Questions for our American folk

[STEED]

How passionate are you on politics?

Only at elections or all the time?



Reason I ask, here in the UK most people don't give a stuff which in my view is wrong. As if you want real change you got to get off your rump.

[AVGWarhawk]

I keep up with it. You have to. Legislation is going on all the time. Need to keep a running record until the next election comes up. This helps to determine if you want to keep them in or dump them off.

[Blacklight]

I'm a loudmouth who doesn't keep his mouth shut when he doesn't agree with something he finds morally wrong. Therefore, damn right, I pay attention to the crap my government is doing, who the candidates are.. what they stand for... etc...
At the risk of starting a fight, I can seriously say that I am a die hard liberal and I find the "Conservative" way of doing things backwards wrong, and fundamentally flawed. The Conservatives are also WAY too much puppets of special interest groups and the "Religious Right" who shouldn't even be INVOLVED in politics in the first place hence "Separation of Church and State" ! They've been trying to get that rule taken out of the Constitution for years and have pretty much been ignoring it altogether anyway. Look how many public schools out there still have prayer at the beginning of the day and shun teaching about evolution.

Okay.. I've gone too much off on a rant. I'll shut up now.

[DeepIron]

I'm with AVG, I keep an eye on political things and get more animated in the election years. This year especially since we have an opportunity to "break the mold" and get some new blood (no pun intended towards Mr. Obama) in the White House.

[SUBMAN1]

Originally Posted by STEED

How passionate are you on politics?

Only at elections or all the time?



Reason I ask, here in the UK most people don't give a stuff which in my view is wrong. As if you want real change you got to get off your rump.

Very!

And yes, I do write my Senators and district Congressman all the time.

-S

[mrbeast]

Think I'm one of the few people who actually vote in the UK, practically all of the people I know don't bother voting at all.

Its amazing how many people won't take 5 minutes to excercise a right that countless thousands have died to defend. :hmm:

[baggygreen]

We get people interested for 6 weeks every 3 years.

Mandatory voting system.

interviews with young kids 18, 19, 20 - why did you vote Labor? "cos Kevin07 (his slogan) sounds cool" or "cos he's younger than howard"

I'd much rather a system of voluntary voting, then you won't get all the dolts and ignorants voting on the basis of a cool, rhyming slogan rather than policies.

[JSF]

Originally Posted by STEED

How passionate are you on politics?

Only at elections or all the time?



Reason I ask, here in the UK most people don't give a stuff which in my view is wrong. As if you want real change you got to get off your rump.

1) Very!

2) 24/7

3) We have a similar situation here in the U.S.of A. However, I sense it's probably consistant around the globe...people sitting on thier big fat apathies waiting for someone else to get involved and then tell them what to think about it. Lead, follow or get out of the way, but for crying out loud DO SOMETHING!

[Sailor Steve]

I'm more political than I used to be, but my real passion is history; i.e. what politicians did before and why. I worry some about what's going on now, but my take usually ends up being a little different from those around me.

[Onkel Neal]

I'm mildly interested, I watch a few debates, read a few articles, and I vote in the primary and general election. Since I only have one vote in 60 million, it's hard to get overly excited in the process.

[Tchocky]

I used to get to lots of rallies etc when I lived in the US. I've seen both McCain & Obama speak in public, got to shake Obama's hand. (firm grip, but you could tell he'd done it a thousand times before)*
Following the Presidential campaigns with intense interest, I'd say my interest in politics run, by country - US, UK, then Ireland in a distant third.








* - oh my, how inadvertently seedy

[Letum]

National interest in politics = poor standard of living X (political freedom + political awareness)

ok, its not math, but that sums it up.

The UK and America both have a high standard of living, so politics seams less important.

[Peto]

I try to keep my eye on the ball most all of the time. Having connections with the international community helps as it is quite embarassing to learn how much more someone from another country knows about US politics than I do. And I try to use my knowledge of history (college minor/lifetime hobby) as a basis to compare trends I see in individuals, parties and powerfull special interest groups. The last 7 years have been quite frightening...

[CDR Resser]

I am quite active in politics. It began while I was in high school, and had a very active history teacher and participated in Model UN. Yes I was, and probably still am a nerd.
Got a chance to meet all of the Republican candidates during the '96 cycle. I remain more impressed with Lamar Alexander than any candidate since, although Alan Keyes certainly can give a speech.
Elections are the only way that we can affect the course of our government. Now it is too corrupt, and driven by lobbyists. You can thank the tax code, as well as 40 years of one party control of the congress for that.
I can't believe that people here are contemplating the lurch to the left, and a nanny state, that many current candidtes are advocating. That ideology has failed everywhere it has been tried, often with spectacularly bloody results.
Our Bill of Rights is non-negotiable, not one little bit, not now, not ever.
Our government is too big, too expensive, too expansive and too intrusive.
Thomas Jefferson was right to fear for the future of the republic when people figured out that they could vote themselves money from the treasury, and thats basically where we are now.
Abraham Lincoln was also right when he said that as a nation of free men we would endure for a thousand years, or die by suicide, which is where I am afraid that we are going.
ED: I support the "Law & Order" candidate-- Fred Thompson.

Respectfully Submitted;
CDR Resser

[Letum]

Originally Posted by CDR Resser

Our Bill of Rights is non-negotiable, not one little bit, not now, not ever.

ahh, they said that about the Magna Carta Libertatum, the mother of the US
constitution, here in the UK and we only follow 2 of the freedoms form that now and
not quite in the original form.

If there is one thing you learn from having a constitution for 800 years, it's that
relevancy is never timeless.