LIVE: Presidential Inauguration Ceremony

[StrawberryBlond 15,713]

I think Trump must have had some sort of bet to say "wow, that's a big one" as many times as possible today. He kept on saying it when signing all those documents. His reaction is so down-to-earth and real that it cancels itself out and becomes fake. He comes across like an AI robot programmed to act like a human. He could have the best policies in the world but because they'd all be coming from him, it would make me doubtful. Pride cometh before a fall with this "We're entering the golden age of America now" concept. Plenty of past presidents have entered the role as a popular choice and left widely despised. But in his own mind, he'll never be polarising. 

[GagaTheExplorer 3,053]

3 hours ago, Jill said:

If your only alternatives to these so-called "democratic" institutions is outright anarchy, then again, your bar is very low. The two-party system makes us believe the only way of changing things is by religiously voting for one of them every two or four years and celebrating or crying interchangeably, as if that changed anything. The policies of both parties are very similar in broad strokes, especially when talking about helping the poor and foreign policy. So excuse me if I doubt the value of my vote. Any electoral result in this context is bad for everyone.

So where do we turn to? We must, first of all, study why this is the case. There are myriad of authors that lived the consequences of this system first hand, and are intelligent enough to provide a rich analysis as to how to view it and how to proceed.

Second of all, find community outside the two-party system. Listen to workers from all walks of life: independent, democrats, republicans, whatever. What are their complaints? What do they want, what do they need? You'll find their responses to be surprisingly alike, even if they aren't politically aligned in the two-party system.

Next step, ask yourself: why is this the case? Why is it that many workers around the country believe and want the same things, or very similar things, despite them being so divided? Going deeper than the "cultural battle" issues like gender and similar stuff, which are often very superfially analyzed by "both sides", you'll find many workers around the US want a peaceful life, a way of being financially secure, a way to provide for their families and friends, a way to know for sure that things are being discussed in government, a deeper relationship with local and national politicians. None of the two parties can provide these for a multitude of reasons, even if they tried (which they won't).

Now, you may want to read and investigate as to why this is the case. What do they have in common? They're working class people. They're not rich, they're members of the proletarian class. They need a job to survive. No job, no food, even if they get paid US$1 million per month, if they didn't get paid that, they would eventually run out of food and provisions. Why? Because they are not the owners of the means of production, ie of any company of any kind, so they have no way of getting pasive income. This is the case for 99% of the US population.

So, why are they poor? Was this the case only in recent years or is it a common trend throughout US history? Why's that? Those should serve as questions to start your investigative journey. But you shouldn't stop there. There's nothing useful in holding knowledge only for yourself. Knowledge cannot be proven if it's not confronted to alternative sources, either. So you must discuss these problems with working class people, gather their opinions, their thoughts, their reflections on both everyday life and high-class philosophical concepts. But that's still not enough, because what is that if not a selfish journey of discovery? You should seek like-minded people and investigate about how to organize!

The only way of fully taking advantage of your individual potential is to exert it in a group setting and learn from others that want the same things as you, or similar. If you're at work, talk to your coworkers about unions. If you're outside work or don't feel safe doing it alone, look for an organization that believes the same way you do. Not necessarily a political party, it could be an NGO, or a social organization of any kind.

Do something, get out and meet the common people, be curious, explore. There's a whole world out there outside of the two parties that the two parties don't want you to know about. There's more democracy in a chapter meeting of the CPUSA than in the whole Senate, that I can guarantee.

Taking away the utopic and marxist part out of it you could make a case for this to actually work, but as always respecting the democratic institutions

God bless

[Jill 31,812]

9 hours ago, GagaTheExplorer said:

Taking away the utopic and marxist part out of it you could make a case for this to actually work, but as always respecting the democratic institutions

God bless

What's utopic about it? Lmao. I'm only talking about getting organized. That's not utopic under any meaning of the word. The fact that you didn't get organized any time in your life, that's another matter. And if you're not open to considering these institutions -- which only made things worse under both parties -- are in fact not democratic, then I'm not sure how I can help you. You have to have an open mind. I'm just answering you from my perspective by telling you what worked for me.