Wanting to have an actual voice in things (or rather wanting people that actually care to have a voice that matters in things) does not just mean "wanting radical change"

Originally Posted by: steveishere 

Wanting to have an actual voice in things (or rather wanting people that actually care to have a voice that matters in things) does not just mean "wanting radical change"

Originally Posted by: steveishere 

How can you say this when a majority of the population doesn't vote period  (at least in mid-term elections)? Of that percentage, only roughly half votes for either major party, with a few percentage points going to alternatives. That means that somewhere around only 25% vote for the "good normal America-loving Americans" (whatever that means) that you are always talking about. That's hardly a "huge majority" of the US population or even the voting population. The facts, as usual, just don't support your opinions.

It would be interesting to look at the statistics of the 47-53% of the population that votes[/url]. What percentage of minorities vote? Percentage of whites? Percentage of poor? I have a feeling if every American actually voted, there wouldn't be many Republicans elected in many parts of the country, for better or worse. At least if everyone voted, more alternatives to Democrats or Republicans would become viable. Without looking at the statistics, I would say a substantial majority of the roughly 47-53% of American citizens that vote are middle class or higher white people. I'm not stating an opinion one way or the other on my guess of reality, but I'd be surprised if it wasn't true.

EDIT: I took a quick glance at some numbers after posting . According to this one site, it looks like 72% of voters in 2012 were white. I would expect there to be more white voters since there are more whites in general. I'd like to find what percentage of each demographic voted. I don't have time to research that right now, unfortunately. I've got to get back to work.

Originally Posted by: DoddPower 

I appreciate the thoughtful reply.

First thing, if you notice, I did say the huge majority of VOTERS, although I truly believe, the same thing applies to the whole population. What I said is that the huge majority of those people are happy with life the way things are and do not want some kind of "radical shift" - which none of you guys seems to want to define what that "radical shift" would be. As you go to stores, malls, factories, bars, restaurants, sports events, any place where people gather, do you honestly disagree? I mean do you somehow NOT believe that the majority you see are very happy and content just the way things are?

Yeah, a lot of them don't vote. I suspect that's laziness more than anything else. You want to read discontent into it? You could just as easily conclude that they are confident that things will just keep on keeping on in the wonderful way they are now.

As for the 72% white, that sounds pretty much like the same number in the population in general. My info is maybe a couple of decades old, but I recall there being about 12-14% blacks and 12-14% hispanics in the population, that and a smattering of "other". It's a whole other topic, but if you get down to issues as opposed to parties, I suspect blacks and hispanics are on the "right side" of most issues in as big or bigger percentages than whites. Not to open a whole new can of worms, but how many blacks and hispanics do you know that embrace the Dem/lib position on homosexuality and abortion or feel hate for our military dominance? - just a couple of examples.

You kinda tipped your hand from "neutral hating all" to "anti-Republican, if not overtly pro-Dem" with your comments, but whatever. I suspect that if you scratch a disenchanted "done voting" type, in the great majority of cases, you get a liberal anyway, so America probably is better off without those votes.

I really hope at least one of you guys would answer the WHAT don't you like/WHAT would you change TO? questions.

Originally Posted by: texaspackerbacker 

You can apply any stupid label you want to me. It's worthless and meaningless to me. Labels are for the simple-minded that often fail to see the bigger picture, from my perspective. I have many liberal opinions. I have many conservative opinions, I have many libertarian opinions, and I have many other non-labeled opinions. This is the case with many Americans, likely approaching a majority. I don't fall the for partisan political game that you so obviously do anymore. You're not alone, but I feel sorry for those that still do. You're missing so much of the truth.

As for what I would like to change, I've answered that in other threads. I'm too lazy to go back into it. I've already wasted too much time at work today as it is. But once again, you're missing the point (shocking, I know). It's not about necessarily radically changing anything (although I'm certain many of us could provide many examples of things they'd like changed). It's about ensuring that things don't radically change or get worse in the future. Many of us see trends of liberty and freedoms Americans enjoy eroding. That isn't and shouldn't be OK. I've said this before in at least a few threads, but I'll say it again. I wouldn't expect an archaic man such as yourself to be able to remember anything except for your own opinions. One shouldn't wait until something is badly broken or malfunctioning to try to fix it. They should constantly work on things and perform maintenance (if you will) so that the hypothetical object of discussion continues to work as it should. (e.g. Change the oil and serpentine belts in a vehicle, etc. etc.) Since I'm healthy and young right now, should I not maintain my fitness routine? From my perspective, there's an increasing trend that the American government is becoming more corrupt and less representative, and that is potentially a problem. Government by nature will have some level of inherent corruption, but there has to be some type of limit. Nip problems that are arising in the bud before they manifest themselves as substantial problems.

I really can't go into more detail now. If you can't draw any conclusions from that, I'm not going to be of any help to you. Nothing anyone says will change any of your perspectives, so why should one bother? I might as well go throw eggs at wall. At least that would be entertaining. Better yet, I'd rather just throw eggs at you. That would be incredibly entertaining. Don't worry, you can bring your walker. [boxing] [boxing] [boxing]

Originally Posted by: DoddPower 

My question REPEATEDLY for any or all of you is WHY? Specifically WHAT KIND of "radical shift" or change would your actual voices be clamoring for? Nobody seems to want to answer that rather significant point hahahaha. Maybe that's because life is so spectacularly GREAT in America as things are. Maybe the forces that seem to be denying/ignoring your "actual voice" are the reason things stay so absolutely GREAT.

Originally Posted by: texaspackerbacker 

It's not that I don't "want" to answer, it's just that, the changes I believe are required are just not realistic.

We are too entrenched in our ways to change now.

Originally Posted by: Laser Gunns 

I know you're well beyond your working years but where are the jobs today? If you are lucky enough to have an actual good one what are they taking from you in quality of life?

Originally Posted by: uffda udfa