There are many aspects regarding American political culture that I find frustrating, even to the point of being excruciating. From big privatized special interest money in elections and in Washington, to a broken Electoral System that seems almost designed to allow candidates receiving a majority of votes to officially lose elections, and vice versa, to politicians who arrogantly deny basic facts, including science, and to masses of voters who encourage them with blond loyalty and devotion, and on and on.
Indeed, there are no shortage of things that can drive someone up a wall regarding the failed American political realities of today.
For some time, though, the popular consensus is that this has largely been restricted to Republicans, who regularly make a habit of voting for candidates that are not in their best interests to support or vote for.
Think about it: according to poll after poll, Americans have political viewpoints that would make it a fairly progressive nation, if government actually followed up and acted on what the voters want. What are some of these viewpoints? Well, most Americans understand that the science behind climate change is real and want some kind of meaningful action taken, yet they keep voting in governments and supposed "leaders" who either undermine these efforts by taking largely symbolic action, or outright deny the science behind it. Most Americans feel that the current privatized "for profit" healthcare system in this country is failing them, yet they keep electing "leaders" who take money from healthcare industry players and big pharma, and then go to extraordinary lengths to maintain that system and defend it from any meaningful change to try and make it fairer and more accessible. Most Americans believe that the prohibition against marijuana was excessive, and that cannabis should, in fact, be legalized (and it would be better for the environment, to boot), yet they keep voting in "leaders" who are dead set opposed to the recent wave towards legalization, and want to crack down on it. Most Americans believe in common sense gun laws, yet they keep electing officials who vote against the common good and serve the NRA and the most extremist gun advocates, rather than taking what frankly are modest and, again, commonsense measures to try and curb excessive gun violence. Most Americans recognize the urgency of reform for the "for profit" prison system that imprisons more people than any other country in the world (a quarter of all the people behind bars in the world are right here in the "land of the free"), yet self-serving politicians keep stalling on any meaningful reform. Finally, and perhaps most tellingly, a majority of Americans want big money out of politics and would like to see reform to root out corruption in Washington, yet they keep voting in elected officials who benefit from, and the help maintain, this corrupt system.
But take a look at the headlines for the article which I included a link to below. This illustrates quite clearly that Republicans are not the only ones conditioned to vote against their best interests.
This article reveals that, in fact, Democratic voters are also conditioned to literally fear any candidates who express what the public truly feels. Yes, most Democratic voters agree with Bernie Sanders, that the "for profit" healthcare system should be scrapped in favor of a universal, affordable healthcare system that would make healthcare a right, and not merely a privilege for those who can afford it. Most Democratic voters also agree with Sanders that urgent action on climate change is required, while there still might be a chance to do something about it. Most Democratic voters agree with him that big money needs to be taken out of politics. Yet, it seems that a hell of a lot of them believe the hype from big money major media and big money players within the Democratic Party, who insist that Sanders is to be feared and/or that his plans are unrealistic "pie in the sky" ideas that could not possibly work, even though they not only exist and work well in other industrialized nations, but have worked and existed for many decades now.
Then they turn around and vote for, frankly, a shill like Joe Biden, who fosters these fears and says that what is urgently needed in this country is more moderation, rather than a dismantling of an increasingly expensive and oppressive system that does not work for a majority of Americans. Biden, like Bill Clinton, John Kerry, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton, claims that he can work with Republicans to "get things done," and even suggested that he would be open to the idea of a Republican running mate, even though history has shown that the Republicans currently in Washington literally seem to try and block every measure, big or small, put forward by Democrats in the White House. He is advocating more of the same, and claiming that this time, with him, things will be different.
Yeah, right.
As I have said before at times, the realities of modern American politics feel absolutely hopeless. And this is the reason why.
After all, the Democrats are supposed to be the opposition party. They are supposed to thwart the increasingly authoritarian direction of Donald Trump. Yet, they seem to always fold (unlike Republicans) and keep giving him what he wants, and keep normalizing him, even when there is absolutely nothing normal, or remotely likable, about this man, and even less about the anti-democratic policies that he keeps aggressively pushing forward.
Biden claims that he can defeat Trump. This is a doubtful boast. Yet perhaps what is more alarming to me is that, even by the off chance that I am wrong, and Biden can actually beat Trump (something that I am quite skeptical of), he is merely a watered down version of Trump. Slightly smarter and maybe not quite as obnoxious, but more or less just more of the same.
And once again, Democrats who are conditioned to give in to all of this nonsense are doing it yet again, when they have a perfectly good and trustworthy candidate (yes, the polls show this to) who can actually bring about real, meaningful change in this country.
Can anyone really blame me for being sick and tired of the political realities in the United States today? In some ways, the Democrats are worse than the Republicans, and it comes down to cowardice and believing that living in a bubble and never believing that anyone or any countries outside of our sacred borders have anything of value that we can learn from.
How depressing.
Below is the link to the article that got me on this topic, and which, again, illustrates how Democrats seem to be, predictably, voting against their own best interests, as well as the best interests of the country, especially for future generations:
MOST DEMOCRATIC VOTERS IN EVERY SUPER TUESDAY STATES SUPPORT UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE LIKE BERNIE SANDERS, EXIT POLLS SHOW BY JASON LEMON ON 3/4/20L
https://www.newsweek.com/most-democratic-voters-every-super-tuesday-state-support-universal-health-care-like-bernie-1490460?fbclid=IwAR1BiRxY4gTWfYjKCdFBr_eZfUMp_0q6mlimbiEERTSjz2BLjNeiJgGkI9Y
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