ROGER: Do you really see all that much as changing?
ERIN: No I don't think all that is much changing it is just going back and
forth over and over again.
ROGER: Are the extremes really there? At a national level, candidates get
naturally molded to look very similar, and even where there are differences
they are often neutralized by the other branches of govt. (foriegn policy may
be an exception to this theory) I
think Nader was making this same argument (that may be the only time I have
ever agreed with him)
ERIN: I agree they look very similar but I think a lot of times extremists
look alike-- a pro-lifer attacking an abortion clinic worker and somebody
freeing zoo animals probably didn't vote for the same person but in a way look
the same.
One thing I did agree with Nader about was campaign finance --- both parties
may not be getting the money from the same places but again it is the same
idea.
ROGER:Personally, I don't really want them to do much, other than perhaps to
fix some of the problems that they previously created through misguided policy
(i'm not holding my breath though). I am a very big fan of political
inefficiency (aka checks and balances). I am also a fan of political apathy.
ERIN: I do contemplate the value in this approach which I think of as the
"Homer Simpson Approach" but a strong streak of Lisa Simpson keeps emerging
and I am not sure if that is good or not. There is a particular episode in
which every time Lisa tried to do something good like recycling it would have
the opposite effect of her intention.
I think that a two-party system will forever lead us into a cycle of going two
steps to the right and then two steps to the left over and over again. The two
party approach may be very great at getting nowhere.
That may sound good to you but I just wonder what the emergence of a third
party would be like. I just don't like every issue set up as one party for
and the other party against. For some reason a third party emergence seems
like it would lead to a little more focus on the individual issues and an
understanding that something doesn't have to be entirely good or entirely bad.
I guess I do hope for change still but I honestly don't think of your high
opinion of political inefficiency as apathy I just am not sure if I agree with
it yet.
To quote the Simpsons again.
Lisa to Homer "Sorry I ruined you pig roast because of my beliefs"
Homer to Lisa " That's okay, I used to believe in things when I was little
too."
Erin
MOQ.ORG - http://www.moq.org
Mail Archive - http://alt.venus.co.uk/hypermail/moq_discuss/
MD Queries - horse@darkstar.uk.net
To unsubscribe from moq_discuss follow the instructions at:
http://www.moq.org/md/subscribe.html
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Sat Aug 17 2002 - 16:01:52 BST