holfresh wrote:arkrud wrote:NumberTwoPencil wrote:No, not a joke.I swore I wouldn't look at this topic . . . busman's holiday, sanity, and all but . . . I read a few pages and this didn't make me as depressed as the last time I looked. Maybe it's that things are so ****ed up and bull**** that mild crazy looks okay or maybe my expectations have dropped. I see a lot more sense here than I did during the election. I have faith that at least a few people here are realizing that, no, the election was no joke. And, I _think_ I see a few people paying attention and maybe, just maybe, changing their minds.
I'm hoping that some people who said that they were concerned about terrorism are realizing that this weekend's travel ban is a gift to ISIS. That a president who puts guys who _want_ a war with Islam on the National Security Council is maybe not a wise man. That a Secretary of the Treasury from Goldman Sachs is maybe not what you had in mind when Trump attacked Clinton for speaking at Goldman Sachs. That the GOP plan for health care is basically less health care for more money. It's maybe the same discussion as during the election but, whew, the specifics have changed a lot.
I work in a odd little nook of politics, a largely non-partisan job but one that comes with absorbing large amounts of political news and thinking and when I go home at night . . . I like basketball, among other things. Sadly, every day, I wrestle with "This is not a joke!!!" So, because it's no joke--perhaps less of joke than any other time in my life--once in a while, a New Year's pledge basically, I'm going to mix politics with bball. Steve Kerr and Pops do it :)
Trump making a good job of waking out America.
No matter right or wrong he will took country out of the rabbit hole of denial.
The world turmoil is real and America cannot escape it of buy its way out.
American people will have to take sites and make decisions and leave with consequences.
I know this is uncomfortable, disturbing, and hard but not avoidable anymore.
Trump and his supporters are short sighted yet shockingly *cocksure in the ignorance they wish to project on others...It's not enough that you bear this ugly hatred in your hearts but you want it shared and adapted by the world. Well the majority chose what was opposite to Trump's beliefs and you see it in various protest. The fact that he is in the White House doesn't mean he has the endorsement of the entire country but fact is, the minority. He can run off and start wars like other ideologues but he will be isolated and sidelined with his supporters. The quicker people on the sidelines are awakened the better. So Trump's behavior does have it's benefits that could pay dividends in the long run...So while you look for support in your fractious agenda, I hope this is the awakening all of America, if not the World, needs...
Yes we have to take a stance but it is not necessarily a stance of globlization vs nationalism.
We all have to decide if we want to take up the responsibilities for our nations deeds and act following our moral code.
We have to decide on this moral code.
Look... generally speaking until Merkel did something very unusal for her, by taking up an "unpopular" moral stance pro refugees, voting for her was rather simple to do... Germany has a flourishing economy. We have a great social welfare net which basically works for the VAST majority of ppl here. Now... we have reached this partially by having a huge negative influence/impact on different regions in the world (kinda reminds you of the US?!?).
NOW is the time for everybody to decide if he/she is willing to potentiall sacrifice JUST A BIT of the luxury of our lives... things we have come to cherrish for us and our families in order to start solving issues around the globe.
Am I willing to not have this high job security, the well paid job and the safe wellfare for me and my family... will I be happy with a LITTLE less but follow a moral code and for example stop exporting all our good German weapons to countries in war around the globe?
This will cost jobs and threaten our status quo ... just a little bit.
THATS the decision we all have to make... and our societies are doing this right now and are torn by it...
I understand this...
It happens everywhere...
In Poland, Hungary, France, Germany (horrible rethoric happening here with our past in mind... its scary how ppl forget their past!) AND it already happened in the US...
Now ALL I ask from ppl ... that includes all Trump voters to at least be honest...
Admit that you decided to go AMERICA FIRST and FUCK THE REST... because thats what it is...
Same thing with ppl voting for LePen in France... same with the AFD voters in Germany... it is CLEAR seperation from the rest of the world... but you go full throttle...
I for my part am NOT interested to live in a world where the only "open" thing is the internet with borders being closed and countries being close to straight out wars again... all this is a HUGE STEP BACK FOR HUMANITY!!!
The WORLD is so much bigger than country borders!!!