What do the citizens of ATS want politically and how do WE get it?

As a member of ATS for something like 3 years now I h ave seen and participated in a LOT of political discussions. As ATS is a conspiracy site there is no surprise that much of what is posted and debated here is the legitimacy of our political system and it's various players.

I have seen plenty of what I would call right leaning ideology as well as left leaning ideology. I have also seen people who come from points of view from the many spectrum's of thought in between the right / left spectrum and from beyond it.

I have also seen countless debates that embrace hostility based on the fevered adoption of dogmatic beliefs. Something that is to be expected in political debates.

The one thing I have consistently seen here is a passion that can only be contributed to people who actually CARE about the validity and honor (for lack of a better term) of the systems which we adopt to manage the society in which we live.

What I am curious to try to understand is what exactly it is the people here want from a valid political system, how they see it realized, and how this system would work to be an inclusive system that does not marginalize minorities or majorities.

As a collective of what I believe to be above average thinkers I think such a discussion could be a great opportunity for the various 'sides' of political discourse to come together, share their values and ideas and attempt to devise a method for pursuing a collective approach to political rehabilitation.

Think of it as a debate not seeking a single winner but an amalgamation of various perspectives into a cohesive understanding of mutual agreement that seeks to promote positive change in today's woefully flawed system.

What I would like to ideally see is

#1. people who contribute their personal ideas and perspectives.

#2. once these contributions seems to have ceased a discussion on finding balance between views and the creation of a collective ideology that respects all points of view.

#3. ideas on how this ideology can be promoted for the betterment of the current system.

This is easy:

I want a government that will supply a Military to protect me, and laws to keep me safe from other people. NOT MYSELF.

I want my government to listen to me and stay out of the economy.

I want to be completely free to do what I want to do.

How do we get it? We have to stop being so ignorant and controlling. But will that ever happen? Maybe when the next renaissance roles around.

reply to post by Shamrock87


Gotta go with you for the most part, but I would like to add:

A government that strictly adheres to the Constitution.

Otherwise, you summed it up quite nicely.


TA

quality over quantity: meaning i am for qualitative advancement not quantitative advancement (education, arts, health, science, etc... vrs. GDP & GNP).

personal freedom: the freedom to do what thou will, barring it infringes or impinges on others rights and freedoms.

representative governance: no financial lobbyists PERIOD. preferably a form of representation that truly reflects the will of the people. if we need to make an electronic voting system that allows constituents to vote on EVERY issue so be it. also voting for representatives should be MANDATORY. i know this is a bit of a slippery slope when it comes to personal freedom, but personal freedom is so easily compromised when representatives do not represent you.

appropriate military: one that protects US not polices the world.

i am sure this list is leaving some things out but i will edit them in as they become 'known' to me.

Pretty much what Shamrock said....basically i want the federal reserve abolished from this land,our treasury to coin its own money backed by gold...and congress to represent its citizens...do away with income tax....and stay outa my life

I am fully onboard with Shamrock.

2nd line

It would be nice if the government cared about the citizenry as people and not just numbers on the tax rolls to help fund what the Corporate/Military industrial Oligarchy wants.

Let me focus on, "How do we get it?".

There's a few aspects to the answer.

1. Quit letting Mainstream Media rule your life. People hate to admit the fact, and would rather pretend that it doesn't. But those same people are easily spotted pasting CNN/FOX/MSNBC headlines on this forum daily.

2. Quit letting the same media, distract and divide you. Quit arguing about frivolous issues, and start tackling real issues.

3. Demand a return of Journalism, not newstainment. The people you watch on the news are not journalists. They are entertainers, and they are to entertain first and foremost. Demand that they start talking about real issues, and tell them you won't tune in until they do.

4. Quit forgetting that we all want freedom, and stop attacking people cause their view is different on some random frivolous issue that the mainstream media has thrown on todays platter.

5. Sack congress and all levels of government.

6. Quit allowing 30% of every citizens income to be handed over to international bankers who have no interest in the united states.

7. Abolish the federal reserve, and return to a monetary system backed by tangible assets.

8. Elect Ron Paul for president.

[edit on 14-8-2009 by king9072]

What I want from government all depends on the level of government we are speaking of.

As I see it in the United States we have 3 levels of Government (Federal, State and Local).

I want the Federal to provide a military and oversee the economy.

I want the state to take care of the well being of the residents of the state. Looking after the quality of life which is provided to the people who live in that state.

The local should be the ones to administer the items provided by the state be it Roads, schools, health care etc.

The thing that makes the United States what it is is the competition among states to provide the best Jobs and resources to the constituents. If you ask for the Federal Government to provide these things this is lost and so it the whole idea of States rights.

States rights was the whole reason the Civil War was fought and in hind site while we may not agree with the policies of the South we can understand what they were upset about.

I'm not against paying taxes I just want to keep them as close to home as possible.

reply to post by Animal


I will explain to you animal, what a certain large segment here want.

1) They want to end the income tax, because 33% of it goes off to paying debt, another 33% goes to the military. They want to end it completely, because lord knows the taxes of seniors and the state taxes (the ones where you pay at a toll on a road) will be somehow enough to sustain the state itself.

2) At the same time these folks want the military to continue its build up. Heck $500 billion a year isnt enough, continue the build up... the $ 1trillion increase in expenditure over the last 8years was not enough, continue the increase. We need the military strong as possible.... and just take it out of the federal government..... which sources 95% of this military expenditure from income tax... but thats gone.... oh nevermind Im sure $25 billion a year is enough (I actually dont mind that).

3) Oh yes end the IRS, the FED! They are evil evil organizations that take away my hard earned cash! That should solve most of our problems! By ending these agencies!

4) Yes we dont want socialized medicine! I mean after all, 50% of us conservative constitutionalist folks are over 50 years old! We want the government to keep their filthy hands off our medicare and we dont want their filthy socialized healthcare!

5) Guns for everybody!

6) Completely outlaw abortion, under any circumstance, because in the bible God specifically says its not our business to take the life of anybody, its only his, and while your at it make the death penalty legal in all the states, its our duty to take the lives of those criminals!

7) We must be all free in this nation! Free to persue what we feel... free accepting:

-That if your gay you cannot join the army.
-That if you have an arab middle name, you must be a muslim, you cannot choose any other religion for yourself.
-Your free to voted in anybody but the black liberal "kenyan".
-You must wear your flagpin at all times!
-Your free to speak your mind, but if there is any discussion of socialism, you must shut up!

I have a real long list here.... but Im going to end it there.

As they say "Shut up and be free"

I'll ignore the "What do ATSers want" issue, because I'm sure that a few hundred voices will cover that.

Here's how you/we get it: Write to your state and local legislators. Seriously, ignore the guys in Washington. States can nullify most laws (see: the Bush Administrations glorified National ID program; in which case, all 50 states gave the finger to the Federal Government).

Does your state allow medical marijuana? If so, they're disobeying the Feds, who maintain that any marijuana use is illegal. Michigan's senate has a proposal to nullify any future federal restrictions on gun ownership. I read something (the details are fuzzy) which gave me the impression that Arizona state senators are debating whether or not to nullify the implementation of Obama's health-care program.

The Federal government only has as much power as the collective States grant it. If you want to bring about the change that you want to see, then organize letter-writing campaigns (and other such activities) to your State Senators, and ignore Washington.