thank you Vladimir

Originally posted by pintohoo ↑

in the back of your mind - try and canvas the possibility that there are some good ideas and bad ideas in politics -- both in fact and in interpretation -

then, understand that just possibly some parties have some of them and some are bereft of them.

The political issues I see by far the most pressing - NO parties are looking at -

so, damned if I know which team that puts me on

In general - both for Australian politics and US politics - I think we are not only at the bottom of the barrel in quality - I think we are completely bereft of any ideas on how to move though the massive social change which I believe is probably already upon us - I don't think any of them have any idea of the scale of it, the speed of it, and most of them - indeed, I would say the vast majority of them have no idea at all that it's coming if not already in progress.

I would probably include European politics in that in general - but, it's a far more complex animal - so, I will leave that aside.

Just to give a rough idea ---------- IMO - conservatives (whatever we think that is) - are dead in the water -- 1950's types who try and make life like 1900 ---------- and what we call progressives (whatever they are) - many of them haven't got a brain to bless themselves with - but, some have - however, the biggest problem they have is they live in a pragmatic vacuum -

so, I just don't fit any team - sorry to disappoint you.

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Pintohoo
I have come to the - perhaps erroneous - conclusion that life has a way of moving things on all on its own; politics is just something which siphons off extra energy, which we might spend warring with one another. History is full of well intentioned people who had no or even a detrimental effect, revolutions have a tendency to back-pedal in one generation or two.

We are bad at predicting the future and have a history of not realising when it is already upon us, because we like to live in the past 'when things were better' - 'there was greater moral integrity' - 'we'd still be there, if only the ........ hadn't brought war, revolution, unions, ' -
'if only .... is still the biggest thief of energies, emotions and brain power.

These threads are full of nostalgia, even though the language is often brutal, divisive, aggressive, but many are hankering for an ideal which only exists in their minds and their reference system is based on a glorified past; a glorified phenomenon like Trump is their hero, because he is a blank sheet, a man who is at best a comic strip character.

The common bogeyman - at least here - is the bad 'left' which has brought all sorts of disasters upon the world and is intent on doing so even in hell. Maybe 'letting off steam' is all that's happening on these threads - and taking them seriously is really way way too much of a compliment.

It seems to me - at times - that we are yet to learn using our wonderful gifts of analytical thought, language, creativity in a positive way, but then I am only here for a minute or two and cannot grasp the overall picture of 'life on earth'.

I do hope very much that the pressing needs of the present century will bring forth a generation of humans ready to deal with those needs and able to appreciate how unique we are in all of creation. Politics is just a little side-show of our existence, the world-changing stuff is thought-up and made in the laboratories, the libraries, the universities and more likely in some humble backwater of the world when no-one is looking - hopefully soon.

Taurisk