Convince me that I should care about politics

[Grizalltheway]

I plan on writing in Palin/Bachmann. Thoughts?

Get back on your meds.....horrible idea.

Not really the feedback I was looking for. I suggest you pipe down before I sick SH on you.

[Ibanez]

I plan on writing in Himmler/Goering. Thoughts?

[LeadBolt]

I plan on writing in Himmler/Goering. Thoughts?

AS bad as things are, they can always be worse....

[JohnStOnge]

As a general matter I don't think we should worry about whether or not people choose to vote. Why should anyone want someone who is not motivated to vote to vote?

I don't even like "get out the vote" efforts. What's going on with those things is that the political parties are looking at demographics and previous geographic voting patterns and trying to get people from certain demographics and certain geographical areas to vote because they think it likely that most of them will vote for their political parties.

I think we'd be much better off if only people who cared enough on their own and who remained engaged enough on their own to pay attention to what is going on voted.

Of course that means the Democrats would be in serious trouble. And that's OK by me.

[Grizo406]

There's probably someone in this thread that doesn't take their hat off during the National Anthem, and might try to get others to convince them to do so...just sayin'.

[kalm]

I think we'd be much better off if only people who cared enough on their own and who remained engaged enough on their own to pay attention to what is going on voted.

Of course that means the Democrats would be in serious trouble. And that's OK by me.

I'm not so sure of that. Both sides have their informed and dumb voters. Here's a piece from a very interesting and fair article on the topic:

Voters who understand democracy in these moral terms have very different frame-circuits in their brains than liberals do. If LIVs among conservatives define their very identity morally by conservative values, those values may well override material concerns -- and the very real benefits that may accrue to them by, say, taxing the wealthy or by getting cleaner water or universal health care. For many conservatives, this idea of liberty is more important than anything else. And so the liberal assumption that information about individual material gains would get poor conservatives to vote for liberal policies is mostly false.

The liberal use of the term "low-information voters" reveals where liberals need to get real. First, liberals need to recognize that conservatives have a moral system that is different from theirs and that they vote on the basis of it. They need to understand the conservative moral system and how it works, if they are to defeat it. And they need to understand the power of their own moral system and make use of it.

Second, they need to notice that many liberal Democrats vote on the basis of as little information as the Republicans they are calling LIVs. It is not at all unusual for people to get their political opinions secondhand from sources they trust: their friends, neighbors, relatives, churches, commercials, and the TV shows they watch. We may wish democratic decisions had a firmer basis, but this holds for Democrats as well as Republicans.

Third, they need to understand how brains work: If the facts don't fit morally based frame-circuits, it's the frame-circuits that stay and the facts that go out the window. All political parties should aim to communicate facts, but to do so successfully they have to take into account voters' moral systems that constrain party values. Those moral-system differences are among the facts that need to be discussed.

Fourth, liberals who speak of LIVs need to understand that many voters, Democrats as well as Republicans, vote on the basis of values and character rather than policies, material advantages, and facts. In short, they vote on the basis of trust -- trust in both whom they vote for and the sources of information about whom to vote for.

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2 ... r?page=0,0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Baldy]

I think we'd be much better off if only people who cared enough on their own and who remained engaged enough on their own to pay attention to what is going on voted.

Of course that means the Democrats would be in serious trouble. And that's OK by me.

I'm not so sure of that. Both sides have their informed and dumb voters. Here's a piece from a very interesting and fair article on the topic:

Voters who understand democracy in these moral terms have very different frame-circuits in their brains than liberals do. If LIVs among conservatives define their very identity morally by conservative values, those values may well override material concerns -- and the very real benefits that may accrue to them by, say, taxing the wealthy or by getting cleaner water or universal health care. For many conservatives, this idea of liberty is more important than anything else. And so the liberal assumption that information about individual material gains would get poor conservatives to vote for liberal policies is mostly false.

The liberal use of the term "low-information voters" reveals where liberals need to get real. First, liberals need to recognize that conservatives have a moral system that is different from theirs and that they vote on the basis of it. They need to understand the conservative moral system and how it works, if they are to defeat it. And they need to understand the power of their own moral system and make use of it.

Second, they need to notice that many liberal Democrats vote on the basis of as little information as the Republicans they are calling LIVs. It is not at all unusual for people to get their political opinions secondhand from sources they trust: their friends, neighbors, relatives, churches, commercials, and the TV shows they watch. We may wish democratic decisions had a firmer basis, but this holds for Democrats as well as Republicans.

Third, they need to understand how brains work: If the facts don't fit morally based frame-circuits, it's the frame-circuits that stay and the facts that go out the window. All political parties should aim to communicate facts, but to do so successfully they have to take into account voters' moral systems that constrain party values. Those moral-system differences are among the facts that need to be discussed.

Fourth, liberals who speak of LIVs need to understand that many voters, Democrats as well as Republicans, vote on the basis of values and character rather than policies, material advantages, and facts. In short, they vote on the basis of trust -- trust in both whom they vote for and the sources of information about whom to vote for.

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2 ... r?page=0,0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Interesting, but not at all fair. Then again, I don't expect anything from George Lakoff to be fair anyway. I will say that the article wasn't as condescending as everything else he writes. Must be getting soft in his old age.

[clenz]

If you don't care on your own it's better that you don't care and don't vote. And that is not meant as a put down. I just think it's true.

This.


If you don't care now you won't ever actually care. Not only this, you are asking people to MAKE you care. No one should MAKE you care...they will influence what you care about, how you vote, etc... You should MAKE YOURSELF care.


If you can't do that, don't get involved.

[clenz]

There's probably someone in this thread that doesn't take their hat off during the National Anthem, and might try to get others to convince them to do so...just sayin'.

There IS conduct for flag/anthem ceremonies


http://www.usflag.org/uscode36.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.usflag.org/uscode36.html#170" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
§171. Conduct during playing

During rendition of the national anthem when the flag is displayed, all present except those in uniform should stand at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart. Men not in uniform should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart. Persons in uniform should render the military salute at the first note of the anthem and retain this position until the last note. When the flag is not displayed, those present should face toward the music and act in the same manner they would if the flag were displayed there.

[89Hen]

I think we'd be much better off if only people who cared enough on their own and who remained engaged enough on their own to pay attention to what is going on voted.

We probably would be. Mob mentality is an ugly thing.

[Ibanez]

There's probably someone in this thread that doesn't take their hat off during the National Anthem, and might try to get others to convince them to do so...just sayin'.

That's stupid. I don't know why, but it irks me when people put thier hand on their chest during the National Anthem. It isn't a pledge. It's a song. In fact, it's really a poem put tothe music of another song. Francis Scott Key is the orginial Will Smith.

[Ibanez]

There's probably someone in this thread that doesn't take their hat off during the National Anthem, and might try to get others to convince them to do so...just sayin'.

There IS conduct for flag/anthem ceremonies


http://www.usflag.org/uscode36.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.usflag.org/uscode36.html#170" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
§171. Conduct during playing

During rendition of the national anthem when the flag is displayed, all present except those in uniform should stand at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart. Men not in uniform should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart. Persons in uniform should render the military salute at the first note of the anthem and retain this position until the last note. When the flag is not displayed, those present should face toward the music and act in the same manner they would if the flag were displayed there.

That's dumb. It isn't a pledge. It is a song.

Call me what you want, but Americans are too obsessed with the flag to the point that it isn't meaningful. It's on cigarette lighters, tattoos on fat assess, it's used constantly. Maybe it's just me.

[Grizo406]

There IS conduct for flag/anthem ceremonies


http://www.usflag.org/uscode36.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.usflag.org/uscode36.html#170" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
§171. Conduct during playing

During rendition of the national anthem when the flag is displayed, all present except those in uniform should stand at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart. Men not in uniform should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart. Persons in uniform should render the military salute at the first note of the anthem and retain this position until the last note. When the flag is not displayed, those present should face toward the music and act in the same manner they would if the flag were displayed there.

That's dumb. It isn't a pledge. It is a song.

Call me what you want, but Americans are too obsessed with the flag to the point that it isn't meaningful. It's on cigarette lighters, tattoos on fat assess, it's used constantly. Maybe it's just me.

Are you still gonna' bring a 6-pack to the Griz-ASU game? If you are planning to, it better be Michelob Lager, in a bottle, and preferable very cold...

[Grizalltheway]

That's dumb. It isn't a pledge. It is a song.

Call me what you want, but Americans are too obsessed with the flag to the point that it isn't meaningful. It's on cigarette lighters, tattoos on fat assess, it's used constantly. Maybe it's just me.

Are you still gonna' bring a 6-pack to the Griz-ASU game? If you are planning to, it better be Michelob Lager, in a bottle, and preferable very cold...

You gonna drink a whole bottle and a half, considering the special occassion?

[Ibanez]

That's dumb. It isn't a pledge. It is a song.

Call me what you want, but Americans are too obsessed with the flag to the point that it isn't meaningful. It's on cigarette lighters, tattoos on fat assess, it's used constantly. Maybe it's just me.

Are you still gonna' bring a 6-pack to the Griz-ASU game? If you are planning to, it better be Michelob Lager, in a bottle, and preferable very cold...

oh it will be cold. Michelin it is.

[Grizo406]

Are you still gonna' bring a 6-pack to the Griz-ASU game? If you are planning to, it better be Michelob Lager, in a bottle, and preferable very cold...

You gonna drink a whole bottle and a half, considering the special occassion?

I know it'll be a "Special Occasion", but let's not start talkin' crazy here!

I prefer to pace myself in all things...you'll see!

[psychoCAT]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIraCchPDhk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This is all you EVER need to know about politics and voting.

[rkwittem]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIraCchPDhk

This is all you EVER need to know about politics and voting.

I like this one the best. Just wanted to hear some opinions on whether it's worth my time. You have all convinced me that no, it isn't.

[psychoCAT]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIraCchPDhk

This is all you EVER need to know about politics and voting.

I like this one the best. Just wanted to hear some opinions on whether it's worth my time. You have all convinced me that no, it isn't.

I am pro life so I will be sitting at home this November, but if I had to choose, Obama hands down. The fact that this economy has improved under him is no coincidence after 20 years of Republican rule in the last 32 years. If anything, Bush's 2nd term FINALLY proved that trickle down economics does NOT work and never will work. Compare our way of life to that of Norway or Finland the last decade. Not even close. But then again, they don't feel the need to bomb brown people just for the hell of it.