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Originally Posted by flstf
I don't know if there is much the average voter can do to correct this problem. Humans seem to have evolved with the natural inclination to first take care of ourselves, our families and those who support us. Our polititians and those in power are just doing what comes natural because that is the way humans evolved. No matter how much they get they cannot help themselves from gaming the system for more even if it kills the very system from which they benefit. Those in power will continue to take and take no matter which political party they are affiliated with. I believe this is one reason for revolutions and why almost every government eventually fails.
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You present a good argument, but that would mean that the grab for power is based more on self preservation than that of controlling others.
I argue that, as our government grew and gave back, people wanted more. At first, it was a great deal, the government gave, the people grew and gave back. There was always a group though that wanted more, but government listened and those extremists were fringe and pretty much just by and large ignored.
But then the parties started being very similar. they needed to be separate. The 60's and the Baby Boomers changed the way things were done. You had a whole generation that had grown up with a standard of living never known and by and large that generation was never told no. Even the draft to Vietnam the ones that truly wanted out found ways to dodge the draft.
The parties needing to separate themselves, took sides. In the 70's the GOP took the Religious Right, used gun control to get the NRA, big business and so on.
The Dems just promised more and told everyone that we were all equal and we should all share the power... more social programs, more liberties, more to the unions.... Well, everyone wants more, unless the church says it's immoral and sinful or the NRA scares you into believing that your guns were at stake. Enough people became 1 issue voters that the extremes made a slight difference.
This worked..... but then the cost of Vietnam, allowing cheaper imports and giving caught up and Carter was just the worst possible guy to have in there. And "more" took the big hit.
Reagan came in, but the Dems were able to keep the Congress so even though power struggles were there compromises had to be made and it was still ok. But those extremes who wanted more weren't happy, they still wanted more. They went to extremes to get it. Abortion clinics everywhere, take my gun from my cold dead hand, we're killing the Earth, quotas.... etc. During Reagan the extremes had to go further to their extreme to separate themselves and the parties. The parties had to go to the extremes to keep voters and try to grab voters who got tired of the extreme running their party and the other side looked better, more rational.... until they were in it.
And here we are. The parties sold themselves to the extremists, who sold themselves to the lobbyists, who sold themselves to the ultra rich, who want ultimate power and now just pull the puppet strings.
Meanwhile, the average person, IMHO..... just wanted a chance at the American dream but the extremists on both sides took that one thing that unified everyone, the chance for your children to have a better life, and destroyed it.
Hence, IMHO, you have the ordinary citizen scared to speak out believing they just don't get it, because all the media does is show the extremes so they can cater to their target markets.... But the people have gotten wise and pissed and while maybe the puppet masters on the Right thought these "Tea parties" would get people to go back the extreme Right.... it has somewhat backfired because IMHO people are seeing there is a center and they want that. They see both sides are extreme and they want the power back from the extremists and returned to the center.