I struggle a bit with your challenges.

1. I like what JFK said as it stands for personal responsibility, giving, and not just taking.
2 & 3. It can’t be just one way or the other. Both sides need to be considered.
4. I’m not clear what it means to “think like you” after reading this.

It’s all about what I have to give, and not what my country gives to me.

Mark Juleen´s last blog post..I No Longer Give a #&%! About Your Closing Ratio

Good news! My 1st grader is indeed learning civics. Now, it’s not public school, but perhaps there is hope for the future of our youth. He is lucky to have a teacher who is very involved with those in our community who give back in a real way. I.e. she regularly volunteers at SAME Cafe (So All May Eat) and brought the class there for a field trip.

My understanding is that ever since Kennedy, televisability has been vital in deciding whether a candidate will be elected. Obama had it, McCain did not. It seems often that we are a nation focused more on looks than substance, which might be why our dear leaders think of us as 12 year olds.

Another interesting statistic (which I read somewhere but can not back up because I don’t remember where it was) is that if you take any group of, say, 600 people (barring those already in prison), and compare them to our houses of Congress, there will be far more convicted criminals amongst our representatives. So, who is drawn to life in the public eye? Not so many good guys.

One last thought: Q: How do you know if a polititian is lying?
A: His mouth is open.

Have a great day – I look forward to your interesting and thought provoking posts.

BTW – I clicked on the green link and didn’t see Twitter.

Christina (so much for one last thought)

Dave Atkins´s last blog post..The Camera Eye

But does Veruca NEED a golden goose?

It reminds me of the George Carlin routine about his relationship with the Man Who Lives in the Clouds: “I don’t ask for anything I don’t want and he doesn’t give me anything I don’t need.”

Ruth, I’m very much in favor of Obama. McCain was a moron. But I don’t understand why Obama is trying to echo JFK. That’s my point.

http://www.edelman.com/speak_up/blog/archives/2009/01/fashion_future.html

As I read it, I caught myself thinking how ironic it was that 80s fashions were just starting to make a comeback when recession hit. And then I read your post.

I’m not sure I understand why, exactly, you’re less than enthusiastic about Obama, since I don’t get the sense you’d have preferred a McCain/Palin win. But I agree totally – no matter how cyclical business, the economy, and life are – that echoing a 1960s meme won’t work in 2009.

I’d also say that any candidate who can galvanize a country and produce the highest voter turnout in a century has a lot going for him. Your neighbours to the north had yet another federal election on October 13, 2008 – and saw the lowest turnout in Canadian voting history, something that makes me deeply ashamed of my fellow citizens.

I recently saw a young woman studying for a first-year-university Political Science 101 exam. At one point she became confused between the definitions of fascism and democracy, and I was shocked – gobsmacked. I hate to pull the ‘in my day’ routine, but I very clearly remember a Grade 10 history class in which we discussed that fascism and socialism were at opposite end of the political spectrum but that the spectrum sometimes bends so the two systems can end up behaving in remarkably similar ways. I’m wondering whether one would even get to that kind of discussion in PolySci 101 these days. (Sorry for long rambling comment.)

Ruth Seeley´s last blog post..NV09 for NeoLuddites Contest Entrant: Kirsten Chursinoff

@ariherzog [link to post] got me thinking…

– http://twitter.com/TerraScene/statuses/1108743700

– Posted using Chat Catcher

While we’re on the subject, why don’t more folks think like this? [link to post] Is it because of the tube?

– http://twitter.com/diablogue_chat/statuses/1108722030

– Posted using Chat Catcher