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Thread: Are Americans Still Capable of Self-Government?

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    Are Americans Still Capable of Self-Government?

    Given the media we've got, the answer is no.

    Are Americans Still Capable of Self-Government?

    In a 1789 letter to the British philosopher Richard Price, Thomas Jefferson observed that “wherever the people are well informed they can be trusted with their own government.” By that standard, it’s no longer clear that the American electorate is equipped for the task. Jefferson was, of course, an ardent advocate of a free press whose primary function would be to provide the voters with enough information about the government’s actions to assess the soundness of its policies. Unfortunately, it’s unlikely that he would dignify today’s corporate media with the appellation “free press.”

    Jefferson’s definition of the term would not, for example, apply to “news” organizations that collude with government officials to suppress debate on important national issues such as the COVID-19 lockdowns. Nor would it include the major broadcast networks that collectively refuse to report a major government-censorship scandal like the Twitter Files. This kind of story is why First Amendment protections for the press exist. They allow honest journalists to report government skulduggery without fear of retaliation....

    The dereliction of duty by these networks deprives millions of voters of information they need in order to assess the character of the man who lives in the White House and the powerful security state over which he presides. The broadcast networks are hardly unique in their failure to keep the public informed. Their print counterparts have been equally negligent....

    The corporate media has, for all intents and purposes, adopted the White House’s talking points....

    The faithful guardians of “our democracy” in the Fourth Estate are obviously more interested in protecting our president than in fulfilling their primary function of keeping the public informed....
    Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire. ― Gustav Mahler

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    I don't think many Americans are interested in it.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris View Post
    Given the media we've got, the answer is no.

    Are Americans Still Capable of Self-Government?
    What you say is true but what is the left wing/bureaucratic/MSM end game? Can it just be partisan politics that has gotten out of hand or is their a long term goal involved? And what form would that goal take?

    Discussing the possibilities of the present political trends might help shed light on our future.

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    Not only are many Americans ill informed they don't want to be well informed. They want comfort news to make them feel good and a President who they like even if incompetent.

    I was very alarmed when Obama turned the Presidency into personality worship that had nothing to do with his ideology. His politics were much the same as Hillary and other prominent Democrats.
    My Revenge will be Success! - Donald J Trump

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    Quote Originally Posted by Carl Young View Post
    What you say is true but what is the left wing/bureaucratic/MSM end game? Can it just be partisan politics that has gotten out of hand or is their a long term goal involved? And what form would that goal take?

    Discussing the possibilities of the present political trends might help shed light on our future.

    The left wing/bureaucratic/MSM end game is progress, to fundamentally change the nature of the government, the nation, and man. As progress, it is never-ending and the end is unknown.
    Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire. ― Gustav Mahler

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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris View Post
    The left wing/bureaucratic/MSM end game is progress, to fundamentally change the nature of the government, the nation, and man. As progress, it is never-ending and the end is unknown.
    Which makes it difficult for families, those responsible for the next generation, to plan ahead with any level of certainty..

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    Quote Originally Posted by Carl Young View Post
    Which makes it difficult for families, those responsible for the next generation, to plan ahead with any level of certainty..
    Families and business.
    Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire. ― Gustav Mahler

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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris View Post
    Given the media we've got, the answer is no.

    Are Americans Still Capable of Self-Government?
    I'd concur more or less. We are like a rudderless ship at best. At worst we are a ship that has been taken over by communists and have changed course to Venezuela.

    reddit radicals (3).jpg

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    What is the alternative to self government?

    If we cannot get elected officials that actually care about anything but themselves then what is the chance of getting a single person or group that will care about anything but themselves.
    Let's go Brandon !!!

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    Quote Originally Posted by carolina73 View Post
    What is the alternative to self government?

    If we cannot get elected officials that actually care about anything but themselves then what is the chance of getting a single person or group that will care about anything but themselves.

    As I report in What Is Freedom Anyway?, we're governed by "corporations, universities, media, medicine, law, and other institutions."
    Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire. ― Gustav Mahler

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