relations. This happened at the close of the Obama tenure as President, year 2016.
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slimboyfat
Farage has never even managed to win a seat in UK parliament, never mind win election outright.
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S K Ditta
Farage has never even managed to win a seat in UK parliament, never mind win election outright.
Ah! But the potential damage from his "Brexit-inducing" words (misleading narrative, so proven in subsequent interviews) is already palpable way outside the UK...
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Landy
Farage has never even managed to win a seat in UK parliament, never mind win election outright.
Ah! But the potential damage from his "Brexit-inducing" words (misleading narrative, so proven in subsequent interviews) is already palpable way outside the UK...
Both true. Which is worrying considering we are meant to live in a representative democracy.