RE: [Liberal Agenda] Direct Democracy
Here in the states citizens can gather signatures on a measure and it is put to a state-wide vote. States have a lot of flexibility independent of the Federal government but it's certainly controversial. For instance the legalization of canabis is a state-level thing and our Federal government still has not approved it. I'm not sure how the states get around that but they do. Same with same sex marriage. Recently I had mentioned in California there was a movement by some people to divide the state into 3 separate states. I said "that'll never happen" but wouldn't you know the organizers got enough signatures for it to be put on the next state ballot vote. Crazy times! Do I think it will pass? Well, no... but people voted for Trump and I didn't think that would happen so there's no certainty anymore about anything.
Regarding the representative nature of votes I do think this system needs to be improved. There's something called "gerrymandering" here
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrymandering
It's a way that current representatives can redraw district boundaries to suit their political advantage for instance by drawing the districts based on income, demographic, etc. I'm not sure if there's gerrymandering at the Federal level though, this is just about state level.
We do have a similar system, I forget it's name but basically you can sign a petition and above 10,000 signatures I think the government has to address it, and at 100,000 they are supposed to debate it, however there are times that hasn't happened. Here individual counties or boroughs don't have much power at all, and even then they're run by just as corrupt councils. Our local council for example, currently have three pending criminal investigations.
The current government like sneaking through unpopular policies during events like the World Cup, so I'll be curious to see what it is this time.
I read about this splitting of California, were they originally trying for 12 seperate states, but ended up settling with 3? Like you say, these days anything goes. I did hear the argument for it, and it wasn't crazy but at the same time I wasn't exactly convinced either.
Gerrymandering is something that absolutely boggles my mind. I can't remember what the first example of it was, but it was something absolutely absurd like a republican holding up the floor to prevent some really innocent seeming bill from being passed, purely because it was being pushed by democrats. It seems criminal to me, wasting public resources like that.
That redrawing of boundaries happens here as well, it was fairly recently done, and seemingly in a way to try to push Jeremy Corbyn out. I don't know if you've heard of him, but he's the leader of the opposition, the labour party, and although I do support him because of his socialist leanings among other reasons, I've lost faith in the system at large. It doesn't really matter which party is in power, democrat or republican, labour or conservative, because the other will do everything they can to undermine the other most of the time. That's probably an exaggeration, but I just feel the two-party or any number of party system doesn't work in favour of the people.
I like the idea of a more involved populace, and I think if people got more hands on they'll maybe start seeing things a little differently.
Sorry, I've rambled on far too long!
Never apologize for your thoughtful responses I really appreciate it. I'm like you right now though still busy with "going outside" haha I have really embraced summer.
You're so right it is a waste of public resources like that and it should be criminal. Our government is notorious for waste. The Republican party likes to say they are trimming the fat and making cut backs but that always translates to cutting funding for social programs, medicine, and food, rather than going after the big corporations that evade taxes and pollute the environment. It's disgusting!
But you make a point it's bad on all sides. The Democrats are wasteful too backing bills and laws that cost tax payers money and are really only a concern for a very small minority (I'm thinking the bathroom gender issue which is ridiculous).
I kind of have become interesting in what this Lord Jamar rapper says about some of these movements. While I'm a bit skeptical about his assertion re: rich white lesbian women (lol) I found this very educational in showing how liberal media can really blow things out and sour people on issues even when they want to be supportive.
So "the media" really perpetuates these extreme views and we see a lot of meetoo kinds of things, I get lost on Twitter and reading comments (time suck) and some sound very upsetting and heartbreaking and there's women out there that think just because a guy calls them twice or even looks at her he's "harrassing" her and I just cannot stand that. It really is not helping women's rights or visibility to an issue to have this kind of message.
woaaa now who went off and rambled? How did I go from politics to social issues. Please don't feel obliged to respond haha
It the exact same problem here, we have the Conservatives who are supposed to be for lower taxes and well, just like you say, "trimming the fat", but the reality is that both parties generally are painfully similar to each other. It doesn't matter which party is in power or who is prime minister, because things will just continue the same as usual.
I'm generally a Labour supporter (our version of the democrats), and I particularly like Jeremy Corbyn and have to believe he'll bring at least some of his socialist tendencies with him to Number 10.
Just last week our Lord Emperor May announced an increase in taxes to help plug the literal multi-billion pound deficit in the NHS, a deficit that has been increasing under Conservative rule as a result of their austerity measures. Inflation is creeping up, unemployment (despite official figures) is high and general sentiment amongst the populace is that our government is failing society as a whole, on all levels.
It's the same thing here again with the big corporations. I can't find the article I read, but I believe it was Netflix this time who paid next to nothing, and even got a massive tax rebate this last tax year!
"Benefits cheats" is a big thing in this country, with those who abuse the system being seen as the worst of the worst... and yet tax evasion or avoidance is a white collar part of being British.
I hadn't heard of Lord Jamar before, just watching the video now as I write this. Seems like the guy knows what he's talking about. I really liked when he said:
He's absolutely right about this "disconnection" or dissociation that occurs, take the current children being seperated in camps issue. I've gone stumbling around here on Steemit, and read some just completely disheartening comments made by people who I thought were different to that. Reading people say what are quite frankly disgusting, inhuman things about people they know nothing about chips away at what little respect for our species I have. I won't let myself get sucked into the Twitter rabbit hole, I'd probably end up walking off into the woods, never to be seen again.
To go off on a slight tangent, I think that's the problem I have with a lot of religious people. There are a few things from my Christian upbringing that are true; treat others how you would want to be treated and so on, that self-proclaimed practising Christians forget on a daily basis. Oh, and then there's Israel... but that's for another time.
Back to the topic, you're right the mainstream media really is the main perpetrator here in my mind at least. I think, at least in this country, the blending of opinion with news and facts has been a massive factor in the media getting to the state it's in. I think it's a sort of backlash or response to the internet and other modern forms of media and entertainment, where the mainstream media outlets have tried to incorporate the interactive nature of the internet (comments and polls) to retain some viewership.
We live in a strange time, where fast food chains roasting people on Twitter is the norm, and activism is just another tag on your instagram profile. I still can't quite get my head around the fact we live in a golden era of information and knowledge, and yet seem to be plagued more than ever by misinformation, or as many like to shout FAKE NEWS!
The way these social movements become a fashion trend is deeply concerning, just like you say there are some people who think that the most mundane of things are harassment. They just don't understand that what they're doing is detracting from those who genuinely suffered through something unthinkable, and probably are still suffering. I understand the current backlash to what I think is called "third wave feminism", because it really isn't about making progressive change. It just seems like to get by in today's society, you must be polarised, left or right. Topics and policies must be partisan, and meanwhile the centre is slowly disappearing...
... and breathe!
https://twitter.com/timoncheese/status/1010234011984318464
Thank you for your very interesting reply! I'm leaving this lame comedy here because I'm flailing with time management. <3
Gerrymandering
Gerrymandering is a practice intended to establish a political advantage for a particular party or group by manipulating district boundaries. The resulting district is known as a gerrymander (); however, that word is also a verb for the process. The term gerrymandering has negative connotations. Two principal tactics are used in gerrymandering: "cracking" (i.e.