Wow...I thought this post had died (no email notifications), and I come back now to find that it's rippling with life...
It's actually a little weird...A lot of the things most of you said I also was (have) been thinking about. For example, what mmcxiiad said about adding more political parties. This bipartisan crap is getting old and on my nerves. (As a side note, force the news and media groups to be unbiased and make actual intellectual arguments with *really* fair and balanced coverage...CNN and FOX are further dividing this country with their slanderous bullshit). And what Will said about the island nations. I feel the same way, except instead of islands, sections of land (within the country) would be alloted to the individual city-states. Besides that, it's exactly the way I felt. The only flaw I could think of would be finding lucrative exports for the city-state to benefit from monetarily (if you're unlucky enough to live in the middle of the desert, good luck exporting anything but cacti and sand).
One of the only solutions I can think of which would keep all the city-states equal is if a centralized entity was created which would basically keep track of all the resources around the country and distribute them around in such a way that each city-state gets an amount necessary for the number of people living within (if you want to call this socialism, then so be it). The leaders of the centralized entity would be elected yearly to keep the blood fresh (well said, mmcxiiad) and corruption out. This entity will NOT be a government as we know it. It will be a tool, implemented by all city-states to create equality among all citizens of country X. That's to say, no legislation would be passed concerning trivialities (keep a small government, hand the power to the people). All affairs would be handled by the city-states involved, and in case of exceptional problems, the grand entity will rule on the subject, again, with the minds and hearts of the people.
I can only dream of the possibilities, since most would be too idealistic or nearly impossible to implement in an existing country. And our other option, starting our own country, is nearly impossible these days as well.
I'd make the following change if I could only suggest one: perhaps if nothing else can be changed, at least a revamped education system would solve a lot of problems (maybe not for our generation, but for the future of this country). I've met many kids, and it's frightening that most couldn't use logic and reasoning to break out of a paper bag, given a cup of water and a poking stick. Our current education system is teaching children to be "good workers"...Obedient, future paid-slaves who are being taught to memorize menial tasks and information and listen to authority. Make a curriculum which teaches them to think, reason, find logic, find flaws, and question everything they don't understand, (add Montessori for taste) and gone will be the days of stupidity. Educate them about the cultures, peoples, and past events or our world. Enlighten them with art and music, thereby aiding them in finding their talents and life-long passions. Don't try to shove meaningless (to young children) scientific information into their heads. Instead, SHOW them science, and all the wonderful applications and startling implications, so that we may SPARK interests, rather than scare them off with complex (for young children) scientific vocabulary. Perhaps then our children won't bicker and fight over stupid things which never should've happened anyways the way we do. Give them the tools they'll need to fix themselves once we leave them with a fucked up world (that's the way it's headed). Too bad Bush would rather spend billions more in a groundless war (and his buddies won't share the profits they accrue from said war...) than save our country from the rampant stupidity (but then again, seeing as he's part of the rampant stupidity, he'd be getting rid of himself, which is clearly against his best interests...).
I'm sorry I had to end my post with an ani-Bush remark...I got a little heated.
