So how much blame do you place on American voters for America's government?

[Madam-Shogun]

The reason I ask is because elsewhere there was a argument about this. A Iranian was basically begging Americans to go out and vote for better politicians etc. Because there's a possibility of thousands of people dying on both sides. While Americans was saying that it's not our fault, our government basically does a lot of things against the public wishes. Someone even brought up that it was hard for us to protest because of work, and how work is tied to our healthcare.

But how much of it is our fault as citizens and voters?

 

[pr0xyt0xin]

Do I blame American voters? Honestly, VERY little. The common people I blame most are those who don't vote.

People who voted Trump are angry, uneducated, and they got duped. None of that is their fault.

Before the internet hit big in the 90s, the ONLY news and current events people had access to were mainstream media. If that were the case today, we wouldn't even UNDERSTAND how blind our populace is. We would be angry, uneducated, and duped with nowhere to turn to. We'd be voting Trumps into office left and right.

The political mindset of anyone born after 1985 comes from the internet. Before 1985 it comes from the media, controlled and fabricated by corporate interests, lobbying powers, and fake politicians. That's everyone 35 or older. And yes, that's the majority of voters currently, but not for long.

I think it could be argued we haven't had a real election since JFK. And we all know how that ended. The powers that be got wise. Figured out they could control us nigh completely through Reagans, Clintons, Bushes, and Obamas. Puppets telling lies on teleprompters.

They convinced us we didn't want populist presidents, labor unions, minimum wages, etc. And when they couldnt do that they threw the orange buffoon at us, the charlatan who claims to be a populist. He was their last ditch effort. Now who've they got left? Joe Biden? Give me a break.

We are growing wiser by the minute. And if we are able to be saved, it will have been the internet that saved us.

 

[blackdragon6]

I do blame voters. But I think black voters especially likes to protect mediocre, ineffectual, wishy-washy politicians just cause they're black or familiar. But at the same time always complaining about the system this, the establishment that, white supremacy this, patriarchy that. Ugh... But still, there's just only so much you can do as a voter. But there definitely needs to be a solution.

 

[Closerframe]

It's a multifaceted issue because the government is made up by a body of elected American officials and those who are eligible to vote, should they choose to participate, vote more on misguided passion than facts/data. Sure, demographics play a huge role in determining who's more affected than others, but one could argue that voters--especially with the rise in social networking applications--are increasingly in an ideological bubble. They don't see the other side of an argument because they believe so confidently in their own values or lack of. Equally, there are big demographics that don't vote at all because they don't see "noticeable" changes in their day-to-day lives and/or due to a sense of immediacy. I think people my age (millennials) and Gen Zs who are coming of age, need to not voice their frustrations and policy ideals through tweets and protests, but need to actively engage in their local elections--specifically for Senate seats.

 

[Madam-Shogun]

To me honestly I had to think about that question. Because I think there's a lot of nuances involved. I think both sides have a point, but I always thought the truth is somewhere in the middle. It's true the public needs to take more personal responsibility for who they vote for, but I always thought that the government foreign policy is gonna foreign policy. Sure we could add pressure, but outside of voting how can you do that? Serious question

 

[Ultra Nolanite]

I do blame voters. But I think black voters especially likes to protect mediocre, ineffectual, wishy-washy politicians just cause they're black or familiar. But at the same time always complaining about the system this, the establishment that, white supremacy this, patriarchy that. Ugh... But still, there's just only so much you can do as a voter. But there definitely needs to be a solution.

Found the Trump zealot.

 

[Hobgoblin]

Ultimately, the citizens are doing the voting so it’s their fault. The question is how do we make our choices? Where do we get our information from? Younger people use social media so we get used to our bubble. Older people watch the news programs that tell us what we want to hear. Same song, different verse.

Some of us are just old and set in our ways, so we vote as we always have. Some of us bow to peer pressure. How many people actually research the issues and how do they do it? I know one person once said she weren’t smart enough to understand global warming so she ignored it. Global warming is one of those hot button issues (like abortion, immigration, the economy) that have sadly become politicized. News media and social media are far from unbiased sources of facts amd most people are not willing or able to sit down and read a book to learn more. In fairness, these are all complex issues that could take years of study to understand. It’s not like books are unbiased either.

I once skimmed over a government report on the pros and cons of legal and illegal immigration. (Yeah, I skimmed it, I’m guilty of it too.) It was dry reading but informative. Unfortunately so many people have such mistrust of the government that they will immediately ignore any official government report. Considering how the US government sometimes acts, I don’t entirely blame those people.

 

[chaseter]

Found the Trump zealot.

How is he a zealot?

I blame the system. The system is setup to be Rich Person A or Rich Person B. Both parties have good policy. Both parties have crap policy. Where is the middle when both sides are veering further to their polar fringe? Where are the people that want to balance the budget, reign in spending, help the environment, enable growth, and protect all citizens (not illegal aliens). They can’t exist in this system so they don’t. Bush, Obama, and now Trump have all accelerated our economic demise through debt. Reagan to Clinton have all accelerated our demise through failed policies. All rich people.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

46.09%

 

[Prettyricky]

Cant blame voters who actually vote based on the only candidates available at the time of elections. The entire system is corrupt from top to bottom in both parties. Voters aren't to blame for our current state of affairs and never will be. The only power voters hold over the government is elections and vote new blood in for a different direction when there not happy. Also term limits would have a very positive impact on the government as a whole I always believed and still do.

its incredibly childish to put others down or blame them as voters based on who they vote for.

 

[writer0327]

This is a democracy. That's a government of the people and by the people. Who else is there to blame but the people?

 

[OtherwiseKnownAs]

Corporate interests who go out of the way to lie to the American People. Fox News, for instance.

 

[Teelie]

I lean towards blaming the system and corporations that have stacked it in their favor. Facebook has outright said it will let politicians lie to voters. You don't get much more complicit than that.

 

[Ultra Nolanite]

How is he a zealot?

I blame the system. The system is setup to be Rich Person A or Rich Person B. Both parties have good policy. Both parties have crap policy. Where is the middle when both sides are veering further to their polar fringe? Where are the people that want to balance the budget, reign in spending, help the environment, enable growth, and protect all citizens (not illegal aliens). They can’t exist in this system so they don’t. Bush, Obama, and now Trump have all accelerated our economic demise through debt. Reagan to Clinton have all accelerated our demise through failed policies. All rich people.

He sounds as racist as Trump so short of him actually being Trump he must be someone who knocks back gallons of that Trump koolaid daily.

 

[Prettyricky]

This is a democracy. That's a government of the people and by the people. Who else is there to blame but the people?

people vote and hope for the best in the ones there voting for plain and simple, theres no crystal balls in the voting booths. The current state of our government is because of decades of corruption that have been allowed to run unchecked.

The corruption and roadblocks were going on long before trump entered the picture by both parties, again term limits should be in place and its ridiculous there aren't by now. Pelosi and countless other “career politicians” should be long gone with new life and younger blood in there place.

 

[Prettyricky]

Corporate interests who go out of the way to lie to the American People. Fox News, for instance.

CNN, msnbc the list goes on with who lies to sway the public to what they are selling. They report and sell what gets ratings and could careless about the truth in most cases. Its no longer the news when any of these shows have up to 8 mini windows of people yelling there opinions on the current topics. The news hasn't been reported in years, what we have now is TMZ style news shows trying to sell whatever political agenda they lean towards.

 

[writer0327]

people vote and hope for the best in the ones there voting for plain and simple, theres no crystal balls in the voting booths. The current state of our government is because of decades of corruption that have been allowed to run unchecked.

The corruption and roadblocks were going on long before trump entered the picture by both parties, again term limits should be in place and its ridiculous there aren't by now. Pelosi and countless other “career politicians” should be long gone with new life and younger blood in there place.

You get the government you tolerate. When the people get fed up with government corruption, they'll finally do something about it. Many people who voted for Trump in the first place said it was because he wasn't a career politician. That's what we need in a candidate, I am hoping a guy like Yang one of these elections can break through.

But make no mistake, this is a government of the people and a lot of people vote without paying any attention to the candidates. People in this country vote for "letters" or "colors", D, R, Red, Blue, but don't take time to learn about the actual individual human being behind the color or letter, because someone told them to vote that way. That's not the system, that's the people.

As a side note, I feel that the public school system does this country a disservice by not properly educating us about the way government and finances work, the two vital things that will ultimately affect every adult. I got a semester of government and a semester of economics in HS. Those should both be 4 year courses in high school.

 

[blackdragon6]

Found the Trump zealot.

Nope, I am black. And I'm very much a leftist. My criticism of black voters come from a place of experience with other black voters. Black people vote for the bare minimum (e.g. "electibility"). While complaining about the very thing you voted for cause you assume that's what white people will accept .

Also black folks argue that there's too much at risk to support Sanders, Warren, Castro, or third party candidates, believing that it's more important to vote Biden (and previously Clinton) and keep mobilizing as Democrats as "harm reduction". Basically the belief that black folks can rarely afford to vote for interests beyond trying to preserve very basic rights, hence why any political discourse regarding criticism of Democrats almost always leads to push back. Which is why I brought up the ironic complaints, you vote for a milquetoast candidate then turn around and complain about the establishment.

 

[Madam-Shogun]

I think that's an issue across the board...liberal, conservative, and independent. Some folks will say that they want real change but they'll end up voting for the same sort of establishment candidates because they feel they have to vote for someone "electable". Black folks especially won't risk it.

Reminds me of the Freddie Gray situation. A lot of white conservatives like to gleefully point out how most of the elected officials was black and democrat in that city. Even other black people as well. The bitter truth is that putting blacks within the system won't necessarily fix the system. Can't keep electing black politicians who's going to play the perverbial Game of Thrones instead of actually fixing things.

 

[Herofan]

The people do deserve blame on some issues when there is a big, clear policy gap and they voted for the candidate they say they're now against but on a lot of issues the candidates either have the same position or run on different positions and then act the same so no, they don't deserve blame when all they can practically do is vote and voting one way or another doesn't affect policy.

 

[Schlosser85]

I certainly put at least a little blame on some of the petulant "Bernie Bros" who took their toys and went home and refused to vote when Bernie wasn't nominated last time, and some of the talking heads like The Young Turks, among others, who try to vilify every single candidate except their preference.

And some of those same talking heads, and some users here who post their videos every five minutes like they're paid spokesmen, haven't learned anything from last time.

 

[Lily Adler]

I certainly put at least a little blame on some of the petulant "Bernie Bros" who took their toys and went home and refused to vote when Bernie wasn't nominated last time, and some of the talking heads like The Young Turks, among others, who try to vilify every single candidate except their preference.

And some of those same talking heads, and some users here who post their videos every five minutes like they're paid spokesmen, haven't learned anything from last time.

Vetting candidates to make an informed decision isn't a terrible thing. It may sound like vilification, but their past records such as how they administrated or voted in case of a Senator gives us a glimpse into how they would govern as President. Unfortunately we have many candidates with problematic pasts (I know a regular occurrence in politics), and one or two with actually pretty good backgrounds. Bernie's happens to be the best out of the pool from what I've seen. His age and health are a problem, though.

 

[Lighthouse]

Vetting candidates to make an informed decision isn't a terrible thing. It may sound like vilification, but their past records such as how they administrated or voted in case of a Senator gives us a glimpse into how they would govern as President. Unfortunately we have many candidates with problematic pasts (I know a regular occurrence in politics), and one or two with actually pretty good backgrounds. Bernie's happens to be the best out of the pool from what I've seen. His age and health are a problem, though.

TYT uses the exact same tactics that the Ben Shapiro's of the world use. Every video "Liberal dude DESTROYS neoliberal shill!". They feed on the tribalism as much as conservative talk radio.

 

[Schlosser85]

TYT uses the exact same tactics that the Ben Shapiro's of the world use. Every video "Liberal dude DESTROYS neoliberal shill!". They feed on the tribalism as much as conservative talk radio.

"Black Lives Matter DEMANDS Klobuchar drop out!"

"Buttigieg CONFIRMED GHOUL!"

"Bernie DESTROYS Biden record!"

"Biden lies EXPOSED!"

 

[Lighthouse]

"Black Lives Matter DEMANDS Klobuchar drop out!"

"Buttigieg CONFIRMED GHOUL!"

"Bernie DESTROYS Biden record!"

"Biden lies EXPOSED!"

They have so thoroughly burned anyone outside of Bernie, I don't know what they'll do if he isn't the nominee.